[fubar929]

Has anyone installed the Ducati heated grips themselves? If so, where are the electrical connections located?

The last time I bought heated grips, for my Multistrada 1200S, my dealer told me that installation wasn't included in the price and the service department wanted to charge 1-2 hours of labor to do it (effectively doubling the price). I installed the grips myself then paid service $20 or $25 to enable the software the next time the service department had the bike connected to their computer. Was thinking I might do the same for the Supersport S I just purchased... if I can figure out where to plug everything in!

 

[Fredinfrance]

Right hand side just behind.the headstock. There are three plugs, one is a power supply for GPS etc, the two others are the heated grip connectors.

 

[Tez]

My dealer informed me they have to do a software update to energise the plugs ?

 

[Fredinfrance]

My dealer informed me they have to do a software update to energise the plugs ?

That is what he said "then paid service $20 or $25 to enable the software"

 

[skywurz]

I know this is old but it says DIY in the title and the other thread went some dark place talking about some hand guards... Absolutely unrecoverable. So ill just place these here.

 

[fubar929]

FWIW, I ended up doing the install myself. Getting to the connectors requires either very small hands... or a lot of patience trying to do everything with the 1 or 2 fingers that will fit into the area behind the headstock. My hands were too big for the former, so I had to opt for the later approach. Dealer charged me $50 or $60 to enable the software this time around; about double what I paid the last time! Much as I love Ducati's bikes, my dealership service experiences are really starting to ruin the brand for me...

 

[skywurz]

my dealership service experiences are really starting to ruin the brand for me... /forum/images/smilies/frown.gif

Yeah I'm thinking I'm going to install these myself before my service appointment. Another dealership bummer was 2 dealerships I called could not book me for 3weeks!!

 

[se7en]

No appointments for 3 friggin weeks? Oh man, I would be pissed. I've heard this before about dealerships. WTH??

 

[Derek]

No appointments for 3 friggin weeks? Oh man, I would be pissed. I've heard this before about dealerships. WTH??

There is only one Ducati dealership for the whole of Scotland. Last year I had to wait 6 weeks for the 600 mile service and the dealer is 100 mile away. Removing the ride home and the ride back for the service that left me with only 400 miles to play with in 6 weeks
They claim that they will improve their performance this year to reduce backlogs. We'll see

 

[se7en]

ONE in all of Scotland? H3ll, I have 5 in my state here in the US. Sounds like a great business opportunity for someone. It's time for a second...or third!

 

[Derek]

The trouble is that it will need a vast amount of cash to set up a dealership from scratch and Ducati will need to be convinced that it will be a viable business. The existing dealer is fiercely defensive of their business and will fight any attempt to take away business from them but they are attempting to cover a vast area.

Unfortunately the bulk of the business is in the central Glasgow/Edinburgh belt. There is a fair amount in Aberdeen and I'm sure there would be a lot more if there was a dealer there and it would be a huge benefit for the rest of us who don't live in the central belt.
An owner living in Thurso, right at the top of the country will need a whole day to get to Glasgow, stay overnight, a day in Glasgow while the bike is being serviced then another overnight stay before riding home again. You have to be really keen to buy a Ducati up there.
The dealer we have has unsuccessfully attempted to set up franchised service centres. They one they had in Edinburgh but it turned out to be a failure after they were let down by the owner of the premises, and having put a lot of cash into building a new Glasgow showroom/workshop they are not prepared to set up even a Service Centre in Aberdeen. They claim any increased income from extra sales wouldn't justify the expense. For them that may indeed be the case but what we really need is a new dealership altogether breaking the monopoly that Ducati Glasgow has on the Scottish market - but it's not going to happen

 

[DucColin]

@Derek Looking at there web site they appear only to sell Ducati (new bikes). That is limiting options. My dealer sells new Ducati, KTM, Kawasaki, Honda, Yamaha as well as the used stock and service centre. I'm not a business man but I would have thought that if someone opened a bike shop in Aberdeen, that sold other makes as well as Ducati they could do very well.

 

[Derek]

@Derek Looking at there web site they appear only to sell Ducati (new bikes). That is limiting options. My dealer sells new Ducati, KTM, Kawasaki, Honda, Yamaha as well as the used stock and service centre. I'm not a business man but I would have thought that if someone opened a bike shop in Aberdeen, that sold other makes as well as Ducati they could do very well.

I agree @DucColin but it seems that Ducati will only allow new dealerships to be a solus, Ducati only dealer, which to me seems bloody stupid. They seem to be more concerned with image than sales. Ducati Glasgow in fact are also a Triumph dealer but with Triumph Glasgow at the opposite end of the same building, with its own entrance so on the face of it it looks like 2 separate businesses. The workshop is split in two with Ducati in one half and Triumph in the other.
At the same time that Ducati Glasgow were looking to move to their new premises the dealer in Renfrew fell out with Triumph and withdrew his business leaving Triumph without an outlet in the West of Scotland, their biggest market here. Ducati Glasgow saw the opportunity to move in there and took on the Triumph franchise giving them a bigger market share to help finance the new building. Ducati allowed this but insisted on the separation of both sides of the business as I have described above. Upstairs is a communal cafe from which you can walk from the Ducati side into the Triumph one and vice versa.
Shirlaws in Aberdeen were for many years a Ducati dealer but around 2003 they ceased to be a dealer and became an official service centre but after a year or so they packed that up too. I don't know what the reasons behind all this were. Shirlaws are a multi-franchise dealer and it may be that Ducati wanted them to have a separate showroom for Ducatis, or even another building. Who knows? But it may not be coincidental that this was at the same time that Ducati Glasgow started up.
Sorry this has gone somewhat off topic.

 

[fubar929]

Yeah I'm thinking I'm going to install these myself before my service appointment. Another dealership bummer was 2 dealerships I called could not book me for 3weeks!!

I'm jealous! When I bought my SS-S I was riding it 300 miles/week and it took me four weeks to get an appointment to have the 600-mile service done. Ended up parking the bike for two weeks because the dealer couldn't find the time to, essentially, change the oil! KTM's approach to this stuff seems to be much better than Ducati. Buy heated grips? Plug them in and they just work! Do your own service? There's a well-known "cheat code" you can use to disable the service indicator.

 

[PeeWee939S]

After 240km this morning in 6-8 C I realized that I must have heated grips.
Is it Ducati`s I should get or ?

 

[Fredinfrance]

After 240km this morning in 6-8 C I realized that I must have heated grips.
Is it Ducati`s I should get or ?

That has to be your decision. Your bike you fit the ones that you are happy with.
I fitted R&G grips, plenty of power settings and no need to go for a 240 km round trip and pay a dealer to enable them. I am happy with mine.

 

[PeeWee939S]

That has to be your decision. Your bike you fit the ones that you are happy with.
I fitted R&G grips, plenty of power settings and no need to go for a 240 km round trip and pay a dealer to enable them. I am happy with mine.

Was it "Plug & Play" ?

 

[fubar929]

After 240km this morning in 6-8 C I realized that I must have heated grips.
Is it Ducati`s I should get or ?

The Ducati heated grips are somewhat over-priced, especially if you have to pay for installation. They get reasonably warm, but they're not nearly as hot as the Ducati grips I had on my Multistrada 1200S. They integrate nicely with the bike and I like being able to see the heating level on the dash and set the level using the standard controls; you're not going to get that with any other grip, as far as I know. Of course the Ducati heated grips suffer from the same problem as all heated grips: they only keep your palm warm. On cold days, you'll still want a wind-proof (and perhaps insulated) glove to keep the backs of your hands warm. If you try riding in 6-8C temps wearing a summer glove, I suspect your hands will still be somewhat cold even if the Ducati heated grips are at maximum.

 

[ace4]

I went with the Ducati heated grips and installed them myself, but then had to pay the dealer $30 to enable them in software. On previous bikes I just got the heater elements and an LED dimmer for like $30 and wired them myself, but obviously it's hard to make that look like it 'belongs' on the bike. I decided it was worth paying the premium to get the heating level built into the dash, and the grips are wider and more comfortable.

The Ducati grips have been plenty warm for Arizona, however I'm moving to Colorado soon so we'll see.

 

[Fredinfrance]

Was it "Plug & Play" ?

All depends on what you call plug and play, where do you intend to plug them into?