I'm contemplating installing hand & thumb warmers on my SP500. Any feedback would be helpful. i.e....does Polaris make their own kits or go to an aftermarket kit? Any special mounting tricks, where to splice wires, switch mounting, price, etc. Thanks..dcop

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Im wanting one myself.ANYBODY with recommedations? --BILL

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My recommendation would be to go to Cabela's and order a pair of their gore-tex gloves with a removable inner glove. These along with a pair of their 'moose mitts' for extreme cold is all I need for temps down to about 0. They keep the back of your hand warm, not just the palm and thumb like a hand warmer will. Believe me the gloves alone are very warm, add the inner glove and the moose mitt, you will not get cold. No wiring either.

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Mike...99 Scrambler 400, 94 Kawasaki Bayou 400(newly rebuilt), 99 Impuls 50(Matt's)

 

My neighbor has the hand and thumb warmer on his 2000sp500 and says they are great when plowing snow. I just bought the electric handgrips today. The directions say they are for snowmobiles but the parts man says they work on quads as well. There are two heat settings for the grips. Wiring is not complex and the directions are very clear. I plan to do the instalation myself tomarrow. It is a Polaris Item though they also had aftermarket. Cost to me was $41.00. I also bought a pair of the mitts...$26.00. I'll let you know more after the first snow.

Sneeky

 

The "Hot Grip" brand grips that we installed on the SP500 "10/25/99 A Hunter's Dream Quad" in the "Product Review" (Outdoor/Recreational/Hunting) section have been working very nice. I don't know if the variable control is really needed but most do come with a "Hi/Low" switch.
A good source for "key switched" power and ground is available in the head light pod on the Sportsman 500 at the DC accessory outlet.

[This message has been edited by Dave Iskierka (edited 12-17-1999).]

 

I had thumb and had warmers installed when I bought my 500. I got after market and have had no problems. I useally have to turn the thumb warmers off. To warm when riding for a long time. Prices were Thumb $30 and hand $40. I also bought a wind sheild and think it helps GREATLY in blocking the wind. All were a Great investment!!! I actully I use them all year round.
Hope this helps

RANJ57 99SP500

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[This message has been edited by ranj57 (edited 12-19-1999).]

 

This is not exactly a recommendation...but
I had a spare set of snowmobile handlebar hand-boots...generic one size fits all and threw them on my Scrambler's handlebars. It's like an extra big set of mittens.

At least now I am still riding comfortable with thin leather summer riding gloves. I like a thin glove to hold the bars better for sport riding. They are not heated, they just deflect the wind and brush.

I like them well enough, but come the dead of winter...I might power up with a heated set.



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Rich Weinssen 1999 Scrambler 500 2000 Scrambler 500 2000 Trail Boss 1998 Magnum 425

 

I installed “Hot Grips” and thumb warmers on my SP500 and my wife’s Mag 500 a couple months ago. These were not purchased through Polaris but I’d be willing to bet if you bought through Polaris you’d get the same things. My first disappointment was not being able to remove the grips seasonally. They need to be epoxied on to the bars for a heat sink and they aren’t the most comfortable of grips without gloves on, but they’re not the least comfortable either. To improve the comfort I cut the inner flat flange of the original grips off and left it on the bars when I installed the Hot Grips. This just helps cushion your knuckles from the ETC control and switch cluster. My next disappointment was the new grips were a good inch longer than the portion of handlebars they were covering. That’s not a problem unless you have a mirror that mounts in the end of your handlebars, like we do. You can carefully hollow out the end of the grip without damaging the continuity of the wiring but the ID of the grip is too big for the mirror and the mounting portion of the mirror isn’t deep enough to reach the handlebar end. Solution: find a dealer with a bent pair of bars he’ll give you, cut off about a one inch piece and epoxy it into the end of the grip.

My initial experimentation with this setup lead me to the conclusion that the hot grips really didn’t need a “low” and the thumb warmer would only need a “high” in the coldest of conditions. I also didn’t want to have two switches for devices that would always be used together. So I bought the heaviest double pole double throw center off toggle switch that Radio Shack sells and wired both the hot grips and the thumb warmer to it. Now, both go on or off with one switch. Not only that but I wired it so no matter which of the two “on” positions the switch was in the Hot Grips would be on “high”, but in one “on” position the thumb warmer would be on low and in the other “on” position the thumb warmer would be on high. This way I always get “high” heat on the grips but I still have my choice of heat settings on the thumb warmer, all with one switch.

After a couple months of usage the only thing I’d change is my source for power. Right now I’m pulling power off the pod DC outlet. I think drawing right from the battery with a relay for ignition “on” power would yield more consistent heat. I’ve noticed the heat drop off when I turn all five of my headlights on (hehehe).

Another thing that helps is the Polaris hand guards. They’re a little pricey and look a bit like Mickey Mouse ears at first but they cut the wind to the backs of your hands considerably. I’ve found with this setup that you can easily wear gloves TOO thick to enjoy the benefits of the warmers, then your hands get cold. Don’t go overboard on your hand insulation and the grips will keep you warm. Last Friday my wife and I rode almost ten hours in a foot of fresh powder in northern Wisconsin. It was about 10 degrees when we left just before noon. It was 3 below when we got back that night. After a 25 minute ride home at between 25 & 35 mph at –3, I’d be lyin’ if I said we had warm hands but it wasn’t intolerable.

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FloodRunner, on the Wisconsin River