The XJ is very nearly ready for the road now, it's passed an MOT (despite a very dodgy front tyre that will be replaced with a part-worn this week) and had a nice all-over coat of spray-can black.
So today while I've been playing out on my bike he fitted his furry muffs, but of course he had to go one better didn't he?
Didn't get any pics of the work-in-progress as I was regretting the lack of warm pants somewhere on the East Lancs, but when I got home I discovered you can do this to an XJ600:
1) Put a piece of plastic pipe on top of the engine block where there is a convenient little scoopy bit.
2) Run said piece of pipe alongside frame and up inside fairing, securing with cable ties.
3) Affix wax-coated sheepskin mitts (which still, to my joy, carry a label stating "this is a luxury garment"! ) to handlebars, and run end of pipe into them.
4) Repeat on other side.
5) Admire finished look!
6) Take for a quick scoot round the block as bike still not taxed (although it is now MOTd & insured) and discover that as you hoped warm air is indeed being blown into the furry muffs so the further and faster you go the hotter your hands get!
7) Check out your partner's Zephyr to see if you could do the same fix to that and discover that you can't cos there is no handy scoopy bit anywhere on the engine block.
8 ) Look smug. (Git! lol) Then start talking about fixing a pc fan to said partner's bike to blow the air into pipes, sometimes I really worry about him.............
I'm wondering if it's possible to route a radiator hose through the handlebars....
The Hardley Worthit motorcycle company of Staleurine, near Milwaukee, WI. used to have a kit to direct the engine oil through the handlebars to provide heating.
Great idea but...
doesn't it foul your steering?
what about when the pipe starts to melt at the engine end and how much heat loss is there when it's blinking cold?
Great idea but...
doesn't it foul your steering?
what about when the pipe starts to melt at the engine end and how much heat loss is there when it's blinking cold?
When was Hardley Worthit concerned with engineering practicalities?
In principle, an excellent idea. In practice I'm not quite sure how hot air will get into the tube, how or why it would travel along the tube or how much of it might escape into the muffs. A simple mod might be to make the inlet much wider, with a cone section and introduce some sort of spoiler to create a draught into the mouth of the tube (via the heated air around the engine).
Brilliant idea though to recycle otherwise wasted heat energy. There must be a (safe) way of routing hot air (or water) through the body of the handlebars for a nice neat fix.
6) Take for a quick scoot round the block and discover that as you hoped warm air is indeed being blown into the furry muffs so the further and faster you go the hotter your hands get!
Wow! Impressive. I didn't see this first time round. My apologies for being a skeptic.
Probably lol I know the OH did it originally on a very old XS500 he used to own back in the mid-80s though, that was where he got the idea from..........
No idea how it will hold up to regular usage or just how effective it will be, I shall report back in due course when the bike is properly on the road and being ridden.
No doubt if it all goes pear-shaped he'll be able to bodge some kind of fix up though, he usually does.
I saw a BSA with the exhaust routed through the bars once. It didn't work very well as all the fittings melted and the bars got very hot, and the steering was bady impeded. But it was a brave attempt!
The Hardley Worthit motorcycle company of Staleurine, near Milwaukee, WI. used to have a kit to direct the engine oil through the handlebars to provide heating.
The Diversion has a take off for an oil cooler, with pipes running up and down the front of the engine. You could easily chop into that and run it through the bar. Probably that little thin copper pipe that's used to run gas into the fire would be good, you could loop it back and forth inside the handlebar. You'd then have a pre-made set of fixings like taps to turn it on and off.
I would run the hose through the steering stem, this way it wouldn't be under too much flex, and at minimal risk of getting trapped kinked or ripped. If it did though, you would be in trouble as that's hot oil, being pumped about at engine pressure, perilously near your face.
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Shonktastic, a new way of heating grips!
) to handlebars, and run end of pipe into them.
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Originally Posted by Olly
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