Viper with Apex Bars

[stein700sx]

Could not seem to post this in the Tech area so I will post this here and maybe it will get moved.

Got some 07 Apex bars with heated grips for my 02 Viper.
First thing I did was to measure the ohms of the factory grips. They measured 1.5k ohms each. In series they measure 3.4k ohms

 

[stein700sx]

Next I measured the diff in height between the to bars. The difference was 3.5 inches or so. I ordered up a 2.5 pivot riser and a 4 inch riser for my set up.

 

[stein700sx]

I then removed the grips and heaters from the Apex bars. Drill out the rivets first. I used some hot water and a plastic windshield tool from the local bodyshop. Works great and does not ruin the heating elements. With the bars naked I installed the throttle block.To do this you need to remove a small area out of the block due to the curve in the bars. After I had the throttle block on the bars I use my hot knife (slightly modified, you can also use a soldering gun for this) to weld the plastic piece back in.

 

[03viperguy]

I would LOVE this in the tech pages I will see about getting it there for everyone!

 

[stein700sx]

With the block on the bars I now went to work on the heating elements. I first install heat shrink tubing on the bars where the heating element goes. This is to help the heat to go to the grips and not the bars. A tip I read on a BETHEVIPER thread a while back. Then I used some epoxy to install the elements on. After they were in place I wrapped electrical tape around them to keep them in place. After the epoxy set I removed the electrical tape.

 

[stein700sx]

Now it was time to install the grips back on. Again I used a little epoxy to help slide them on as well as to hold them in place. Installed new rivets as well. With the grips on I also shot some expanding spryfoam into the bar ends to help insure that the heat would go into my hands. Another BETHEVIPER trick I read.

 

[stein700sx]

Installed the bars onto the sled. Hooked up the cables and brakes etc...
Here comes the wiring part. Real easy. Since the Apex grips are higher ohms than the Viper grips I wired them in parallel (giving me the same load as the Viper grips in series). Meaning one hot lead from each grip goes to the yellow/red wire and the other lead goes to ground, the black wire. Each grip measured 6.3k ohms and in parallel they measured 3.2k ohms. The Viper is wired in series at 3.4k ohms. As you can see in the pics it is very easy. I soldered and used double wall w/glue heat shrink tubing on the connections to the factory bullet connectors off the Viper grips. Plugged the connectors in (almost looks factory) and went for a test ride.

 

[stein700sx]

Here's the finished product. The higher bars feel real good. The best part is now the grips get hot and the bonus is that it's all the way into the hooks. Warm hands again. The thumb warmer is still the same after all this, hot like always.

 

[staggs65]

nice write-up stein. followed the link from the thread in the srx section. I think I'm gonna go this route with my Viper. for a good write-up

 

[stein700sx]

You are welcome

 

[Madmatt]

Nice write up....I'll offer another way to do it

Another way to take care of the throttle block without having to deal with the grips & heating elements etc. is to get a throttle block from an '04 Viper S or an RX-1. They are split throttle blocks and can be installed without removing the grips. The ony other thing you need is the throttle/oiler cable which is actually split half way down on the Viper S as opposed to two separate cables on every other viper. If you are a guy who likes high handlebars order the split cable from an '04 mountain viper.

One thing is for sure......the apex bars are really nice with the grips and the curved ends all integrated. This is a very nice upgrade either way you do it.

Madmatt