Does anyone know what this is?

I was looking on SF Craigslist, and noticed this bike:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/mcy/394809028.html


Does anyone know what that little "Hi/Lo" switch is all about?

Thanks,
Mel

 

Oh... I've never seen that out here in Cali, you would need them so infrequently.

 

unquestionably heated grips
and depends where in CA you are, there are parts of CA, that can have snow on the ground in June still
plus, even where I live, now, I am looking at 50-55 degrees in the morning and 80-90 on my way home, if I cross a bridge in the morning, it can feel even colder. Heated grips allow you to not carry two sets of gloves, or freeze in the morning. In the fall or Spring, I can see the mid to high 30s int he morning and 70 on my way home. Heated grips lets you ride in that much more comfortably. Heck, a couple mornings a year I can see below 32 degrees, but then I take the car. Not for the cold, but the ice possibilities.

 

wait, you are in SF!?!?
yeah, grips are good
try a early spring or late fall Sunday morning run over Tam, you will love them
cold in the morning, so you turn them up
as the day gets warmer, you don't sweat like you would in heavier gloves, you just turn them down or off, one pair of gloves gets you thru the whole day/ride
out for a day long ride that goes longer than you thought? Now that the sun has gone down it is getting a little chilly, and you didn't plan for it? turn the grips on and you are fine...
difinately one of those, once you have them, you won't willingly go back kind of things
not a necessity of course, but a nice farkle to be sure
and I would bet, you will use them more than you thought you would

 

Yeah, I guess I always ride with two pairs of gloves: one pair with thinsulate and one pair that's got more webbing. It's a nice gadget, but I'll probably do some other modifications before I get to heated grips.

 

try 'em, you'll love 'em
really
sometimes too, warm winter gloves can get a little bulky
especially when new, they can make it difficult to operate the controls with finesse
now, that has gooten better over the years with modern technology in fabrics, but still not as good as a summer glove, or a 3 season glove
with heated grips, you can use your 3 season gloves, and get that added sense of tactile feel in the controls, down to downright freezing temps
most of us, have had bikes without heated grips before, and once you have them, you won't go back
especially around here, were you can see pretty big temperature differences in a pretty small area
just going from Sausalito to Stinson, can be some BIG changes, you don't have to pull over and get the gloves out, just flip the switch

 

I went the fairly wimpy way, and ordered the Honda part that comes with the wiring harness.
However, on my old '98, it had the Hot Grips ones. I didn't install them, they were on the bike when I got it. However, when I did a service on the bike, I saw that the wiring job was so incredibly bad and they didn't turn off with the ignition, that I ripped it out, and started fresh. Beleive in or not, the wire was just placed under one of the prongs of one of the fuses. I thought it was bad, but it worked, and I left it that way. I just flipped it to the other prong of the same fuse to make them turn off with the ignition. It was a red fuse, and if you sent me a picture of your fuse block, I could probly ID it for you.
And I was just in San Diego last week to visit a buddy from High School, could have helped you out...
But, hey, as long as I am talking about him, I will plug his web site! www.fixmyhog.com ;-)