Foam grips love or hate?

[ExKellick]

Anyone got any opinions on foam grips (sure a can of worms is about to be opened here).

I have considered them a number of times but am not sure of the issues. Someone in an older thread said they were a love or hate proposition.

Let's hear why. What are the benefits / problems?

[TheNomad]

I personally don't like them. What you gain in comfort, you lose in "feel".

MD

[NotSoFast]

They also tend to breakdown in heat and sunlight very quickly. I used to run them on an Interceptor I had in 1983 because the stock grips at that time were the standard japanese hard ribbed rubber. The foam grips were the only real replacements available. They were comfortable, but here in Central California where it gets to be 110 degrees in the summer, they would break down pretty fast.

[Calliway]

Hate them. They look cheap, they break down and if they get wet..... you get wet hands that take forever to dry.

[JohnR955]

As mentioned, they were an only alternative back in the day. You might want to look into some of the gel grips that Pro Grip makes. I had a set on my old Bandit and felt a big difference with no discernible loss of feel. On a releated note, I got a Throttle Rocker for Christmas and it's a big help with hand comfort.

[dolson]

It's not like grips are expensive or anything hard to change out. Try some until you end up with what you like. I have two different ones on. The right has more of a palm swell that fits that hand better and the left is more straight.
My right hand has taken a beating through the years, Thumb severed/reattached, re-broken/reattached, blah, blah,blah. As a result there isn't much meat and no feeling there so it's better for me to have a bit more to hang on to where the fingers have the feeling.
Anyhow, it has taken a little experimentation to get the right combination.

[STcharlie]

I tried 'em a bunch of years back. I found that I would squeeze harder with the foam grips, and my hands would get very tired very quickly compared to regular hard grips. I personally like the new gel grips I put on last year...not too soft...not too hard...just right...for me that is. As others have said, they're cheap and easy to try!

Charlie...

[peeti]

naive question: what size are the bars on the 08 (and related) Sprints?

I'd like to get some gel grips - had them before on a bike I bought. Would love to dial some of the vibe out.

P

[TattooedRedHead]

Had a set on my little around town 300cc chopper, and they were crap, nice and soft but they got terribly hot in the sun and look incredibly cheap.

It's like I went out to target and bought some bicycle grips

I'll stick with my stock grips any day.

--Kory

[Mark S.]

I've been riding a Harley for several years, so when I got the Sprint, the stock grips felt like toothpicks. I needed a thicker feel. So I bought the cheap foam grip covers that you slide over the stock grip. Inexpensive, fit perfectly, looks OK, feels good, won't slip, easily removed.

Mark