First off never use WD40 in your switchgear.. ITS AN INSULTOR... its designed to stop elecrical crossover.. and it does this very well.... if you have ever sprayed in on a bad HT lead you know what I mean...
It will also turn your connections black... stripped and cleaned far to many switchgear over the years because people had used WD in there...
It was fine until sometime in the mid (or early) 80's when the british army wanted something stronger/better insulating to drop there alternator windings into when servicing - So the formula for WD was changed... not that this was advertised... but it definightly was changed...
And as for the modern stuff.... know plenty of mechanics who will not use it...
Oh Yes... if you use it to "lube" your cables it now freezes in the winter too..
Use a proper electrical cleaner/ lubricator to clean/ lube things... less hassle in the long run..
Hopefully a clean may get he grips working again but if not then a really good alternative for the Uly is the Kiess "Chicane" grips... same barrel shape as the originals and a much easier to grip as more "gel" like.. search for a review and mine should pop up...
http://buellpaul.blogspot.co.uk/