Keeping warm.

[mick56]

Anyone got one of these ? I never really appreciated, how much protection my old Nomad gave me. I am freezing my arse off on the Triumph. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Electric-...72.m2749.l2649

[Peg]

If you're freezing your arse off on the Triumph, I'll give you two options...

Option one: Come down here for your winter / our summer. I'll lend you a Voyager or help you onto some other mode of transport to tour the shaky isles. Temps are around 20C now, & will stay between there & 30C until about March.

Option two: Buy the damn heated jacket liner!

I bought Cec (she on the left in my avatar) a heated jacket liner for her birthday quite a few years ago. It was September 14th, and we were about to embark on a late winter (our time) tour across the South Island a couple of weeks later.

Cec doesn't like that sort of useful gift. She prefers jewelry / bling etc. She sort of sniffed a bit, and said "thanks very much", but in that voice - you know the one... The one that means you stuffed up a bit.

Two weeks later we're in the South Island... Running late after the ferry was delayed, turning dark trying to find a quick bypass around Christchurch & into the Canterbury plains to get to our next booked accommodation in Ashburton... It's effing freezing. Frost forming on the sides of the road, I can hardly feel my hands any more.

Cec clicks the heat up a notch & tells me excitedly over the intercom... "This is the BEST PRESENT YOU EVER BOUGHT ME!!!

We still have that jacket liner. It goes with us on every tour we ever set out on no matter what season it is... "Just in case", she says.

So Option two is quite a bit cheaper than Option one. But for you, old buddy, both options remain open.

[mick56]

Thank you mate. I would love to visit NZ some day. My sister had 3 months there last year, and was really impressed with the place. If my old man ever falls of his perch, and makes me a wealthy man, i will give you a shout.

Meanwhile, i will wait for the heated jacket to arrive.

[Sabre-t]

I would pass on that particular vest. That was my first thought when I saw the price. Then I saw the specs. 5V/2A, that's only 10 Watts. It can be powered by a USB port! Each of my gloves uses more than that (11 Watt per glove). 10 Watts is not much heat for the area it covers. If you are that cold riding, this vest is probably not going to help much. There are battery powered vests that will provide much more heat but they do cost a lot more.

[mick56]

Originally Posted by Sabre-t

I would pass on that particular vest. That was my first thought when I saw the price. Then I saw the specs. 5V/2A, that's only 10 Watts. It can be powered by a USB port! Each of my gloves uses more than that (11 Watt per glove). 10 Watts is not much heat for the area it covers. If you are that cold riding, this vest is probably not going to help much. There are battery powered vests that will provide much more heat but they do cost a lot more.

That price changes to £16 +, once you enter the size and colour you want. I have now spoken to several people that have them. And they reckon they are brilliant. So i bought one. Just have to remember to unplug it from the handlebars when i get off.

[Sabre-t]

Originally Posted by mick56

That price changes to £16 +, once you enter the size and colour you want. I have now spoken to several people that have them. And they reckon they are brilliant. So i bought one. Just have to remember to unplug it from the handlebars when i get off.

I did see the price change. That vest runs off a battery pack that is not included in that price. I do hope it works well for you.

[mick56]

Originally Posted by Sabre-t

I did see the price change. That vest runs off a battery pack that is not included in that price. I do hope it works well for you.

I have a plug in on the handlebars, so don't need a battery pack. I will let you know how it works out.

[andyvh1959]

Once you go to heated riding gear you'll wonder why you ever put up with the cold in the past. I have a heated jacket liner and heated overpants. I can plug the pants into the jacket liner and plug both into a harness on the bike. DELICOUS warmth, plus it keeps your kidneys warm, which are against the big back muscles. Keep those kidneys and muscles warm and you'll be more relaxed on the bike.

Heated grips help too. If you keep the body core warm the extremities, legs/feet/hands also do better. The jacket liner should have heat down the arms through the armpits down to the wrists. Also should have a heated collar.

But, a heated liner (150watts) and heated overpants (90watts) can really tax the output of your bike alternator. Ignition and lights can easily use 100watts. So you bike, at the speeds you ride, better produce at least 500watts of power to meet the load and still charge the battery while riding. The rating of your bike alternator posted in your owners manual is speed dependent, and is usually shown at its highest output. If your alternator puts out 500watts at 4,000 rpm may only produce just over 300watts at 2500 rpm. So you may have to ride a gear lower to speed the engine up to meet the electrical load. My BMW R1200RT makes 700watts of power at 4500 rpm. So even at 3200 rpm in 6th gear at 70mph it produces 495+ watts of power to keep up. I can run my heated gear, heated grips, heated seat and have no issues charging the battery while I ride in cold weather.

My VN1600 Classic though, even with two stators, produces about 560watts of power tops, at 5000 rpm. NONE of us ride at 5,000 rpm, more like 2800 to maybe 3200 rpm at the speeds for US highways. That means the total stator output is about 315 watts to 350 watts. So for my heated gear load, without heated grips or seat, my VN1600 "just" keeps up to charge the battery while riding. That is also if I do not have extra lights, stereo, etc.

[mick56]

It arrived today. The on/off button lights up, but it don't get warm at all. The little Chinaman has been informed, and i am waiting for his reply. Going on past experience, their ebay interpreter, must be more pissed up than i am.

[ringadingh]

Ive always worn my snowmobile gear in the cold, right down into the teens f. and never been cold in my body. As far as my hands and feet go they get cold easily regardless of how good the boots nd gloves are. But thets kind of acceptable riding in Canada. Although this November has been the warmest I can ever remember a lot of days. Today it was 60 here and I rode in my Tee shirt. On Sunday were expecting 7" of snow!

[andyvh1959]

I have ridden a lot in temps in the 30s F, which to me is like really warm snowmobile weather. Coldest I have ridden in is 17 F in January. With the right gear, tolerable. Done a lot of snowmobile riding in similar temps, so really kinda equal, as long as the roads are free of ice. Cold is like rain, it'll find whatever hole or gap you have in your riding gear and focus the cold right there, intensely.

[mick56]

After much arguing, i got a refund. So i ordered another one, from a different Chinaman, only to find the same problem. I discovered, that despite having a heating element all over the back, only the neck gets warm. More arguing, and the Chinaman claims, that the element in the neck will transfer heat all over the back, eventually. Bullshit. There are hundreds of these on ebay, all making the same false claims. Yet ebay wont remove their adverts ? Anyone got a recommendation for a decent one, that i can wear under my jacket ?

[andyvh1959]

I have always had good experience with Gerbing products, even after the original Gerbing family sold the business. A good jacket liner, with the elements going all over the liner and down the sleeves to offer plug ins for gloves, costs nearly $200.

This is a case of really getting what you pay for. My 1st Gerbing liner that I bought in the mid 90's still works to this day. The other Gerbing products I bought also still work as intended many years of use later.

[mick56]

Thanks Andy. But i wasn't looking to spend that amount. By the time i shipped one to England, paid the import duty and customs handling, it would be a $350 coat. I could buy a nice warm car for that kind of money.

[redjay]

Or a lot of trips on the bus or train. Are you old enough for the free bus pass or the discount rail tickets yet ?