Heated gear findings

[kjenckes]

Lots of discussion lately about heated gear. Took delivery this week of First Gear socks, pants liner, 90 watt jacket, gloves, and dual remote control. Having ridden in all kinds of cold weather in the past , and hating it,these are great. They run off my 1600 Nomad with out any problems. I rode home from my son's football game last night in 40 degree weather and had the remote controls barely on and was nice and toasty. Far warmer than I was on the bleachers. I do have engine guard chaps also. I rode with jeans over the pants liners and a fleece coat over the jacket. I think with a thin gortex layer these will keep me plenty warm here in NH through the winter. Light layers and easy movement. The dual remote sits on my clutch housing so I can see it and change settings quite easily. I am finding that once it's dialed in it gets pretty hot when you stop at a light or toll booth. Sure wish I bought these years sooner.

[Top Cat]

What is th cost of all that heat if you don;t mind saying

[schoeney]

Originally Posted by Top Cat

What is th cost of all that heat if you don;t mind saying

Tim I just got 40% off on a pair of First Gear Gloves -net was $78 and a Jacket Liner net $120. I bought a different brand controller ($60) because I did not want the FG controller...wanted the "portable" type,. Not wireless or permanent. My bike already had the battery to barrel type connector wired. Works great.

[id-man]

And everything plugs into a single source? (To dismount there's just one plug?). I plan to hook up a FirstGear jacket/glove liner set this weekend. I've had it since June and now it's time to let it rip. Long ride planned Sunday. Weeeeeee

[napom]

Originally Posted by id-man

And everything plugs into a single source? (To dismount there's just one plug?). I plan to hook up a FirstGear jacket/glove liner set this weekend. I've had it since June and now it's time to let it rip. Long ride planned Sunday. Weeeeeee

I have my vest and gloves wired to one plug which hides nicely between the nose of the seat and the pouch on my tank bib. I have a wired dual heat troller that I clip on my belt - Sit on the bike, start it up and plug it in . . . I have occaisionally forgot to disconnect before dismount, but when I do that, it disconnects itself without issue. Love riding with the heat on - its like being wrapped in a fresh baked cookie right out of the oven

[glwilson]

For those in the cold-regions... having heated clothing (at least a jacket or vest) is the greatest.

You'll wonder why you didn't go without food (if that is what it takes) to afford buying it!

Love my setup...

[BigRed]

Originally Posted by napom

Love riding with the heat on - its like being wrapped in a fresh baked cookie right out of the oven

How exactly do you know what that feels like?

[napom]

Originally Posted by BigRed

How exactly do you know what that feels like?

I can only imagine - Its something I have dreamed about - usually a couple of nights into a camping experience in the woods on a very cold night . . . In my dreams it feels very nice - and when I wake up, I don't even have to leave the tent for breakfast - then I really wake up and generally have to stumble to a tree in the dark . . .

[blowndodge]

Originally Posted by napom

I can only imagine - Its something I have dreamed about - usually a couple of nights into a camping experience in the woods on a very cold night . . . In my dreams it feels very nice - and when I wake up, I don't even have to leave the tent for breakfast - then I really wake up and generally have to stumble to a tree in the dark . . .

All the while taking care not to wake up Joel and Scott!

[ACDCfn]

I've looked at every heating gear option on the market known to man for the past two weeks. Powerlet, VH, First Gear, Gerbing, you name it I've tried it on, researched and tested it. Here's what I found so far. Liners (pant, jacket, gloves) are the cheapest way to go. However, that's presuming you already have decent winter gear and don't mind wearing multiple layers. Many of these work with each other from different companies as long as they use same plugs (most modern ones do). Unfortunately in my case I do not own any gear that is armored. While I don't mind riding with just a leather jacket and riding jeans in the summer, black ice, poor friction on frozen asphalt increase the chances of you making contact with the ground and I will not do that without wearing proper protection. That would require me to buy new pants, new jacket, new gloves, new shoes and then buy new heated liners for each and a dual wireless heat troller. As you can imagine not realistic for a guy riding Vaquero (let's face it there is a reason I did not purchase Road Glide, BMW 1600 GTL or Indian Chieftain). Of course there is a third option for me, being new armored winter gear with heated lining built in. Here in lies the problem.... Currently there are no company that makes armored winter pants with built in heated liner. Gerbing did make a winter armored jacket with removable, zippered heater liner called "Gerbing Hybrid Lt" and it's bigger brother "Gerbing Extreme". The problem is, they discontinued both because they were readying a brand new line of winter gear with removable heated liners, namely "Gerbing EX Jacket", "Gerbing EX Pants" and "Gerbing EX Gloves". There are still few odd size leftovers of the Hybrid LT jacket in some stores and on ebay. However, because these are discontinued they better fit you right the first time cause no returns in these. If you can find a leftover Hybrid LT jacket I highly recommend it!!! You can use it on and off the bike with their optional FlexPack battery which charges while you ride. I saw some on eBay for as cheap as $250. That's is an insanely good deal. You can use it with or without heated liner (removable with a zipper) all 4 seasons. My sizing is odd so I am not willing to risk $250 online but if I catch one in store that I can try on I will snatch it in a second. Unfortunately, there are no winter heated pants in existence for me :( More bad news is because Gerbing hit some sort of a snag in their production they will not be releasing their "EX" line of jacket, pants and gloves until January 15. It is fully redesigned line and the only one that offers a zippered removable heated liner as a part of a quality, armored 4 season pants and jacket. Looks like I will be riding bundled up in blankets till January 15th and by then it will be well into the teens here, ouch! Anyway I've gotten a pretty good experience looking and researching all the heated and non heated winter gear options so if anyone has any questions I will gladly share my knowledge. I've looked into single piece suits as well, such as Scorpion Passport, Tourmaster Centurion and Okympia Phantom but I won't go into those here.

[badboy194]

Originally Posted by ACDCfn

I've looked at every heating gear option on the market known to man for the past two weeks. Powerlet, VH, First Gear, Gerbing, you name it I've tried it on, researched and tested it. Here's what I found so far. Liners (pant, jacket, gloves) are the cheapest way to go. However, that's presuming you already have decent winter gear and don't mind wearing multiple layers. Many of these work with each other from different companies as long as they use same plugs (most modern ones do). Unfortunately in my case I do not own any gear that is armored. While I don't mind riding with just a leather jacket and riding jeans in the summer, black ice, poor friction on frozen asphalt increase the chances of you making contact with the ground and I will not do that without wearing proper protection. That would require me to buy new pants, new jacket, new gloves, new shoes and then buy new heated liners for each and a dual wireless heat troller. As you can imagine not realistic for a guy riding Vaquero (let's face it there is a reason I did not purchase Road Glide, BMW 1600 GTL or Indian Chieftain). Of course there is a third option for me, being new armored winter gear with heated lining built in. Here in lies the problem.... Currently there are no company that makes armored winter pants with built in heated liner. Gerbing did make a winter armored jacket with removable, zippered heater liner called "Gerbing Hybrid Lt" and it's bigger brother "Gerbing Extreme". The problem is, they discontinued both because they were readying a brand new line of winter gear with removable heated liners, namely "Gerbing EX Jacket", "Gerbing EX Pants" and "Gerbing EX Gloves". There are still few odd size leftovers of the Hybrid LT jacket in some stores and on ebay. However, because these are discontinued they better fit you right the first time cause no returns in these. If you can find a leftover Hybrid LT jacket I highly recommend it!!! You can use it on and off the bike with their optional FlexPack battery which charges while you ride. I saw some on eBay for as cheap as $250. That's is an insanely good deal. You can use it with or without heated liner (removable with a zipper) all 4 seasons. My sizing is odd so I am not willing to risk $250 online but if I catch one in store that I can try on I will snatch it in a second. Unfortunately, there are no winter heated pants in existence for me :( More bad news is because Gerbing hit some sort of a snag in their production they will not be releasing their "EX" line of jacket, pants and gloves until January 15. It is fully redesigned line and the only one that offers a zippered removable heated liner as a part of a quality, armored 4 season pants and jacket. Looks like I will be riding bundled up in blankets till January 15th and by then it will be well into the teens here, ouch! Anyway I've gotten a pretty good experience looking and researching all the heated and non heated winter gear options so if anyone has any questions I will gladly share my knowledge. I've looked into single piece suits as well, such as Scorpion Passport, Tourmaster Centurion and Okympia Phantom but I won't go into those here.

Thanks for the info. I have planned a few cool weather trips soon and your info was very helpful.

[blowndodge]

I have a Tourmaster vest and heated grips and seat to keep me warm in So. Cal chilly 40 degree morning winter months!

[schoeney]

Originally Posted by blowndodge

I have a Tourmaster vest and heated grips and seat to keep me warm in So. Cal chilly 40 degree morning winter months!

Gee that helps

[carpeviam]

Originally Posted by blowndodge

I have a Tourmaster vest and heated grips and seat to keep me warm in So. Cal chilly 40 degree morning winter months!

I'm considering heated grips myself. I've ridden to work when it has been as cold as 25 deg and the only part of me that gets cold is my hands. What grips do you have, would you recommend them, and do you know if they will fit an '04 Nomad 1500?

As for cold weather gear, I have a Tourmaster Transition 3.0 jacket that I wear a sweatshirt under when it drops below 40, Icon Patrol over pants and Icon Patrol gloves. I am able to wear the jacket in the summer by taking the liner out, opening the vents and removing my windshield.

[Peg]

Originally Posted by carpeviam

I'm considering heated grips myself. I've ridden to work when it has been as cold as 25 deg and the only part of me that gets cold is my hands. What grips do you have, would you recommend them, and do you know if they will fit an '04 Nomad 1500?

As for cold weather gear, I have a Tourmaster Transition 3.0 jacket that I wear a sweatshirt under when it drops below 40, Icon Patrol over pants and Icon Patrol gloves. I am able to wear the jacket in the summer by taking the liner out, opening the vents and removing my windshield.

I installed Avon air cushion grips on the Nomad, and love them... I think the Voyager will be getting the heated version... exactly the same grip, but with warmth and a 4 setting controller. Very nice... All models of their Air-90 grip fit just about any metric bike you can think of - each set comes with a selection of various throttle fittings.

BTW... I also use Tourmaster's Transition 3.0 It's a very nice jacket for the price. I prefer a couple of thin layers of Marino wool clothing under mine.