• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

  • Beginning April 1st, and running through April 30th, there is a new 2024 BMW MOA Election discussion area within The Club section of the forum. Within this forum area is also a sticky post that provides the ground rules for participating in the Election forum area. Also, the candidates statements are provided. Please read before joining the conversation, because the rules are very specific to maintain civility.

    The Election forum is here: Election Forum

Choosing Electrics

BRADFORDBENN

BRADFORDBENN

Slowpoke & Proud of It!
Hello All-

I know that this thread has also appeared on the IBMWR, but figured I would poll here as well.

In an effort to combat PMS I am stocking up on warm clothes. My wife got me the HyperTex Overpants for Valentine's Day. They work great so far.

The layering is working pretty well for the upper body, but after becoming an Umpalumpa cause of all the layers I think it is time to look into Electrics.

So I have decided that I want to get something for the upper body. So now the options and choices:

Vest or full shirt? I am leaning toward full shirt.

Brand? Aerostich, Gerbing, Widder, Eclipse... etc.

Comments?
Cliches?
Commentaries?

Thanks!
 
Gerbing Liner.

:thumb

If you think you might ever need them, get the pigtails for gloves and chaps that are heated as well.
 
Heated clothing is wonderful. I'll wear the vest long before I resort to a big puffy warm layer of polartec under my 'stich.

Gerbing is the hands down favorite. Their jacket liner isn't bulky and produces prodigious heat. The downside is that they are damn expensive once you've added the necessary thermostat and other bits.

Widder/ Aerostich: from what I can tell, the performance is similar between their vests. The heat is sufficient, but not overwhelming. I have an older Aerostich vest that's just barely enough to keep me warm on a truly cold day (humid and below 32??F), but is more than sufficient on all other days.

The Widder vests come with the extra option of adding more heated bits.

My recommendation? If you can afford it, the Gerbing. If you can't, either the Widder or the Aerostich. And if you're truly cheap or thrifty, look for them used. Lots of people sell them lightly used after they gear has "shrunk". I bought my Aerostich vest used for something like $70 and it has worked just fine for nearly 5 years.
 
I would highly recommend a full liner rather than just a vest.

My Gerbing has a nice, high heated collar too. I'm not sure if the Aerostitch liner's collar is heated.
 
What's the total price of a fully equipped Gerbing these days. Anyone bought one recently?
 
here's another couple of questions to make things interesting: how much difference, given equal garment setups, is there in the energy draw between brands, and which gives the best heat for the wattage, for those of us who have less than 700 watts to work with?
 
I've never had a Gerbing, which is what everyone recommends, so I can't compare it. But I fell into a killer deal on the new BMW vest.

It has NO WIRES. Instead, it has an elecroresistive material that heats up uniformly. The tag says it's made from the usual materials, but includes "1% Aluminum" at the bottom. Consumes 37 watts. Comes with a molded plastic controller with a "chicklet" style button that is off/low/high, with two LEDs to indicate the position.

I find it very light and surprisingly warm. I've ridden with nothing but a T shirt under it, in a Savannah II jacket (which is lightweight and doesn't block the wind that well) down to about freezing, and found it acceptable. (Of course, my arms were cold, but I wasn't cold, overall.)

It's worth trying, and I'd be very curious to know how it compares with the Gerbing vest, if anyone else has had the chance to do that.
 
knary said:
What's the total price of a fully equipped Gerbing these days. Anyone bought one recently?
Click to expand...

Gerbing/77 watts
$199 for liner
$ 69 for thermostat
$ 15 for accessory plug
= $283 + shipping

Aerostitch/70 watts
$227 for liner
$ 30 for windproof fabric (which I don't recommend)
$ 57 for thermostat
$ 12 for BMW adaptor
= $326 + shipping

I'm sure that Brad knows all of that and more though. ;)

A difference of $43. One big difference in the jackets is their texture - the AStitch looks like any other fleece jacket and you can wear it anywhere, anytime. The Gerbing looks like an electric jacket. However, the Gerbing is sort of a slick fabric that makes putting on a shell easy whereas the fleece (in my experience) sort of grabs a shell as you put it on.

Also, the Gerbing has cords inside it. I don't know about the 'Stitch.
 
boxergrrlie said:
Gerbing/77 watts
$199 for liner
$ 69 for thermostat
$ 15 for accessory plug
= $283 + shipping

Aerostitch/70 watts
$227 for liner
$ 30 for windproof fabric (which I don't recommend)
$ 57 for thermostat
$ 12 for BMW adaptor
= $326 + shipping

I'm sure that Brad knows all of that and more though. ;)
Click to expand...

Got you fooled. :p

Actually there is one other detail, that makes a difference. I can drive/ride down and try on a Gerbing during lunch and possibly walk out with one. I am not the best "waiter" for stuff to show up.

To me sales tax = shipping so that is a wash, but the fact that I can try it on and make sure I gots all the parts is the important part.

Now the funny part, most people think of the shop I would go to for the Gerbings a Harley place. I know better it is a motorcycle shop. Their slogan "It doesn't matter what you ride, it is if you ride".
 
From what I understand, you can live without the thermostat on the stuff from the other companies, but you MUST have it for the Gerbings.

I'll happily pay $100 for this stuff, but nearing $300 seems sorta silly for a thin jacket with some wires in it. I dunno. Why is this stuff so expensive?
 
I don't have a thermostat. I have one of those funky lamp switches on mine.

Too hot = off.

Too cold = on.

I think I paid $175 for mine a few years ago.

:dunno
 
I got one of those thermostat thingies with the jacket
(G-bings) and it was pretty cheap. Less than $20 I think.

I started with a vest ('stich) and while it's good for short
trips, any time on the bike and you'll want a jacket.

The price of electrics is too high. But so is the price of a
fleece jacket (hmmmm....about the name) made from
recycled bottles.

Ian
 
boxergrrlie said:
I would highly recommend a full liner rather than just a vest.

My Gerbing has a nice, high heated collar too. I'm not sure if the Aerostitch liner's collar is heated.
Click to expand...

Yes, there's heat in the collars of the AeroStich vest and liner, but the collars aren't near as high as the Gerbings, and there isn't as much heat, either.

OTOH, I think the AeroStich stuff is much better as an off-the-bike garments. Snap it into the Darien with the slick side in, and the jacket's easy to put on and take off. Take it out of the Darien and wear it fuzzy side in for more warmth when off the bike.

Still...there are some days (in the tule fog in the Central Valley comes to mind) when I wish I still had the Gerbings...
 
boxergrrlie said:
Gerbing/77 watts
$199 for liner
$ 69 for thermostat
$ 15 for accessory plug
= $283 + shipping
Click to expand...

Being able to ride in colder weather... Priceless

BG is definitely an expert. After this robust panel came up with the same recommendations as the IBMWR List today during lunch I went and picked up the jacket, thermostat, accessory plug and tax, out the door at $290.

Tried it on and the heat in the jacket is Holy Cats good. Nice even, fast, hot, fast, hot,,,, got thermostat.

Assuming the rain stops, riding tomorrow.
 
BradfordBenn said:
Being able to ride in colder weather... Priceless

BG is definitely an expert. After this robust panel came up with the same recommendations as the IBMWR List today during lunch I went and picked up the jacket, thermostat, accessory plug and tax, out the door at $290.

Tried it on and the heat in the jacket is Holy Cats good. Nice even, fast, hot, fast, hot,,,, got thermostat.

Assuming the rain stops, riding tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Rain? we don't care about no stinnnkin' rain!

Congrats on the gerbing. Excellent choice. What? You want to adopt me as your new little brother? ok. I'll take a Gerbing liner in medium.
 
BradfordBenn said:
Being able to ride in colder weather... Priceless
Click to expand...

You GO Brad! Don't you let ol' mother nature get you down.

You, or your bike. Seriously, Brad, watch out for the ice!
 
DOHP!

31 Degrees and drizzle.

Mother Nature 1, Electrics 0.

I think it is a day to not ride when you can see from inside that the entire street is glimmering with ice, not just patches.
 
Heh. I forgot to add that I saw, I think at IBMWR's tech articles, that somebody has posted a very thorough treatise on how to electrify any garment. He even included a formula for determining how much wire to use for how much heat vs. electric consumption. That BMW even heat thingee sounds like a real quantum leap too, but knowing BMW I'm sure it's about half the price of a new RT.
I'm also still cooking ideas in my head for the opposite: an active-cooled jacket for climes like we see down here in TexSux in the summertime. Gets to be a real armpit!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
Heated gear rant..
2 3
Replies
59
Views
3K
crna59
crna59
2
Electrical/Starter problems on 1972 /5
2
Replies
34
Views
2K
kbasa
kbasa
R
How many MC pairs of pants for 15 days?
2 3
Replies
49
Views
22K
rick601
R
jcabiles
Another Accident Recap
Replies
17
Views
5K
davidballen
davidballen
M
[USA] SC to SoCal Solo Ride - Feb 2019
Replies
12
Views
6K
jgoertz
J
Back
Top