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electric Heat

merrittgene said:
(I ended up cutting the end off and crimping some spade connectors to it, and then bypassing my BMW plug recepticle. Lesson: carry extra crimp connectors in addition to the Leatherman.

Now, if you look at my bike, where the seat meets the tank you will find 1 Widder connector and one gerbings connectors. These run straight off the battery. They are there for 2 reasons:

1) So I don't need to find nice people in motorhomes. i.e. back-up.

2) When it gets REAL COLD, like 0 F ambient, I pull off the heat troller and extra cord and plug the gerbings jacket straight into the backup plug. This gives the little bit of Wattage the heat toller uses to the jacket and shortens the cord lowering resistance and runs all the way from the battery on heavier gauge cord. You'd be surprised how much more warmth you can get when it is actually cold out.

All that said, I've had Widder, it all dies and the Gerbings warranty can't be beat. My arms were cold, the bottom of the arms when I used the arm chaps. Widder is dead right about the heat transfer when the garment is tight. Therefore I have a tight long sleeved T shirt I pull over the Gerbings to snug it to me.

Ahh, heat.
 
Will said:
I would also recommend one of those wind stopper under helmet neck gaiters, picked one and tested this past weekend for a couple of hours at temp of 30 - 40 and it was like summer with vest on low and grips on high.

Oh yes. I have a Balacava with the wind stopper from the chin down. This does a most exellent job of making a huge difference. Really one of the best investments I've made.
 
BouncinBob said:
My arms were cold, the bottom of the arms when I used the arm chaps. Widder is dead right about the heat transfer when the garment is tight. Therefore I have a tight long sleeved T shirt I pull over the Gerbings to snug it to me.

I learned the same thing...the Gerbing liner doesn't do much for the underside of my arms *unless* it's touching them.

I'll have to try the t-shirt idea. Thanks!
 
Go for the Gerbings WITH heated gloves

I concur with the recomendations for the Gerbings jacket liner. One of the best features of having the sleeves is that you can opt for connections for heated gloves. Now that I have them, I wonder why I rode so long without them.
My new ride has heated grips but when it is really cold, the heated grips with the heated gloves make a big difference. Maybe I am just a wuss, like KBasa, :bliss but cold hands make for an uncomfortable ride.

Get the sleeves with connectors for heated gloves.

tb
 
I picked up the full jacket liner from Gerbings and couldn't be happier with it. Full sleves and the high collar work wonders. For my hands I just picked up a set of Handlebar Mitts like you find on ATV sites, then just punched some holes for the mirror stems. They work great with light gloves down the high 20's without any heating eliments. For those really cold, long rides just throw some chemical heating pads inside the mitts. They cost me around 40 bux and take all of 5 minutes to put on when it starts turning cold.

RM
 
Vest vs. Liner - Aerostich

Greetings,

My mate/girlfriend/sweetheart and I have a couple of Aerostich Kanestsu vests that we've used for a year or two. They're comfy down to about 50 on our GS Adventure, but below that they don't cut the mustard.

On a recent trip that turned cold and nasty, we both decided that warm arms are not optional.

I'd been planning to sell the vests and get the Aerostich windblock heated liners, but this thread has caused me to seriously consider the Gerbings instead. I really like most of the gear I've gotten from Aerostich, but haven't heard anything from someone who has one of their liners.

Anyone with personal experience of Aerostich liners?
 
aerostitch vest

I've had great luck with mine. I think it's how you wear/layer. I wear a long sleeve t-shirt, then the vest, then aerostitich suit. This is good down to about 40. Below that I throw a lightweight fleece pullover between the vest and suit, then I'm good down to high 20's. Doesn't get much colder than that around here.
 
Meant to say this is riding an 1100GS with standard windshield and heated grips with medium weight gloves.
 
nospamsatx said:
Greetings,

My mate/girlfriend/sweetheart and I have a couple of Aerostich Kanestsu vests that we've used for a year or two. They're comfy down to about 50 on our GS Adventure, but below that they don't cut the mustard.

On a recent trip that turned cold and nasty, we both decided that warm arms are not optional.

I'd been planning to sell the vests and get the Aerostich windblock heated liners, but this thread has caused me to seriously consider the Gerbings instead. I really like most of the gear I've gotten from Aerostich, but haven't heard anything from someone who has one of their liners.

Anyone with personal experience of Aerostich liners?

I don't have any personal experience, but something that may want to take into consideration is the price. The Gerbings is a bit cheaper than the Stich isn't it?
 
Yes to Gerbing

I had a grand time on the phone just ordering the gloves (I opted against the purchase of the whole suit due to lack of $ at the time and have gone on to purchase other foul weather riding gear)...very nice folks on the other end. Best of all, after 5 years and 80,000+ miles, the gloves (which have been through many downpours and even a touch of snow) are still going strong.

With the gloves, if the temperature is above about 45 degrees, hands can get a bit too warm. You would not want this effect with the whole suit or even just the vest. I would suggest that you get the temperature controls.
 
gerbing=warm love

My old eclips/bmw vest died last yr. so after some rally & parking lot research I went w/a gerbing vest & socks plus heat controler,the bike has htd. grips..I'd get into more detail but it's gettin light out & I'm going for a ride in the Berkshires,note to self:beware blake ice :doh
 
Greetings,

As you can see the majority prefer Gerbing. When I was first shopping for electrics I asked a YB we call the Savant of the Pavement. He said Gerbing. He then told me to look around for used gear and note how many vest I saw vs the Gerbing (this was 7-8 yes ago). Astute observation.

I now have a pair of electric socks, pants and a newer jacket. I wear thin poly pro under the socks and pants with a poly zip turtleneck under the jacket. Under a Darien on the GS I am good to 50 at highway speeds for anytime. Once it gets colder I put a very thin shell with a light poly pro liner over the Gerbing. It is not too bulky and I can't think of any combo that would be any warmer with less bulk. Like BB I have a balacava for when it gets "real" cold.

I also have the BMW Winter Gloves. My hands have never been cold. My longest cold ride was a BBG back from Branson a number of years ago. From NJ to RI the high temp was 20. The ride turned into a BBG because it was just too cold for the IB motel and I didn't want to get a room. This was on a K11LT, I don't think I could have handled it on the GS.

My Gerbing jacket lives in the lid of one of my panniers year round. I consider it part of my safety gear.

Best,

Rob Nye
 
And they're so darn stylish

Today was a good day for tops & bottoms. I wore polypro top, then my 2004 Downeast Rally long sleeve top, jacket, leggings, pants, ski socks, tall boots, 'stitch, balaclava...then I'm so hot from getting dressed, it takes at least 30 minutes before I turn anything on! I would recommend getting the thermostat, no sense skimping at that point.

I learned last season that just having the jacket, while nice for some temperature ranges, like the 50's; I couldn't ride in colder weather because I would shiver with my top half warm and bottom half cold - even with a full fairing.
 

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heat

if your vests or gloves are too hot run them through a old style mechanical turn signal.you can use a DPDT switch to either go through the relay or in the other position it goes straight to the vest.the relay blinking on and off turns the vest on and off and cuts the heat in half.
 
My old Eclipse electric vest has finaly quit, any recomendations, new vest or a full heated jacket? I have been looking at Aerostich Kanetsu windblock electric vests and jackets but don't know if I need heated sleeves or not.

I rode for the first couple of seasons with a heated vest. It seemed as if my arms were always exposed and very cold. The cold arm problem disappeared when I purchased the long sleeve Gerbing's jacket liner. Definitely picked up dual controls for the liner and gloves; they're never at the same temperature. Permanently mounting them as worked well for m. :ca
 
I bought a Powerlet heated liner for my wife and she's very happy with it. It gives off a lot of heat, and they say it can be packed down smaller than a Gerbing, not as fragile.
 
I bought a Powerlet heated liner for my wife and she's very happy with it. It gives off a lot of heat, and they say it can be packed down smaller than a Gerbing, not as fragile.

+1 The Powerlet jacket is made by Warm and Safe. I like it better then my old Gerbings jacket. It packs smaller and has 105 watts of heat, which is warmer then the Gerbings.
 
Gerbings is the best IMHO. With that said I purchased the Tourmaster liner with sleeves, and the gloves. Less than 1/2 the price. very warm. My last trip, high 20's approx 300 miles round trip and I was toasty warm on the medium setting. I had on a long sleeve tee, the liner and my outer shell to my 3/4 jacket. I do ride an RT so I have a lot of plastic up front. Did not even use the heated grips as the gloves did the trick. I do work outside and the cold does not seem to bother me as much as some others. This is my first winter with new electrics, not counting the BMW vest that I used for years. :thumb
 
Gerbing

I've had Warm & Safe and Gerbings. I prefer the Gerbings. Like most apparel stuff, the reason there's a couple major brands is one works better for some, and the other works better for others.

I would suggest if you go with Gerbing, buy direct. If you buy direct, you pretty much get a 30 day no questions asked return policy as long as the item isn't damaged. Don't like it, they'll take it back. I've used it a couple times and the service was awesome.
 
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