In my experience, I'd rather have a liner that's very thin, with zero insulation. but made of windblocking nylon. That way I can get it as close to my body as possible and have the largest amount of flexibility of insulation between the liner and the outside jacket. If it's just cool then I ride with the liner and the outer jacket. Cold then it's the liner, a fleece jacket and then the outer jacket Freezing, then it's the liner and a down jacket and the outer jacket. If the liner was insulated, it would: A. cost more B. not work as well in a wide range of temps C. be bulky and less comfortable to wear.
Back in the late 80's I sent for info on making my own vest. The fellow also told me how to adjust the regulator on a BMW R65... due to the wattage that the alternator on that machine. So I tweaked the rugulator as BMWs for the most part don't charge more than 13.2 volts. Instructions had me find multi strand wire.. #27 which is also insulated. First time I sewed only 100' feet of the wire and it did get HOT! Took the vest over to a friend's home and watched his eyes light up due to the instant heat. He advised adding 20 feet. Nice and warm... WARM. Especially now with a higher output alternator on the BMW K series. Start in one pocket of a vest or jacket that is lined and sew 10 foot size wire thru, never crossing over the wire but wind it around the vest or coat and then solder the sections then add shrink tape. 2 wires hanging out the one pocket and solder the zip cord to that and tie it off inside the pocket.. then attach a power plug directly to the battery... Plug the vest into that power plug and its up to the owner to either unplug the vest or add a switch. Works.. for about 20 bucks.. kicks out 95 watts.. stay warm
I picked up an Aerostich Kanetsu with the sleeve attachments in the Flea Market last spring. I have not had a chance to use it "for real" yet, but it seemed to work well when I tested it. I do need to get a decent cord though. It came without one and I KLR'd one together using a lamp cord, inline fuse, and a couple of SAE connectors in order to try it out.
Well I bit the bullet and ordered the Warm and Safe two channel remote heatroler, Ultimate Touring Gloves, and Gen 3 90 watt liner. I have never had trouble with my legs or feet but who knows last winter wasn't that bad. Thank you all
Liners: I have WnS ones for when the HGs don't cut it and prefer them to the bulky heated gloves which I never use. I have a Tourmaster Synergy jacket liner. It had the typical controller issues after not much use. They were very good about replacing it but I still don't trust it so I got a Powerlet dual controller (heated insoles) and am happy with that setup.
It all arrived today and I just got the controller installed in the jacket. I hope to get the power jack installed on the bike tomorrow. Real nice stuff and a good fit on the jacket. Does anyone know how loose the gloves should fit? The fingers are a bit long but the fit on the hand seems OK.
They need to be fairly snug (not tight), otherwise the heat won't transfer efficiently. If you could fit a glove liner inside them, they're too loose.
I bought Gerbings because I used to get it at cost. I gotta say the waterproof pants and jacket with the heating built in is wonderful, but riding all year I have to send my stuff back *every year* because the connectors get soft and they get stuck together. I can't make it half-way though the year without a glove going cold or loosing an entire arm. The connects inside the jacket suck just as much. I wanna know who makes the most indestructible stuff. Edit -- Also, I would never buy the stupid controller again. I either run the heat on or off. I don't need something with infinite degrees of heating. On or off.
Well I ordered a second set of gloves, Large this time, I'll see how they fit compared to the extra large and return the ones that don't fit right.
BOB393, I am trying to locate the guy on here that sells WarmNSafe. What brand did you buy and from whom? John
I've only used an electric vest w/ an on-off rocker switch. Getting ready to spring for a Warm and Safe jacket but also thinking of getting their gloves. How hard is it to plug the gloves into the pigtails of the jacket? I'll be wearing the jacket under an Aerostich. Seems to me that trying to plug the connectors together, with gloves on, would be a royal PIA. Do the pigtails extend out enough from under the sleeves to make it easy? I've never used a "heat troller" before. Looking at the dual remote. Easy to mount and easy to use? I'm going to be riding a R80ST back from NYC to Texas the first week of November. I'm thinking my old electric vest is not up to the task, so I'm going to invest in a liner. This thread has been really helpful. But I'm not sure I understand the remote heat troller, having a dual to run gloves and liner separate, and how everything plugs together. I'm picturing a wired nightmare every time I mount or dismount. With the old and tired vest, it was simply pulling the plug from the accessory socket. Thanks!
I find it to be a minor bother to attach the gloves to the sleeve connectors, but it's certainly not due to the length of the sleeve wires. There is plenty of wire, but excess can be tucked back into the sleeve pouch and zipped up. My only fuss is that I can really only use one hand to make the connection, as it is at the wrist area. The connectors are snug and secure, but pushing them together takes a little force. As to the remote heat troller, do it. It's quite brilliant. I put some scotch lock on the bottom of mine, and just pop it on a small RAM base and mount it on whatever bike I'm taking. It works very well, allows full control over two circuits without having to bother with wires, and has yet to fail me. It's especially nice that you don't have to fumble for a dangling controller by your thigh to make changes. Edit: here is a quick cockpit photo showing how I attach the controller via RAM mount.
Hi: I bought the warm and safe from there web site, http://www.warmnsafe.com/ easy enough and if you use the coupon code advforum you get a hell of a discount. Yes plugging the gloves into the jacket is a pia but doable. Unfortunately I have not yet used the jacket with my roadcrafter suite so I can't speak to the details but I bet it's also a pia. Right now I'm using the gloves with the long Y cord under my long jacket and it extends out from the sleeve enough to plug the gloves in before I even put them on. No problamo with the dual heat-troler remote. You can youtube it but basically all the complicated wiring is done in the jacket. Just plug the jacket into the bike after you get everything set up and plug the gloves into the jacket. The dual function is setup with the receiver in the jacket. Right now I carry the heat-troller in my pocket but I will be velcroing it to the dash soon enough. I mean once it's synchronized all you do is plug in the jacket start the bike and turn on the heat-troler and your off, it doesn't use the accessory plug it has its own coaxial connector directly to the battery. Hope it helps, I have nothing to compare it to but I don't know why if someone can afford it they wouldn't use it. It's the best!
I've had a Gerbings jacket liner with Exo2 gloves for just over a year. I absolutely love the liner and find it makes a big difference - it's like having a big hug all the way to work It's also great at blocking wind chill even if it's switched off. The gloves are an entirely different story. I've had them replaced twice under warranty even though they hadn't been used for about 6 months out of the 12 months ownership. The second time was only a couple of weeks ago so the 1 year warranty had expired by about 3 weeks. Credit to Exo2 the guy replaced them any way. However, they must have changed something as although the gloves are the same marked size on the label they are now slightly too big, but not so big that a smaller size would fit. Worse than that though the heat distribution is completely different. The palms now don't seem to get that warm and the entire base of the thumb and wrist seems to have no heating whatsoever which is annoying since that's the place my hands get coldest. I'd definitely buy Gerbings again but wouldn't go near Exo2 again. I'm thinking of a proactive purchase of some different gloves at the upcoming NEC as I don't trust these to last. Not good when commuting all year around at 06:00. Dae.
Gerbings is the way to go. Their customer service & products can't be beat. And they're made in the USA. Warm & Safe gear is made in Pakistan & socks made in China :ddog Gerbing has a Lifetime warranty to WITH NO HASSELS!! A BIG PLUS!!
Bump cuz it's that time of year again, I'v had a 'Stitch vest fer a couple a decades now that has served me well, butt since I'm get'in wimpy in my old age, I'm think'in I need a full jack. Thanks fer all the good info here. (I'll have ta check out this Warm & safe stuff.)
Just got my FirstGear/Warm & Safe jacket liner/pant liner/Portable Dual Heat Troller yesterday. A bit chilly today... think I'll go out for a test ride.
I have never been cold in my Gerbings jacket liner and gloves. Last year they replaced a four year old controller that had quit working. No charge, all I had to do was send them the old one.
