I've just sold my K75S after 6 years of ownership, which had factory heated grips, and picked up a XV750 Virago which does not. Since the Virago's charging system isn't all that great, I'm trying to decide between wiring up heated grips or getting a heated vest instead. I loved the heated grips on the K75 as running them on low in even moderate weather allowed me to wear thinner gloves. If I got the vest, I could use it in my old MG roadster as well on the bike, so that's a bonus. Anyone had any experience or insights into using one over the other?
A jacket is a lot warmer that a vest, I've had the grip heaters and vest, and the jacket is best for me. Plus in really cold weather heated gloves are easy to attach. the trunk and chest area are usually somewhat shielded from the wind, but the arms are exposed so having the arms warm is a huge help for me. plus I rarely ever have heated gear powered all the way up.
There's no reason in the world to not install heated grips IMO. If you can't use both together, well .... don't. As far as the vest .vs jacket liner, I'd go jacket if it'll fit. Jacket wouldn't fit under my leather coat so I picked up vest and I know it's going to help. I've got grips & heated gloves to choose from as well. The Monster doesn't exactly have huge alternator output so I'll add a little voltmeter to see how the juice holds up.
A jacket also draws a lot more power than a vest. Typically 60W for a vest vs. 90W for a jacket (unless you go with one of the lower-powered jacket). When it's really chilly I like a vest layered under a nice insulated mid-layer jacket (a "puffy" down jacket if it will fit) under a riding jacket that blocks the wind well. I find that as long as my core stays warm, the rest will follow.
Jacket liner. Warm 'n Safe Gen WP. http://www.warmnsafe.com/generation-waterproof-mens-heated-liner/ It will consume 90W if you turn it up all the way. If you're using it in/on a vehicle that can't handle the load, just turn it down. I almost never, ever run my turned up past about halfway, even when it's COLD out.
I'd try both and see how the charging system holds up. I'm using Bikemaster heated grips, available on Amazon for under $50. Not sure what the draw is, but I've left them on for about 2 hours by mistake and they didn't drain the battery, bike still started. Adjustable temp, small controller too. I use these with a Gearz GenX heated vest. If you had to choose between the two, I'd go with the vest. A warm core will help keep the extremities warm, but warm hands won't do shit to keep your core warm.
My experiences with the heated grips was that since me hands were warm, I could still feel the controls and the cold didn't seem so bad even though my face was cold under my helmet. Keeping your core warms and the extremities will follow also makes sense. I managed to pick up an Aerostich Kanetsu vest, so I'll try that out and report back with comparisons to just the heated grips. I jumped on the vest because the Virago already has a powerlet socket, whereas I would have to relay in the grips.
Nice. I rode a lot in western Canada, mountains, naked bikes, with only the vest and warm gloves. I think you'll like. I've since installed the bikemaster grips on both my bikes to supplement. No need for a relay, I tapped into the license plate light circuit on one older bike, and moved from direct wired to the tapping into the small headlight "park" light circuit on the other. On both bikes, the wiring is able to provide ample current to the grips without blowing a fuse, and they're switched from the ignition. As I get older, I'm getting softer, I like my heat now lol.
I've got the Mobile Warming battery heated vest. Depending on the heat setting (1-4) the battery lasts anywhere between an hour to 8 hours. Get to your destination and let the battery charge or just have an extra battery. I don't do a ton of serious cold weather riding so a battery heated vest made the most sense to me.
Just a note - The Powerlet RapidFire jacket can be switched from 90 to 60W, with 60W being about what a vest would normally pull. Also, if power is a real concern, there are battery powered heated jackets whose tech has come a long way recently. FWIW, I find I stay much warmer (incl. my hands) with the jacket. Once your core starts to chill, you can forget about keeping your hands and feet warm.
OP - can you provide some more info? Without knowing what temps you ride in, what gear you have, and what sort of wind protection you have on the bike it's tough to make a recommendation. As an example - I have a BMW GSA with very good wind protection to the head and chest. The following works for me: - Just full gear down to ~60 degrees. - Heated grips with heavier 3-season gloves and wind-proof liners down to ~50 degrees. - Gerbing heated jacket liner + heated grips and 3-season gloves + Sargent heated seat down to ~40 degrees - Gerbing heated jacket liner + Warm 'n Safe heated gloves + Sargent heated seat down to ~25-30 degrees. Haven't had the opportunity to ride in temps lower than this, so I can't comment beyond that. I'm lucky to have great leg protection from the giant tank on the GSA so I can get away without pants liners, but YMMV. If you're worried about available power on the bike, put a voltmeter on it to make sure you won't run your battery flat. On my prior bike (Wee Strom) I could run heated grips and jacket liner if I kept both at 3/4 power or less. On the GSA I think I could keep 10 people fully powered no problem
+1 If your core is cold, grips won't do anything to keep you warm if there is no circulation to your extremities. On the old Honda I get one heated item with a 135w alternator, and it is definitely a jacket.
Here in SoCal I've gone the whole year without putting on my electric vest or, now jacket. Because of my heated grips and shorter rides. What I like about heated grips, they are always on the bike. They are always with you. That said, I bought my first electric vest when I first started riding more then 20 years ago. I really and quite happy with them and only recently upgraded to a jacket over the vest. I don't use a thermostat, when I need a vest I NEED a vest, on full roast. I found that they don't work very well in a car, since there's too much heat trapped behind you, and between you and the seat. At least for me in my modern convertible.
So now that I've been out with the heated vest, I thought I would write up a quick review/comparison. The vest is an Aerostich Unobtanium, which looks to be the same as their current Kanetsu vest. Vest vs No vest This test is pretty much as controlled as I can make it. I went for a short ride last weekend and the weather was the same as this weekend (15c/60f). I'm happy to ride all day in 40c/105f sunny weather but I really hate the cold. Last week I rode for about an hour through the local mountains with a long sleeve hooded sweatshirt under my jacket and was starting to feel cold about 45mins in as the temperature dropped down in the mountains. I took the same route this week, but with the vest instead of the sweatshirt, switched on the whole time. I didn't really notice the cold, but I wasn't really aware of the heat from vest either. It wasn't hot enough to keep me toasty, just enough to stop me feeling cold. I could still feel the cold through my hands and legs, but I wouldn't say I was actually cold. The best way I can describe is it's like when you have to run outside from a warm house to get something from your car in winter; you're aware of the cold and can feel it on your skin, but because you're warm from being inside, its not so bad. Vest vs heated grips The heated grips I had were the factory set on my BMW K75S, which would go up to 'uncomfortably toasty'. They would keep my hands warm, but I would still feel cold everywhere else. Imagine sitting in the cold holding a hot drink. It warms your hands but everything else still feel cold. A combination of both would be awesome, but even if I had both, I think I would just use the vest most of the time, then the grips for extra heat when I needed it. I might get some low power draw grips and see how my charging system holds up.
A simple on/off switch makes energy consumption an all or nothing proposition. With one of the newer electronic type controlers you are able to use energy at the level you and the bike needs. most likely you can use both with reasonable comfort without over taxing the charge system. It all depends on just how brutal are the conditions you ride in.
If the amount of power available on the bike is a concern, I'd be looking for ways to maximize warmth that don't rely on heating. You mentioned wearing a hoodie under your jacket. I'm betting that neither of those is windproof. There's no way you'd need a heated vest in 60f if you have a windproof layer between your jacket and hoodie. Also, as Waldo said, a heat-troller type device that lets you control the amount of power will allow you to run the vest and grips using less overall power.