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Heated gear ?


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It might depend on where you are drawing the power from. If you are using the DC outlets, those are 2amps max.
 
Some heated gear controllers hook directly to the battery, which may allow you to run more gear than using the DC outlets. I was going to get some heated gear (pants and jacket) in the spring, so I guess I'll find out if this is true haha.
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I run my heated gear from a fuseblock connected directly to the battery. Since I also have a brand-new battery meter installed on the bike I can confidently say that running the grips and heated gear was not a problem even when idling, at least at moderate heat levels using a heattroller to control vest and gloves and heated grips on setting 4. This is a positive improvement over my Daytona, which ran at a loss with the gear anywhere above minimum heat levels unless the bike was up around 4000rpm.
 
Last night I was also running the new LED lights on top of the heated stuff without problem.
 
I am currently running a Gerbings vest and gloves, new stuff purchased within the last year. I like the vest quite a lot; it is warm and not bulky, an improvement over the Gerbings vest I bought in 2000. The gloves are still too new to be broken in and aren't anywhere near as comfortable as my old Gerbings gloves, which used gloves made by Hein Gericke if I remember right. The older ones seemed better made, more pliable even when brand new. I expect the new ones will improve with break-in, but there is an obvious wire running across the palm; probably good for warmth but a little annoying.
 
I heartily recommend the Gerbings vest, and the HeatTroller (not the Gerbings controller, which is a rip-off of the Heatroller and doesn't work as well, with. More obvious cycling). The gloves I'm more mixed a out, although they are certainly effective. I want more time with them before I decide whether or not to give them a thumbs up.
2015 FJ-09 (Mary Kate)
2007 Daytona 675 (Tabitha, ret.)
1998 Vulcan 800 (Ret.)
2001 SV650S (Veronica, Ret.)
2000 Intruder 800 (Ret.)
 
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I know Gerbings makes good heated gear, afew of my friends have it. The price was right on the Tourmaster gear I got, it was works well. They replaced the whole set up no questions asked when I had a problem with the first set up I had.
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Speaking of Gerbing, for those who don't know, Gerbing doens't really exist anymore. They were bought by another company. From a friend on another forum:
 

Gerbing Heated Clothing, as a company, doesn't exist any more. I found this out a few weeks ago when I was trying to get my Gerbing jacket liner repaired. It seems that a company by the name of Gyde either purchased Gerbing or purchased the rights to the Gerbing heated clothing line. This is what is buried in the Gyde warranty information on their web site "Gyde Supply Co. will also extend the same lifetime warranty to the heating elements in Gerbing Heated Clothing Inc (GHCI) products, even though they are entirely different companies. GHCI ceased to exist in 2012. Gyde Supply Co. will also continue to repair any of their products or GHCI products that are out of warranty for a fee." 
So I did send in my jacket liner into Gyde to have it repaired, and they sent me a brand new jacket liner under warranty saying that some of the heating elements were out. In fact, they sent me a size that was too large at first, so the sent out a second liner with a pre-paid shipping label for me to ship the first one back to them. I'll give Gyde two thumbs up on customer service! The new jacket liner is a different style than mine was, fits a little looser but heats up better, but the collar fits a little looser which is a bummer because the heated collar was one of the best features of that jacket liner.
 
In my mind, Gerbing was by far the best heated clothing out there. We'll see how the transition goes, but what I see so far is positive.
 
 
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Speaking of Gerbing, for those who don't know, Gerbing doens't really exist anymore. They were bought by another company.
If that happened in 2012 then the stuff I bought last year would be from the new company, despite the Gerbings label. 
That could explain why the Gerbings stuff changed so much so suddenly.  They had offered more or less the same products for a long time, having changed little more than the connectors.  All of a sudden all the designs changed.
 
It's good to hear that the new company is as good at warranty claims as Gerbings was, although I have to say that the gear I bought in 2000 was still working when I retired it last year so I never had to send anything to them.  I got too fat for the vest and (temporarily) misplaced the gloves or I'd still be using them.
 
 
2015 FJ-09 (Mary Kate)
2007 Daytona 675 (Tabitha, ret.)
1998 Vulcan 800 (Ret.)
2001 SV650S (Veronica, Ret.)
2000 Intruder 800 (Ret.)
 
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According to the service manual the alternator (AC magneto type) at 5000 rpm pumps out 415 watts at 14 volts, so over 29 amps. The regulator is rated at 50 amps.
 
So, there should be enough power to run some accessories on top of the heated grips but bear in mind, bikes like the BMW R1150 in GS or RT format will have 700W/50A alternators. The LED headlamp will help as they draw little current compared to tungsten filament lamps.
 
Easy enough to check with a basic voltmeter. Hook up your accessories and then check the battery voltage with everything turned on. If the voltage is over 13V at tickover and rises to >14V at 5000 rpm then happy days. If the voltage is down to 12V or less at tickover and struggles to get to 13V at 5000 rpm then you will need to reduce the load.
This signature is left blank as the poster writes enough pretentious bollocks as it is.
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Easy enough to check with a basic voltmeter. Hook up your accessories and then check the battery voltage with everything turned on. If the voltage is over 13V at tickover and rises to >14V at 5000 rpm then happy days. If the voltage is down to 12V or less at tickover and struggles to get to 13V at 5000 rpm then you will need to reduce the load.
I consider an on-the-bike meter invaluable, especially when running lots of accessories.  I've had cases where things had been working just fine and I wasn't worried about them, then I'm stuck idling in traffic and ... hey, my headlights are getting mighty weak and why did the engine just stumble? 
It turned out that the R/R was failing.
 
The next time the R/R failed on me, on a different bike, I noticed while riding along because the meter wasn't showing green anymore.  I shut down all the accessories and managed to make it home on the battery.  Without the meter?  I was probably pushing the bike to the nearest highway exit and calling for help.
 
This is the meter I use:
 
http://www.amazon.com/Kuryakyn-4218-Black-L-E-D-Battery/dp/B000GU5WNO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445982136&sr=8-1&keywords=motorcycle+battery+meter
 
It's thoroughly waterproof and so durable I took it off the Daytona, where it had gone through days and days of pouring rain on eight years of tours, and put the same unit on the FJ.  Recommended.
 
See my recent postings in "My name is Jim and I have a motorcycle problem" for a good way to mount it.
2015 FJ-09 (Mary Kate)
2007 Daytona 675 (Tabitha, ret.)
1998 Vulcan 800 (Ret.)
2001 SV650S (Veronica, Ret.)
2000 Intruder 800 (Ret.)
 
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Easy enough to check with a basic voltmeter. Hook up your accessories and then check the battery voltage with everything turned on. If the voltage is over 13V at tickover and rises to >14V at 5000 rpm then happy days. If the voltage is down to 12V or less at tickover and struggles to get to 13V at 5000 rpm then you will need to reduce the l
 
Read more: http://fj-09.org/thread/2549/heated-gear#ixzz3poCnqD1F
 
OK 2 questions .. what do you mean by "tickover"? I have a voltmeter, I'm guessing to check the voltage in AC mode ?
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2 countries separated by a common language :)
 
1. Tickover is a common British English term for the rpm at idle i.e. with the throttle closed.
 
2. DC voltage - the alternator output is AC but once it is processed by the regulator, which is also a rectifier, the voltage is DC. Either measure across the battery terminals or when the engine is running, measure the output from the accessory socket. Most meters have a 20V DC range which is best to use for a reasonably accurate reading for this purpose.
This signature is left blank as the poster writes enough pretentious bollocks as it is.
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  • 2 months later...
For those of you who've been on the fence about heated jacket liners AND were bad last year leaving Santa no choice but to bypass leaving you gifts, Amazon via (Main Street Madness) is having a blow out on Gerbing unisex heated jacket liners in two popular sizes. They are the 77 watt 2012 or 2013 version with Micro Wire pads (supposed to be more comfortable) that has been discontinued. For less then half the price and being the growing middle aged fella I am, X/Large is on its way. :)
 
For those who may be interested:
The Gerbing's family is still in business under a new business name of Gordon's Heated Clothing link. The originator from the 70's, Gordon, had serious health problems that almost cost him his life and sold the company to his son Jeff. Jeff ran into financial problems and sold off major assets of the company, now owned by Gyde followed by the Gerbing name (one of the assets). But Gordon regained his health and now the family is operating under their new business name. Originator Gordon Gerbing, his son Jeff and now third generation Bob.
 
Large/regular length arms link
Extra Large/regular length arms link
size chart link
Dual Wireless heat controller link
 
 
WOW, the X/Large has gone up $12.00 in the last 30 minutes but still a killer deal. I paid $64.82. :P
 
Everyday's a good day when your able to ride
 
15 FJ-09 - 2WDW ECU flash, Givi SV201, Nelson Rigg tail bag, OES sliders, Koubalink extenders, Ermax Sport, Vista Cruise, OEM seat mod, (smiles)
07 Honda ST1300A (sold)
06 Kawi KLR650 - Big Gun full exhaust, Corbin, Givi, PMR racks, carb mod (keeper)
97 Honda VFR750 - Traxxion Dynamics, Penske, Givi 3 piece, carbon exhaust (keeper?)
20+ years of snowmobiles
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