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Heated Gear; a primer

IGETAROUND

Active member
There are those out there who try to do what they can to stretch their riding season. There are also some out there like myself that know little to nothing about all things electric. I will be in the near future purchasing heated gear for my Spyder. Here is some informative information from Baja Ron about the heated gear which he sells. Check it out and give Ron a HOWDY and thanks:yes::clap::ohyea::bowdown::bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:


Ok, here is what you will need.

90w Heated Jacket Liner– $
Heat Controllers (Trollers)
You only need a single if you are going to stick with the the jacket liner only. But if you think you will ever want to add another component then I recommend getting the dual to start with. And if you can afford it, get the remote. It is great!

Single Portable – $
Single Mounted – $
Single Remote – $

Dual Portable – $
Dual Mounted – $
Remote Dual – $


Ok, Ron now this brings up two more questions, why the remote controller, and will this high a wattage of a jacket run off the anemic 500 watt charging system on a GS/RS platform without making it so it won't restart when you shut it down to refuel?? I realize that I need to keep the RPM's up through town and non highway driving. Needless to say I'm not at all knowledgeable about all things electrical!! I'm impressed @ your prices, cheaper by far for a 90w as compared to 45w garments that I've looked at on other places besides aerostich. Don't know how you do it but when I purchase it will be from you, thanks.



The Spyder will run the jacket liner no problem. Don't let the 90w scare you. I run the 90w liner and the 15w (each) gloves on my 2008 GS with no problem. I would be sure your battery is in good condition and charged up to assure a problem free trip. Most people run a battery maintainer anyway. Just be sure it is set to AGM and not standard lead/acid battery. Most of the modern maintainers have an auto-sensing ability to know which setting to use.

Anyway, with the Firstgear Heat Troller it’s not like the old days where the system was using energy all of the time and shedding the unneeded energy as heat. Very wasteful. Some products still use this cheaper but antiquated method and that will drain your anemic Spyder charging system.

The Firstgear (and others) use digital, solid state pulse heating controllers. More expensive but much more accurate and efficient. So you are rarely, if ever, going to use 90w continuously. 98% of the energy from your battery is used to heat your gear. Only 2% loss. The On/Off switches that some use waste up to 25% of the energy taken from the battery. Not only that but the On/Off switch method is not all that comfortable. Most of the time you're either too hot or too cold and it really tends to suck the life out of your charging system. That is one reason some use much lower wattage garments.

When you first start out you may want to turn the controller up to 100%. But in very short order this will be too hot and you’ll want to turn it down. The controller pulses 100% (or 90w in this case) to the heated garment for a percentage of time in short bursts. These burst cycles are 1 second long. So, if you have your Heat Troller set at 25%, then you get a full 90w of energy to your heated liner for 1/4 or 25% of a second. Then zero energy is used for 3/4 or 75% of a second.



25% is usually where I end up running my heated gear unless it is really cold. That means you’re using 25% or only 22.5 watts.



Then this repeats every second as long as you have the Heat Troller on. I highly recommend turning the Heat Troller off every time you are done using the heated gear. That way you aren't draining your battery by mistake when you plug the system back in. It still isn't going to suck the life out of your battery, just a good habit to get into.



Another advantage to Firstgear heated gear is that they use flat wire instead of round wire. Doesn't sound like much but flat wire lays flatter to your body and transfers heat better. Firstgear isn't the only manufacturer to use flat wire. But it is a feature that is worth having.



As far as the remote controller, everything has advantages and disadvantages. They all work the same but the remote is like a key fob entry system for your car. It is wireless. Of course you’ll need to be hardwire plugged in to the garment for heat regardless of which controller you purchase.



I have the Dual Mounted Heat Troller. I've mounted it into the front panel on my Spyder. It’s a fair amount more work to do the install. The advantage is that I can’t lose it. The Remote can go in your pocket or you can Velcro it pretty much anywhere you like.



The ‘Portable’ is designed to use on more than one machine. Many people have ATV’s, Snowmobiles or another motorcycle and it saves them buying separate Heat Trollers for each. Of course the Remote will also fill this bill.


I cannot guarantee the price won't go up. This is the time of year that motorcycle gear pricing usually starts changing for the upcoming season. If my price does not change then your price will also remain the same.



Have a great 2015!



Ron (bajaron)

0





[email protected]

Contact Ron for his prices and suggestions
 
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Here's the thing..!!

what and how much depends on what you ryde. I use "Warm Gear" jacket liner and gloves. Dual control because I need the gloves warmer than the jacket on our RS. Some on the RT's have heated seats and grips so need less adding they have bigger windshields...the wife has single control because she has me as a windbreaker...:roflblack:hope you find the right combo....:thumbup:
 
I think we solved the problem thid season--
Went to Fla--
Holy crap, ryding around, sat by fire last night--'
Im done for
Must get back ea winter from now on
(Including fall & Spring nxt time)
 
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