greatrides
New member
Its starting to get cold in ohio and I'm not ready to stop ryding so I was wondering if anyone uses heated gear. I have an rs so I get lots of air witch I love but when its cold you feel it.
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heated gear
- Thread starter greatrides
- Start date
I live in Wisconsin and heated gear is a must if you want to ride until the snow flies. Once you get it you will say why didn't I do this long ago. There are many brands out there but the best in my opinion is Gerbing and if you do it, get the dual temperature controller right away because after you get your first piece you will soon be adding the second be it gloves or pants liner. I have ridden in 35 below with just my liners and a cheap snowmobile suit, on a snowmobile. You can dial the temperature of your liner up to 135 degrees. It is costly to take the first step but once done,you will wonder why you ever hesitated.
NancysToy
Motorbike Professor
Lots of us use heated gear...Gerbing, Tourmaster, and other brands. The RS has more limited electric power than the RT, so it pays to keep the rpm up and to shut off the heated gear in stop-n-go traffic. The heated gloves are the biggest help on the RS. I recommend Powerlet outlets and coax adapters for heated gear. An auxiliary fuse block to power them is a good idea, but a single fused pigtail is OK. A relay switched fuse block is ideal. Heated gear has to fit snugly to be effective. Some brands have a lot more sizes than regular riding gear. I suggest a visit to a store that caters to touring motorcyclists...Goldwing, BMW, Harley, etc. They usually have a nice selection to try on.
bertmc
New member
I've had a sleeveless heated vest and gloves for 15 years and use them regularly when the temperature goes down. Even though some people laugh, I use the vest for any long rides below 60 degrees when there is no sun. I get cold easily, and the vest makes the difference between a comfortable and uncomfortable ride. If you keep your torso warm, it goes a long way in keeping the rest of your body warm. And Scotty gives good advice on getting a snug fit--much more effective if you wear it over a light under layer. I put my vest over a long-sleeved cotton turtle-neck shirt and then add a sweat shirt or other layers over the vest and under my riding jacket as needed. I'll probably invest in a full heated jacket this year--I've gotten my money's worth from the vest!
Oldmanzues
New member
Odd and old. I do not use heated gear, but layers to stay warm. Insulated boots, fleece under pants, under M/C winter riding pants, Same on top with barclava (hood + part under jacket) and full face helmet. I have a RT with heated grips now, so not a problem, but some gloves work better others.
Pick a day and rty different outfits and if they do not work. Go with electic.
How cold ? 120 miles on a PGR Funeral. Hero rode before he went in. Dad rides. Hero was injured in Iraq and never got better. 9 degrees when I left the house up to 18 by the time we got home. ST1100 with no heated grips. I was just cool enought to know I was not going hypothermia (sp). Nobbody has mentioned it, but if you are cold riding and the get warm all of a sudden. Get into a warm place now.
Scotty probably has a better explantion then this.
Oldman Zues
I will add, usually about 20 degrees or so is my normal lower temp.
Pick a day and rty different outfits and if they do not work. Go with electic.
How cold ? 120 miles on a PGR Funeral. Hero rode before he went in. Dad rides. Hero was injured in Iraq and never got better. 9 degrees when I left the house up to 18 by the time we got home. ST1100 with no heated grips. I was just cool enought to know I was not going hypothermia (sp). Nobbody has mentioned it, but if you are cold riding and the get warm all of a sudden. Get into a warm place now.
Scotty probably has a better explantion then this.
Oldman Zues
I will add, usually about 20 degrees or so is my normal lower temp.
teacherbob
New member
I wear a FirstGear heated jacket and FirstGear heated gloves. That plus overpants allows me to ride year round.
BajaRon
Well-known member
I have Firstsgear heated gloves and jacket liner. But then I would.
Heated gear isn't the power hog it used to be if you get good pulse type controllers (like the Heat-Troller). In the past, and still with some lower priced gear, the system pulled 100% regardless of what you were actually using to heat your gear. The rest was shed in wasted heat by the controller. This system type can easily overtax your Spyder's electrical system.
The 2nd method of heating, which is still used today in less expensive gear, is 100% duty cycle. You simply switch it on when you get too cold and switch it off when you get too hot. While this is better than freezing, I really don't recommend these. You will save some money but you'll never be happy with it.
Pulse engineering, though more expensive, is very efficient (which is very important on our anemic power output Spyders). Most of the time you will need only 10%-20% duty cycle to maintain a perfect comfort level. At a 20% setting, Pulse will send 100% heat for 20% of the cycle and shuts down completely for 80% of the cycle. You never notice the on/off cycle as it does this several times each minute.
All of the electricity is used to warm you up. None is wasted.
Here are some examples of probable and possible power consumption.
The heated jacket liner comes in a 65w and a 90w version. I recommend the 90w as they are the same price and too much potential is a lot better than too little when it comes to heat. Of course the 90w liner will use more juice and heat faster at the 100% setting, but you will use the same amount of power at maintenance level as you will with the lower watt model.
The Gloves are 30w per pair.
The Heated Pant Liner is 30w.
Heated socks are 18w per pair.
Most people are fine with gloves and jacket liner which at 20% draw (which is a very reasonable comfort setting) would consume 24w. At 50% draw consumption would be 45w + 15w = 60w. Cranked all the way up, which you might do for a few minutes to heat the system, power consumption would be 120w. But you won't be able to run this setting for very long. It will get uncomfortably warm.
You can double electrical draw for 2 riders with Gloves & Jacket Liner
20% x 2 = 48w
50% x 2 = 120w
100% x 2 = 240w
If you went with everything from gloves to socks your total 100% draw would be 168w. 2 up with everything running at 100% would be 336w. While this is quite a bit for the lower output Spyders like the RS, you won't be running this level for more than a few minutes before you will be forced to turn it down to the more normal 10%-20% maintenance setting. A few minutes of high current draw is not going to affect your Spyder if the electrical system is operating correctly.
And typically, the rider, after reaching comfort level, will use only 30%-50% of what the driver needs to keep warm.
So realistically, even if you're running 2 up with all the possible heated gear options in very cold conditions, it is likely that your continuous draw would be no more than 30% or about 100w. Not much more than a pair of HID headlights.
You can double electrical draw for 2 riders with full gear
20% x 2 = 68w
50% x 2 = 168w
100% x 2 = 336w
What you do not want to do, regardless of which system or what you are riding, is to plug in and crank up the heat with your Spyder not running. You want to start your Spyder and then turn the heat on.
Nor do you want to idle for any long period with 2 people running heated suits at 100%. With just a bit of common sense you will have no problems.
Unless you experience cold feet or legs (usually knees get it first) I recommend getting heated gloves and jacket liner and see how that does you. You'd be surprised how much it helps the rest of your body to keep your core and hand temperatures warm.
Then if you experience cool feet or legs, add these components.
There are also heated stand alone jackets and heated glove liners.
And new for this year from Firstgear is their passive 'Heat Pump Vest' which greatly increases insulation and body heat retention.
You can see the full line of Firstgear heated clothing here. And as mentioned, there are several other brands that offer heated gear as well.
http://www.firstgear-usa.com/heated.html
Heated gear isn't the power hog it used to be if you get good pulse type controllers (like the Heat-Troller). In the past, and still with some lower priced gear, the system pulled 100% regardless of what you were actually using to heat your gear. The rest was shed in wasted heat by the controller. This system type can easily overtax your Spyder's electrical system.
The 2nd method of heating, which is still used today in less expensive gear, is 100% duty cycle. You simply switch it on when you get too cold and switch it off when you get too hot. While this is better than freezing, I really don't recommend these. You will save some money but you'll never be happy with it.
Pulse engineering, though more expensive, is very efficient (which is very important on our anemic power output Spyders). Most of the time you will need only 10%-20% duty cycle to maintain a perfect comfort level. At a 20% setting, Pulse will send 100% heat for 20% of the cycle and shuts down completely for 80% of the cycle. You never notice the on/off cycle as it does this several times each minute.
All of the electricity is used to warm you up. None is wasted.
Here are some examples of probable and possible power consumption.
The heated jacket liner comes in a 65w and a 90w version. I recommend the 90w as they are the same price and too much potential is a lot better than too little when it comes to heat. Of course the 90w liner will use more juice and heat faster at the 100% setting, but you will use the same amount of power at maintenance level as you will with the lower watt model.
The Gloves are 30w per pair.
The Heated Pant Liner is 30w.
Heated socks are 18w per pair.
Most people are fine with gloves and jacket liner which at 20% draw (which is a very reasonable comfort setting) would consume 24w. At 50% draw consumption would be 45w + 15w = 60w. Cranked all the way up, which you might do for a few minutes to heat the system, power consumption would be 120w. But you won't be able to run this setting for very long. It will get uncomfortably warm.
You can double electrical draw for 2 riders with Gloves & Jacket Liner
20% x 2 = 48w
50% x 2 = 120w
100% x 2 = 240w
If you went with everything from gloves to socks your total 100% draw would be 168w. 2 up with everything running at 100% would be 336w. While this is quite a bit for the lower output Spyders like the RS, you won't be running this level for more than a few minutes before you will be forced to turn it down to the more normal 10%-20% maintenance setting. A few minutes of high current draw is not going to affect your Spyder if the electrical system is operating correctly.
And typically, the rider, after reaching comfort level, will use only 30%-50% of what the driver needs to keep warm.
So realistically, even if you're running 2 up with all the possible heated gear options in very cold conditions, it is likely that your continuous draw would be no more than 30% or about 100w. Not much more than a pair of HID headlights.
You can double electrical draw for 2 riders with full gear
20% x 2 = 68w
50% x 2 = 168w
100% x 2 = 336w
What you do not want to do, regardless of which system or what you are riding, is to plug in and crank up the heat with your Spyder not running. You want to start your Spyder and then turn the heat on.
Nor do you want to idle for any long period with 2 people running heated suits at 100%. With just a bit of common sense you will have no problems.
Unless you experience cold feet or legs (usually knees get it first) I recommend getting heated gloves and jacket liner and see how that does you. You'd be surprised how much it helps the rest of your body to keep your core and hand temperatures warm.
Then if you experience cool feet or legs, add these components.
There are also heated stand alone jackets and heated glove liners.
And new for this year from Firstgear is their passive 'Heat Pump Vest' which greatly increases insulation and body heat retention.
You can see the full line of Firstgear heated clothing here. And as mentioned, there are several other brands that offer heated gear as well.
http://www.firstgear-usa.com/heated.html
Last edited:
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