Keeping Warm

[will]

This is not an endorsement, I just want to pass on what I have learned. On my 2012 Spyder RT I had Gerbing clothing wired to the battery. When I sold it and during an intervening motorcycle break I gave the gear away to a college neighbor kid in need. Now that I bought the 2020 Spyder RT I assumed that I was going to buy Gerbing again and then have it wired to the battery. After some research I decided that Gerbing was not the answer and read the forum for ideas. While at JT Motorsports in Frederick, MD I was introduced to the Mobile Warming 7.4 Volt battery clothing. I liked the idea of not having to connect up to a wire, being able to keep warm from the Spyder to the restaurant, and the 8 hour battery life (unproven yet). I bought the pants, jacket, and gloves. My wife got the jacket and gloves are on order and no pants due to short of an inseam. Since most of my touring stops in hotels, unless camping alone, I can charge the batteries at night and it is unlikely that I will ride long enough to outlast the battery's charge.

I have ridden with the gear for about 2 hours at 36 degrees Fahrenheit a few days ago. It kept me very comfortable. I have two objectives for this gear. The first is to extend my riding season in WV and MN. The second is to warm up in the morning for early starts until temperatures are comfortable. I grew up in MN riding year around without heated gear, real slow on my Puche in the winter delivering news papers, but as I have aged I like the comfort.

There are four heat settings 100% 135 degrees F, 75% 120 degrees F, 50% 105 degrees F, and 25% 90 degrees F. The system is turned on by pushing the button on the clothing for a few seconds, with the exception that the jacket battery also has to have the on button pushed. The temperature is controlled by pushing a button to cycle through the various temperatures and the led color changes based on the temperature selected. The clothing can also be controlled with the company app on the smartphone. It shows a picture of each of the items of clothing which you touch to adjust then select the temperature you want to use. The clothing battery is turned off by holding on the button for a few seconds.

I particularly like the gloves as they heat the back of your hands so with the heated grip heating the inside and the gloves the back of the hand it was comfortable.

The button on the pants I adjusted with the smartphone so that I did not have to unbuckle and unzip my pants to reach the button. I am waiting for riding pants to come in the mail so I was wearing Duluth Trading flannel lined jeans which are not windproof. Where I road in WV, it was me and the road and cars were rare.

The jacket (XL) fit comfortably and has the thumb holes in the sleeve which made it easy to put my KLIM Latitude jacket on without the sleeves sliding up.

I wanted to pass this on because I appreciate all the usual information I have derived from all of you on this forum.

 

[tofriendscreek]

I’m glad you’re liking the new heated gear. As I’ve grown older, I can’t tolerate the cold nearly as well as I did decades ago. Just a note that Firstgear has a “battery powered” option. I chose to go with being plugged during the ryde time and opted to forgo the battery, at least for the near term. It’s great to ryde in comfort when it’s kinda cold.

 

[Hypurone]

Mobile Warming 7.4 Volt battery clothing. I liked the idea of not having to connect up to a wire, being able to keep warm from the Spyder to the restaurant, and the 8 hour battery life (unproven yet). I bought the pants, jacket, and gloves.

Ditto! I wear my jacket liner all the time when outside during the winter even when NOT ryding to help with pain/stiffness from injuries... I HATE being tethered to the bike!

 

[CopperSpyder]

How is JT Motorsports? Do they carry a lot of stuff there?

 

[ARtraveler]

I for one like the idea of NOT being direct wired to the Spyder. Great Review. :yes:

 

[will]

They do not carry the Spyder RT but some of the other Can Am Motorcycles. They had a minimal amount of the heated gear in the store, but they are absolutely great about ordering it for you and if you don't want it no questions asked or hassles. They really try to work with you to get what you need. I bought the KLIM Latitude jacket after they ordered the Carlsbad for me and I decided I like the Latitude better. I have ordered pants that will be in this week. They are about 30 minutes from my house so no problem to stop by their shop. Since you are not too far in Waynesboro I would give them a call first. They carry a fairly wide selection of KLIM, some Joe Rocket, and a few other brands that I don't recall. Also, some nice rain gear but since my jacket is gore tex I won't need it.

Really the thing that impressed me the most was their attitude and flexibility. If you have been to Twigg in Hagerstown, which I haven't been to in a few years, I would say that their stock is about the same size but carrying different items.

 

[will]

Thanks, I was surprised by the change in technology and it is just easy to use. One other driver for me is that I have a friend who drives about 100 miles round trip every day on his Yamaha in Northern Virginia and he is always having issues on whether to have heat or more lighting on his bike due to available power. So when I looked at the Spyder I was trying to figure out if I was going to be on the edge for two up fully running heated gear (I think I would have been OK), but this solved my question.

 

[Highwayman2013]

Considering the 1330 engine has a 1200 watt alternator there is plenty of extra power.

 

[Highwayman2013]

Depends how far or long you ride. I like being warm and hooking up one wire so I can ride all day is okay with me.

 

[fatboy]

get the mobile warming 12 volt it also comes with battery u will be much warmer

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

This is not an endorsement, I just want to pass on what I have learned. On my 2012 Spyder RT I had Gerbing clothing wired to the battery. When I sold it and during an intervening motorcycle break I gave the gear away to a college neighbor kid in need. Now that I bought the 2020 Spyder RT I assumed that I was going to buy Gerbing again and then have it wired to the battery. After some research I decided that Gerbing was not the answer and read the forum for ideas. While at JT Motorsports in Frederick, MD I was introduced to the Mobile Warming 7.4 Volt battery clothing. I liked the idea of not having to connect up to a wire, being able to keep warm from the Spyder to the restaurant, and the 8 hour battery life (unproven yet). I bought the pants, jacket, and gloves. My wife got the jacket and gloves are on order and no pants due to short of an inseam. Since most of my touring stops in hotels, unless camping alone, I can charge the batteries at night and it is unlikely that I will ride long enough to outlast the battery's charge.

I have ridden with the gear for about 2 hours at 36 degrees Fahrenheit a few days ago. It kept me very comfortable. I have two objectives for this gear. The first is to extend my riding season in WV and MN. The second is to warm up in the morning for early starts until temperatures are comfortable. I grew up in MN riding year around without heated gear, real slow on my Puche in the winter delivering news papers, but as I have aged I like the comfort.

There are four heat settings 100% 135 degrees F, 75% 120 degrees F, 50% 105 degrees F, and 25% 90 degrees F. The system is turned on by pushing the button on the clothing for a few seconds, with the exception that the jacket battery also has to have the on button pushed. The temperature is controlled by pushing a button to cycle through the various temperatures and the led color changes based on the temperature selected. The clothing can also be controlled with the company app on the smartphone. It shows a picture of each of the items of clothing which you touch to adjust then select the temperature you want to use. The clothing battery is turned off by holding on the button for a few seconds.

I particularly like the gloves as they heat the back of your hands so with the heated grip heating the inside and the gloves the back of the hand it was comfortable.

The button on the pants I adjusted with the smartphone so that I did not have to unbuckle and unzip my pants to reach the button. I am waiting for riding pants to come in the mail so I was wearing Duluth Trading flannel lined jeans which are not windproof. Where I road in WV, it was me and the road and cars were rare.

The jacket (XL) fit comfortably and has the thumb holes in the sleeve which made it easy to put my KLIM Latitude jacket on without the sleeves sliding up.

I wanted to pass this on because I appreciate all the usual information I have derived from all of you on this forum.

:agree: …. although my pieces were bought primarily for downhill sking, it's completely portable so no connections to the Spyder.... mine are from a company called " FNDN Detroit " … many many varieties of clothing and of course gloves …. they sell a pair of leather gauntlet style that are a real bargain ( $ 99.00 ) all their stuff has multiple heat settings and I use mine at zer4o F sometimes …. batteries are quite small ( 3.7v ) recharge via USB ( for a computer ) …. check them on-line …. extra batteries were $10.00 ea. Mike hyea:

 

[bigbadbrucie]

The only heated gear that I have is an electric vest that I've had since about 1990. I had used it on my 'wings and several other bikes, and still use it on my Spyder. It plugs in to the battery connector that I plug my maintainer into when parked. When I get off the unit, I usually try to walk away while I'm still plugged in, so a totally divorced electric unit would be great.

 

[Revalden]

The problem I've had this winter is finding heated pants or liners that are large enough in stock. So, just a word of advice,,, Get your heated stuff BEFORE you'll need it. I've finally found what I needed and am impressed at how fast they heat up, thought I'd spilled my coffee on my legs and did actually spill the damn coffee on my brand new pants. Washed off easily though. I found pant liners, but even the largest size feels too tight but felt ok on the bike and held the boys up comfortably. I recently received the Dual heated riding pants with padding in the knees and hips that I'll probably use solo, They plug into the bike and also have a 12 volt rechargeable battery pack.

 

[CopperSpyder]

They do not carry the Spyder RT but some of the other Can Am Motorcycles. They had a minimal amount of the heated gear in the store, but they are absolutely great about ordering it for you and if you don't want it no questions asked or hassles. They really try to work with you to get what you need. I bought the KLIM Latitude jacket after they ordered the Carlsbad for me and I decided I like the Latitude better. I have ordered pants that will be in this week. They are about 30 minutes from my house so no problem to stop by their shop. Since you are not too far in Waynesboro I would give them a call first. They carry a fairly wide selection of KLIM, some Joe Rocket, and a few other brands that I don't recall. Also, some nice rain gear but since my jacket is gore tex I won't need it.

Really the thing that impressed me the most was their attitude and flexibility. If you have been to Twigg in Hagerstown, which I haven't been to in a few years, I would say that their stock is about the same size but carrying different items.

Thanks Will, I'm going to check them out.

 

[ThreeWheels]

Interesting thread.
I have a suite of Dewalt 20V battery operated tools.
Dewalt also makes (sells) a series of 20V heated jacket liners I've been looking at. The benefit is the common battery.
I'll take a look at the 7V heated clothing lines as well.

 

[pegasus1300]

Warm and Safe makes very good gear and if you are an AMA member you will get a substantial discount. Baja Ron also sells their gear under the First Gear label, also at substantial discount. Alden it is supposed to fit close or a little tight, that way it transvers the heat to you easier.

 

[Wahrsuul]

Ok, battery powers sounds all well and good, but how heavy is it? I'd imaging the battery for a jacket/liner that runs 8 hours would be fairly substantial.

 

[fatboy]

no not really bat life depends on desired heat setting 12 volt dual power is the best for me

 

[will]

The battery for the coat goes in a special pocket inside the right pocket of the jacket. Batteries for other heated items are smaller. The jacket battery is roughly 2 5/8" X 1 7/8" X 3/4" and using my scientific weighing method holding the jacket battery in my left hand and 3 AA batteries in my right hand they feel about the same weight, just for a rough comparison. The battery is a MW74V22. With the following info on the battery -
Rating: 7.4V 2200mAh
Output: (DC Jack) 7.4V=1.5A
Input: 8.4V=1.0A

The rest of the writing is too small for my eyes.

The site for the product is -

https://mobilewarming.com/

I hope this answers the question. It is warming up so fast in the mid-atlantic I may not get a chance this year to test out the battery life.

I have tried crappy battery systems in the past for other heated clothing (5 - 8 years ago), but this at least seems better made but only time will tell.

 

[Northofthesix]

I have a non-electric one piece riding suit by Motocentric, looks like a snowmobile suit but designed for bikes (bought it when I had my Harley so I know the leg protection for hot pipes worked great!!), which I have worn down to -15C/ 10F...actually found the suit too warm. At that level I am far more concerned about hitting an ice patch at speed than about feeling the cold.