Bonneville America Forums Forums Rider Safety Forums Helmets and Gear What kind of heated vest or liner do you have?

Looking to get a vest or maybe jacket liner. Who has what brand? Any pros or cons?


Thanks
Steve

Gerbings.

Never tried anything else, so I can't compare. I've got the pants, gloves, and socks too.

Pros: they work well. they even help without plugging them in. lifetime warranty on the heating parts.

Cons: can't think of any "cons", but all the interconnecting can be a pain.

Definitely get a controller, aka adjustable thermostat. Running this stuff direct, or any single item, without one will get too hot for comfort and drain your battery if you're just running around town.

Gerbings

thanks Deon....anyone else have an opinion?

Gerbings is the industry leader and has the most complete setup and interconnectivity.

I've tried on a pair of their gloves at a motorcycle show, very warm and they heated up quickly. They would be my choice.

I use the Gerbing jacket liner and especially like the high collar that is heated..it is reallly nice in keeping your neck warm. The heat controller is the way to go as mentioned above they can and will get very warm without the thermostat. I also use the gloves and thay are great as well. I have found that using the Gerbing connector directly to the battery or using the Triumph Accesory plug for power work equally well.

i have the less expensive of the two aerostich vests. very nice and warm. i don't feel the need for a thermostat. Make sure you get one that will give a snug fit over a t-shirt.

Unclecharlie has one that's powered by rechargable batteries so he's not tied to the bike. Don't know the brand.

I only have experience with the Gerbing jacket liner. The Triumph electrical system will power it just fine, even with driving lights, except at idle, so I tend to shut off the jacket at stop lights and in stop & go traffic.

I wouldn't be afraid to try an Aerostitch product. They have a quality line of goods.

Martin, how's the sizing on the gerbings jackets? I usually wear an XL in normal clothes...

Here's a link to what I've got:
http://store1950.storeserver-2.com/
It has hi,med,low settings and I like it 'cause it's not
hooked up to the bike, and can't kill it. I got it from
a magazine promo deal that came with a spare battery.
Set on med, you get 4-5 hours of heat per batt.

If this rig isn't enough to keep me warm, I'm not riding!
I've been comfortable down to 27 degrees.

Uncle Charlie

Looks like Gerbing is jumping on the Li ion battery craze too...

clicky

They had to do something with all those recalled Dell laptop batteries

They'd never get 4 hours out of them...

Something else to consider with heated clothing - regardless of brand - add up the amperage and see what the total draw on the electrical system is.
This is all from memory and may be flawed, but: our alternators put out 27 amps. My complete Gerbings outfit - socks, gloves, pants, and jacket liner draws 14.4 amps, I'm assuming at "full on".
Using the Triumph accessory socket, if I remember correctly you are drawing from fuse #3 in the box, which is a 10 amp fuse.
I rarely use the socks, so subtract 2.2 amps and you're still at 12.2 amps. I got around this by hooking up the Gerbings harness from the battery to the accessory socket with their 15 amp inline fuse, er, inline.
Riding at night with the clothing controller set at about 1/2, and the driving lights on, the headlight "pulses"...
I assume it's due to the controller thermostat kicking in and out constantly, but I have yet to come up with a fix.
It isn't a real problem, just an aggravation....

Just some FYI stuff.

Thanks for all the info. I am probably going to get a vest and the heated grips that you can take on and off. With leather chaps and a nice jacket I should be able to ride to work (18 miles one way) without a problem and maybe even take the occassional longer ride.

Steve,

I got the Gerbing heated liner, socks, gloves, with the two branch thermostat. At this time I just wear ski warm-ups for my thighs. The Seattle/Tacoma temp tomorrow at 4am (in 7 hours) if supposed to be below 30 degrees. I'm ready to roll.

-BT

I'd like to get some opinions myself about glove liners. Should I go this route, since I already have a pair of gauntlets? Or should I get the gloves instead?

I went with liners and it works out well because I have a pair of leather riding gloves that are too big. Now they are just right with the gerbings liners. So only go that way if you have a little breathing room....

Thanks Benny, I wasn't sure how thick they were.

I had the Gerbings glove liners at first. They worked well, but for me, putting gloves on over them made it feel like I had boxing gloves on. Just my opinion. It just seemed like too much "thickness" over the fingers, if you get my drift...

If you don't.. I'll just be drifting along now..

That's what I was wondering Don, if it would like too much material since it's two separate pieces of clothing. Thanks.

I dunno what the price difference is, but the gloves, being one piece, would be way easier to deal with. It's like getting ready to go play in the snow. It's not THAT cold standing still, so you can start to sweat by the time you get all the gear on!

Heated grips are wonderful. I was out in low 40's with just thin leather gloves on. I won't miss the heavy gloves which does make it hard to grab the clutch and brake.

what heated grips do you have Matt?

They are OEM installed by the dealer.

He's talking about his Tiger.

YUP