| Author | Message | ||
     Kag |
Been riding my 08 X almost daily to work since I bought it in June. Love it. Put 5k miles on it. My HD Ultra sitting in the garage. knock on wood no issues except for a sputter every now and then when taking off. Getting ready to get new tires for it and going with the Ravens. I ride several miles on gravel then hard ball. Bought a winter riding suit but want to get a vest that directly plugs in but unsure which does. Got good boots, gloves, and helmet baclava. I was going to ride it to Alaska next summer but have been concerned about potential mech issues on the trip and no dealer support on the way so going to ride my HD Ultra. I really love my Uly just wish we had more parts, service, and accessories. Oh well it is what it is. Over 30yrs riding and the Uly is a thrill to ride. | ||
| Afsoc_commando |
Love my Uly and have parked my Springer... They are both awesome but different. My self I have the Gerbing Jacket liner and gloves with a dual controller for the heat. They are AWESOME. I just bought a Tourmaster synergy heated chaps. Haven't used them yet. Here are some links for you to look at... http://www.warmnsafe.com/ use the coupon code advforum you get a hell of a discount http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82 7055&highlight=heated+gear Also Revzilla has great videos on the Heated gear... | ||
| Brown_e |
I know winter weather in KS( I assume) goes up and down for riding so it should not be a problem. Just watch for winter storms. Here in Wisconsin, after the middle of Nov. you might as well forget it. A lot of salt on the road too. I head for Texas now in the cold months and enjoy riding year round. | ||
| Etennuly |
I bought a HD electric jacket with the RCA type plugs. I bought an adapter to the cig lighter. I plugged it into the lighter for a while. It was a PITA with no regulation. I ran wires, with a fused link, from the battery up to the bars, to a toggle switch on the switch panel that I had made. It is attached to the cross bar. I ran a couple of feet of wire from the switch with a plug that matches the jacket. I keep the wire in a Buell handle bar bag just pulling it out when it is needed. Rather than spring for the $80+ regulated switch, I just turn my toggle switch on or off as needed for comfort. It is best to set up a separate wiring link because it will be something that needs regulation, or toggling on and off, and it needs to be easy to unplug every time you get off the bike. | ||
| Buellmeister57 |
I use a Tourmaster Synergy vest and am very pleased with it. It came with a plug that wired to the battery but I ordered the cigarette lighter plug, more convenient for me. Heated grips, longjohns, I'm good in the low 40's. | ||
| Ourdee |
Never had a vest. Just haven't bought one. I try not to ride when there will be ice on the road. I also avoid riding in the snow. In Northern Illinois I put on mittens when temps are below 10. And try not to ride more than 50 miles at or below that. Under those personal rules I get along fine without a vest. | ||
| Mad_doctor |
I bought my vest from Gears, It's a Canadian company. When you buy the vest, make certain it is 1 size smaller than your size. The vest heats you, not the air, so you want to be certain it is tight against you. They work GREAT! | ||
| Ratbuell |
I have Gerbings jacket liners, and combined with my Uly's heated grips and some nice Alpinestar winter gloves, a balaclava, my Bolt jacket and a pair of Fieldsheer overpants...I'm good down into the 20s. I keep an old jacket zipper-thermometer on my instrument panel as an ice-warning-reminder, so I know when to start looking for frozen water as opposed to puddles that go "splash". Once it's below freezing...I avoid the dark pavement. Riding in snow during the day is awesome - everyone should try it. If it isn't sticking to the pavement...it's better than rain, because snow goes *around* you  Snow at night sucks though...remember that old "starfield" screensaver back in the day? Easy to get vertigo and zone out on the flakes coming at your headlight... | ||
| Ratbuell |
Oh, and I will say - if you are going to add electrical gear to your bike... GET A VOLTMETER. I use the Kuryakyn LED meter from American Sport Bike. Mounted on the master cylinder, easy to read at a glance, if the charge starts dropping I start shedding load until I get home and can troubleshoot. | ||
| Etennuly |
A B.A.W. is a good idea for real winter riding.  You must always remember that you only have about a 6" x 3" contact patch and these are not exactly studded winter tires hooked up to about 100 hp and gobs of torque.  | ||
| Ratbuell |
6x3?? Generous... Try closer to 1x2 per tire, when properly inflated. Which is why I said "if it isn't sticking"...  | ||
| Fordhotline |
I think the controler to adjust the heat to whatever type of gear you have is the best investment. Some duty cycle the current which helps take some load off of the charging system. The Uly has been very reliable for me. Properly maintained it will take you anywhere.. | ||
| Zac4mac |
One of my most memorable rides was on my 1125 in a Spring snowstorm. Roads were 70-80dF for a week, so nothing was sticking - instamelt. The storm came rolling in with fist size snow clumps falling like shot ducks. I was busy wiping my face shield with my left hand and howling with laughter. I could hear the clumps hitting my helmet. Time to get ready to ride the Uly 1.1 miles to work...34 dF... toastyyyy! Zack | ||
| Buellhusker |
For cold weather riding you might want to install a set of handle bar muffs, can get them at most ATV stores they work great with heated grips. | ||
| Kenm123t |
its just getting cool enough to ride in the day time here | ||
| Ratbuell |
I just scored some NICE gloves. Was at Sports Authority for some other stuff...grabbed a pair of Burton snowboarding gloves. Wow. Not much on armor, but my hands were *sweating* on a 40 degree ride. My hands are ALWAYS cold; I get that yellow/green-finger-numb-thing going on when the temps get down below 50. I didn't even have my grips turned on and my hands were toasty. Waterproof, windproof (felt the same at 80mph as they did at 20), breathable...best $40 I've spent in a long time! | ||
| Ourdee |
I put the single multi-color LED on mine. Later i put an analog gage on the bars to get more info. The LED works like a dummy light. Red is bad. Yellow is not as bad, need to start looking. Green is good. Bright green is real bad, but does not let you know if it is a spike or still over charging. It takes longer to reset to the lighter green than a headlight bulb can live if it is more than a spike. Thus, the analog. I've since replaced the stock VR. Aftermarket VR. | ||
| Ourdee |
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| Reepicheep |
For what it's worth, over the winter I'll be doing the (hopefully last) full redesign of the heated grip controller. I'm moving it back out of the bars again and making it a box, so it will get back the voltage idiot light feature. Actually, I may skip that and go straight to an LCD. Maybe even both. I designed my version to be pretty clever for a single light. It does a lot more than describe above, and does it better. It will probably come down to how much memory and how many pins I have to figure out if I do both the LCD and the LED. I'm close to running out of both. | ||
| Kag |
Good info Love that windshield on the Orange Uly....what brand is that?? The baclava is priceless, the insulated riding suit with my Poly-P's on is usually rock solid but I wan something for all day cold wet riding for not only this winter but my Alaska trip in June. Of course quality gloves are always worth every penny you pay for them as is insulated truly waterproof boots. | ||
| Ratbuell |
ba-la-cla-va. baklava is greek food. Wearing it in any weather would be...odd.  | ||
| Reepicheep |
These look goofy (but not as goofy as that windshield) but work really well and are cheap. I think I got them from Amazon, but it might have been Rocky Mountain ATV. They go on and off with about 5 minutes work and two cable ties.   | ||
| Reepicheep |
I use them with heated grips and my custom thermostat. They felt a LOT safer than some kind of "mitt on the bars" thingy... though I am sure they are not as warm. | ||
| Zac4mac |
Bought a set of Hippo Hands after one winter season. I didn't think anything could make a Uly look goofier. I was wrong.    The first time I used them, I rode around for a half hour. 30 *F, barehanded. heated grips on low. I just put them on for the season last week. Z | ||
| Etennuly |
My Big Ass Windshield does not have a brand. I made it out of polycarbonite sheet several years ago. It has gained several names over the years though. I cannot even spell most of them without a 'book of dinasaurs' in front of me. But B.A.W. sticks pretty well  . |
