| Author | Message | ||
     Andymnelson |
Well it was 48 degrees on my ride in this morning! Seeing as how it's only going to be getting colder for most of us, what do you wear for cold weather gear? Currently the best I have is my leather FirstGear jacket, good gloves and helmet. Would love recommendations for (or warnings against, if that's the case) neck socks, cold weather gloves and any other apparel you wear when it gets nipply out! | ||
| Gowindward |
Heated gear is the best solution. www.gerbing.com | ||
| Zane |
Move to Florida like I did.... 10:35 am and it's 85 degrees. | ||
| Andymnelson |
"Move to Florida like I did.... " But then I can't snoboard every weekend in the winter  Plus, it'll be a beautiful 75 degree fall day by the time I leave work...and which point I am meeting up with 30 other riders down by the lakes in Minneapolis and headed to "First Thursdays" at Dulanos where there will literally be like 1000 sweet bikes....I love Minnesota! (Message edited by andymnelson on September 04, 2008) | ||
| Andymnelson |
"Heated gear is the best solution. www.gerbing.com" I like their stuff- and I've never thought of heated riding gear. It's not too bad of a price either. I also like that I could get a heated liner and wear it with my current (no pun intended :-p) jacket. Hhmmm... Any other thought out there, or do you all live in Florida too?  | ||
| Darthane |
Heated grips or gloves are the only thing I think I'd consider 'necessary'. My hands are always what bothers me when I ride when it's cold out. I've ridden into work when it was a balmy 12 degrees, too. Neck gaiter of some kind is a must, IMO. You don't want windburn there, trust me. For my upper body, I simply wear my heavy leather jacket with the vents closed. Lower body, I have a pair of Joe Rocket textile overpants that I slap on, and wear calf-high boots to avoid my ankles freezing. I've yet to find a pair of gloves that are warm enough in that kind of weather without being far too restrictive that aren't heated. I used to wear my thin leather gauntlets with some wool insert gloves underneath them - that was the best I could do, and I'd still have numb hands in short order. I'm looking forward to finding a happy medium on the Uly with the heated grips as our weather gets colder. Coolest it's been recently around here was low-fifties. | ||
| Zane |
I've been in the south too long. Snowboarding sounds too cold for me. Guess I'm a wimp when it comes to the cold. More power to all of you guys that ride in the snow. | ||
| Andymnelson |
"Heated grips or gloves are the only thing I think I'd consider 'necessary'." Any opinions out there on heated gloves vs heated grips from those that have used both? "Neck gaiter of some kind is a must, IMO." Agreed. Does it really matter what brand, or are there ones to look for and ones to avoid? "Coolest it's been recently around here was low-fifties." Don't worry, I'm in MN and we're sending our current cold spell your way Thanks for the input. | ||
| Hughlysses |
I've had heated gloves for several seasons now. I suspect (but can't say for sure) they do a better job than grips at keeping your hands warm. OTOH, gloves are definitely a bigger PITA to use. You've got to thread the wiring harness through your jacket, plug the gloves in, get on the bike, and plug the harness into the bike. If you're out and it turns cold unexpectedly and you left your heated gloves at home, you're out of luck. I think if I had it to do over, I'd go with heated grips. Someone has posted that they make gloves insulated only on the backside specifically for use with heated grips. That seems like it'd be the best of both worlds. The one downside to heated gear, especially living some place like you do: If you're out on a trip and pop a fuse or otherwise have an electrical problem, you can be in serious trouble. (Message edited by Hughlysses on September 04, 2008) | ||
| Reepicheep |
Polly grip heaters are cheap, durable, effective, and very non invasive. When you want them they are there, and you will never give them a second thought the rest of the time. Unlike other grip heaters, they won't wear out wires or grips, and they are cheaper to start with. | ||
| Andymnelson |
"Polly grip heaters are cheap, durable, effective, and very non invasive. When you want them they are there, and you will never give them a second thought the rest of the time. Unlike other grip heaters, they won't wear out wires or grips, and they are cheaper to start with." Huh, never seen those before. I like the concept, don't like the idea of having to drill 2 holes in my bars at what is basically the highest stress point of the bars (for the wires). Runs out to look at bike... | ||
| Reepicheep |
You can pick a place on the bars where the stress is academic. I think so long as you don't punch the hole at a pre-existing bend, and keep it further up the bars, you won't loose any ultimate strength. On my 9sx, I have a cross bar to make it even stronger. I broke three drill bits trying to put a hole in those things, they must be made of depleted uranium or something... | ||
| Reepicheep |
The only down side relative to "outside" grip heaters is that they take longer to get hot. I start them up, jump on the highway, and within 2 miles am feeling the love. Thats about the same time my hands start getting cold, so it is "good enough" for me. The up side is that you are not constantly fixing broken wires or replacing $80 grips. Heated gloves would work a lot better, on a 30 degree day, the inside of my hands are toasty warm, and the outside of them are numb from the cold. An odd sensation. But cabling all that up and buying all the stuff is complicated and expensive. | ||
| Sloppy |
I'm not a fan of heated gear or grips unless it's REALLY cold. I ride year round and use an insulated liner in my jacket (Tour Master), regular leather gloves but with glove liners in them (on really cold days I'll use insulated gloves -- but sometimes I start sweating in them so it's quite rare that I use them) and an insulated wind block / neck gaiter. These 3 things will be able to handle 99% of the weather. And the best thing if it get's too hot it's so simple to remove any one of the three quickly to get to a decent temperature. | ||
| Andymnelson |
"I'm not a fan of heated gear or grips unless it's REALLY cold." LOL- um...you're in CA! I don't care who you are, riding when it's in the 40's (like this morning) or the 30's (which is coming soon) IS really cold! My jacket does have an insulated liner, but it also leaves my neck exposed. Also, neither my textile gloves or my leather ones are anywhere near warm enough on their own. I agree, however that layering is good practice- better to remove layers than to end up freezing!} | ||
| Buffalobolt |
I also ride year round and use both heated grips, and a heated jacket liner. NO BIKE SHOULD BE WITHOUT HEATED GRIPS! (my opinion) For the $25 bucks that they cost ($50 if you include a new set of grips) they are the best bargain in motorcycling! They are always there for use. How may times have you been out and had a cold rainy day. Throw the switch and it feels GREAT. The heated jacket liner is also rapidly becoming a "must have" for me. I use a Aerostich Kanetsu (?). It is pricey, but I've never heard anyone complain about the quality of their gear. Top of the line stuff. I was hesitant about paying that much, but it was worth it. It is wind proof fleece with full heating elements in it. There are MANY trips that I never would have been able to complete with out this in the saddlebags. I even use it when I take the truck in the winter (only when it snows to much for the bike).  The heater in the truck takes longer to get hot than the jacket liner. I plug it in and its hot by the end of the street. You could definately purchase just the heated vest, or a heated liner and still be much better off than you are now. I do like mine though as I typically wear it under my Buell jacket for casual wear (or even by itself as it looks decent by itself) where as the other types are meant to be worn in addition to other garments. With those items, wool socks under the riding boots, a neck gaiter (any), and leather riding gear, all day rides in the 20-30 degree range aren't any problems. Short rides are OK down around zero, but after that things start to hurt... | ||
| Roadrash1 |
Andy, Since you are in MN, get yourself up to Duluth. Aerostich will fix you right up! I have their Kanetsu electric vest. I need to get a Roadcrafter to wear over it! -roadrash1 | ||
| Tankhead |
Anyone have pics of polly heaters installed? | ||
| Gowindward |
I'm a great big WUSSY and I like being warm, even on a chilly day. I've road all day in freezing temperatures and it's nice to know when you stop for gas that when you get back on the bike you will be warm. The Gerbing jacket liner is pre-wired for gloves so that's never a pain. I like a balaclava vs a neck gator because it stays in place when you put a helmet on. Also look for one such those made by Bikers Comfort that are made from Gore Windstopper fleece. It's thin but stops the cold air. | ||
| Andymnelson |
"I like a balaclava vs a neck gator..." mmm...baklava...oh wait...} | ||
| Andymnelson |
Just ordered the Polly heaters from DennisKirk.com $28, couldn't go wrong with that! I'm off to drill out my bars and run wiring... I'm thinking that I will also install a power port while I'm wiring these, so that I am already wired up for a heated jacket liner. | ||
| Azxb9r |
Warm-n-safe makes some nice heated gear. Proper layering and a neck gaitor will go a long way to keeping you comfortable. | ||
| Roadrash1 |
If you ever had a battery tender, the leads come out real neatly on the left side of frame on the xb. That's where mine is, and it is easy to plug into with the sae plug of the heated vest. Since most of the vest cords have some coil cord, it seems to be fine, I clip mine to the bottom left side of my jacket (drape?) and plug in behind my left leg. It is out of the wind, and gives me room to wiggle around in the seat a bit. The downside is, it will sure suprize ya, if you jump off the bike at a gas pump without reaching down and unplugging first!  | ||
| Barnyard |
Man it was a cold rid 4 me as well. when i left for work it was 69 and man it was COOOOOLLLLLLDDDDD!! Im in Texas It should not be that dam cold EVER. | ||
| Darthane |
Bah, our HIGH wasn't all that much more than that! ...sissies! | ||
| Buffalobolt |
Andy, I'm not sure if the poly heaters that you ordered are the same as mine, but, I didn't have to drill me bars for installation. The type that I have wraps around the bars and the grips go over them. The two wires just kind of fit between the grips and the switch housing. Somewhere here I posted some pictures, along with the switch placement. I found everything but that when I did a search. There are some pictures of switch placement on S models though. +1 on Roadrash's battery tender lead. Mines set up the same way. +2 on making sure you un  plug before you go running off the bike!! | ||
| Slaughter |
Another vote for Gerbing. Sunny and I got the liners - jacket and pants. Got socks. Don't have gloves (yet) It has meant that we can ride up the Crest in Winter - the roads are clear but temps drop to really uncomfortable levels. Electric, you bet. Gerbings are great. Consider going to the next International Motorcycle Show. Gerbings always has a booth and you can get measured right there if you can't fit into one of their stock sizes. Their custom gear is the same price as stock - and they'll re-size at no cost. | ||
| Metalstorm |
I just got a FirstGear heated liner. It's 90 watt and made by Warm & Safe. It'll be a few months until I can try it out for real but I plugged it in and turned it on the day I got it to make sure it works and Boy does it work! Ouch! A heat troller is an absolute must with this puppy. Three cool things about it: 1. Unlike the Aerostich vest I had which is made of fleece, this thing is just a liner and nothing more. On a warm sub 70's day it will not make you any warmer unless you turn it on. 2. It has leads for heated gloves stored in little pockets at the end of the sleeves so hooking up gloves will be easy. 3. There's additional leads in the jacket so you can run gloves on a separate troller or off the jacket itself. Same for pants if you have them. It seems to me to be a really well thought out design. I actually can't wait for the temps to drop down into the low 20's & high teens (F, not C) just so I can use it | ||
| Glitch |
BRRRR? | ||
| Andymnelson |
Anyone have pics of polly heaters installed? I will tomorrow! (gotta love being 30 minutes from Dennis Kirk ) I'm not sure if the poly heaters that you ordered are the same as mine... I am quite sure the are not the same- this is what I ordered: http://denniskirk.com/jsp/product_catalog/Product. jsp;jsessionid=4H3WDY2QMAYW1LA0WTVSM4VMDK0NCIV0?store =Main&skuId=391802 } |
