Motorcycle Riders?

[04FXSTS]

View attachment 170050

Sounds like the bike is being sold by Gracie Allen. Jim.

 

[melensdad]

 

[cbhausen]

Oof…

 

[t-squared]

 

[04FXSTS]

The above post reminds me of when I tried Hill climbing in the early 80's. Short term insanity and never any good at it but like most things had a lot of fun. My first attempt at the riders meeting they went over classes and how many riders in each class. The thing I won't forget was that you had to be in control of the motorcycle when going through the lights. Control was "one hand on one handlebar." Jim.

 

[bwframe]

I just sprung for a cheap heated vest on Amazon. Will this work OK, under my riding jacket?

FYI - This wont be for venturing out in the stupid cold. More along the lines of getting caught out riding too late on a sunny 60 degree day, that dropped into the 40's as the sun set.

 

[JCSR]

Got a pic?

 

[bwframe]

Got a pic?

 

[JCSR]

View attachment 171253

Looks good. Please come back and report on how it does. I've had one on my mind for a while now.

 

[EyeCarry]

I just sprung for a cheap heated vest on Amazon. Will this work OK, under my riding jacket?

FYI - This wont be for venturing out in the stupid cold. More along the lines of getting caught out riding too late on a sunny 60 degree day, that dropped into the 40's as the sun set.

I picked up a used, heated, jacket liner but I am having no luck finding a new controller for it. It is an original Tourmaster Synergy not the 2.0 version. (anyone have one?)
Longer rides spring and fall are what I want to try one for. My arms get colder than my chest or back so I want a full liner.
Let us know how it works bw.

 

[melensdad]

View attachment 171253

Not sure about that vest. I'd want heat on my chest, not on my belly.

I have an inexpensive heated jacket, the controller is built into the jacket so it just needs power, nothing else. Wear it under a windproof uninsulated motorcycle jacket and it keeps me warm down to 40, probably would keep me warm below that but I've not ridden lower than 40.

FWIW my bike has only modest wind protection.

 

[k12lts]

It helps to wear the heated gear close to the skin. I wear a long sleeve merino turtleneck as a base layer, then the heated jacket liner, then my riding jacked with liner. Don't put too much between the heat and you.

 

[melensdad]

It helps to wear the heated gear close to the skin. I wear a long sleeve merino turtleneck as a base layer, then the heated jacket liner, then my riding jacked with liner. Don't put too much between the heat and you.

Agreed, the heated gear right over a merino top. My moto jacket does not have a liner, it is just a shell. But heat works well enough that I'm good to 40 degrees.

 

[EyeCarry]

Not sure about that vest. I'd want heat on my chest, not on my belly.

I have an inexpensive heated jacket, the controller is built into the jacket so it just needs power, nothing else. Wear it under a windproof uninsulated motorcycle jacket and it keeps me warm down to 40, probably would keep me warm below that but I've not ridden lower than 40.

FWIW my bike has only modest wind protection.

1. In my searches, one place said you didn't want to much or any heat on your chest. I could not understand the reasoning.
2. How inexpensive and what brand/model?

I would rather have a stand alone liner with the option to "plug in" if needed. This would depend on charge longevity. It would be nice for an onboard battery to last 3 hours.

 

[melensdad]

1. In my searches, one place said you didn't want to much or any heat on your chest. I could not understand the reasoning.
2. How inexpensive and what brand/model?

I would rather have a stand alone liner with the option to "plug in" if needed. This would depend on charge longevity. It would be nice for an onboard battery to last 3 hours.

I think it is Hotwired brand? The jacket, with built in controller has heat on the arms, full front and full back. It plugs into my motorcycle. It is not a stand alone vest/jacket. I think it was about $150. The heat controller is a simple button, press once for LOW, twice for MEDIUM and 3 times for HIGH heat. Press again and it switches off. Pretty idiot proof. The button hangs from a tab at the lower seam of the jacket.

The battery vests/jackets that I looked at were much lower wattage than the ones that pigtail off your bike's battery. Therefore don't get nearly as warm. Typically in the 7 watt range versus 12 watts for the plug in type. On the moto forums where I participate the battery powered units don't get good reviews.

No clue why anyone would recommend NOT having heat on the chest. Every heated jacket designed for motorcycles that I found has full front, full back and fully heated arms.

 

[semperfi211]

This works better.

 

[bwframe]

View attachment 171253

I've been wearing this vest for 3 hours in my shop, with the heat turned off. It's not particularly cold in here, but I would be running heat without the vest.

It's OK so far, keeping in mind that it pays to read the comments and know what you are getting. They were right to suggest ordering a size larger. I normally wear large, this was sold as XL and the tag says XL/2XL. Waist sizing is right on, to just comfortably lift up over my G45 MOS with 509T. (I can't cut out the waist bungie until I'm sure it's not going back.) I wouldn't want the neck to be a bit tighter. Had to fold down the fleece shirt neck I was wearing. There might be just enough room for a thin gator under the vest neck, when zipped?

Comments were correct on the battery pack also. I first plugged in the battery pack that showed 4 lights, the light on the vest flashed, but no worky. I put the vest battery pack on the charger and put an old battery pack I had on the vest. Worky now!

Indicator lights on cheap battery packs must just be a good guess? I'm on my 3rd battery pack now, all showed 4 lights, none charged up in recent memory.

I'm not really a hoody guy, but am trying to train myself to use the versatility of a hood. A slight difference from the Amazon photo is that the hood looks to stand up on it's own. It does not. The hood is a thin double layer of nylon. Haven't tried it yet, but my helmet just might fit over this thin hood? 1st impression is that the heat from the neck warmer element may be rising into the hood?

More testing to do, let alone not yet taking a ride with the vest. So far though, I'm leaning toward keeping the vest. If the vest doesn't chew through battery packs in no time, for $58 it might be worth keeping, even if it won't keep me warm on the bike in the 30's?

 

[t-squared]

 

[t-squared]

 

[melensdad]