heated Gear - yes or no?

For the first time in about 25 years of riding,
this past few months was my first time with heated gear.

Only used in 40-60 degree weather.
Bestest awesomest thing ever.

One of those things where you say the cliche
"Why did I wait so long to do this?"

I use FirstGear products.
I wear the heated jacket under my Kilimanjaro coat,
with the gloves as well.

All wired through their "HeatTroller",
which remotely allows separate control of each circuit.

I don't ride in sub-40 degree temps. Don't feel the need for heated pants & socks.
Jeans with FirstGear overpants feels warm enough.

+1 what Hystco said. I use the same setup and ride down into the 20's.
PS. the first gear stuff is called Warm-N-Safe.

I have been using heated gear for about 20 years and it's extended my riding season up here in NY. Now I have a FirstGear heated jacket liner, and FirstGear heated gloves. I might at some point get some heated socks, because my toes still get cold even with wool socks. I used to ride down to about 35 degrees F. Lately my cutoff is 40.

I have had some Hondas, including a Gold Wing (I'd sweat while riding in 30 degree weather will all that fairing and windscreen). I've had BMWs. I always made sure what I was riding had an adequate alternator or stator output. The Wing and BMWs were good for that. The KTM Duke I had only put out 224W. I had to put a battery gauge on it because the extra lights and heated stuff would soak up a lot of power and I wanted to make sure I wasn't sapping the battery. I was glad to see the HyperStrada's uprated alternator and two power connections.

I had heated grips thrown into the HS deal too. I'd always known about them but never had a bike with them and didn't think I needed them because I had heated gloves. But once I'd gotten a bike that already had them, I didn't know how I'd lived without them. I don't use my heated gloves as much now, because I can wear a less bulky glove with the grip heaters on. If you're covering the brake lever, your fingertips can get cold since they work best with fingers wrapped around the grips. It's good to have both heated gloves and grips, and using each depends on outside temps.

So yeah, I use heated gear. I've got a friend who has never understood my need for it. One day I gave him an old electric vest of mine, you know, just to try. He liked it. So in a moment of weakness with some money burning a hole in his pocket, he went for a jacket liner and gloves and thanked me for pushing him to do it. He has been enjoying them ever since.

I have used a Kanatsu?, Aerostich sells them, For two or three years now. If it failed today I would've not hesitate to replace it.

Best thing ever.

Mike

I ride in temperatures down to 1 Celsius (about 33 Fahrenheit) and currently don't use heated gear, but have started to consider it. Main issue is keeping the fingertips warm if I'm doing any highway miles, as the breeze just cuts through the gloves at high speeds.

I've been considering heated grips until I saw in this forum that the dash shares the fuse with the heated grips, and any malfunction leaves the bike dead. I already had a couple of electrical issues (dash replaced twice, and bike pushed home for a mile after hitting the high beam left the bike dead when bringing the bike back from the dealer after having had the high-beam bulb replaced). I don't think I'll chance it with the grips unless I can find a solution to the fuse risk, but I am considering a heated vest and gloves for sure. Otherwise, the season here in Toronto, Canada is just too short.

Is riding in 50F considered cold? That's as harsh as it gets in mid-winter along the coast in SoCal.

Just did a 940mi round trip to Being Bend in Feb. Temps were as low as high 20's no heated gear, just grips. Thankful the high 20's was in the first day. Coming back, 48deg felt downright balmy.

Almost half of that ride was in the rain and more important than heated gear is staying dry.
Even mild temps in the wet will seem very cold.

AlpineStars touring suit saved my bacon on a couple of occasions where the weather took a turn for the worse. Goretex liners kept me warm and dry.

Bike wind protections is a big factor too, IMO

Riding in those conditions takes some cojones. I wig out crossing a street drain with water in it.

BelloStrada said:

Is riding in 50F considered cold? That's as harsh as it gets in mid-winter along the coast in SoCal.

Click to expand...

Now you're just making those of us further north jealous

I thoroughly recommend heated gear, I had a battery powered heated vest for a couple of winters (never liked the idea of plugging myself into the bike) and it was a godsend in severe cold until it broke.

I haven't replaced it as I splashed out on top notch Rukka ****-Tex gear and have learned to layer properly, plus the fact the last two winters here have been mild, but if next year is bad I'll definitely go for another vest.

I wouldn't bother with gloves or socks - science dictates that as long as you keep your core warm, your extremities will suffer less.

This stuff came highly recommended in my research:

Heated Clothing | Heated Gloves | Heated Socks | Heated Vests

I have these installed on my Gas Gas trials bike and my HS. Cheap, simple to install under the standard Ducati grips and very effective.

Enduro Engineering Heated Grips

heated gear

I've had a heated Gerbing jacket for about 10 years now, and it's great. Hook up a pig tail to your battery and have it extend just outside your seat. Plug in when desired. I also have the heat adjuster/potentiometer, but usually don't use it.
I bought the heated gloves, but sold them due to being so thick you lose "feel"
and not so much in control.

My wife and I have had heated vests for a long time. They are good down to freezing. Below that I'd rather not be on a bike! For weekend romps we wear leather, but for long trips we have Aerostich Darien suits. The suit alone, with fleece underneath, is good down to 40. Maybe not for all day at that temp, but enough for a cold morning in the mountains.

One thing about the Strada - the handguards are nearly useless at blocking the wind, most of your hands are out in the breeze. I've just ordered a pair of insulated rain gloves for our next trip.

I've had a heated vest for years but last year invested in a full heated liner with sleeves from CycleGear. The budget liner from CycleGear works well, comes with a 4 level controller and on high almost broils me.

Aside from the liner, the best investments I've made in foul weather gear are are Alpinestars gortex lined boots and gloves as well as A-Stars waterproof jacket and pants that zip together. This setup has kept me warm enough in riding temps to the mid 30s. If it's colder than that, i don't want to be on the bike!

Heated gear is the best thing since sliced bread. Speaking of sliced bread, my heated gear was cut off me in a nasty bike vs car 9 years ago (I was a passenger in the incident). Time to finally replace it.

After a couple of bone chilling night rides last year (got caught out) I got a powerlet liner and glove liner. They are wonderful - extended my riding season. Just a warm glow of heat.

Another thing is people think you're super tough - but apart from snotcicles - you're just really comfortable.

While the heated core will help your extremities - I still suggest the glove liners. I use them under a well armored set of waterproof gloves. The benefit is that the gloves aren't padded with insulation so I get better control feel, and unlike most winter gloves, the outer glove has nice armor.

I have Gerbing pant, jacket, sock liners and gloves. I control the sock and pants as one group and the jacket liner and gloves as another group. I have used the set on several occasions with temperatures around -10 celsius. I personally would not ride with temperatures below 5 celsius without using some heated gear. With the gear I stay very comfortable without having to wear multiple layers under my TPG jacket and pants. I would highly recommend heated gear, it is well worth the price.

I think I'm sold on getting some heated gear (jacket liner & pant liner) as I just did a 3 hour trip each way at about 6-8 deg C and had a miserable time trying to keep warm at 120 km/hr.

So, the next question might be.. Gerbing or Firstgear?

Ok, I guess brands are a wash.. they all seem to do the same thing, however Gerbing has a lifetime warranty on the heater elements.. where Firstgear I'm not sure if they do or not.

Next question, are people using the 12v sockets on the HS for their heated gear, or are you wiring directly to the battery. Obviously using a heat troller to control the temps.