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Originally Posted By ALASKANFIRE: What brand? I've never had heated gear but a vest makes sense to me. Had a friend with a Gerbing he loved but it was a plug in. @ALASKAFIRE Looked at my Amazon orders. Looks like all off brand crap. These are the gloves. Listed at $150 now, my invoice said I paid $75. I like these better than my Gerbings. Both 7.4v  
Socks, now unavailable. I'd search for others. I cannot wear these on high. Too hot. 
The vest is also an Amazon "WEWE" brand. So, just search and pick one. The cool about the vests are they take USB jump packs. I have 5000 to 40000 mah packs just laying around. The vest is the most useful item. Have two and were them for more than just riding in the winter. Hope this helps ETA: just searched for vests. They are not cheap now. We paid around $30/40 for ours IIRC. Still would buy again. |
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Originally Posted By outdoorgb: @chase45 Found this new 2024 with 2 miles on the odo at a local dealer. $4498 out the door What a hoot. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/74443/IMG_4094-3633434.jpg Dang ya stole that thing from them! |
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Originally Posted By ALASKANFIRE: What brand? I've never had heated gear but a vest makes sense to me. Had a friend with a Gerbing he loved but it was a plug in. If you do anything more than wear it to run down to the store and back, e.g., take a day ride, you will be a lot happier with plug-in electrics. If you ride much, you'll find that it becomes a job to chase battery charging and you will inevitably run the batteries down at some point and get cold unless you keep track of time and battery condition carefully. Much less work to plug into the bike and you won't have to juggle batteries. Some bikes already have sockets, but if not mount a Powerlet socket down on a side panel near your seat. This is a good location because it stays out of your way.  Sorry for the blurriness; this is blown up from a smaller image just to show location. At this point, I had 2 sockets so my girlfriend could plug in if she was on the back. A toasty warm girlfriend is a happy girlfriend!  I run a Gerbing jacket liner. It is excellent. I just run it with the stock on/off rocker switch, but you can get fancy controllers for them. It really puts out good heat. I had an electric vest for many years, but am MUCH happier to also have warm sleeves with the jacket liner. |
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@chase45 if you're looking for a rear rack, I just installed this Kemi Moto rack. Very sturdy, fit is excellent, and has all mounting bolts. Replaces the tool bag. I had the Nelson-Rigg tail bag from a previous ride. I paid $67 and see they are now $70ish. Still, solid rack as are the PMR racks. 
  o I'll also add, rechargeable heated gear (vests, socks, gloves) are probably not for the daily, long haul, rider. Aimed more at the 2-4 day a week rider who does 4-hour rides... Me. I love my rechargeable gear especially the gloves and vest. Easy to use. |
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Originally Posted By Emoto: If you do anything more than wear it to run down to the store and back, e.g., take a day ride, you will be a lot happier with plug-in electrics. If you ride much, you'll find that it becomes a job to chase battery charging and you will inevitably run the batteries down at some point and get cold unless you keep track of time and battery condition carefully. Much less work to plug into the bike and you won't have to juggle batteries. Some bikes already have sockets, but if not mount a Powerlet socket down on a side panel near your seat. This is a good location because it stays out of your way. https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-rzRVMkS/0/KGJwJTVNCkFwRPBdGS9tL6V4jgWc8b7RH4SDkrntR/L/i-rzRVMkS-L.jpg Sorry for the blurriness; this is blown up from a smaller image just to show location. At this point, I had 2 sockets so my girlfriend could plug in if she was on the back. A toasty warm girlfriend is a happy girlfriend! https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-tdBjBMz/0/LGq5pddQhmg3RgJtQtCMTpFJht9w69TNzhDvp6TQC/L/i-tdBjBMz-L.png I run a Gerbing jacket liner. It is excellent. I just run it with the stock on/off rocker switch, but you can get fancy controllers for them. It really puts out good heat. I had an electric vest for many years, but am MUCH happier to also have warm sleeves with the jacket liner. Originally Posted By Emoto: Originally Posted By ALASKANFIRE: What brand? I've never had heated gear but a vest makes sense to me. Had a friend with a Gerbing he loved but it was a plug in. If you do anything more than wear it to run down to the store and back, e.g., take a day ride, you will be a lot happier with plug-in electrics. If you ride much, you'll find that it becomes a job to chase battery charging and you will inevitably run the batteries down at some point and get cold unless you keep track of time and battery condition carefully. Much less work to plug into the bike and you won't have to juggle batteries. Some bikes already have sockets, but if not mount a Powerlet socket down on a side panel near your seat. This is a good location because it stays out of your way. https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-rzRVMkS/0/KGJwJTVNCkFwRPBdGS9tL6V4jgWc8b7RH4SDkrntR/L/i-rzRVMkS-L.jpg Sorry for the blurriness; this is blown up from a smaller image just to show location. At this point, I had 2 sockets so my girlfriend could plug in if she was on the back. A toasty warm girlfriend is a happy girlfriend! https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-tdBjBMz/0/LGq5pddQhmg3RgJtQtCMTpFJht9w69TNzhDvp6TQC/L/i-tdBjBMz-L.png I run a Gerbing jacket liner. It is excellent. I just run it with the stock on/off rocker switch, but you can get fancy controllers for them. It really puts out good heat. I had an electric vest for many years, but am MUCH happier to also have warm sleeves with the jacket liner. Can you charge any of the battery ones on the bike? Seems like that should be a thing if it's not. I think I would start with a vest or jacket liner for sure. |
BikerNut:
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
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Originally Posted By ALASKANFIRE: Can you charge any of the battery ones on the bike? Seems like that should be a thing if it's not. I think I would start with a vest or jacket liner for sure. Why even bother with a battery powered one? The fact that it is built to use a battery means that its warming ability is mediocre at best. Get a jacket liner that plugs in and you will be amazed at how hot you can turn it up to. I had to take my dog tags off because the collar would get so hot that it would burn my neck like I was getting branded. Mind you, I could turn it down but it just felt toasty without the dog tags. And you don't need to mount a receptacle on your bike. You just have a cable under your seat and you pull it out and connect it when you wear your heated gear. I put off buying heated gear for years. When I finally got it, I wondered why I had waited. Suddenly, the 'cool' months became my favorite time to ride. No bugs and no sweating. You just turn up your thermostat if you start to get chilly. I bought heated gloves, jacket liner and heated pants. I only wore the pants when I was going on a long trip. For around town, the gloves and jacket liner were all I needed. On a naked bike, I stayed comfortable down to about 40 degrees. At sustained highway speeds I would get cool, but not dangerously so. Lots of things in life are disappointments but heated gear is awesome. ETA: My jacket has connectors for the gloves built into the sleeves. So you put on your jacket liner and jacket. Then you plug in your gloves as you put them on. Then you connect one wire to the motorcycle when you get on. It's really simple with no mess of wires.  |
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Originally Posted By CapedCrusader: Why even bother with a battery powered one? The fact that it is built to use a battery means that its warming ability is mediocre at best. Get a jacket liner that plugs in and you will be amazed at how hot you can turn it up to. I had to take my dog tags off because the collar would get so hot that it would burn my neck like I was getting branded. Mind you, I could turn it down but it just felt toasty without the dog tags. And you don't need to mount a receptacle on your bike. You just have a cable under your seat and you pull it out and connect it when you wear your heated gear. I put off buying heated gear for years. When I finally got it, I wondered why I had waited. Suddenly, the 'cool' months became my favorite time to ride. No bugs and no sweating. You just turn up your thermostat if you start to get chilly. I bought heated gloves, jacket liner and heated pants. I only wore the pants when I was going on a long trip. For around town, the gloves and jacket liner were all I needed. On a naked bike, I stayed comfortable down to about 40 degrees. At sustained highway speeds I would get cool, but not dangerously so. Lots of things in life are disappointments but heated gear is awesome. ETA: My jacket has connectors for the gloves built into the sleeves. So you put on your jacket liner and jacket. Then you plug in your gloves as you put them on. Then you connect one wire to the motorcycle when you get on. It's really simple with no mess of wires. https://www.warmnsafe.com/cdn/shop/products/01-gen3-womensliner-8633_01f7dcc4-fe49-43d3-a15f-bc84f94b93aa_480x480.jpg?v=1613076151 Throw a windbloc fleece over top of your electric jacket liner under your coat. Makes a HUGE difference. |
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Originally Posted By Emoto: Throw a windbloc fleece over top of your electric jacket liner under your coat. Makes a HUGE difference. I varied my outer jacket depending on how cold it was and how far I was going (and how fast). I don't have a motorcycle at the moment, so it is a mute point. But I expect I'll get another in the next year or so. |
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If you have an Aerostich Roadcrafter/R3 you can just wear it over whatever street clothes you would normally wear during most of the year. Once temps drop into the low 40s or 30s you can add the electric vest. With the vest, heated grips, a scarf and some decent gloves you're good into the teens. I have an size 50L Aerostich R3 that I can wear year-round with adequate layers. I'm a bit lighter now and I've been contemplating (and watching eBay for) an R3 Light or Tactical in a 48L for summer wear. |
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Nods and this thing has been so much fun Attached File |
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Originally Posted By outdoorgb: @ALASKAFIRE Looked at my Amazon orders. Looks like all off brand crap. These are the gloves. Listed at $150 now, my invoice said I paid $75. I like these better than my Gerbings. Both 7.4v www.amazon.com/dp/B0CD3XQ8XT Socks, now unavailable. I'd search for others. I cannot wear these on high. Too hot. www.amazon.com/dp/B09K5F5MZ3 The vest is also an Amazon "WEWE" brand. So, just search and pick one. The cool about the vests are they take USB jump packs. I have 5000 to 40000 mah packs just laying around. The vest is the most useful item. Have two and were them for more than just riding in the winter. Hope this helps ETA: just searched for vests. They are not cheap now. We paid around $30/40 for ours IIRC. Still would buy again. I have a pair of electric socks that work great for riding. Unfortunately, I switched phones, the app to control the socks didn't get transferred, and now the app is no longer available. If anyone knows where I can find the Hiwarm bluetooth app, I'd be grateful! |
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Originally Posted By CapedCrusader: I varied my outer jacket depending on how cold it was and how far I was going (and how fast). I don't have a motorcycle at the moment, so it is a Originally Posted By CapedCrusader: Originally Posted By Emoto: Throw a windbloc fleece over top of your electric jacket liner under your coat. Makes a HUGE difference. I varied my outer jacket depending on how cold it was and how far I was going (and how fast). I don't have a motorcycle at the moment, so it is a Yup, I also vary my jacket to suit the weather and feel somewhat lucky to be able to do so. Still, the windbloc makes far more difference than one might expect, even under leather. |
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My battery operated vest is way too warm on high. I use low or medium only. And on a 10000 mah battery I can run for hours. Would never get a plug in vest, why be tethered? As for gloves. Those too are never used on high. Medium only and I get 4/5 hours of heat. Again, why be tethered? Yes I can recharge these as I ride but only one battery at a time with my current 12v plug rating. I’ll add, I have many years of riding experience with batt operated gear. I’ll repeat. If you ride all day and need heat. I’d suggest plug in gear. |
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Originally Posted By outdoorgb: My battery operated vest is way too warm on high. I use low or medium only. And on a 10000 mah battery I can run for hours. Would never get a plug in vest, why be tethered? As for gloves. Those too are never used on high. Medium only and I get 4/5 hours of heat. Again, why be tethered? Yes I can recharge these as I ride but only one battery at a time with my current 12v plug rating. I’ll add, I have many years of riding experience with batt operated gear. I’ll repeat. If you ride all day and need heat. I’d suggest plug in gear. I’d rather freeze than be tethered to the bike. |
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Originally Posted By outdoorgb: My battery operated vest is way too warm on high. I use low or medium only. And on a 10000 mah battery I can run for hours. Would never get a plug in vest, why be tethered? As for gloves. Those too are never used on high. Medium only and I get 4/5 hours of heat. Again, why be tethered? Yes I can recharge these as I ride but only one battery at a time with my current 12v plug rating. I’ll add, I have many years of riding experience with batt operated gear. I’ll repeat. If you ride all day and need heat. I’d suggest plug in gear. Out of curiosity, what kind of bike are you riding? You will need much more heat on a naked bike than one with a fairing. |
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Originally Posted By outdoorgb: My battery operated vest is way too warm on high. I use low or medium only. And on a 10000 mah battery I can run for hours. Would never get a plug in vest, why be tethered? As for gloves. Those too are never used on high. Medium only and I get 4/5 hours of heat. Again, why be tethered? Yes I can recharge these as I ride but only one battery at a time with my current 12v plug rating. I’ll add, I have many years of riding experience with batt operated gear. I’ll repeat. If you ride all day and need heat. I’d suggest plug in gear. Originally Posted By WTXTremor: I’d rather freeze than be tethered to the bike. I view this as irrational. Things like electric jacket liners have coilly cords with plugs that push straight into a socket. There is no lock or retention mechanism. I have had "plug in" electrics for something over 25 years now, and I think I tried to walk away from the bike with it still plugged in one time. You notice, as the coilly cord stretches on you and if you keep going, the plug just pops out of the socket undamaged. You'll see the cord as you dismount, so it is really a non-issue. You will get strong unending consistent heat out of a plugged in garment. Concern about being tethered is silly. |
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Originally Posted By WTXTremor: I'd rather freeze than be tethered to the bike. Originally Posted By WTXTremor: Originally Posted By outdoorgb: My battery operated vest is way too warm on high. I use low or medium only. And on a 10000 mah battery I can run for hours. Would never get a plug in vest, why be tethered? As for gloves. Those too are never used on high. Medium only and I get 4/5 hours of heat. Again, why be tethered? Yes I can recharge these as I ride but only one battery at a time with my current 12v plug rating. I'll add, I have many years of riding experience with batt operated gear. I'll repeat. If you ride all day and need heat. I'd suggest plug in gear. I'd rather freeze than be tethered to the bike. |
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Originally Posted By outdoorgb: 2018 650 VStrom Hand guards, adjustable wind screen https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/74443/IMG_2672-3637359.jpg Nice bike! 
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Another Akrapovic piped ADV enters the chat Attached File Attached File |
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...do I need another motorcycle? I might need an old man sport tourer since Honda released a new colorway for the NT1100. Attached File |
| To each his own. Seems like a lot of bike for $12k. Weird they can have a fully faired bike with the Africa Twin motor for less than the base Africa Twin. |
BikerNut:
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
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I found my old racing leathers. Now i can really squid out. Attached File |
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Originally Posted By PhuzzyGnu: ...do I need another motorcycle? I might need an old man sport tourer since Honda released a new colorway for the NT1100. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/69748/1000023915_png-3640020.JPG I'm thinking that might be my next bike. I was a little disappointed that it's not shaft driven. My short list is the NT or the FJR. |
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Originally Posted By PhuzzyGnu: ...do I need another motorcycle? I might need an old man sport tourer since Honda released a new colorway for the NT1100. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/69748/1000023915_png-3640020.JPG Thats sharp, wish the seat height was a couple inches shorter, my wife would trade her CTX in for that in a heartbeat. |
| First Rule Of Motorcycles: Take a motorcycle safety class first and learn to ride and stay alive. Anything over 250-500 CC for a first bike is asking for an accident. Learn to ride until it's second nature and then upgrade after a year or so. Mileage may vary. |
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Originally Posted By chase45: 50s this morning I layered pretty good and wore gloves and a baclava under my helmet Not sure if Ill be able to bear 40s though. I didnt get cold with it in the 50s but I could feel it creepin in I've mentioned it before, but one of the best layers you can wear under your riding jacket is a Windbloc fleece. Wear it on top of your other layers, just under your jacket. I think Windbloc is a registered trademark of Polartec. There are knock-offs out there, too. This type of fleece has a thin layer in the middle that totally cuts the wind. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it really makes a HUGE difference. Put another way, it punches well above its weight. The one I have was from REI like 20 years ago and still works fine. I think LL Bean has one, too. They aren't very thick, but they do a much nicer job than one would think. I keep mine in my saddlebag lid all the time - even in the summer you can get cool evenings where they come in handy, and you can wear it off the bike and not look like a retard. |
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Originally Posted By PhuzzyGnu: I found my old racing leathers. Now i can really squid out. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/69748/1000023989_jpg-3642219.JPG Are you by chance from Tx? Somwthing just gives me a feeling you're a Texan... |
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Originally Posted By chase45: I’ve been plagued with this yearning for a motorcycle the last few years. I have never ridden a real motorcycle. I’ve puddled around with a mini bike the last few years but have never ridden anything that has gears. My family isn’t big on the idea which has weighed on me. But at 35 I’m not getting any younger. The decision to buy or not has been really messing with me. Haven’t wanted something this bad since I was a kid. I’ve found myself both daydreaming and actually dreaming about purchasing one I’m finally at peace now. I’ve decided to just use some savings and make it happen next week instead of talking about doing it for a few years and having to pay more. Tuesday I’m going to take a half day at work. Head to the bank and grab a small pile of cash. Straight to the dealer in town I’ve found this 2025 “phantom blue” Kawasaki klx300sm that has to be mine. Guess I better figure out how to get a motorcycle permit too somewhere in between all of that lol https://www.cyclenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024-Kawasaki-KLX300SM-Specifications.jpg I'm saying you have made an exceptionally good choice. I was considering the 300 dual sport (same engine and transmission as your choice) but settled for a Z650RS. kwg |
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Had my first real close call tonight Traveling down a pretty busy road in the right lane. Heavy traffic. Mini van came roaring up in the left. I could see this retard think about passing the car in front of him in the oncoming lane. Slowed down a little bit. Sure enough this fuckin idiot threw it hard right. Laid on the horn and slammed the brakes. Missed his bumper by inches as he threw his shitty minivan in the right lane Worst part was my wife and kids were behind me and saw it go down so my wife is pretty freaked out about the bike now Of course I had to go communicate with the guy a little. He was being real cute and just laughed at me about it all while we were still moving. He stopped laughing when an upcoming light turned red and I got a chance to talk with him. |
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Reflecting on it a bit I feel I could have been more proactive on my part I saw him come up and be impatient with the car in front of him when he flew up in the lane beside me. I may have embellished on him thinking about passing the car on oncoming traffic. Most likely he was trying to show himself in the other drivers LH mirror real close to push him to go faster Should have just let off and sank back further than I did not have let it be as close as it was |
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Originally Posted By chase45: Reflecting on it a bit I feel I could have been more proactive on my part I saw him come up and be impatient with the car in front of him when he flew up in the lane beside me Should have just let off and sank back further than I did not have let it be as close as it was 48 years of riding has led me to the conclusion that any attempt to interact with bad drivers is a losing proposition and potentially life-threatening. I stay away from them and do my best to keep my cool. The sooner they are out of your life, the better your life will be. |
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Originally Posted By Emoto: 48 years of riding has led me to the conclusion that any attempt to interact with bad drivers is a losing proposition and potentially life-threatening. I stay away from them and do my best to keep my cool. The sooner they are out of your life, the better your life will be. Definitely true. I should have kept my cool a bit better. Just one of those things I shoulda let go but I had to say something. Hopefully ill get there with it one day. Its been a few years though so im improving 
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Originally Posted By chase45: Definitely true. I should have kept my cool a bit better. Just one of those things I shoulda let go but I had to say something. Hopefully ill get there with it one day. Its been a few years though so im improving It can be really hard to do. The lizard brain wants to be in control. I was kind of a hothead when I was young, so I have some... um... experience with being stupid. (not saying you were stupid, just thinking back on my own actions) |
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Originally Posted By Emoto: It can be really hard to do. The lizard brain wants to be in control. I was kind of a hothead when I was young, so I have some... um... experience with being stupid. (not saying you were stupid, just thinking back on my own actions) No I hear you If it had escalated further it would be bad on all accounts. Calmed down me definitely understands Ill just use this as a learning moment all around. Honestly I've been much more reserved about instances in my 30s vs 20s but boy that one got me. Granted I didn't say anything too bad to the fella. But you're right I shoulda just let it be as soon as it was over |
Battle Of West Appalachia Survivor
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Originally Posted By outdoorgb: Good reason to practice left handed It's okay. She's got cruise control. Attached File |