Heated Clothing

[Gordonrgs]

Hi everybody, I'm doing a few days touring in Scotland within the next week or two, and as it's likely to be a bit chilly I'm thinking of investing in some heated clothing, probably just a bodywarmer/vest and maybe some gloves, but I have a few questions:-

Anybody use this type of thing and have any recommendations as to what's good?

Will it drain the battery (Gen 1)?
 
Thanks

[Fazerider]

Can't offer any advice on specific makes, but addressing the second part of your question, typically you'll be adding around 50 or 60W of load to the electrical system of the bike. Provided that's in good health and you're not sat with the headlights on and the engine idling for ages the battery shouldn't suffer.

[Tefer]

Not very chilly just now 

[tomlinscote]

As an alternative all be it a more expensive one, you can get clothing with battery packs that you charge up then drain as you ride, not sure if these can work in tandem with the bike too to prolong the battery but it means the clothes don't have to be wired to the bike. If you are going the clothing route think about heated socks, sounds a bit daft, but I have really shite circulation but with decent non-heated gear its only really my hands and feet that get cold.
I would recommend hand guards too as these work well with heated grips etc and keep a lot of the rain off, went out for a 90 mile trip the other day and had to turn the grips off due to the protection of the guards.
Have a good trip
 

[gel]

Hi everybody, I'm doing a few days touring in Scotland within the next week or two, and as it's likely to be a bit chilly I'm thinking of investing in some heated clothing, probably just a bodywarmer/vest and maybe some gloves, but I have a few questions:-

Anybody use this type of thing and have any recommendations as to what's good?

Will it drain the battery (Gen 1)?
 
Thanks

Hi I commute 100 miles a day and through the colder months I use a EXO2 heated waist coat and oxford heated grips. What I find is that if your core is warm and hands are warm then the rest of you stays warm. I do also use Gortex Cordora suit and waterproof boots. Toasty! As far as the battery, it goes on the optimate every night and have not had an issue so far and I have running this configuration for 6 months. Hope this is of some help.

[1967fazer]

Wouldn't use heated clothing myself, its ok when its working but if it stops working.....its gonna get chilly very quickly!
I'd prefer to use good quality thermals/base layer clothing and a decent wind/water proof jacket. At least they won't let you down at all.
Just my thoughts on the subject.

[BMCfaz]

I use Gerbing heated gloves, but the battery's pretty new, so is working well at the moment. I have had problems with older batteries draining on other bikes though.
The gloves are brilliant if you ride all year, they keep your hands warm all round, not just the palms. Also, Gerbing will replace the gloves if they pack up, no matter how old, and they're warm enough to wear without plugging in at the moment.
Highly recommended!

[steeeve66]

i have EXO (stormsheild i think) gloves and they're 'ok' down to around 3 or 4deg, below that and they start to struggle... i suspect the Gerbings might be better.

in general though i think heated gloves are a better bet than heated grips - others here, i'm sure, will disagree...

[GringoRojo]

The main problem is getting a good fit. Heated jackets need to be snug to your baselayer to be of benefit. Too much air gap, or too many baselayers and you won't get the desired effect.
Never tried gloves cos I had grips, but know there's a couple options such as full gloves or just liners. Choice is yours.
Brands are gerbing; klan; exo; keiss; think powerlet do some; warm and safe seems popular in the US; think there's BMW branded too; and some others I can't remember.
Klan jacket liners have helped me ride through winters for years.

[tommyteeman]

use a keiss heated waistcoat which is either powered from bike or its own batterypack (good as you can use it off the bike), 5 heat settings, zip bust after a couple years use, apart from that good bit of kit. If I buy another I'd go for the gerbing heated jacket liner, heats down the arms and around the collar. I have gerbing heated gloves which are excellent, way better than heated grips imo. Got some keiss heated insoles too, again work spot on and can be wired with the waistcoat. My bike has no probs running all three at once.