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Gerbing heated pants and vest liners

Afan

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Motorcycle Superstore (Motorcycle Gear, Parts and Accessories - Motorcycle Superstore) was bought by J&P Cycles so they have huge online sale. I bought Dyne (by Gerbing) heated pants and vest liners for 65% off. Both for a bit over $110.
Gerbing 12V Heated Pant Liner - RevZilla
Gerbing 12V Heated Vest Liner - Cycle Gear
My first heated gear ever. :D

This morning I was testing the gear. And I'm happy. REALLY happy! :D
True, it wasn't so cold outside, around 55°F. But I felt really warm. No, it wasn't "I wasn't cold", it was "I was warm". :) I was most of the time on 5 of 10. I tested on 9 once, both the pants and the vest and I was hot. Although, for people they never wear heated gear before (like myself until this morning :) ) you should know couple things: first, it wasn't warm all over the vest/pants/body. Take a look at this link https://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/yhst-11545572856523/Gyde-Heated-Jackets-Info.jpg. So, the heat on the back will cover only one (small?) area on the upper back. And you can feel the temp difference between upper and lower back. If the upper is nice and warm, the lower back is "ok". Sounds bad but don't forget: you are not cold! :)
The same with my pants: while the my knees were nice and warm, my inner thighs where not. It would not (probably) make me a trouble on a longer ride or lower temp, but I would like to have couple strings/wires on the thighs too.
There wasn't 2XL size so I bought 3XL. I thought they go under the jacket and pants, they are thin liners so it it shouldn't be a problem. And it is not. Before I jump into pants I have feeling I'm wearing open parachute. My old TourMaster jacket is 2XL but it's a bit tight because my belly is 6XL. So, when cold it doesn't help much. So I bought TM 3XL - and it's nice and comfy... But in this case you need jacket to press the heated vest liner to your body to feel the warmth. If it's not next to your body you almost don't feel anything. So, while riding 35-40 mph on a street I felt the heater on my back but nothing on the front. I thought it's broken. Then, when sped up to 65-70 mph front was pressed to my chest (because of the wind, of course) and I felt the heater. But now I had a "bubble" on my back, between my body and the jacket, and didn't feel a thing. So, it's gonna be perfect with my old tight jacket ;-) I had my fleece jacket with me (in case something goes wrong), put it on, it pressed the liner to my body and it was almost perfect.
The vest has collar (there are vests without collar too), and it's heated too. Nice! Although, that caused some "disagreement" with my helmet. But not big deal.
My biggest "complain" was - it's vest, not jacket, so my arms were colder than the rest of my torso. As I said earlier, I wasn't cold, but next time I'll definitely buy a liner with heated arms.
And, the last "element": the controller. I got Gebring bluetooth temp controller for $25 - I think it's good deal ;) Since most of us already use their phone for GPS, music, hone calls... I think regulating the temp by phone is really convenient. You can see the temp level (0-10). Cons: If your phone runs out of juice, or you, God forbid, drop you phone in a puddle you just were crossing - you screwed. I think you can bypass the controller and hook up you gear directly to the outlet - but wasn't sure what will happen. And, of course, you have to have gloves you can use with your phone - it's common thee days, right?

So... I'm happy I bought it. I'm even MORE happy I bought it really cheap. I was happy and warm while riding. So I'm not going to be afraid of my next "traditional" January 2nd ride (current record is 14°F in 2015 - wasn't so much fun at all :) )

14F on Jan 2nd 2015.jpg

:D :D :D :D

If I missed something, if you have any question, please ask.
 
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Very important to inquire about where the heating pads are and how much of the area do they cover. I have some that cover the width of my shoulders and down to mid back.
A large misconception that I believe is out there... heated gear is only for really cold weather. It is not true. It is perfect for high 50's and down if you are going to be riding a while. Keep it low and just enough to keep you warm and comfortable and if it gets colder... adjust it up. Comfort = less fatigue over distance. Whether it is an hr or all day.

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... A large misconception that I believe is out there... heated gear is only for really cold weather. It is not true. It is perfect for high 50's and down if you are going to be riding a while. Keep it low and just enough to keep you warm and comfortable and if it gets colder... adjust it up. Comfort = less fatigue over distance. Whether it is an hr or all day...
Agree to disagree... It's a matter of personal preferences. Some people winterized motorcycle a month ago, some will never winterize. For some people in MN or Canada high 50s is beautiful temp for riding while folks in FL and CA see high 50s as freezing winter.
I have some "natural heated gear" (fat) so to me 50s are for some other people 60s. :D

I hope the gear I bought will give me chance to ride more than hour or two in 30s and 40s if the road is dry and not much wind. And, if I find the heated gear very useful as I think it is, I'll then invest in much better heated gear, as well as heating gloves and inserts and a such...
 
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Agree to disagree... It's a matter of personal preferences. Some people winterized motorcycle a month ago, some will never winterize. For some people in MN or Canada high 50s is beautiful temp for riding while folks in FL and CA see high 50s as freezing winter.
I have some "natural heated gear" (fat) so to me 50s are for some other people 60s. :D

I hope the gear I bought will give me chance to ride more than hour or two in 30s and 40s if the road is dry and not much wind. And, if I find the heated gear very useful as I think it is, I'll then invest in much better heated gear, as well as heating gloves and inserts and a such...
Wasn't disagreeing at all with you. Just commenting that heated gear can be used over a wide range of temps. Not just really cold temps. I have ridden in the 20s for years with no gear 10 miles to work and back. I also am a long distance tourer where if you are riding in 50 degrees for 15 hours your fatigue is much less if you have heated gear on low keeping your body from shivering around the 10 hr mark. That was all.


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Gerbing's heated clothing had a different design than most other makes. Their stuff did much better at distribution of heat than anything else I tried back in the day.
I'll confess I haven't tried some of the newer makers' item because my older Gerbings still produce outstanding results.
The Missus has been out and about plenty in our chilly northeastern Illinois weather since she (recently) got her NC, including some three-hour after-work stints where temps fell below 50F for a good part of the time, and the Gerbing jacket liner has extended the season substantially. Geez, I even had mine at a low setting yesterday as darkness fell, and I was on the Wing.
So, here's a plug for Gerbing's. The Gerbings themselves used to travel the International Motorcycle Show circuit and I recall how really pleasant, and expert, they were. I understand they sold out some time ago, but I do not hesitate to recommend anything with their name on it.
There was this straight-through ride back in '98 on Concours from Barre, Vermont, where I discovered snow on my saddle in the morning, back home to Chicago, raining nearly the whole way...
As for the new owner, I can't say.
 
... I understand they sold out some time ago, but I do not hesitate to recommend anything with their name on it...
I don't remember where exactly I read it: Gerbing, family owned business sod the company and the quality went down a bit. And then they started new, also heated gear company...
 
One thing I forgot to mention though: connections. In case you forgot on the cables (specially if you are a novice in using these things), taking off of the bike before you "disconnect" yourself, can cause some damages.
I think somebody should develop magnetic connectors, like what use Apple MacBooks.
 
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