Heated Gear review with Stock Charging System

[blue900]

My heated gear review with the stock charging system. The bike is a 1981

I saw gggGarys quest for some cold weather riding upgrade possibilitys.
so heres my review weekendrider.

I use my XS to commute 50 miles round trip to work, it is also my main transportation in the ice-safe days here in the desert of Idaho.
My general low temperature morning limit is 25 degrees and it needs to be in the 50s for the ride home. For a while we had vehicle problems and i was riding some mornings in the high teens, the bike did not like it that cold and had some carb icing problems, My body had problems dealing with that also, so I don't recommend it the way I'm set up.
I have learned some things over the years and would like to share.

First you gotta layer up when its cold no getting around that, no exposed skin and block that wind.
The riding summer here is very short unless you can push into the colder mornings. 60 degree mornings are rare, most are in the 50s or 40s in the summer.
I did it for years with no heated gear, but heated gear changes the experience makes it lots
better.

first and most important are the handle bar mitts, the ones I have are by Moose Racing i picked up locally for $20 the cold wind blocking is really nice and they are water profe.
I saw some snowmobile ones that looked nice.

then I added the AeroStich Velcro heated grips About $50 and can be removed.
http://www.aerostich.com/aerostich-warm-wrap-grips.html
I plan on adding perminate ones eventually with a controller for the amount of heat right now its on or off.
I see prices have come down a nice setup for $60 http://www.aerostich.com/bikemaster-7-8-heated-grips.html

I then added an AeroStich Heated bib. This thing is really awesome and about $100. http://www.aerostich.com/aerostich-electric-warmbib.html

I have the these Aerostich gloves these are warm
http://www.aerostich.com/aerostich-insulated-elkskin-gauntlet-gloves-14.html
I think some snowmobile glove with uninsulated palm side would be better for me with the headed grips.

Both these are low amp draw and can just be left on, I have them relayed to the Neutral light so they are off in neutral along with the headlight.
I have a LED Tail Light.
I have changed out all 7 gauge,indicator,license plate 168 bulbs to LED this really helped the electrical system. here is my review about that.
http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?p=362602#post362602

The only electrical issue i have had was a rotor went bad, I believe the 2 bad battery from batterys+ killed it, They had a bad batch, the current replacement is 4 years old.

So with the stock always on bulbs replaced with LED lights to save some Amps the stock electrical will handle some low watt heated gear and do it daily for years.
I run at 55mph for 25 miles with some stop lights no problems and blinkers even work at the stop lights with the stock turn signal bulbs and everything on.

I had a very comfortable spring ride though Yellowstone National Park using this setup a 350mile day this year.

So have some fun riding your bike in the cold with out replacing everything.

This is how the bike looks today, gotta have the backpack for all the unneeded layers on the way home.

 

[weekendrider]

Hey blue,
Since I work the evening shift I'm familiar with packing extra's only in the reverse.
Starting with fat girl pantyhose and working up to leather pants. Crotchless chaps just don't cover it. Liners and welding gloves. Several shirts, a leather coat and a long scarf that wraps around the neck and helmet. Of course a big arse ugly fairing to cut the wind helps.
Interesting you chose leather instead of textile. But elk skin is nice.
And heated grips instead of heated gloves. I guess the grip covers catch and retain the heat from the grips?
Thanks for the links about the products. I will be looking at their site. Not familiar with Aerostich products.

As far as the stock electrical system. IMO you hit the nail with the bad batteries killing the rotors. I just don't have problems with mine. My son ruined 3 before he decided maybe batteries were cheaper in the long run and easier to swap. That and the fact I said NO more push starts from me.
You live you learn.

I guess gggGary will follow up with some charging output numbers under use so I'll be watching that thread also.

 

[CDNTX650]

I run a heated vest on my 400, and no problems at all, even in the city. I do run a controller for it though. I doubt the 400 stator is much higher in output.

 

[tonyc]

With 50 miles to do I would duct tape wrists and ankles to clothing.

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