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Also for those with a bit of time on their hands

Heat4Jackets.com - Heated Jacket Kits for Motorbikes

I made my own (not one of the above kits) and it makes a big difference, mine pulls about 65w

Trophymick

Hey SwampFox,
I think I know your Dad from the Yahoo Vstrom list. Didn't he used to ride a BMW, now has a DL? There was a guy there that worked the Oil Rigs and used to post from out in the Gulf. I think he mentioned his son too? (You?) Maybe the same family? Sorry if I've got this wrong.

If so, I really like your Dad. He is a Hell of a machinist if I recall.

Welcome to HU!

Patrick

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

LOL, yeah, thats my Dad, yeah he was probably referencing me, lol. although I have a little brother and a twin. My twin doesn't ride and my little brother is dangerous with less than a year of riding.

He's not a machinist, but is pretty d@mn close. My dad's little brother is a however a machinist. So my Dad will often times just get his lil'bro to make what he has trouble with.

Thanks for the welcome

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Is there a WarmNsafe reseller in the UK?

I started this thread when I was off to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska 12 months ago, when everyone told me it was too late (1st half of September). As Mollydog and Bill recommended, I went for the Gerbings, and could not recommend it highly enough - 1st class, although I have had a controller fail. Jacket does nicely if you need a lightweight showerproof coat of an evening as well.

I would get the gloves as well if riding a lot or very cold, but don't bother with trousers and socks!

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Adventures on Two Wheels
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Warm & safe in UK , I do not know if they have distributors in the UK. I got my liner & heat troller from Warm and Safe Heated Gear EU - Eluppvärmda kläder och temperaturregulatorer in Sweden. Stefan is a good guy to deal with, if you are getting a heated liner get the troller also otherwise you will fry.

Ride Safe & Enjoy.

Hi Ian, glad to hear you made it! Good job mate! Have you posted a ride report anywhere?

Regards the failed controller....read back in this thread to what Grant and I
both said about Gerbing's controller. It's copy of Mike Coan's design...the
Warm&Safe guy. I would get Mike's heattroller. Bulletproof.

The only problem I found in a year of testing the Warm & Safe was that the
thing draws too much juice. Like around 95 watts compared to the 70 watts
on the Gerbing. For those of us on Japanese dual sports with very low output
alternators this is a bit of a problem. Even on my Vstrom, I had to be a bit careful at night. I have a headlight switch on my DR650, which helps.

A year ago (or more) Mike promised a NEW VERSION that jacket that
would only draw 65 watts....with the same heat output...which is very close
to the Gerbing if not equal at this point.

The Quality of the W&S garment is BETTER than the Gerbing, IMO, fits more snugly (very important) and is sewn better. But only time will tell really on this last part.

Bottom line: They are BOTH great. But buy the W & S and support the HU site!!

The Gerbing controller will continually fail. Get the W & S. (I had TWO failed
Gerbing controllers) Mike's Heat Troller should be good for a long time. Not sure of the warranty but IIRC, its better than Gerbing.

Cheers,

Patrick

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

Went for the WarmNSafe Jacket liner - totally fantastic, really pleased with it

I have just came across this thread and have always been thinking about heat equipment but never got round to having a really big look into. At the moment i am riding a Honda Deauville which is great for winter riding as it has a massive fairing and heated grips. I could be changing my bike soon to a Yamaha XT660R which compaired to the deauville is a naked (even with the high screen). As i use my bike for everything and have a new daily commute of about 40miles mostly through town traffic at peak times it takes around an hour even on the bike, the though on sitting on the bike when its freezing cold and possibly raining turns me.

Any way story over i am looking for a heated jacket that has arms and a neck warmer but i dont want to have all this wires to the bike game. I would prefer some sort of battery that can be recharged and is on the jacket all the time but still being small enough not to be to much of a probelm. At the moment having read through some posts i am lost with all this electric stuff. The other big problem is i would like it to be below £100 all in as i have just started uni and money is quiet tight at the moment especially as i could be getting the Yamaha soon.

Any info very much welcome. Cheers. Dan

Dan,
Please go back and read my posts on page one on this thread. Also read Grant's post (Grant owns HU) about Warm & Safe.

Carrying a battery is a joke. This will never work, can't work. "All these wires
to the bike" ??? Are you kidding? Dan....its ONE WIRE. ONE. 1. #1.
That's it.

There really are only TWO choices...Gerbing and Warm & Safe. I would support
HU and buy the Warm & Safe. Buy it through this site!!
Try to get the new one that draws less current than the original model. On a 660 you will need every watt available. Install headlight switch for daylight riding while running heated grips and elec. jacket.

American riders have been riding with heated clothing for 30 years. First Eclipse, then Widder, then Gerbing and now Warm & Safe.

Patrick

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

Alternatively (or as well as the heated jacket) keep the Deauville as a "winter hack"; apart from the advantages you have already mentioned, it has the shaft drive that will save you a lot of bother over the winter and it will run for ever.

You will know - you own it now - that it is not a very fashionable bike, so why not keep it, if it does what you need in commuting terms at least.

Apart, from that, get yourself a kidney belt with a built in insulation layer; that is where the cold gets in first - I think it is something to do with how the wind vortexes off a riders body.

+ consider hand-warmer type of kit; the sort of thing that is put into a microwave or oven, gets warmed up and then releases the heat slowly back to you. A couple of these inside your existing jacket would keep you warm for an hour or more while commuting, and no power is taken from the bike.

None of this costs more than a few pennies compared with changing the bike etc etc.

Just a couple of cents of thoughts after reading what you are thinking of doing!!

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Dave

This has probably been mentioned before, make your own I did, and it has been perfect, cost me about £30, but I have enough materials (wire,connectors) to make about three, so heated jackets forever .
Search the net (Google) there are a few plans on how to do it, or alternatively, go here Heat4Jackets.com - Heated Jacket Kits for Motorbikes .
My jacket takes about 65/70 watts, but I have a on/off switch fitted to the DIN socket on the bike (this 12v socket is good for lots of uses, phone/camera charging etc) I just switch off when it gets too warm. A good source for 12v plugs is 12-Volt Plugs, Sockets and Connectors


Trophymick

First of all thanks for some of the quick replies. Now to address some of the posts.

Mollydog
i did reread through all your posts it just that i cant find any prices on either of the websites i tried or the prices i did find where all above my £100 limits and i really dont want to go over that. Also the battery reason is i found a few websites a while ago selling bodywarmers that had lithum battery powered heat pads and they said on one charge they will last up to 3 hours. I have had cables connect to an intercom system i have had before and i find it annoying as such as i always try to get off the bike with out disconnecting or wreck the connects by either getting them wet, damaging them by crushing them or other means.

walkabout
I would love to keep the Deauville as a winter bike but i cant afford to and also my brother might be getting it as his bike. I can understand where you are coming from with the heaty jobs that go into the mircowave, might have to try this but would probably most of the time forget to put them in or just leave them in the microwave.

trophymick
i like the idea/sound of this but what type of jacket do you use? I was looking for a light weight type jacket i could throw on over the top of a tshirt of something the same. Or do you sew in the special wires into your thermal of your jacket. I wouldnt be the most electricly minded but i would take a bash at it. The only other problem i would have it the drawing of 65-75watts of power. For a single cylinder 660 engine this is gonna be alot + the bike will probably already have heated grips aswell.

For a home made version could someone sort of give me a general list of things i would need to make it. I think i could probably live with just a vest type jacket but would like something with a small collar and possibly arms.

After using an old (20 years?) BMW vest and a more recent Aerostich vest, I got a Warm&Safe jacket liner and am very happy and wondering why I waited so long. Great product and well worth whatever you pay for it.

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Pain in the Butte Ranch
Durango, Colorado