Hey guys,
With the temperature dropping faster here than expected, does anyone know of a good electric vest to wear underneath?
I recently purchased and installed the wind guards and heated grips... but also had a socket wired to the same location (circuit) as the grips in the right front faring pocket, so I can't run the electrically heated grips and something more powerful than say a cell phone to charge without draining the battery or maybe blowing a fuse. (This was done at the dealer.)
A little bit of reading tells me that most electric vests are amp hogs and that would probably be too much draw as the heated grips. Battery heated jackets (vests) from what I read can last as little as 4 hours depending on how it's turned up and the length of riding. (It would be ideal to have something that would last at least 8 hours for weekend riding.) Furthermore batteries, even lithium die and wear out over time, reducing the time, and I would probably use this almost every weekend, sometimes during the week to get to work. I also use an air-bag jacket for safety so I can't replace the entire jacket with something heated, though it does have a rainproof barrier inside that acts an additional thermal layer.
So I'm kind of torn and the limited options I see thus far:
- Plug in vest (would require an upgrade to what on the bike to run this and heated grips?)
- Battery vest (require multiple batteries, limited run time, screwed if dies out on a long ride)
Thoughts, experience and recommendations are most teeth-chattingly welcome!
Thanks guys,
- Gabe
With the temperature dropping faster here than expected, does anyone know of a good electric vest to wear underneath?
I recently purchased and installed the wind guards and heated grips... but also had a socket wired to the same location (circuit) as the grips in the right front faring pocket, so I can't run the electrically heated grips and something more powerful than say a cell phone to charge without draining the battery or maybe blowing a fuse. (This was done at the dealer.)
A little bit of reading tells me that most electric vests are amp hogs and that would probably be too much draw as the heated grips. Battery heated jackets (vests) from what I read can last as little as 4 hours depending on how it's turned up and the length of riding. (It would be ideal to have something that would last at least 8 hours for weekend riding.) Furthermore batteries, even lithium die and wear out over time, reducing the time, and I would probably use this almost every weekend, sometimes during the week to get to work. I also use an air-bag jacket for safety so I can't replace the entire jacket with something heated, though it does have a rainproof barrier inside that acts an additional thermal layer.
So I'm kind of torn and the limited options I see thus far:
- Plug in vest (would require an upgrade to what on the bike to run this and heated grips?)
- Battery vest (require multiple batteries, limited run time, screwed if dies out on a long ride)
Thoughts, experience and recommendations are most teeth-chattingly welcome!
Thanks guys,
- Gabe