'lectric clothing??

[VairKing]

What are the pros/cons of electrically heated clothing for ridding in the cold? I want to get my bike out as soon as the snow is off the roads, and dont want to freeze to death. Getting a windshield for sure, and am considering electric gloves, vest, and chaps. Does my C-90 have enough juice to run all 3?

[DrBob]

I have a complete suit from Gerbing, with jacket, pants, socks, and gloves. I have yet to find any downside to them, and I have riden in temps down below zero for hours at a time while staying toasty warm. My Harley will run the whole suit and make it hot enough to cook a roast, while my Suzuki, with its smaller electrical output, will keep me acceptably warm.

Your C90 is not exactly known for extra electrical capacity, but it should be able to handle the jacket and gloves. I never bother with the socks above zero (if you keep your trunk warm your body will push plenty of warm blood out to your arms and legs), and the pants really aren't needed above freezing anyways. The chaps don't work very well- the pants are much better.

The jacket is WAY better than the vest, not only because it keeps your arms warm but because the gloves just plug into the sleeves without having to use that darn wiring harness, which takes some messing with.

[dcstrng]

I’ve used a Gerbing jacket liner for the past few years – 70 watt as I recall -- commute about 750 miles a week, more or less… layered with a turtleneck sweater under the standard leather jacket it does nicely so long as I’m keeping most of me out of the wind… my scoots have fairing/hand-shields and along with crash-bar chaps or lower fairing (`99 Nomad or older Ultra) the wind gets shoved away from me and that’s important…

For what it’s worth; neither of my scoots has impressive electrical resources, but from my military cold-weather experience, if I keep my core temperature up with the jacket-liner, the hands and feet take care of themselves so long as they aren’t in the direct wind-blast… NO additional electrics, but for coldest riding I use FXR snowmobile gloves along with overpants and the usually long-johns for sustained riding… for truly sustained riding in the upper twenties, I’ll add an insulated balaclava and with all of that, I can stay pretty toasty for as long as I care to ride – longest sustained ride I’ve ever been on was about eight hours, but I stayed more than comfy with that get-up…

[DrBob]

I have a jacket liner also, which I wear under my leather jacket. I put only a short-sleave t-shirt under it, as I find the less between my skin and the liner the warmer I am. When I get to work I slip on a dress shirt so I look all professional like. LOL!

[Dave Nadeau]

Hey DrBob,
Hows the old FL doing? And ofcourse you shoulder?

[DrBob]

Thanks for asking! The shoulder is about 70%, so it is recovering nicely. PT three tiems a week, exersises 5 times a day, lots of anti-inflamatories and the occational cortizone shot...
The old FLH is coming along also. I still need a front fender, the front crash bar, and a rear master cylinder, but the rest is put back together. I am undecided if I want match the fender and saddle bag/ lids/ gas tank to the white, or just paint the whole bike a new color. My goal is to have the bike 100%, and my shoulder recovered enough to ride it, in time for a trip to Illinois second weekend in April.

[skynyrd fan]

My hands get cold VERY easily. Got the Gerbings electric gloves and they are worth every cent. Back up their products too.