That was, until I took a late-season ride into Canada. It was in the low-40's, and I was warm enough - until the sun went down. I found myself shivering - my core temperature was dropping, and I was feeling colder and colder. There's nothing more miserable than being cold - I'll take blazing heat over freezing cold any day.
I knew I could benefit from a heated jacket or vest, but my GL1100 just didn't have the surplus power available to power one.
Now however, I have a GL1500 with 90-amp Compufire alternator. That's more than enough power to run all the heated gear I could want or need. I decided a heated vest or jacket liner was in my best interest. I talked with Gary at Cyclemax, and he recommended the Gerbing's Microwire Heated Jacket Liner - he said he and his wife had been using them for years.
- Gerbing's Microwire Jacket Liner
The wind-resistant jacket liner has a layer of Thinsulate insulation, so it does provide some warmth on its own. It has standard (if somewhat small) pockets - two on the outside, one on the inside. If you really wanted to, you could wear it as a regular jacket off the bike, although it would look a bit strange. It has a collar that can be zipped up so that it completely covers your neck up to the base of your helmet. That collar is very soft, so that it doesn't irritate your neck as you turn your head.
- Collar
The jacket liner on its own draws 6.4 amps, or 77 watts of power. This is a lot of power, when you consider that a standard GL1100 has less than 90 watts spare electrical capacity at cruise speed. It doesn't leave you much left over for other heated gear, lights, or electrical accessories. On a GL1500, especially a GL1500 with a Compufire alternator, this is not an issue, and the GL1800 has enough capacity even with the base factory alternator to run the jacket liner, gloves and more for two people.
The jacket has a small zippered pouch on the bottom inside left of the jacket, which contains three wires, each with a coaxial connector on the end. Older versions of this jacket had a solid plastic module with the three connectors on it that they called a "PDU" (Power Distribution Unit) - this has been dispensed with in the newer version, in favor of the three wires. One of the wires is the input for the jacket. The second wire is an input for your gloves, and the third wire is an output for your pants (or insoles). The third wire is connected to the second (glove) wire, so powering the gloves also powers your pants (or insoles).
- Wire Pouch
- Glove Wire
- Portable temperature controller
- Permanent temperature controller
On the other hand, I wanted dual controllers built into my bike, but did not want to spend the $130 they were charging - so having a background in electronics, I ended up building my own, for about a quarter of the cost. If you have a similar background, you could do the same.
I mounted my two power outlets next to the gas filler on my GL1500 - these outlets are the only indication on my bike that I have a heated gear system in place. I purchased two of their coiled extension cords:
- Coiled cord
Now that I have the heated jacket liner, gloves and insoles, I have yet to find a temperature low enough that I am uncomfortably cold while riding. When riding in the upper 30's (around 3-4 C) I still have to modulate the jacket liner down to around 50% in order to not overheat myself. I suspect I would have to be riding in temperatures well below freezing to approach the limits of my heated gear. The jacket liner is comfortable and of high quality, and I'm quite pleased with it!
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