| Winter is here folks, but that doesn't mean we can't | | | | I owned the plug in type that ran on my |
| keep riding. How can we stave offthe bone chilling | | | | motorcycle's 12 volt battery. It provided unlimited |
| wind and cold? Heated gear, of course! | | | | riding hours. The drawback is that this means it ONLY |
| Heated gear keeps various parts of your body warm | | | | works when riding. Walk away from the bike and |
| while riding in winter temperatures, so just say no to | | | | you walk away from the heat. |
| Hypothermia! I'm a year round rider, and though I've | | | | The self contained style has a lithium battery (usually |
| since moved to Austin, Texas where winter riding is | | | | 7.4 volt) supply and lasts an average of 4 to 10 |
| pretty tolerable, I used to live in Baltimore, Maryland | | | | hours depending on the heat setting. When the |
| where winter riding involved below freezing temps | | | | battery is dead you have to plug in to the battery |
| for extended periods of time and a good bit of that | | | | charger and 4 hours later; presto! The self contained |
| white stuff. Heated gear is a wonderful thing - trust | | | | provides a little more flexibility and warmth when you |
| me on this. I used to own a heated vest and gloves. | | | | are away from the motorcycle. |
| Heated gear is just that; motorcycle clothing and | | | | All of the clothes work with a temp. controller that |
| accessories that use a heating element to create | | | | you can manually set to the desired temp. If you use |
| warmth. | | | | several pieces of heated gear, they usually connect |
| A few Heated Gear Manufacturers: | | | | together so that one control works them all, thus |
| Widder | | | | preventing you from looking like a science fiction |
| Warm & Safe | | | | robot reject. |
| WarmGear | | | | Heated Gear Clothing Choices:jacket linersjacketsvest |
| Gerbing | | | | linersarm chapsglove linersglovespants linerssocks. |
| Many Motorcycle companies also offer their own | | | | Prices run from $70 to $300 depending on what |
| versions (Harley Davidson and BMW immediately | | | | heated gear you purchase. |
| come to mind), which are usually produced by | | | | Tips for Wear |
| premium manufacturers. Of course that usually | | | | Heated gear is worn as close to your body as you |
| means all the quality at twice the price, but that sort | | | | can without actually touching your skin. For this |
| of thing is up to the individual customer. | | | | reason, I preferred the vest liner and glove liner to |
| How Does Heated Motorcycle Gear Work? | | | | the actual jacket and glove option. Also, I always |
| Most Heated gear uses anywhere from 15 to 100 | | | | wore leathers as my outer layer for both wind and |
| watts depending on the brand and the amount of | | | | crash protection. |
| gear you use while riding. | | | | Always remember that wind chill is as much your |
| You have two types of power output really. You can | | | | enemy as actual temperature. The thermometer |
| power it from your motorcycle battery, or you can | | | | doesn't tell the whole story, so dress warm. Also, |
| run it on self contained, rechargeable batteries placed | | | | avoid riding for extended lengths of time in the cold |
| or sewn directly into the article of clothing. That's not | | | | as you run the risk of lowering your core temp too |
| to say they are interchangeable so see what kind of | | | | much or getting dehydrated - a thing you might not |
| power supply it requires before you buy it! | | | | expect to happen in the cold. |