A Gerbing user question.

[daveinva]

Broke two firsts yesterday!

1. Coldest riding: 30 degrees.
Seriously, all of you people putting your Spyder up for the winter are a bunch of wussies. There I said it :doorag: :joke:

2. First time riding in snow!

Okay, it was only flurries, but they were coming down hard out on I-66 yesterday, so it counts

To my Gerbing question: I have both the T5 gloves and a jacket liner (my second liner-- I've already shrunk out of my first one, gotta put that up for sale here soon), both running on a dual-zone temp control.

The liner is toasty as anything, on full blast even at 30 degrees I was too hot.

The gloves, however, never seem to get that hot-- even at 50, let alone 30 degrees. I max out my temp on the gloves, and while it's not cold, it's not really "warm," either. Thanks to the lousy Spyder magneto, I have to run the RPMs over 6,000 to get them even close to warm.

Now, I'd assume that being more exposed to the wind the gloves cool off more than my liner, but please note that I'm also running a big Madstad windshield and wind deflectors on my RS, so it's not like getting a lot of wind to the handlebars right now anyway.

So, I'm just wondering if I've got a funky pair of gloves, or is this typical for the Gerbings? I lean towards the latter if only because *both* gloves are like this, but then I also wonder if it could be my heat controller connection? (I've run the gloves now through two different jacket liners, same either way, so I know it's not a problem there).

Anyway... if the gloves were a little warmer, I could probably take the Spyder down into the 20s or even lower. As it stands, yesterday was really about as cold as I want to ride without more extreme preparation (glove liners, Hippo Hands, etc.).

 

[Yazz]

Wearing electric underwear does change your head-set on ryding conditions. You get a longer ryding season!

We have Gerbing. Have the jacket liner that plugs into the gloves, so one control for both of them. Don't remember the name of the gloves but they are the leather ones with gel in the palm. Haven't had any problems with keeping warm.

Used a BRP touring windshield that flares out over the turn signals. Keeps the wind and rain off my hands.

Gerbing has a life time warrenty on their heating elements. Give them a chance to make things right.

http://gerbing.com/Info/warranty.php

 

[Ga Blue Knight]

Have you tried wearing just the gloves to see if they get hotter on their own? It may be an issue where the jacket is drawing too much and the gloves are not getting enough current from the hamster in the engine producing electricity.

 

[daveinva]

Have you tried wearing just the gloves to see if they get hotter on their own? It may be an issue where the jacket is drawing too much and the gloves are not getting enough current from the hamster in the engine producing electricity.

I have not. I figured that with the dual-zone controller that wouldn't be an issue, I routinely run the jacket low (or not at all) and the gloves high. But it's easy enough to check on my own the next time I ride, I'll try that thanks!

 

[Lamonster]

My Gerbing gloves helped but never really kept my hands warm when I got to those temps. Now that I have heated grips I never use my Gerbing gloves.
nojoke

 

[daveinva]

My Gerbing gloves helped but never really kept my hands warm when I got to those temps. Now that I have heated grips I never use my Gerbing gloves.
nojoke

Oh, all you hoighty-toity RT owners with your fancy farkles, rubbing it into our plebian faces...

(Yeah, yeah, I know- I could put heated grips on my RS. Trouble is, I already feel like my aftermarket wiring is a Griswold Christmas underneath it all, the Gerbings are easy enough. Still, I remember my trike class on the RT, it was cold and rainy, those heated grips and seat sure were nice... wish BRP would include heated grips as a factory option for the RS, woulda been a no-brainer for me).

 

[Smokinspyder]

Its really not that Im a Wussy its just I am not a big fan of riding on the Salt they layer down ;P . As far as the cold well I wsant to join the polar bear club when I can so I dont mind it to much ... Ill have to check this stuff out though ;P

 

[jgwoods]

I rode a couple of winters on my 2009 RS with the Gerbings jacket liner and gloves. Agreed that the gloves don't get that warm, so yours are probably normal .
Now that I have an RT with heated grips I can have warm hands no matter.

I rode down to 10 degrees f but after a few real cold weather rides I decided to use the car when below 20f. I wasn't frozen but the Can Am really didn't like it. Maybe because the battery is a little weak. The cranking voltage on cold start up would drop real low and the bike would do nothing but idle, stalling if I added throttle. I had to let it warm up for 2-3 minutes, shut down and restart with warmer oil in the engine so it would spin over a little faster and not drop the voltage so low as to trip trouble codes and basically flip out the computers. At 15 degrees it was taking me 5 minutes of sitting outside in the cold to get things going so I could drive off. At 20 I never had problems, except snow. I won't try driving in it again if I can help it.

The Gerbings gear is terrific and I will never be without it anymore.

 

[3Willie]

Gerbing Gloves, Pants, etc

I recently got the Gerbing jacket liner, T5 gloves, insoles and Extreme heated pants. Tried the entire combo today with temps from 39-44 degrees on an 80 mile trip. The T5 gloves really did not seem to warm up that much, but my hands did not get cold either. The insoles worked great even in my non-insulated boots and the Extreme pants are really nice and warm. The jacket liner definitely puts out plenty of heat for quite a bit colder riding temps. Since I was running all of the clothing at the same time, I am wondering if there is just not enough juice to power the gloves completely. The info that came with the gloves says they should have a surface temperature of 135 degrees plus or minus a couple of degrees at 32 degrees. The gloves certainly did not get that warm so will test them further using the dual controller with one side on the jacket liner and the other on the glove lead. The pants and insoles draw quite a bit of electricity so that may contribute to the overall problem. The T5 gloves are nice gloves and for the price should really put out the heat. Will reserve my opinion until I give them a fair test with full power available to see if they really heat up correctly.

 

[flamingobabe]

I have T5 gloves and jacket.....mine work fine...even have to turn them down....so far this winter we haven't had to use them.....

 

[daveinva]

I recently got the Gerbing jacket liner, T5 gloves, insoles and Extreme heated pants. Tried the entire combo today with temps from 39-44 degrees on an 80 mile trip. The T5 gloves really did not seem to warm up that much, but my hands did not get cold either. The insoles worked great even in my non-insulated boots and the Extreme pants are really nice and warm. The jacket liner definitely puts out plenty of heat for quite a bit colder riding temps. Since I was running all of the clothing at the same time, I am wondering if there is just not enough juice to power the gloves completely. The info that came with the gloves says they should have a surface temperature of 135 degrees plus or minus a couple of degrees at 32 degrees. The gloves certainly did not get that warm so will test them further using the dual controller with one side on the jacket liner and the other on the glove lead. The pants and insoles draw quite a bit of electricity so that may contribute to the overall problem. The T5 gloves are nice gloves and for the price should really put out the heat. Will reserve my opinion until I give them a fair test with full power available to see if they really heat up correctly.

Thanks for relating your experience. I'm like you: the jacket is sooo warm, I was expecting the gloves to be comparable. Then again, even with my windshield setup, I'm sure I get more wind on the gloves (not to mention, the jacket liner is underneath my riding jacket, whereas there's not as much leather insulating the wires in the gloves), so I probably shouldn't be surprised.

Other than that, the T5 gloves *are* nice, very comfortable. Somewhat surprisingly, however, I don't find them very warm at all by themselves when unplugged, I have a cheap-o pair of winter gloves I use instead down to 50 degrees before I even think of plugging in the Gerbings.

 

[daveinva]

Its really not that Im a Wussy its just I am not a big fan of riding on the Salt they layer down ;P . As far as the cold well I wsant to join the polar bear club when I can so I dont mind it to much ... Ill have to check this stuff out though ;P

Wussy. :joke:

(Just kidding, of course... luckily, aside from yesterday's flurries, we haven't had any snow at all to speak of out here in the Mid-Atlantic, so there hasn't been any salt out on the road. As much as I'd like to have at least *one* nice fluffy snowfall before the season is over- it ain't winter without one- it's making riding easy!)

 

[Mr. White]

We (The Hill Country Road Riders) ride every Saturday. Most don't ride if it is raining, otherwise away we go. One Sat. last year it got below 20 and I went out the feed the animals and it was chilly. When I went in the house, I developed a leg problem (feathers started to grow) and I stayed home. I bought a Gerbing battery operated jacket last year...great, and I can use it when doing my tractor work or other outdoor maintenance. When riding, I put it under my heavy jacket...and don't always turn it on. I have the heated gloves and I must turn them off some times when on my Wing...With my RT, I just wear regular gloves with the heated grips...on low...high is too warm. I also have a flannel lined pair of jeans...don't need heated pants with them. The good thing is about here in South Texas is it may be 35 in the morning, but 60 or so by noon.

 

[camper1]

You should have kept on out 66 and come up to Winchester yesterday. We had a nice little snow squall stall over us and drop 2.5" that melted and then refroze yesterday evening. There were jacknifed trucks on I-81, and dozens of vehicles sliding off the roads. They called for 30% chance of flurries. Go figure!! I wondered why the 6 cars were abandoned on the side of the road when I went to work this morning. Now I know why. In the 13 years I've lived in Winchester, I've never seen anything stuck there. I'm not buying heated gear...I'm waiting for someone to come up with a canvas snap-on cab.

 

[JJW SpyderRider]

Cold weather riding

I have an '09 GS and have not had any problems with it running down to 15F except that I only get two bars while riding. I added a $40 pair of heated grips which I use with regular gloves with a liner pair down to 25F. Been riding this week at 20F adding my handbar mitts and a thin pair of gloves. This is keeping my hands very warm. Rode for 2 hours New Years day and had to turn down the grips to keep from getting too hot. I've thought about heated gloves but after reading these posts I'm glad I waited.

 

[DragonLorD]

No fuss

I Ryde hardcore no matter what the weather. When it comes to polar temps I deal with same dilemma all over again - speed up and suffer more but shorter or slower down and suffer less but longer? :dontknow::dontknow:
....no heated stuff, only sport windshield and still big grin on my skull

 

[Weave2u]

I've been ryding in 25 degrees without any heated gear. I wear an Expidition suit by FirstGear and a pair of FirstGear gaunlet style gloves. I wear a sweater and some long johns, and that's enough for my body, but my hands do get numb due to the cold. After a while, I usually get my hands to warm up a little by rubbing them against my thigh. Next year, I hope to have some heated equipment.

 

[lyonsden]

Gerbing Jacket Liner

I bought my wife the Gerbing Jacket liner for Christmas. I rode the rt to KC to buy it, it was 26 the morning I left. After I bought it I decided to wear it home. OH MY!! That was wonderful. After Christmas we went up to KC again and bought myself one. They are really a great invention.

 

[rnet]

I have an '09 GS and have not had any problems with it running down to 15F except that I only get two bars while riding. I added a $40 pair of heated grips which I use with regular gloves with a liner pair down to 25F. Been riding this week at 20F adding my handbar mitts and a thin pair of gloves. This is keeping my hands very warm. Rode for 2 hours New Years day and had to turn down the grips to keep from getting too hot. I've thought about heated gloves but after reading these posts I'm glad I waited.

I haven't said anything yet about the powerlet glove liner, cause it's a Gerbring thread question, but I had no problems with these. On my controller it has a range of 1-5 and both me and my wife use a 2 setting. I will use them snowmobiling this year to test them further if we ever get snow.

 

[ARtraveler]

I have never used a heated jacket or gloves, although many of the motorcycle riders up here do so as a regular part of their equipment for early and late season riding. My reason for not using the setup is that I don't like being wired to the bike and having to plug/unplug every time I get on or off.

In Alaska, I have ridden in temperatures as low as 10 degrees above zero--but that is pretty much my comfort level--even with the heated grips turned up to high. A 30 to 50 mile ride is enough for me at those temps. I have good textiles, with winter liners, warm boots, and good cold weather driving gloves. I add a belaclava type liner for my head and face because the cold air just seems to find its way into the helmet. Some circulation is necessary though, or it will fog up.

Back when I got my first motorcycle (1964--Minnesota) I was out practicing shifting, turning, and learning how to ride, in January when it was 10 degrees below zero. In those days--there was virtually no specialized winter riding gear--now, that was what I call cold weather driving. No more of that kind of thing for me these days though.