[bikinbiddy]

It's getting colder out, and I plan on riding my AN400 until it snows, or ice forms on the road... I have a great warm riding suit (FirstGear), but I want to buy some heated gloves... Can the Burgman Accessory Jack handle a pair of Gerbing Gloves? Or do I need to wire them in directly? I don't plan on running any vest or anything other than the gloves... Anybody do this?

 

[pauljo]

Diane,

My advice would be to wire them directly to the battery using the wiring harness provided with the gloves. It's easy to do, and the harness contains its own fuse. That way you are not jeopardizing any of the bike systems if the gloves have a problem. In all the years that I've worn electric vests and gloves, I think I only blew fuses twice - and it was the inline harness fuse so nothing on the bike was affected. Good tip is to carry a spare fuse though... not nice to have your toasty gloves stop working on a cold day!

 

[Monterey10]

Gloves

I prefer the heated grips. I don't want wires attached to my hands.
(Too many controls). I found with heated grips, you can turn
them on for 20 minutes, then shut them off to allow the altenator
to charge the battery. Grips are also less money.

On any vest or grips, I pretty much shut them off in the last 15 minutes
of the ride to insure the battery gets topped off before shut down.

Craig

 

[pauljo]

Re: Gloves

On any vest or grips, I pretty much shut them off in the last 15 minutes
of the ride to insure the battery gets topped off before shut down.

I haven't found that to be necessary with the AN650. As soon as I get back to my garage, I plug in my Battery Tender. If the battery is below full charge, the red light will glow on the BT until the battery reaches full charge - then the green light comes on. If the battery is already at full charge, the green light comes on as soon as I plug it in. Usually, even if I've ridden right into the garage with my Gerbing gear turned on, the green light comes on immediately. An exception might be if you were doing a lot of in-town riding idling at stop lights.

The AN650 has a very powerful alternator- higher output than most motorcycles. I'm not sure what the specs are on the AN400, but I'll bet they are at least equivalent to my V-Strom and I ride that with the electric gear too. The Burgman 650 charging system is rated at 500 (whatever the unit of measure is - amps? watts?) - The V-Strom at 350.

 

[vfdcaptain]

thanks for info

Thanks for the info Paul, I was little concerned that the 650 Burgy might not have a big enough alternator to run a vest and handgrips like the bigger touring bikes. As I like to ride year around, warmth is a good thing in the cool dampness of the Westcoast.

Reg

 

[bikinbiddy]

I called Gerbing, and they have a "cigarette lighter" connection for the gloves... the fellow told me that most MC "cigarette lighter" jacks are 5 Amp, and the gloves draw 22 watts, so it should be ok... but the jack can't handle a vest or jacket...
Heated grips sound good - any details?

 

[vfdcaptain]

Diane,

I would have the dealer install the heated hand grips.

Also would take Paul's advice and hook a fused line directly to the battery for your jacket or vest. Just remember to unplug yourself before getting off the bike. Heated vests are "God Send" in cooler weather.

Reg

 

[pauljo]

Just remember to unplug yourself before getting off the bike. Heated vests are "God Send" in cooler weather.

The connectors that Gerbing uses seem to be very sturdy and will pull apart smoothly should you forget to unplug. I've done that at least once or twice, and the plugs disconnected just as they should. The Widder plugs are less sturdy, and I've had the wire pull right out of its plug at least once, instead of the plugs disconnecting.

I actually have had to use my electric vest a couple of times when touring in August. You never know when you'll encounter an early cold snap, particularly if you are at high elevations or riding after dark. They don't take up much room to pack, so I never tour without them.

The basic harness and connectors work so well, I really don't see any advantage to using the "cigarette lighter" connector.

 

[vfdcaptain]

I'll second that! 8)

Reg