Help thaw a frozen new owner

[markgoodrich]

I flew from Austin to Albuquerque Thursday and picked up a practically new '06 RT, and rode it home via a hilariously circuitous route. Has heated seats and grips...very nice. My other current bike is a Goldwing (for sale) with a gigantic aftermarket screen...I can ride behind it down to about absolute zero (but then i cook if the temps go above 70, but that's another forum) I have a good riding suit, and thought I wouldn't have any trouble. Thursday was beautiful, Friday morning the bike was covered with frost but I stopped at a Denny's (there's really just one Denny's waitress, isn't there, and Disney makes copies for all the other branches?) in Carlsbad and it warmed up while I was eating a heart attack. All the way to Fort Davis, TX, temps were great, but 45 minutes later it went from 73 tgo 66, and decided I'd best head for I10. Droning along at an indicated 89 mph (speed limit's 80 out there)the temperature dropped and dropped and dropped, until the display finally got PO'd at me and started blinking with a little snowflake. By then I was a popsicle. It was something like 36 degrees. I spent the night in a little town called Sonora. This morning, same snowflake for 120 miles, and when I stopped for lunch, I was visibly shaking. All over. Soup is good, at moments such as that.

 

So, the thawing help I need is, electric: vest, jacket, gloves, socks, pants? I usually ride two up, and I know my wife is going to freeze whenever the temp falls below 50. What's the um, hot setup for riding down into the 30s? And can the BMW accessory outlets handle more than one item of electric apparel?

 

Thanks, and for your assistance, a haute cuisine tip: If you find yourself in Carizoso, New Mexico, and you're hungry, there's only one place to eat, looks sort of like a shack (well, that's not going to help, every structure there looks like a shack, but I bet you can find it) the local delicacy is a Taco Burger Special. A taco burger is, well, it's a hamburger, but instead of a bun, you get two tortillas, both of which have been soaked in nice hot grease. The Special part is soda and fries.

[Lawman]

For the temps you are talking about you need nothing more than a Gerbing jacket liner..The R1200RT will handle two of those with no problem.

[SonnyAK]

I have the BMW heated vest (I'm usually OK w/heated grips/seat below freezing) and my girlfriend wears a full Gerbings outfit (Jacket liner/Pants liner/Gloves) and it's great...The Gerbings would definitely be the best for ANY really cold conditions!

[markgoodrich]

I have the BMW heated vest (I'm usually OK w/heated grips/seat below freezing) and my girlfriend wears a full Gerbings outfit (Jacket liner/Pants liner/Gloves) and it's great...The Gerbings would definitely be the best for ANY really cold conditions!

 

 

Do you power your girlfriend's suit entirely through the BMW outlet, or some other method?

 

Thanks.

[smiller]

A Gerbing jacket liner should be all you need to keep relatively cozy on an RT well down into the 30's, and perhaps a pair of heated gloves for the rider if riding at freezing temps or below.

[Limecreek]

Mark, do not count on the accessory sockets to power more than a couple of electric vests. The sockets are good for a total of 10 amps or 120 watts at 12 volts.

 

I have a Gerbings jacket wired into a fuse block under my seat.

 

I’m right here in Cedar Park and would be glad to show you what I did to bypass the CANBUS for my accessories.

[SonnyAK]

I've powered all of my accessories direct to the battery, through a fuse block(Gerbings attachment, Autocom power, GPS power)...This definitely helps to eliminates the amp & canbus issues...Not to mention that I usually fry anything that involves electricity if I try and do too much cutting or splicing into the bikes system!

[Pictou]

I have used a widder vest and arm chaps for the past few years. I also have the heated gloves but I rarely use them as I find them too bulky. The arm chaps are removable so you can just use the vest if you want. The vest, arm chaps and gloves all connect together so you only have one connection to the bike. One downside of the arm chaps is that they are bit of a pain to get on. I haven't tried the Gerbing stuff but it looks really good as well. The widder stuff draws less power than the Gerbing. When I bought it I had another bike that didn't have as much alternator capacity as the BMW so the lower power requirement was an important factor.

 

I have ridden quite comfortable in temperatures down to about -9 C using this set up.

 

If you go with widder you have to remember that fit is very important.It needs to be fairly tight to your body. the way I use it is to put on a thin long sleeved t-shirt or preferable long underwear top. Then I put on the vest and chaps and put sweatshirt and then my 'Stich. An alternative that I really like is to use a Dentek jacket (wind and waterproof thin unlined jacket)over the vest and under the Stitch (kind of like a jacket liner). The Dentek is a good traveling companion as it packs up small and can be worn as extra insulation on cool days when the vest would be overkill. I often keep it in my trunk "just in case".

 

Now that I have the power to spare I might have gone with a Gerbing as it looks like it might be bit easier to get on and off than the vest and arm chaps. However I am entirely satisfied with the Widder once on and in use.

[Whip]

" a haute cuisine tip: If you find yourself in Carizoso, New Mexico, and you're hungry, there's only one place to eat, looks sort of like a shack (well, that's not going to help, every structure there looks like a shack, but I bet you can find it) the local delicacy is a Taco Burger Special. A taco burger is, well, it's a hamburger, but instead of a bun, you get two tortillas, both of which have been soaked in nice hot grease. The Special part is soda and fries."

 

 

I know that place, I always get the Green Chili Cheese Burger. Best burger in the world.

 

BTW...The RT has plenty of electrical strength to handle two full gerbing outfits plus heated grips, heated seats, and anything else you may need, but do what Limecreek said. A bigger windshield and a trunk for the passenger to rest her back against seems to help a little by blocking some of the wind at her back.

 

Have fun

 

Whip

[Antaeas]

Nice post, thanks.

 

I'd sell you my slightly used BMW vest. I ride whenever it's above freezing, and that thing was too warm for me. The vest is size XL. Contact me directly if you'd be interested.

 

I wear a Tour-Master Jacket and pants, use the heated grips, but not often the heated seat. I'm just inured to cold, I guess. It's been below zero F here in Wisconsin for two weeks. Everyone complains, that's Article Zero of the Bill of Rights, but I prefer cold to hot weather for anything including riding.

[markgoodrich]

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. I've got the picture, now, but I need one more answer.

 

If I put a fused power strip under the seat to handle accessories, WHERE do I attach a hot lead from a relay without frying the CanBus system? The rear accessory plug is in already in use for an Autcom. I've done all this before, on my ex-FJR, but the CanBus is new to me, and I've seen dire warnings .

 

Here, by the way, is a link to a way to make your own fused power strip for peanuts. I took the setup a little further and made a similar ground block on the FJR, had everything accessible under the seat. Worked great.

 

http://www.fjrtech.com/getdbitem.cfm?item=25

[ADulay]

Mark,

 

Jumping in a bit late here but as most everyone has already mentioned, go with the heated vest or jacket liner and you'll wonder how in the heck you ever rode in the cold before this time.

 

The first time I used mine "for real" I just started kicking myself (mentally) that I had not purchased the heated jacket years earlier.

 

When I'm riding solo, I just plug the jacket into the outlet on the left side of the bike. When two up, I use a fused set of outlets directly from the battery, just to make sure we're both warm and stay that way!!

 

AD

[Mike]

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. I've got the picture, now, but I need one more answer.

 

If I put a fused power strip under the seat to handle accessories, WHERE do I attach a hot lead from a relay without frying the CanBus system? The rear accessory plug is in already in use for an Autcom. I've done all this before, on my ex-FJR, but the CanBus is new to me, and I've seen dire warnings .

 

Mark--

 

The setup I used on my ST (similar electrics) is this: I wired the auxiliary fuse block directly to the battery, with the relay being tripped by the switched accessory plug. It works equally well, if not better, to tap into the parking light in your headlight housing (I think this may be referred to as the "city light"?).

[markgoodrich]

Good suggestion, except that I'm trying to keep everything under the seat, so I don't have to take plastic off. I plan to run connections up to the radio cubby for ipod and xm, and use remotes...that way everything but the remote is out of sight and out of the weather.

 

Any suggestion on where I can connect the relay under the seat, without letting all the smoke out of the wiring?

[Mike]

Good suggestion, except that I'm trying to keep everything under the seat, so I don't have to take plastic off. . . .

 

Any suggestion on where I can connect the relay under the seat, without letting all the smoke out of the wiring?

 

There may be other options, but the only source that comes to mind is the accessory plug outlet. This is actually what I've used to fire my relay. There is one issue with this, however--the outlet (on the ST anyway) remains hot for about a minute after I turn off the engine. Whatever is hooked up to your switched fuse block will continue to draw power during that time, unless you switch the accessory off independently.

[BucksTherapy]

I am doing the same thing. I am firing the relay off the acc plug. I have fused everything but am being told to put a diode in between the CanBus and the relay so when the relay is swtched off and the coil unloads the negative surge can't damage the computer.

 

Anyone have any thoughts on this suggestion? If the coil unloading induces a negative spike then wouldn't this come through the diode anyway given its negative? If this spike is created shouldn't you put a capacitor across the circuit to smooth the spike?

 

I bought the diodes before I really thought about it now I don't know if they will do any good. Anyone that can shed some light on this?

[Jim VonBaden]

Good suggestion, except that I'm trying to keep everything under the seat, so I don't have to take plastic off. . . .

 

Any suggestion on where I can connect the relay under the seat, without letting all the smoke out of the wiring?

 

There may be other options, but the only source that comes to mind is the accessory plug outlet. This is actually what I've used to fire my relay. There is one issue with this, however--the outlet (on the ST anyway) remains hot for about a minute after I turn off the engine. Whatever is hooked up to your switched fuse block will continue to draw power during that time, unless you switch the accessory off independently.

 

There is a second potential issue to it. If you hook up a charger through the accessory plug, the system may stay on longer and kill your battery if you have external lights triggered through the accessory socket.

 

I have seen it twice now where motolights, could be any lights, were fooled by the extra draw of the lights and they stayed on for hours eventually killing the battery low enough to prevent starting.

 

That is why I suggest taking the signal voltage off the running light or the diagnostic plug. Plus, you get instant off with the key that way.

 

Jim

[Mike]

That is why I suggest taking the signal voltage off the running light or the diagnostic plug. Plus, you get instant off with the key that way.

 

Jim

 

Jim--

 

Which is the "hot" wire on the diagnostic plug?

[sisu]

My wife and I both have Widder vests with arm chaps. The BMW sockets handle them both. Widders seem to be high quality and are easy to pack. If the temps are below 60, I wear them all the time, plugging them in when it get colder, or rains. I had a good chance to try them out both coming and going to Fairbanks this summer.

[Jim VonBaden]

That is why I suggest taking the signal voltage off the running light or the diagnostic plug. Plus, you get instant off with the key that way.

 

Jim

 

Jim--

 

Which is the "hot" wire on the diagnostic plug?

 

It's the blue/green one.

 

 

Jim

[markgoodrich]

Once more, thanks for all the replies. I decided to go the easy route and install a Touratech "canbus helper", with built-in relay, rather than cobble together my own.

[markgoodrich]

Later that same day...interesting, the relay in the Touratech Canbus Helper buzzed angrily when fired by the taillight wire. So I moved it to the hot wire going to the accessory outlet, and all was well. Voltage reading to the taillight was less than four volts. Weird, but what do I know? Anyhow, She Who Must Be Obeyed will now be warm.