Gerbing's Jacket Liner

[questrider]

Okay, I'm ready to purchase one of these. I'm trying to find out exactly how I am to power this liner from their web site. However, they talk of direct battery connections unless you use the BMW accessory plug. I was hoping I could just plug this puppy right into the socket underneath me. From those of you who already use of these, how do you power it? I'm just wondering because I don't want to order one only to find I need to purchase an adapter. I would rather order everything at once. It's getting chilly around here.

[kioolt]

If you get a cord with a BMW style plug on one end you can indeed just plug it into the plug on the left side of the bike. I installed a BMW style receptacle on the handlebar mount bolt to make it easier to plub in while seated. I always had trouble finding the plug behind my left leg after seating down.

[sideways]

What sort of socket "underneath me" you be talking about?

I just took my jacket liner off a little while ago - love it.

In addition to the jacket, you have to get some sort of controller cord - either an on/off switch on a cord or a rheostat on a cord.

I bought the rheostat with the BMW jack, because I'm riding a new RT with the BMW plug. Got the whole set-up from my dealer, who helped me get the right size and made sure I got the correct hook-ups.

The jacket came with a cord (with a fuse) to connect directly to a battery, but you'd still need a switch of some sort to control the thing.

I think the Gerbings equipment was well worth it, and it's still October!

[KDeline]

You will want to spend the extra money and buy the heat controllor. The on and off is just a pain, and the liner will be to hot to just plug in. You will not regret it.

[DGK]

Both my wife and I run Gerbings jacket liners. I power the riders' position directly from the battery and run the wire up front between the seat and gas tank leaving only the connector exposed. From here I am able plug in direct to the jacket or through the controller which I hang off my tank bag. My wife's jacket is powered from the BMW accessory plug on the left side of the bike but again I run the wire under the side panel and under the seat to leave the connector end exposed between the front and rear seat. Very convenient for plugging in once on the bike.

 

We operated the jackets for a year without the temp controllers and modulated our heat by plugging/unplugging. This worked but was not ideal. Just finished purchasing 2 dual reostat controllers (she has gloves, I'm going to buy socks) a major difference in comfort, you can dial in the temperature perfectly. Remember that when you size your jacket you do not wear any insulating layers underneath, maybe just a long sleeve shirt. The jacket needs to be close to your body to get the full benefit of the heaters.

If your'e going to run electric gloves with a dual temp controller, make sure you let gerbings's know as they wire the jacket differently than if you are using a single controller.

 

Enjoy the heat.

[smiller]

You will want to spend the extra money and buy the heat controllor. The on and off is just a pain, and the liner will be to hot to just plug in. You will not regret it.

I agree. Most of the other vests don't make as much heat as the Gerbing so you can get away with manually cycling the power, but the Gerbing will get too hot too quickly and require frequent power cycling to keep comfortable. Automatic is really the way to go with the Gerbing products, and the Gerbing controller is a good one, works by varying duty cycle vs. just adding resistance.

 

Enjoy the heated clothing. Man, what a difference it makes.

[Isettanut]

I was not aware about the special wiring of the jacket plus gloves with one controller, but makes sense. I have a couple different vests I have worn over the past 20 years and they were somtimes slow getting to temp. Not so with the Gerbings jacket liner. I hook up in the garage and before I am outside I can feel the heat. Great products. The controllers are a must, set it and forget it. Leon

[Ken H.]

Similar to DGK I have the pigtail that came with it hard wired and dangling out by the seat. Only we did the same for both rider and pillion.

 

Echoing what the others have said that the variable controller is a must.

 

Wore it to work this morning, 34°F out = Toasty!

[EffBee]

We received an award this year as a Top 10 Gerbing Dealer. Not bad for a warm SoCal location. But then, we pride ourselves on our product knowledge and inventory. In fact, I'd say we sell about 25% of our Gerbings to non-BMW riders who come in based on our reputation.

 

 

Connectivity:

Every Gerbing product comes with their standard wiring harness. Gerbing understands that while people may purchase more than one Gerbing product, each Gerbing product might also be someone's ONLY Gerbing product. Thus, they make sure that whatever you purchase can be wired to your bike.

 

This standard harness connects directly to your battery, has a 15-amp inline fuse, and terminates in a female coax plug into which you can connect their temerature controller (prefered), their on/off switch (useful, but definitely not "set-it-and-forget-it"), or connect directly to the garment (and play the plug/unplug/plug/unplug game). As has been stated, the Temp Controller is the way to go.

 

For BMW riders, Gerbing also offers an optional plug that goes directly to the BMW power socket, thus eliminating the need for the standard Gerbing harness. This optional BMW plug is part #CXAP.

 

 

Garment Wiring:

The standard Jacket Liner comes wired such that you can plug gloves into the ends of the sleeves and control everything with a Gerbing Single Controller. Generally this works very well since both your hands and torso are upper-body items that ride in approximately the same air stream, thus a single temp setting for both items works fine.

 

The Gerbing Dual Controller is recommended when running both upper-body and lower-body Gerbing garments. Since your upper and lower body halves are generally in different air streams, you might wish to set your Gerbing Pant Liner and/or Socks at a different temperature than your upper-body Gerbing garments.

 

Finally, in some cases you may wish to purchase a Gerbing Jacket Liner with the "Dual" wiring. This is a liner in which the wiring for the liner and the wiring for the glove plugs at the ends of the sleeves are independent of each other. This is the better setup for bikes like cruisers with windshields, where the rider's torso has some protection from the cold, but the rider's hands do not. In such a situation, you may want to get the Dual-wired liner and a Dual Controller in order to set different temps for both your hands and torso.

 

Whichever Jacket Liner you get, it will also have a drop-down lead which allows you to connect to lower-body Gerbing garments. If you don't have any lower garments, the lead tucks cleanly out of the way in some Velcro tabs built into the Jacket Liner.

 

 

Sizing:

I won't go through the entire Gerbing product line, but rather focus just on Jacket Liner sizing. Gerbing Jacket Liners are known as JLT's (Jacket Liner, Thin). And they have 4 numbers after the JLT designation. For example, JLT4834. The first two numbers represent your chest size and should be selected as "chest size plus 4-6 inches." In other words, if you have a 42" chest, your chest size would be either a 46 or a 48 (which usually depends on whether you have broad shoulders for your given chest size, or a regular shoulder breadth).

 

The second set of numbers is your sleeve length, which is usually a close match to the sleeve length of the dress shirts that might be hanging in your closet (if you're like me, we're talking about the ones that STILL FIT!) Gerbing recommends that you get a sleeve length that is exact, rather than a longer, looser fit. The correct length will help keep the ends of the sleeves from bunching up at your wrists, where the Gerbing soft-knit cuff, plus the cuff of your jacket (with its adjustable Velcro closure), along with the glove gauntlet can end up making for such a triple-layer tight fit that you lose circulation or mobility. So don't go overboard on the sleeve length.

 

I hope the above information has been helpful to those who are looking to Gerbing for their winter riding warmth.

[sideways]

Thanks very, very, much, Fernando. That was the most helpful and thorough post I've seen in quite a while!

[ChrisE]

On my R1200RT, I connected the Gerbing power wires direct to the battery. I have it exit just out from under the seat.

I can push this socket up and out of site when not in use.

 

I have the Thermostat mounted to the tank rail by velcro. You must buy the Thermostat otherwise you will roast yourself

[sideways]

Very nice. What do you use the stock power outlet for, if anything?

 

And how did we live before velcro?

[ChrisE]

GPS unit goes in the left side Powerlet.

[EffBee]

My pleasure, Brad. Working at a dealership we deal with accessories like Gerbing, Autocom, etc. every single day. As such, we end up accumulating a great deal of useful information we use to help our customers with their needs. I just thought I'd share it with the membership here.

 

A couple of additional things. Do consider purchasing the Gerbing leather pouch for your Temp Controller (#RCC for the single controller and #RDCC for the dual controller). It has a large clip on the back which allows you to locate your Temp Controller on your jacket belt, the lip of a pocket, even the lip of your tankbag. This way, you don't have to stick Velcro onto your painted parts.

 

The Gerbing Stuff Sack (part #CFL) is also a good investment. It will hold your jacket, controller, and even a pair of Gerbing gloves. It packs neatly and keeps all those wires all in one place.

 

Both of these items run about $10 each. Very worthwhile.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

I stuck my Gerbings controller in an old cell phone pouch I had laying around. When I wear my 'stitch, it just velcro's to the left leg. I power mine a bit differently from some. My Gerbings direct connect kit is used to power my tank bag and I run a lead from another kit out the front of the tank bag and back under to power my liner and gloves. With heated grips, I found the glove/liner balance to be OK. I no longer use the Gerbings heated gloves as I find them way too bulky. Instead, I use the glove liners and put my summer rain gloves on over them. I also use silk glove liners under the Gerbings to better distribute the heat.

[questrider]

Thanks for the input, everyone, especially Fernando. Of course, now what I thought was going to cost $200 is going to cost $300. What else is new when it comes to motorcycling accessories? Looks like going with the dual-control temp system is the smartest thing at this point seeing as though it's only a difference of $30 from the single-control and I'm pretty sure that eventually I will pony up for the pants liner too in a year or so. Might as well not pay for something twice.

 

Also, on a related note, is hooking up the harness to the battery something that will necessitate removing the tupperware on an RT? I remember, of course, having to remove the tupperware to install the gel battery a couple of winters ago, however, sitting here in my office now I can't remember if there is access to the battery posts from under the seat. Probably should just go with the BMW accessory socket as a temporary solution since I do not plug anything else in there now (no GPS... yet!).

 

Thanks again, everyone.