jts6yf
Junior Member
So today I bit the bullet and bought some heated gear. I decided that this winter I wasnt going to ride around in the teens freezing my testes off. After much deliberation, I spent my hard earned money on the Firstgear Warm and Safe 90W jacket, gloves, and a dual wireless controller. These three items totalled $350 and a large chunk of my paycheck but I thought it a wise investment. The following is my experience...
Installation
So none of the items came with a traditional set of instructions which was a little frustrating. The controller did have small little bullet points on the back which vaguely described what everything did and how it was supposed to hook together. First I removed the seat and side panels. Then propped up the tank (I rode until the fuel light was blinking so it didnt weigh much, I thought that mighty smart of myself). Next I hooked the leads from the main wires to the battery. I ran the cable across the left side of the motor making sure it wouldnt bind in the throttle cables. Then the tank and side panels were put back on. Afterwards, I hooked up the reciever to the power and got a red light which meant I was A-OK to this point. So the only sensible thing to do was take her for a spin.
The Ride
I threw on the heated liner, plugged the gloves into the sleeves and then layered on my tourmaster jacket and firstgear pants. I pulled the controller out and figured what the hell, and threw her on full blast before I took off. Then I went on the highway and rode for a few miles. I got off the next exit up and thought "Man this thing is a piece of S%^&!" I felt little no heat coming from it. I pulled off at a gas station to check everything and realized the cable for the jacket liner had come unplugged. I jumped back on thinking this was the problem and I rode back to my house.
Anaylsis
When I got home, cable was still in, still little heat. At this point I was getting peeved. I pulled out my phone and researched a bit on the internet. I found that you have to sync the controller with the receiver before any heat is bestowed upon your body. At this point, I thought it best to rethink the wiring so that it wouldnt pull out mid ride again. I unplugged the receiver and synced it with the controller. Then I shoved the receiver in my jacket pocket instead of under the seat. TONS of cable slack now! I figured I'd give it another shot and headed out again.
Second Ride
AMAZING! How have I lived without this stuff before?! I was like a fiery inferno on top of my skin while travelling at 70mph in 35* weather! Fantastic.
Final Thoughts
So I'm pretty excited about my new purchase if you can't tell. After doing a bit of research on my own and rethinking some things, it turned out to work just as planned. Money well spent.
Pros: HOT!, properly sized (nice and snug against my body), gloves blocked alot of cold air, heat dispersed nicely through the panels.
Cons: little pricey (I work at a dealership so before the discount it was around $500), little to no helpful instructions, now my legs and feet are feeling left out.
If you have any questions, go ahead and shoot. I'm an open book. If I don't answer right away, it's because I'm out enjoying my new gear!!!
Installation
So none of the items came with a traditional set of instructions which was a little frustrating. The controller did have small little bullet points on the back which vaguely described what everything did and how it was supposed to hook together. First I removed the seat and side panels. Then propped up the tank (I rode until the fuel light was blinking so it didnt weigh much, I thought that mighty smart of myself). Next I hooked the leads from the main wires to the battery. I ran the cable across the left side of the motor making sure it wouldnt bind in the throttle cables. Then the tank and side panels were put back on. Afterwards, I hooked up the reciever to the power and got a red light which meant I was A-OK to this point. So the only sensible thing to do was take her for a spin.
The Ride
I threw on the heated liner, plugged the gloves into the sleeves and then layered on my tourmaster jacket and firstgear pants. I pulled the controller out and figured what the hell, and threw her on full blast before I took off. Then I went on the highway and rode for a few miles. I got off the next exit up and thought "Man this thing is a piece of S%^&!" I felt little no heat coming from it. I pulled off at a gas station to check everything and realized the cable for the jacket liner had come unplugged. I jumped back on thinking this was the problem and I rode back to my house.
Anaylsis
When I got home, cable was still in, still little heat. At this point I was getting peeved. I pulled out my phone and researched a bit on the internet. I found that you have to sync the controller with the receiver before any heat is bestowed upon your body. At this point, I thought it best to rethink the wiring so that it wouldnt pull out mid ride again. I unplugged the receiver and synced it with the controller. Then I shoved the receiver in my jacket pocket instead of under the seat. TONS of cable slack now! I figured I'd give it another shot and headed out again.
Second Ride
AMAZING! How have I lived without this stuff before?! I was like a fiery inferno on top of my skin while travelling at 70mph in 35* weather! Fantastic.
Final Thoughts
So I'm pretty excited about my new purchase if you can't tell. After doing a bit of research on my own and rethinking some things, it turned out to work just as planned. Money well spent.
Pros: HOT!, properly sized (nice and snug against my body), gloves blocked alot of cold air, heat dispersed nicely through the panels.
Cons: little pricey (I work at a dealership so before the discount it was around $500), little to no helpful instructions, now my legs and feet are feeling left out.
If you have any questions, go ahead and shoot. I'm an open book. If I don't answer right away, it's because I'm out enjoying my new gear!!!
