A couple of oddities with Gerbing's heated gear

[paulcbrowne]

Just be aware that you might not find Gerbing's "improved" gear may not be as good as their older stuff.

I have a Gerbing's heated jacket liner and I know my electrical budget quite well. Their new microprocessor heat-troller will shut off the controller if it thinks the voltage is too low. Unfortunately, it sometimes "thinks" the voltage is low when it is not and you can find yourself getting cold for no good reason. If you are not in bright sun you may see the controller's LED blinking red/green instead of just green to indicate this. Turn it off and back on to get it working again. Personally, I think this "improved" design -- according to Gerbing's engineer whom I talked to -- is not an improvement at all. The old controller that had failed with a broken wire worked just fine.

The second item is the design of Gerbing's new "mircowire" gear does no include heat panels at the shoulders and top of the back like the older jackets did. Since wind coming over the top of the windshield hits there, I find I'm often cold even with the heat turned up all the way. I had sold my older style jacket liner because it was too big and bought this new one last summer. I'm pretty disappointed in the new vs. the old.

[tomfelock]

somethin' like new isn't always better - sometimes it is bitter?

[roy_ryall]

Paul, I was also considering replacing my older style Gerbing jacket liner with the newer model because it is a little too loose fitting. But after reading your post I was unsure about the replacement. I emailed Gerbing your post and received the following reply

"Hi,
The older version of the jacket liner did not have pads where this post indicates.. .the pads are placed in the same manner as they were before. the new version of the controller does shut down when enough power is not being pushed through so that your bike does not end up with a drained battery.
Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.
Sincerely
Lynda"

My email,

"I am considering the purchase of the new microwire jacket liner to replace my older model Gerbing jacket liner. However, I saw this post on the motorcycle forum I follow. The post was:

“Their new microprocessor heat-troller will shut off the controller if it thinks the voltage is too low. Unfortunately, it sometimes "thinks" the voltage is low when it is not and you can find yourself getting cold for no good reason. If you are not in bright sun you may see the controller's LED blinking red/green instead of just green to indicate this. Turn it off and back on to get it working again. Personally, I think this "improved" design -- according to Gerbing's engineer whom I talked to -- is not an improvement at all. The old controller that had failed with a broken wire worked just fine.”

The second item is the design of Gerbing's new "mircowire" gear does no include heat panels at the shoulders and top of the back like the older jackets did. Since wind coming over the top of the windshield hits there, I find I'm often cold even with the heat turned up all the way. I had sold my older style jacket liner because it was too big and bought this new one last summer. I'm pretty disappointed in the new vs. the old.”

I am mainly concerned about the second comment since it would affect my jacket liner replacement decision. I do not plan on replacing the dual controller I currently have.

If you do not object, I would like to post your response on the motorcycle forum.

Additional note: I recently replaced my older model glove liners with the newer model and I a very pleased with them. They are more comfortable and seem to spread the heat more evenly, especially on the thumb and fingers.

Thanks"

[paulcbrowne]

Here's a little more information. I find that the new Gerbings microwire jacket is simply not as warm as the old one. I'm using the same outer jacket, an Olympia AST full-length jacket. With my old jacket I regularly commuted 55 miles with temps ranging from 25 degrees and stayed warm, having to actually back of the heat controller most of the time. Wearing the same clothing (also on a Burgman 650), the new jacket liner is okay down to about 45 degrees if cranked up all the way. Below that I must wear my Olympia liner over the Gerbings liner under my AST jacket to stay warm. Also, the collar does not stay very warm compared to the old liner' collar did. In fact, the non-electric Olympia liner seems to perform almost as well as the Gerbings.

I've checked the liner with an infrared temp sensor and it's working, but it never seems to get over 85 degrees when tested in my garage. Obviously, the temp will get sucked lower when riding out in the cold.

I'd just say to anyone thinking about buying one of the new Gerbings microwire liners that they should consider alternatives because they may be disappointed as I have been if they buy a Gerbings. Of course, YMMV.

[roy_ryall]

Are you using the old or new controller?

[paulcbrowne]

The new controller. I started using my new jacket liner with the older style (blue) controller that I had had for my old jacket. I don't remember for sure if there was a difference in performance when it failed with the new jacket and was replaced last spring with the new one. It seems to me that I don't recall this issue when I had the old controller with the new jacket. The insulation on the wires cracked at the old controller and my try at clipping the wires and re-soldering them to the board was unsuccessful, hence the new controller.