Took Payton to school in her van. I needed to run to Madison 100 mile round trip. Decide to ride. It was 30 degrees when I fired the bike up, cleaned ice off seat and windshield. Suit up for the ride.
With in an hour. It was 50 degrees. taking the long route it was 61 buy time I headed home. At 2:30 picking up Payton at school it was 71 degrees.
Some may not understand it. I do like riding in cooler weather.
Smitty, I am 100% in the same camp as you...prefer riding in cool weather, versus hot weather.
On my ride in early September, when I rode from Western Washington to Murray, Kentucky to visit with Hannigan Sidecars, I had one day that was a low of 36*, and a high of 95*, but....what you failed to take into consideration on your figuring, is the Wind Chill factor when it is cold, and the heat convection factor when it is hot. During my ride that day, taking into consideration the Wind Chill at 80 mph, in ambient air of 36*, and the Heat Convection at 80 mph, in ambient air of 95*...I had a temperature differential of 90* that day.
Same thing happened on my way from Kentucky back home to Washington State, one day is was only a temperature differential of 80*
Come on, Smitty, you have ridden enough to remember....Wind Chill charts at temperatures...at speeds.
Wind chill is when the right riding gear comes into play. Most good cool looking jackets are ok for cool weather. But when it gets Cold. Real riding gear shines bright.
Oh, Oh, Oh......now you went and did it, Smitty 😉
I have been using Gerbings Heated Clothing for more than 30 years, live in the state where Gerbings was founded, knew the original owner quite well, and was wearing Gerbings Heated Clothing on that cold morning in Colorado, when riding at 80 mph, in 36 degree temps.
My riding clothes do not look cool, they are well worn, look like they have been through a battle, but keep me warm.
Cheers, mate.
Gerbings made the best there was. When they sold out the people that took over cheapened the brand. And reduced the warranty
I abused a set of their heated gloves for 10 years. And I do mean abused. They held up 10 years.
Because I knew the Gerbing family quite well, and their newest location was only 10 miles from my house, back in 2010 (ish), I was made aware that Bob Gerbing was thinking of selling the company. I took him to lunch one day, and made an offer to buy the company, keep it all local, keep all the employees, etc. He told me he would let me know.....and next thing I heard was he had sold the company to a financial conglomerate in North Carolina....Bob Gerbing took all the money from the sale, left with the money, and left the rest of the family with NOTHING. That seriously fractured the Gerbing family, so after a year or so they started a new company...Gordon's Heated....in honor of the original founder, Gordon Gerbing.
But you are so right, the new Gerbing clothing is not up to the same standards as the old original stuff, and the new company immediately said they would not honor any warranty on the original Gerbing clothing. That hurt sales numbers a LOT...so within 6 months they retracted that statement, and offered a little bit of warranty.
My heated clothing from Gerbings must be close to 30 years old, and all still works fine.
Second best feeling in the world, is when it is freezing cold, and your feet get ice cold.....turn on the heated socks, and let you toes get all warmed up.
I am into my 2nd season on a Hot Wired brand jacket. I had kind of low expectations, bought it on clearance at Cycle Gear in Mesa, AZ. It has really surprised me as to how much I enjoy using it. We will see how many years it holds up, but so far, so good.
I rode for 50+ years without heated gear out of either stubbornness or cheapness. I finally invested a little bit into better riding gear after my Tour Master stuff hit 20 years old and was pretty much done with life. Now ride with an Aerostitch R3 "lite" suit, with the heated jacket for days with temps below about 45 degrees anticipated for any part of the ride. Just ordered the Hot Wired pants liner, yesterday.
Riding home from Washington, about a month ago, it was 33 degrees F in the morning in Mammoth Lake, and 115 when I hit the west side of Phoenix. Took the jacket off at about the halfway point, and started soaking an LD Comfort wicking shirt with water at about Las Vegas. Overall was a reasonably comfortable trip.
Felt the same way about heated grips, until putting a set on my last Africa Twin a few years ago. Total game changer for comfort. Also adding a set of "Hippo Hands" Rogue size hand covers to the mix, as soon as they feel like shipping them. Look like they will be easy on, easy off. It is nice having a trunk on the hack!
Pic is me in the HiViz Roadcrafter, out by Lake Mead.
Is there a webpage where we can look at what Gordon heated clothes are and possibly order from?
Dennis Peabody, it appears that Gordons Heated is no longer in business. At least, from my search a few minutes ago. Their website is down, gone, and that is not a good thing. You can always go to their original company, that is now owned by some large corporation....Gerbing Heated Clothing, at www.gerbings.com
There are several different heated clothing companies out there. Warm 'n Safe is another good one.
Ben Franklin, another tip for keeping cool in HOT weather, is to wear a Cool Vest, made by TechNiche International, and called the HyperKewl vest.
I have a couple of them, as I hate riding in HOT weather. Soak one in a sink of water for 5 minutes, lightly wring it out, so it still has some water weight in it, then place it in a 1 gallon zip-lock baggie...then toss it into the freezer for overnight. When riding, keep that vest, still in the 1 gallon zip-lock baggie, in the trunk of your bike or sidecar, and use it as a cooler for your canned or bottled drinks. Then, just before it gets blazing hot, take that vest out, and put it on your body, with a t-shirt underneath it, to act as an insulator between you and the Hyperkewl vest. Your choice as to whether you want to have the vents in your Riding Jacket open or closed.
On a seriously HOT ride.....stop at a gas station or convenience store, and buy a 5 pound bag of crushed ICE from their outside Ice Box. Bounce that 5 lb. bag on the ground a few times to loosen up the frozen ice, then place the entire 5 lb. bag of ice inside your Riding Jacket, in the front, just above your gut, and basically where your chest is, or heart. The point is to keep the BLOOD in your heart/thoracic area cool, which will then send cool blood up top your brain.
Another trick....when at a gas station or convenience store, when you get off the bike/sidecar rig, immediately place your hot/sweaty helmet inside that Ice storage box, and leave it there, until you are ready to leave.
Something to keep in mind. Cycle gear was taken over by JP cycles. Cycle gear does offer some great riding gear.
Years ago they sold 6 volt heated gloves that were meant more for old snowmobiles. Those products got a bad rap from motorcycle riders that failed to understand they were 6 volt. They sold at a low cost and those shopping price only ended up with a product that failed them.
I have a heat demons vest that is over 10 years old that is still flawless and works well when used the right way.
Until it was sold out Nothing beat the real Gerbings.
Woke up to 57 degrees and it is expected to get to 74 fast today. then a long stretch of 30 degrees coming.
