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Electric Blanket
Quote from Guest on May 25, 2011, 10:45 amMy wife is one of those ladies who would wear a sweater in hell. She's sensitive to the cold and always trying to get warm. (I think she married me for my body heat!)
That prompted me to install a cigarette-lighter style outlet in the sidecar and purchase a 12-volt electric blanket for her.
(I wired the outlet with a relay so that it is only powered when the bike's ignition is on. I didn't want to find my battery flat because the blanket was left plugged in overnight.)
I was not at all sure the blanket would work for her. It only puts out 150watts of heat -- about the same as most handgrip heaters. In our early runs, when she wore it over her, it wanted to blow away. She had to hold it tight around her to keep it in place and get some benefit from it.
But then she tried putting it on top of the seat, and sitting on it rather than under it. That works! She gets a significant amount of heat from it and it doesn't blow away. She loves it.
I suppose you could find a way to install a heated seat in the sidecar -- or maybe even buy the sidecar so equipped if you're going the high-dollar route. But for less than US$50 (about US$25 for the blanket, the rest for the outlet, relay, fuse, etc.) it's a pretty decent solution.
Best,
Ed Bianchi
Delaware USA
'87 BMW K75C/Dauntless "Lady Carol"
My wife is one of those ladies who would wear a sweater in hell. She's sensitive to the cold and always trying to get warm. (I think she married me for my body heat!)
That prompted me to install a cigarette-lighter style outlet in the sidecar and purchase a 12-volt electric blanket for her.
(I wired the outlet with a relay so that it is only powered when the bike's ignition is on. I didn't want to find my battery flat because the blanket was left plugged in overnight.)
I was not at all sure the blanket would work for her. It only puts out 150watts of heat -- about the same as most handgrip heaters. In our early runs, when she wore it over her, it wanted to blow away. She had to hold it tight around her to keep it in place and get some benefit from it.
But then she tried putting it on top of the seat, and sitting on it rather than under it. That works! She gets a significant amount of heat from it and it doesn't blow away. She loves it.
I suppose you could find a way to install a heated seat in the sidecar -- or maybe even buy the sidecar so equipped if you're going the high-dollar route. But for less than US$50 (about US$25 for the blanket, the rest for the outlet, relay, fuse, etc.) it's a pretty decent solution.
Best,
Ed Bianchi
Delaware USA
'87 BMW K75C/Dauntless "Lady Carol"
Quote from Guest on May 25, 2011, 11:56 amWe have the hack wired to run the Gerbing heated clothes. Found out she would rather sit on jacket and just slip on the pant liners once in. With the top on and just the outside window installed, she rode with it like that one night when it was down into the teens, she was fine.
We have the hack wired to run the Gerbing heated clothes. Found out she would rather sit on jacket and just slip on the pant liners once in. With the top on and just the outside window installed, she rode with it like that one night when it was down into the teens, she was fine.
Quote from vs1100star2002 on May 27, 2011, 3:15 pmmy wife has used her electric blanket in the classic we previously had ,and the current GT. a well spent 29 bucks.
my wife has used her electric blanket in the classic we previously had ,and the current GT. a well spent 29 bucks.
Quote from Guest on May 28, 2011, 7:18 ambehind the seat of my car, I wired in a 900cca truck battery,..charges from the bike's system,..helps the bike when required,..a simple flat trailer plug for quick release,...just a thought,..good luck, crawf.
behind the seat of my car, I wired in a 900cca truck battery,..charges from the bike's system,..helps the bike when required,..a simple flat trailer plug for quick release,...just a thought,..good luck, crawf.
Quote from GTRider on June 2, 2011, 12:27 amMy wife uses a Gerbing jacket liner, one of my old ones, plugged into an outlet in the sidecar. The liner is worn under an off-the-rack windproof jacket with zip-in fleece liner that we ordered from LL Bean. She keeps an ordinary blanket in the sidecar and puts that over her legs and lap when the going gets cold. So far, she is very happy and comfortable with this setup--and she is someone who could be cold on a July day. I've been trying to get her to order a new jacket liner on a trade-in program that Warm 'N Safe offers, but she doesn't want to give up her current heated liner now that the season has started....
Best,
GTRider
My wife uses a Gerbing jacket liner, one of my old ones, plugged into an outlet in the sidecar. The liner is worn under an off-the-rack windproof jacket with zip-in fleece liner that we ordered from LL Bean. She keeps an ordinary blanket in the sidecar and puts that over her legs and lap when the going gets cold. So far, she is very happy and comfortable with this setup--and she is someone who could be cold on a July day. I've been trying to get her to order a new jacket liner on a trade-in program that Warm 'N Safe offers, but she doesn't want to give up her current heated liner now that the season has started....
Best,
GTRider