Kawasaki Concours Forum
The C-14, aka Kawasaki Concours-14, the new one :) => Accessories and modifications - C14/GTR 1400 => Topic started by: okxd45 on December 15, 2011, 07:30:52 AM
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I recently purchased a battery tender and some gerbing g3 gloves are on the way from the recent group buy. Keep in mind this is all new to me and I have never wired anything (well other than a ceiling fan)! Currently I am charging my battery in the house, but would like to be able to charge it on the bike. Would I be able to run the gerbing gloves off of the same harness/plug as the battery tender? If so, do the gloves come with everything I need to do this or would I need an adapter or something? I am not interested in a temp controller. I figure if its cold enough to warrant use of heated gloves, then I want them to be at max temperature. Keep in mind that these are the only things I need to plug in....... EVER......and I need this to be as simple as possible. Thanks in advance for the expertise on this forum! :)
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The Battery Tender wire will absolutely work fine with the Gerbings with a change of the fuse ( I use a 15 amp fuse). I have this setup on multiple bikes and enjoy Gerbings no matter what I am riding. I installed the Battery Tender wire directly to the battery by taking the battery cover off and having the wire stick out of the bodywork. Of course you will need the adapter which Gerbings sells to go from the SAE plug to their plug. You need to control the heat of the gloves in some manner. They offer an "on/off" switch, but I have found the controller to be much more comfortable and requiring less attention. I rarely find a need to use 1/4 of the travel in my temperature controller to get plenty of heat when riding down into the 30's. I use the dual controller as I want to ride year round and have a jacket liner and boot inserts. I hope this answered your questions.
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short answer is yes
like posted you will need to change the fuse size and you will need an adapter as the 2 items have a different plug. I do not think you are going to want the gloves on high all the time. a controller will be a good thing to keep from turning them on and off
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Thank you for your replies! I'm starting to regret the purchase of the gloves since I am a cheap skate and was not aware of the need for a controller. So to summarize: My battery tender wire will be on the right side, an adapter will plug in there, followed by a single wire coming underneath my jacket to a controller on my waist. From there, wires will run through my sleeves to the gloves. (?) Is this the right idea? Also, would the 7.5 amp fuse from the battery tender/harness not be enough? Thanks again!
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Sorry.......one last thing. Is this the right adapter?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SAE-COAX-Female-adapter-battery-tender-Gerbing-PAC039-/380388081876#vi-content (http://www.ebay.com/itm/SAE-COAX-Female-adapter-battery-tender-Gerbing-PAC039-/380388081876#vi-content)
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That looks to be the correct adapter. 7.5 fuse should be plenty for just the gloves. Gerbings sells the on/off controller for about $15 and they may have that adapter as well.
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I don't recommend going cheap on the heated clothes. I bought a heated liner a couple of years ago, even though I live in Houston. We do get some cold weather, and the guy I ride with and I get seriously agitated if we can't ride every single Saturday. Plus we do trips up in the mountains (we alternate the Rockies and Smokies). Heated gear will revolutionize riding for you in the winter. Why have a $15,000 motorcycle sitting still because you went cheap on a few hundred dollars of heated gear?
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I don't recommend going cheap on the heated clothes. I bought a heated liner a couple of years ago, even though I live in Houston. We do get some cold weather, and the guy I ride with and I get seriously agitated if we can't ride every single Saturday. Plus we do trips up in the mountains (we alternate the Rockies and Smokies). Heated gear will revolutionize riding for you in the winter. Why have a $15,000 motorcycle sitting still because you went cheap on a few hundred dollars of heated gear?
I won't have a lot of time to ride because of my work schedule. But I've ridden into the 20's with my Olympic jacket with thermals and jeans on bottom. The only part of me that was cold were my fingers.......thus the reason for the glove purchase (begrudgingly). The fairing and cc Bailey's windshield make it easy.
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Getting your hands out of the wind works wonders for keeping them warmer. I bought some Motax air deflectors and they work great. Flathead (http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?action=profile;u=96 (http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?action=profile;u=96)) also makes these and from all reports they work great too.
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Flathead's wings work great. I find them to keep the cold air completely off my hands and that is a huge help in keeping your hands warm.
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gnuse/Conrad, thanks for the plug :)
From the OP profile pic he appears to have an '09 so I can't help just yet.
@okxd As stated before you will need a controller for the gloves, at 13° gloves turned up to 1/2 my hands sweat.
Cheers!
Bill
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I won't have a lot of time to ride because of my work schedule. But I've ridden into the 20's with my Olympic jacket with thermals and jeans on bottom. The only part of me that was cold were my fingers.......thus the reason for the glove purchase (begrudgingly). The fairing and cc Bailey's windshield make it easy.
I guess I've lived in Houston too long. I put my heated gear on if the highs are going to be less than 60! :o
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gnuse/Conrad, thanks for the plug :)
From the OP profile pic he appears to have an '09 so I can't help just yet.
@okxd As stated before you will need a controller for the gloves, at 13° gloves turned up to 1/2 my hands sweat.
Cheers!
Bill
Well that stinks. I think I'm gonna try the on/off switch first. It's hard for me to justify $200 total for gloves. Was that with the air deflectors or not?
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Well that stinks. I think I'm gonna try the on/off switch first. It's hard for me to justify $200 total for gloves. Was that with the air deflectors or not?
With the deflectors and heated grips I have not had to use gerbings this year, temps down to 16. Last winter on the C-10 connie I used the gerbings all winter.
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Thank you for your replies! I'm starting to regret the purchase of the gloves since I am a cheap skate and was not aware of the need for a controller. So to summarize: My battery tender wire will be on the right side, an adapter will plug in there, followed by a single wire coming underneath my jacket to a controller on my waist. From there, wires will run through my sleeves to the gloves. (?) Is this the right idea? Also, would the 7.5 amp fuse from the battery tender/harness not be enough? Thanks again!
One cold ride and all regret will disappear instantly. There's just no point in being miserable out there when I'm there to enjoy myself.
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The Gerbing's heated clothing is excellent. I have a jacket and heated gloves, however, I don't plug the gloves in anymore even when the temp gets in the 20's. Heated grips and the Gerbing's gloves (without the added hassle of more teathering wires) are an excellent combination. My opinion is that riding needs to be comfortable and the heated gear is a must. I wear the jacket when the temp gets below 60. All my bikes have the controller (GS, Goldwing, Concours) on them to regulate the amount of heat, except my CBR1000rr (simply an on/off switch that I plug into the battery tender wire).
I found that an on/off only switch was not adequate as I was constantly turning it on and off. Too hot then too cold. Comfort can be obtained with a Good pair of gloves, heated grips, and a heated jacket into the high 20's. Yes, sometimes my feet get a little cold, but I don't want any more cords to plug in and deal with.
For the price, reliability, and simplicity I just cannot understand why people tolerate being cold when riding.
My riding season has extended to year round.
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If in fact the OP doesn't have a lot of time to ride due to his work schedule then he may be fine with simply bundling up. However, if it's in the 40's and you're out for more than an hour you start to feel the affects of hypothermia and that can make you dangerous.
My wife and I ride year round up here in Jersey so good gear is a must. It's expensive but worth it to be able to enjoy our passion throughout the year. We both have gloves, proper fitting jackets and socks (I hate having cold feet). They're all controlled by Gerbings dual controllers. One control for the jacket and gloves and the other for the socks. We also have LD Comfort underwear (http://www.ldcomfort.com/). We left Ohio one day for the ride back to NJ and it was 27 degrees. Try that in long johns!
My plug is also used for the battery tender.
Here are photos from two of my colder trips:
http://dgshaffer.com/bikephotos/wv-10-18-08/index.html (http://dgshaffer.com/bikephotos/wv-10-18-08/index.html)
http://dgshaffer.com/bikephotos/02-08-09/index.html (http://dgshaffer.com/bikephotos/02-08-09/index.html)