Making your own heated gear

[storysunfolding]

Has anyone made their own heated gear before? I've been looking into it and found some neat sites for information.

Origional site I looked at http://webpages.charter.net/hondapotamus/heat.htm

Instructions for heated clothing http://www.ibmwr.org/otech/heatedclothing.html

Route for heating wire http://www.kustomkomfort.com/instruction.html

Apparently lots of motorcycle clubs get together and make their own gear in the winter. I know my bike can give me 8 amps easy, but I only want to use about 5 between a heated insert, and gloves. I may want heated pants later.

Any thoughts, suggestions, extra information/sites... in the constructive manner?

[Shiv]

Dunno but seems interesting. But probably equally expensive.

Luckily I live in the part of the country where we only have spring and summer.

[storysunfolding]

I actually have everything they say you need sitting in my garage, and when I checked out buying everything new, it was only about $35 to get a jacket and glove liners made.

In other words, not nearly as expensive as a $77 pair of heated gloves, and a $199 gerbinger jacket liner.

[Lion_Lady]

The thing about 'making it yourself' is that unless you are already highly skilled in the construction techniques (in this case, I presume SEWING), you're gonna waste a lot of time and materials undoing and re-doing thing that you didn't get quite right.

Yeah, up front, it sounds like a great idea, but what are the consquences of either the instructions having an error of +/- connectivity or you plain old mis reading something? What sort of damage can result to your motorcycle's electrical system if you mis wire something? Is it worth the chance?

Had a fellow BMW club member try to make himself an electric vest and he nearly electricuted himself, but fortunately he just fried the wiring and wrecked the fabric.

Sorry to rain on your parade, but I've tried enough 'save money' projects myself to finally be able to just choose to buy the real thing, secondhand if necessary, rather than try to make it myself.

P

[storysunfolding]

Thanks for that.

However, I'll be getting my final design checked by a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Virginia who I used to build furniture with when I lived in Charlottesville. I have already checked with Yamaha about the strain this will put on my electrical system and found it to be negligible. I have sewn things ranging from sails, to people, to apolstery to clothes so I have no worries there. I am buying teflon coated wire, which is the best to use in this application

I'm sure there are many ways to do this wrong. That's why I'm trying to find people with experience to give me hints or suggestions from when they made their own.

I'm essentially going to gather all the information I can and put up a comprehensive guide to making this gear, including pictures on a step by step basis, to help anyone who wants to do this.

Do it yourself projects that I've been successful in: building and apolsterig my own furniture, blowing my own glassware, installing a turbo charger in my jeep (new gauges, digital system, custom built [by me] anonized aluminum dash), custom fiberglass car stereo installations, building various stables with electricity and plumbing

I could go on. I know how much this board loves to flame someone who is trying to do something different, but I'm really only looking for constructive information about making your own heated riding gear so I can continue to use my motorcycle for the main reason I bought it which is being able to afford driving 220 miles round trip to visit my girlfriend once or twice a week.

[sv-wolf]

Sounds like an interesting idea - and enterprising. Never thought about it myself. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who have tried to do it though. Heated gloves sound just a bit fiddly. Hope you have an eye for detail.

And sod damaging the bike! Just don't fry yourself, OK.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

[Mag7C]

I was just wondering where you plug it in? Or do you have to make your own outlet on the bike for it.

Also make sure the system is set up so that if you wreck you won't be tethered to the bike.

I like the idea. Most of the time any ride is a good ride, but it really does suck in the cold weather.

Let us know how it works out.

[BuzZz]

Interesting idea.

Too bad that......

ELECTRICITY SUX!!!!.....

I have had enough bad electrical experiances to never, ever want to try wireing-up my own body myself.

'Course, some folks get off on that sort of thing.....

[Sev]

I keep thinking of that scene from Die Hard where they have the chinese guy torturing him with the generator.

[storysunfolding]

I keep thinking of that scene from Die Hard where they have the chinese guy torturing him with the generator.

BLAST

You have found my secret plan!