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I rode mine two hours last night in 40° temps. First bike I have had with heated grips. I don't think I will ever buy one without them again!

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Small upgrade, replaced the horn with a DENALI SoundBomb Mini Horn.
Simple R&R.

I had similar air horn on the GenI that was mounted behind the bodywork with added wiring which included a needed relay but I opted for quicker easier upgrade this time.

https://www.twistedthrottle.com/catalog ... cycle+Horn

I rode it to the BMW dealership to check on The Project. Then I rode it over to Dad's.

Spent some time showing Pop the controls and menus on the Gen3...

Then I rode it to a local meat market to get some ribeyes because Pop needs protein to heal faster. Of course it started raining so I rode the filthy thing home in the rain.

Side Note: PR3s with 9K and a light rain make for an ideal testing situation for the traction control.

New skins for Arkansas. Changed by an awesome friend. Shinko Ravens. I will provide a full mileage report. For comparison at a later time. Btw, I paid 143 dollars for both delivered from Jake Wilson. Let's say I get 6000 out of them. I can buy 2 sets for less than most Michelin products, right???? Disclaimer, I don't teach math.

Mirror Extenders are coming. Tank bag is coming. New pants are here. Heated jacket is operational.

Camping gear is being laid out and evaluated. Forecast has been checked for north, central, and western Arkansas.

Let's Freaking GO!!

Got to try out some new Gerbings gear yesterday that Santa brought. 42F and rain for a solid tank of fuel last night and Gerbings made all the difference. Now to only remember to bring the pin lock visor insert next time for those nagging rainy moments. The gear presented a substantial draw to the bike's electrics, 14.1vdc turned it into more like 12.9vdc with everything fired up.

NTXFJR wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2017 7:31 am Got to try out some new Gerbings gear yesterday that Santa brought. The gear presented a substantial draw to the bike's electrics, 14.1vdc turned it into more like 12.9vdc with everything fired up.

May I ask exactly what heated gear components you have? I am assuming it is more than a vest type if you are dropping 1.2 Volts.

Somehow I see this becoming inevitable in spite of the fact that I live in Swampy Flatlandistan.

Redfish wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2017 8:13 am

NTXFJR wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2017 7:31 am Got to try out some new Gerbings gear yesterday that Santa brought. The gear presented a substantial draw to the bike's electrics, 14.1vdc turned it into more like 12.9vdc with everything fired up.

May I ask exactly what heated gear components you have? I am assuming it is more than a vest type if you are dropping 1.2 Volts.

Somehow I see this becoming inevitable in spite of the fact that I live in Swampy Flatlandistan.

Santa was nice to me. Jacket liner, pants liner, socks, gloves. I don't know if I could over emphasize the huge difference in comfort level these items made last night. The gloves are leather and got soaked, but my hands stayed warm. The voltage drop covered everything including gps, phone, grips -which ended up on medium setting because of the gloves. But yeah, I think you're right, the Gerbings stuff drew the lion's share of the load. I don't have led aux lighting yet, but it is in the pipeline.

NTXFJR wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2017 7:31 am Got to try out some new Gerbings gear yesterday that Santa brought. 42F and rain for a solid tank of fuel last night and Gerbings made all the difference. Now to only remember to bring the pin lock visor insert next time for those nagging rainy moments. The gear presented a substantial draw to the bike's electrics, 14.1vdc turned it into more like 12.9vdc with everything fired up.

I don't know electricity...it's voodoo as far as I'm concerned, but isn't 12.9 too low to charge your battery for the next start? Alan/ionbeam had a chart of good to bad readings for the voltmeter...

wheatonFJR wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2017 8:52 am

NTXFJR wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2017 7:31 am Got to try out some new Gerbings gear yesterday that Santa brought. 42F and rain for a solid tank of fuel last night and Gerbings made all the difference. Now to only remember to bring the pin lock visor insert next time for those nagging rainy moments. The gear presented a substantial draw to the bike's electrics, 14.1vdc turned it into more like 12.9vdc with everything fired up.

I don't know electricity...it's voodoo as far as I'm concerned, but isn't 12.9 too low to charge your battery for the next start? Alan/ionbeam had a chart of good to bad readings for the voltmeter...

I'm thinking in that case it's more along the lines of charging an already low battery. In that case it wants to be up into at least the 13's to coax the battery's voltage up to match it. It may not have been ideal circumstances but it didn't seem to drain the battery per se. I was concerned with the life span of the voltage regulator having to keep that constant load output. I kept a keen eye on the volt meter while enroute, when pulling into fuel stops and such, the volts had a tendency to drop down a little bit to say 12.5 or so. Still though, I didn't dally, I cut the motor off (electrics) as soon as I rolled up to the pump.

<edit> Fwiw,my volt meter is reading across the supply at my fuse block which is coming through a 40 amp relay from the battery

wheatonFJR wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2017 8:52 am I don't know electricity...it's voodoo as far as I'm concerned, but isn't 12.9 too low to charge your battery for the next start? Alan/ionbeam had a chart of good to bad readings for the voltmeter...

I think the answer is, "it depends..."

12.43 volts is what I was taught for a fully charged battery at rest.

We would need to know how the voltage meter is wired, where it is wired and how much actual voltage drop is involved for that meter. He could very well be getting more voltage to his battery than he is indicating. Or maybe not.


And FWIW, LEDs should draw Very Little current. That should not be enough to notice.

Craig's heated gear is probably drawing somewhere around 20 amps (250-ish watts). That's getting close to the free power output of the stator. Granted, at low setting, the draw is much less.

For years, I rode/toured with 7 layers of various sizes, thicknesses, materials, etc. And at times, I froze my ass off. Then a few years ago, a friend convinced me to just give 'em the $200 bucks and buy the freakin jacket liner. So I did.

I can't believe I waited. That garment alone is worth no less than 20 degrees. And now I only need 2 or 3 layers with me.

wheatonFJR wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2017 8:52 am Alan/ionbeam had a chart of good to bad readings for the voltmeter...

Where is Alan anyway? I just realized we haven't heard from him in a while. Could be he's not here?

Cav47 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 11, 2017 11:10 pm New skins for Arkansas. Changed by an awesome friend. Shinko Ravens. I will provide a full mileage report. For comparison at a later time. Btw, I paid 143 dollars for both delivered from Jake Wilson. Let's say I get 6000 out of them. I can buy 2 sets for less than most Michelin products, right???? Disclaimer, I don't teach math.

Mirror Extenders are coming. Tank bag is coming. New pants are here. Heated jacket is operational.

Camping gear is being laid out and evaluated. Forecast has been checked for north, central, and western Arkansas.

Let's Freaking GO!!

Josh, good luck with the Shinko Raven's...I tried a set once...scariest tires (for twisties), that I ever tried.

A voltmeter is only one way to measure, but practical enough for what we're talking about here, otherwise we could get into detailed calculations. A fully charged VRLA/AGM battery is 13.0 volts according to Yuasa, although conventional thinking has been 12.7/12.8 volts, depending on whose chart you're using and the type of battery. Yuasa chart attached. Depending on the accuracy of your voltmeter, if it dips down below that you are using some battery to power your accessories, as the excess capacity of the alternator/stator is not sufficient to keep the battery at full charge. The amp-hour capacity of the battery determines how long it takes to discharge the battery.... there is a calculation you can do, but, basically, you want enough remaining to start the bike when you stop.

Higher powered LED's take more than you think to drive them, so best shut them down if using a full compliment of heated gear. GPS draws nothing in comparison. All your gear controllers should be/are likely Pulse Width Modulators, and turning them down will yield good results on your voltmeter. I have run two full sets of heated gear, and at cruising rpms my voltmeter was around 12.3, so obviously using battery power more quickly than at say 12.6. You can monitor over time, but my recommendation is not to run over an hour at less than 12.5 volts. When I get nearer home or stopping point, I shut down stuff until I can get 13V for the last 20 minutes or so, and the battery should be plugged in to a charger to fully charge it.

Over time you will develop your comfort level, but one set of heated gear shouldn't be very detrimental..... you rarely need full blast if you're windproof and the gear fits snugly.

El Toro Joe wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2017 10:32 am

Cav47 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 11, 2017 11:10 pm New skins for Arkansas. Changed by an awesome friend. Shinko Ravens. I will provide a full mileage report. For comparison at a later time. Btw, I paid 143 dollars for both delivered from Jake Wilson. Let's say I get 6000 out of them. I can buy 2 sets for less than most Michelin products, right???? Disclaimer, I don't teach math.

Mirror Extenders are coming. Tank bag is coming. New pants are here. Heated jacket is operational.

Camping gear is being laid out and evaluated. Forecast has been checked for north, central, and western Arkansas.

Let's Freaking GO!!

Josh, good luck with the Shinko Raven's...I tried a set once...scariest tires (for twisties), that I ever tried.

OMMV. (Our mileage must vary). lol. Joe, my last set seemed just fine to me. Allen had a set and I needed one. He has ridden with them and since he was way faster than me, I figured it was worth a try. So I mounted them up and had no problems. I ride with them to SFO and Hooterville last year. While I am not fast, I rode them to the edge of my capability. One thing I know is that they need tmore warmed up before blasting away.

I will heed your advice and keep an eye on them.

El Toro Joe wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2017 10:32 am

Cav47 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 11, 2017 11:10 pm New skins for Arkansas. Changed by an awesome friend. Shinko Ravens. I will provide a full mileage report. For comparison at a later time. Btw, I paid 143 dollars for both delivered from Jake Wilson. Let's say I get 6000 out of them. I can buy 2 sets for less than most Michelin products, right???? Disclaimer, I don't teach math.

Mirror Extenders are coming. Tank bag is coming. New pants are here. Heated jacket is operational.

Camping gear is being laid out and evaluated. Forecast has been checked for north, central, and western Arkansas.

Let's Freaking GO!!

Josh, good luck with the Shinko Raven's...I tried a set once...scariest tires (for twisties), that I ever tried.

Yes...GOOD LUCK!

Hppants wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2017 9:31 am Craig's heated gear is probably drawing somewhere around 20 amps (250-ish watts). That's getting close to the free power output of the stator. Granted, at low setting, the draw is much less.

For years, I rode/toured with 7 layers of various sizes, thicknesses, materials, etc. And at times, I froze my ass off. Then a few years ago, a friend convinced me to just give 'em the $200 bucks and buy the freakin jacket liner. So I did.

I can't believe I waited. That garment alone is worth no less than 20 degrees. And now I only need 2 or 3 layers with me.

I agree that heated gear is THE way to go, after years of not having it.

I also learned last October on a Sunday morning before dawn that although heated grips are awesome in most cases, when it gets REAL cold that my electric glove liners under winter riding gloves are the best. This after years of no heated grips or electrics.

Stay warm NTX!

Rode it to work again this morning. Temperature of 17 degrees showing. I should probably install a volt meter so I don't know what it's actually showing at this point. Clearwater Krista's and Denali D2D lights both on low at all times. Warm and Safe jacket liner and Gerbing gloves with wireless controller with each set at less than half. I've run this combo for several years including a 10+ hour stretch last year in the rain and have never had any battery issues.

Day 294 consecutive riding but the weather guessers look like it may get stopped tomorrow. Damn

Completed swingarm bearing service, and now have the forks pulled and head bearings removed for tapered roller replacements. Also changing fork springs, fork oil weight, adding fork brace, and installing fork mounted LED auxiliary lights.

SOLD IT! I know Im going to miss it but this adventure riding thang has consumed me. But dont get your hopes up your not rid of me yet! Still planning to be at EOM. There are a few of you who dont irritate me and I can put up with the rest of ya
Just kiddin, Ive met some really good people through the FJR community.