January 27th, 2015 – Day 14 (all pics in all posts can be clicked for larger versions)
Continue reading “Climate SHOCK and the LA State Trooper”
Climate SHOCK and the LA State Trooper
Tag: heated gear
Day 1 of how many?
January 14th 2015
It was weird to ride across the Sumas, WA border this time. Weird because I have no clue when I will ever be back in that neck of the woods ever again. I am moving back to the east so when will I come back to BC via my bike? That’s why it was weird. My bike has left Canada for good unless I ride it up to Ontario later to sell. 
I left late this morning. Late for me. My house has been having many showings and I keep getting the boot. My last two houses sold in one day. I hate this crap…being asked to leave my own house but it’s part of the deal.
It was cold this morning but not cold enough to use anything else but my regular set up. Heated liner and gloves. But I am prepared if the east coast decides to get nasty with me. I was looking at a USA map. I always do this to myself…when you look at the nation on one map I always overwhelm myself with my grandiose plans for a ride. I am making a huge “U”.
No need to rush I always say to myself…take your time but what is it with riding? At least for me I always feel I need to make a route plan…only day to day, never more than that and feel this need to hit my chosen destination. I mean I love power riding but I was talking to this couple. They only ride X amount, make sure they have plenty of time to set up camp if they are camping, drink a few beers, light a fire and have a nice dinner.
Me? I always arrive right before the sunsets and I feel like I am running around versus relaxing. Tonight was not that bad. I arrived in Forest Grove, OR at a very nice couples home who contacted me through my FB page. They offered to “host” me for the night. Arrived around 1800 hrs, we chatted, Scot and Carol that is, had great green chili, homemade bread for a local bakery and salad. Topped off with some beer.
Scot rides a 1200GS and Carol a 700GS. Neither are huge fans of dirt riding but love riding together. They also enjoy 4 wheeling with their very cool Jeep in their driveway.
Heading through Washington I spent most of the morning looking through fog. I expected this and knew the sun would eventually break through. I am so used to starting a trip in the rain so the cold and fog was not a bother.
I hope to make it to Eureka, California tomorrow but not sure if I will. I know I will stay close to the coast and end up in Southern California in the next 2 days maybe? Head over to Arizona and take it from there. Day by Day. I have a feeling I will not be having to use my heated gear after the wee morning hours soon. Knock on wood, the regional forecast is not that bad south. Doesn’t really feel like total winter even here in Oregon.
Very bad video I made right before I left.
In my head I keep flip flopping…do I move or do I stay. Well, taking my bike to NY and leaving it there I guess makes my decision for me doesn’t it?
Good news I get to take another great ride with really my only time limit being me.
Look how nicely the sun burnt its way through in southern Washington and that was pretty much my ride for the rest of the day. Cool and sunny.
I added a Scottoiler for this trip. Curious about all the good things every says about this gadget. I must have had the setting set well. No spraying effect and the chain looks good.
Added Amber plastic covers to my hi test aux lights and have to say MAN am I seem in the fog with these. Doesn’t really help me see but cars see me for sure.
For day 1 it went pretty well…road about 545 KM’s. Seemed longer but I made it to where I had to.
Not much left for me to see around this area but I did cross a new bridge, the Lewis & Clark bridge…wicked.
and caught a beautiful sunset as I rode into the awaiting garage that was left open for my bike by these fine folks of Oregon.
I will head out as these guys head to work tomorrow. Destination unknown for now but towards California. 
Here’s to good weather, no snow and a safe and fun trip.
Continue reading “Day 1 of how many?”
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SPOTWalla Tracking Link
Track my Winter Ride by CLICKING HERE
This will go live as soon as I leave in the morning, Wednesday, January 14th 2015. Did a little more tweaking to the bike, not much time to really plan anything between trying to sell my house and hanging out with friends etc. So, let’s see how this trip unfolds this time around compared to May/June X Country 2014. 😉
Continue reading “SPOTWalla Tracking Link”
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STAY TUNED….January 2015 Departure?
This could be my route for my X Country Winter Excursion…departure date still being determined. Will make a pit stop in Florida to see my folks, (snow birds) and cousins if all works out. More details to come…will probably take the 101 down through the Oregon Coast…
8366.71 km or 5198.83 miles
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Green, White, Brown – Winter in the PNW (Gerbing, what I know)
My initial reason for heading down to Washington State yet again was really to get to Gerbing
All pictures can be clicked for higher resolution and open in a new tab
and to add to my heated gear collection so I can ride x country this month sometime soon I hope to drop my bike off at my folks in New York. I added heated socks and pant liners plus a dual controller. After I get my letter of compliance from BMW USA I can legally import my bike as the first part of my transition back to the States. Continue reading “Green, White, Brown – Winter in the PNW (Gerbing, what I know)”
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I SURVIVED THE POLAR VORTEX on 2 Wheels
November 14th -16th 2014
In this video if you listen closely I rub my pegs….;-)
Mileage 1178 Km’s
Continue reading “I SURVIVED THE POLAR VORTEX on 2 Wheels”
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Made in NC: Gerbing’s Heated Clothing
RESTORING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IS KEY
Back in November 2012 we sent Cheryl’s right glove and liner to Washington and Gerbing’s for repairs. There is usually a two week turn around. Middle of December we get an email saying her gear would not be returned until 2nd week of January 2013. By this time I was pissed because we ride all year-long and heat is a must in the winter.
I bought Powerlet gear because my liner shut down as well. We went with Powerlet because well, let’s be honest….We LOVE Gerbing’s but we have had to send our gloves and/or liners back in the past because of faulty wiring and shorts. Also, I was mad so why not try another company??? Continue reading “Made in NC: Gerbing’s Heated Clothing”
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Gerbing’s Temperature Install
Just like what we had on our BMW 650’s Cheryl installed her permanent temperature controller today. Instead of installing the built-in port she decided to go with the plug just hanging outside the faring as you will see in the pictures.
Centre fairing had to come off
Cheryl has done this two times before tonight…most would cringe drilling a hole into the plastic but it really looks neat and tidy in the end…when we sell the bikes this comes with it… 😉 Continue reading “Gerbing’s Temperature Install”
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Gerbing’s Headquarters Tour (Nov. 6th, 7th & 8th 2011)
We headed out from Maple Ridge to Shelton, Washington on Sunday morning, Nov. 6th with our goal to be at the Gerbing’s Headquarters on Monday, Nov. 7th. The whole purpose of the trip was to get to Gerbing’s, trade in our old liners for their new micro-wire liners and to deal with some warranty items like our Y connectors. So, we decided to make a trip out of this and carry it over 2 nights. We are trying to get away on the bikes every 5 weeks for fun rather than just commuting.
Continue reading “Gerbing’s Headquarters Tour (Nov. 6th, 7th & 8th 2011)”
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GERBING’s HEADQUARTERS TRIP
Heading out tomorrow, November 6th to go see the Gerbing Headquarters on Monday. We will have our SPOT Tracking on as always. We use this as a safety thing as well as to track our own route. So, if you have nothing else to do check in and see where we are. I have a good time tracking rides in real-time. I guess I am a nerd like that….the link is also in our SPOT Tracking page where our previous trips are too. The tracking and map will become active when we leave. Maybe around 1000 PST.
Gerbing Trip Nov. 6th, 7th & 8th 2011
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What’s with Heated Gear Anyway? Heading to the Gerbing Headquarters
This coming up weekend, Nov. 6th, 7th & 8th, we will be taking a 2 night road trip down to Tumwater, Washington to see the Gerbing headquarters and to trade in our old technology for their new micro-wire heated liners. I ran a poll a few weeks back and asked if you guys ride in the winter. I am amazed that the majority answered yes with NO HEATED gear.
Maybe we are getting soft in our aging process because to be honest I can not ride without heat when the temps drop below double digits Celsius.
Perfect example was today, 1 degree Celsius when I left my house for work at 0520 and got down to 6 on my way home. Just a turn of the dial and even a little heat makes for such an enjoyable ride home. We love our heated liner and gloves but that is just us. This is the best time of year for me to ride. Especially when the rains stay away.
So….since I still have my tracking subscription on my SPOT Connect I will be turning it on for this trip. We are going to finish off the Olympic Peninsula. There is a section that we still need to ride and will do it this time around since we did not over the weekend of October 3rd.
Oh, and there are other companies out there that make heated gear like:
Powerlet
Mobile Warming Gear
Tourmaster
First Gear
Warm & Safe
Tips about using heated gear:
Heated gear is worn as close to your body as you can without actually touching your skin. You can wear a vest or full liner. We prefer the full liner and heated gloves. Most companies sell glove liners too. All heated gear is meant to be worn under you riding suit. We presently own the KLIM Traverse suit that is made for the rider to come up with their own lining system. The suit does not come with an internal rain or thermal liner. The Traverse is waterproof on the outside, Gore Tex and Cheryl and I always use our Gerbing as both a liner with no heat and of course with the heat on. Also, one thing to point out is that we keep our lining slim, no bulk and real easy to do shoulder checks.
Keeping our core body temperature consistent allows us to focus more on riding rather than being cold and shivering. Being too cold can be very dangerous and so far with the set up we have we are able to comfortably ride in weather well below 0 Celsius. The coldest we both have been out has been -8 C but I think that will be the coldest we would ride. I like -5.
We also use a temperature control rather than an on/off switch. Our controller is permanent and built into our bikes. Here are a few pics of our set. Both our Beemers are set up the same exact way and Yep, Cheryl did the install. 🙂
We know people who use just an on/off switch and they find themselves having to keep turning the heat on and off all the time as their gear only has 2 temps. HIGH and off. By using a controller you can adjust the heat as you ride. Much easier to stay comfortable we feel. If we were to do it all over again we would add a dual temp controller, one for our gloves and liner.
Some companies sell heated pants, socks, insoles for boots, neck warmers, some use rechargeable batteries, wireless temperature controllers or like us, we are hard wired to our battery and plug in.
Most gear uses anywhere from 15 watts to over 100 watts depending how many items you are using at one time. Important to know what your bikes battery can handle.
It’s important that you research what cables you need and adapters. Not all gear comes ready to plug and ride. For example since we have a liner and gloves we need to make sure we bought a Y connector cable that runs from our jacket and attached to the two connectors on the liner and then plugs into the bike. Our gloves plug into sleeves. You need to find a set up that works for you.
So, that’s it. I actually started this post just be to an announcement about going to the Gerbing Headquarters and look what happened. This is typical as I am Italian and from New York….we talk a lot. Hope some of this info is helpful or useful and I will be taking some pics this weekend. Going to be trying out my new Panasonic T3 camera. Supposed to be waterproof. We shall see. 😉
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GERBING HEATED GEAR BREAKING NEWS
I was on the phone with Gerbing customer support this week and was informed that they are moving all productions from CHINA to NORTH CAROLINA, USA. I think this is great news for Gerbing! They are located in Tumwater, Washington and to have their own production site on the same continent is awesome. Plus, will be nice to see a tag say Made in USA.
We are heading down to their headquarters the weekend of November 6th to get new updated liners. We have the old technology and we are going with the micro wire. We used Gerbing on our summer trip and through out the winter here where we live in BC. We own the T5 gloves too and with the liner, our heated grips and gloves we can comfortable ride in -5 C.
they also said supply might be delayed a bit..they are expecting new stock in the next few weeks but as far as when things will be coming out of North Carolina might be awhile. They said it is a large move to change locations from China to the USA but they are on it.
See our Triumph Tiger and gear review for our thought on Gerbing.
Here is a funny picture of Cheryl in her Gerbing liner coming out of a really bad smelling out house in Boundary Alaska this summer…you see we wore the liner everywhere. 😉
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