cold weather riding: adaptor for charger plug, 12 volt access, etc

stamperman · 11-15-2009, 12:15 PM

Hey All,

I've been transferred at work, and finding myself traveling another 15 minutes down the local overburdened interstate. I could handle (just barely) the previous 20 minute ride to work in 30 degree weather with my unheated leather gauntlets. Coupla' mornings my hands didn't stop hurting until about 11am, but, hey, I survived. But now with further distance to travel, I'm thinking about an upgrade to heated gloves. I've had heated handgrips in the past, but I'd rather go the glove route and see if I can keep the tips of my fingers warm.

The Gerbing stuff is what I'm looking at.

The problem is that I have a Battery Tender pigtail, and a horn relay harness already hooked up to the battery on a full time basis, and there physically isn't room for any more wiring attachments to the battery.

Gerbing's battery powered gloves are interesting, but WebBike World said the design of the battery pouch is such that it places pressure on the wrist once the gauntlet is stuffed. Which I'll be doing with a full size leather jacket sleeve end that's finished off on the bulky side, with a cuff.

I'm thinking it would be better to run the gloves off the bike's battery.

Is there some way to use the Battery Tender pigtail to provide the juice for the gloves? The Gerbing website implies that the Tender plug is not a standard SAE plug.

Are there adaptors for the Tender style plug that end in the Gerbing coaxial style plug? None are shown on the Gerbing website.

Am I going to have to install some kind of power source "bar" away from the battery where I can more easily hook this stuff up? And if so what do you call something like that, and where do I buy it?

Ideas?

sike · 11-15-2009, 12:43 PM

Give them a call, they have different adapters that can replace your charging cord and either do both jobs or work with a second cord to do both jobs (I had one, but I don't remember exactly how it worked). They are about 1 1/2 hour ride south of me and are really nice folks.

garyb900 · 11-15-2009, 02:31 PM

Check out this website. I bet this guy has something that will work.
I got a battery tender adapter from him to plug my GPS into.

COAX | Bohemian Biker Blog

stamperman · 11-15-2009, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garyb900

Check out this website. I bet this guy has something that will work.
I got a battery tender adapter from him to plug my GPS into.

COAX | Bohemian Biker Blog

Interesting link. But the Gerbing site has what appears to be the same item, and the description reads:
* SAE plug on one end and a coax male plug on the other end.
* Connects pre-2003 clothing from Gerbing's, which used SAE plugs, to new coax controllers.
* Cannot be used to power heated clothing from a Battery Tender plug.
The last sentence being the problem.

Sike, I think I'll give them a call. I can't figure out why a Battery Tender SAE would not be OK, but an SAE cable made by them (or from the site Gary provided) might, or would be.

stamperman · 11-16-2009, 10:58 AM

I called Gerbing, and as soon as I asked the question about adapting a Battery Tender connection, I was treated like a persona non grata. Unfriendly reception.....& when I gently tried to find out more information about why they don't recommend trying to adapt this kind of connection, I got nowhere. Then it was all I could do get some comparative information about their glove choices.
Anyway, does anyone have any ideas or experiences about how to readily make additional 12V access possible by mounting a "bus bar" or some other like device?

sike · 11-16-2009, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stamperman

I called Gerbing, and as soon as I asked the question about adapting a Battery Tender connection, I was treated like a persona non grata. Unfriendly reception.....& when I gently tried to find out more information about why they don't recommend trying to adapt this kind of connection, I got nowhere. Then it was all I could do get some comparative information about their glove choices.
Anyway, does anyone have any ideas or experiences about how to readily make additional 12V access possible by mounting a "bus bar" or some other like device?

That is so weird............

Google the company "Powerlet", I have gotten a bunch of stuff from them over the years and they probably have something that would solve this problem.

Good Luck!

beefsalad · 11-16-2009, 02:04 PM

Let me know if you find out anything about a 'power bar'. Between the 599 harness, the battery tender, and the desire for an adapter for a cell phone charger I just don't think there is going to be the room for it.