This year, I decided to take the plunge and buy heated clothing. I didn't want (and couldn't afford) to buy everything all at once, but my hands and toes tended to get cold after riding in 40°+ weather after a while.
I wasn't prepared to buy / install heated grips on my 3 motorcycles, which would still leave my toes exposed. But I was prepared to wire all 3 bikes, and plug in to heated gloves and socks. Then, I could unplug before dismounting.
There are lots of easy, inexpensive ways to connect via a 12 volt plug, similar to the cigarette lighter socket.
You can Google it >
http://www.hdforums.com/forum/softai...ny-harley.html (you'll need to log on to HDForum to view the pictures ~ sorry 'bout that.)
http://xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/s....php?t=1489268
My first motorcycle to wire was my Freewheeler, and I decided to use a new H-D Supplementary 12 Volt Power Port - Horn Mount [ http://www.harley-davidson.com/store...t---horn-mount ] P/N 69201136. With one bolt under the horn mount, and 2 wires to the battery terminals, what could be easier?
As it turned out, I WASN’T so easy after all.
1- H-D claimed it would fit on my Freewheeler, but the wires were too short. The fuse holder ended up approximately, under the gas tank hold-down bolts (routed over the frame) or right under the rear cylinder valve cover (routed under the frame). I extended the 16-gauge wires ~ 5" to the red wire and 6" to the black wire, to reach the battery connections.
2 - The fuse holder is rated 10a, but the included H-D fuse was only 7.5a. My new heated gloves and socks were rated at 50 watts @ 12 volts = 4.2 amps. ( X watts ÷ X volts = amperage). To be safe, I installed a 10a fuse from my "bench stock."
3 - The instructions were a little confusing.
A few parts that weren't included were, in fact, included. I guess the instruction sheet "got lost in translation" from overseas to the USA :Shrug:.
4 - I discovered that the dust cover closed like a mouse trap! Knowing that some members on TrikeTalk have had the metal horn mounts break off from vibration, I really didn't think a highly-stressed plastic part would last very long. To try to mitigate the cover's steel spring tension, I used a small pair of diagonal wire cutters to cut off one ear.
Before, with both hinge spring tabs
After, with left hinge spring tab cut off
That reduced the tension by, approximately, one quarter. It still closed tightly, but it was noticeably better.
So, to summarize it, I paid about 3 times more that some odds-and-ends I could've bought on eBay or the local auto parts store. Plus I spent about 2+ hours modifying the H-D "multi-fit" parts that didn't quite fit (plus an hour to install the H-D modified parts.)
I wasn't prepared to buy / install heated grips on my 3 motorcycles, which would still leave my toes exposed. But I was prepared to wire all 3 bikes, and plug in to heated gloves and socks. Then, I could unplug before dismounting.
There are lots of easy, inexpensive ways to connect via a 12 volt plug, similar to the cigarette lighter socket.
You can Google it >
http://www.hdforums.com/forum/softai...ny-harley.html (you'll need to log on to HDForum to view the pictures ~ sorry 'bout that.)
http://xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/s....php?t=1489268
My first motorcycle to wire was my Freewheeler, and I decided to use a new H-D Supplementary 12 Volt Power Port - Horn Mount [ http://www.harley-davidson.com/store...t---horn-mount ] P/N 69201136. With one bolt under the horn mount, and 2 wires to the battery terminals, what could be easier?
As it turned out, I WASN’T so easy after all.
1- H-D claimed it would fit on my Freewheeler, but the wires were too short. The fuse holder ended up approximately, under the gas tank hold-down bolts (routed over the frame) or right under the rear cylinder valve cover (routed under the frame). I extended the 16-gauge wires ~ 5" to the red wire and 6" to the black wire, to reach the battery connections.
2 - The fuse holder is rated 10a, but the included H-D fuse was only 7.5a. My new heated gloves and socks were rated at 50 watts @ 12 volts = 4.2 amps. ( X watts ÷ X volts = amperage). To be safe, I installed a 10a fuse from my "bench stock."
3 - The instructions were a little confusing.
A few parts that weren't included were, in fact, included. I guess the instruction sheet "got lost in translation" from overseas to the USA :Shrug:.
4 - I discovered that the dust cover closed like a mouse trap! Knowing that some members on TrikeTalk have had the metal horn mounts break off from vibration, I really didn't think a highly-stressed plastic part would last very long. To try to mitigate the cover's steel spring tension, I used a small pair of diagonal wire cutters to cut off one ear.
Before, with both hinge spring tabs
After, with left hinge spring tab cut off
That reduced the tension by, approximately, one quarter. It still closed tightly, but it was noticeably better.
So, to summarize it, I paid about 3 times more that some odds-and-ends I could've bought on eBay or the local auto parts store. Plus I spent about 2+ hours modifying the H-D "multi-fit" parts that didn't quite fit (plus an hour to install the H-D modified parts.)
