Moto Broad

A little over 2 years ago, I invested in a Gerbing heated jacket liner for winter riding, and I’ve never regretted it.

About a year ago, I picked up a pair of the Gerbing Ladies Gloves. They’re not bulky (because the Gerbing Microwire technology is so svelte), but somehow I just couldn’t seem to get comfortably connected without a hassle, or lumps, or the total cable length being too short, and about the time I got all plugged in, I’d have to go to the bathroom… I just couldn’t seem to master the connections to the sleeve wires (more about that later), and became frustrated. [Note: heat controller and controller pouch sold separately. Dual control allows separate temperature settings for connected jacket and gloves.]

So when I saw the Mobile Warming battery-powered gloves, I thought they might be a better solution; no wires to run, quick to pull on. The gloves ship with two batteries and the wall charger.

While I was waiting for the MW gloves to arrive, I had a talk with a Gerbing rep at a bike show (an actual Gerbing heir, in fact), who gave me some tips on connections. This is embarrassing, but, despite the fact that I’m traditionally good with spatial reasoning, I’d been overthinking it, trying to pull the connected cables out of the gloves, back up over my jacket sleeves to get the connection lump out of the glove, and thus finding the connections too short. The answer is to just run the wire straight down into the gloves, then fumble around to try to get the connector lump positioned inside the gloves so it isn’t annoying. Takes some extra time, but then it’s fine. (This is when you really need a third hand.)

The Gerbing gloves get really warm; I barely have to crank them up. The last time I wore them, I seemed to have a bit of a hot spot in the left glove unless I kept them turned on low heat. I need to experiment a bit to isolate/fix that. But they certainly don’t lack for warmth.

If you’re running both gloves and jacket liner, you need to have the appropriate fuse. Both pieces together pull about 8.5 amps, so I have a 10amp fuse in the pigtail to the battery. (The Gerbing site provides electrical draw info)

Now to the MW gloves. At the highest setting, they don’t seem to get as hot as the Gerbing gloves, but I haven’t yet tested them on a truly bitter day, to see if that’s sufficient. They are bulkier than the Gerbing gloves, because of extra insulation. I feared that they would feel like snowsuit mittens, but they limbered up quickly (within a block), and actually weren’t cumbersome at all. Quicker to pull on than the Gerbing gloves, of course.

The MW battery is also the heat controller for each glove; it slips into a compartment on the back of the glove, plugs into the in-glove connector, and shows through a plastic window. Press and hold the large circular main button for 2 seconds, and the battery turns on at the highest heat setting. Press the control button once to step down to a lower level. Press and hold the control button for 2 seconds to turn off the unit.

Whereas the Gerbing gloves heat up almost instantly, the MW gloves take a minute or two to reach full heat. So turn them on while you’re still fumbling with your other zippers, snaps, and buckles, and they’ll be toasty by the time you pull them on (after you unplug, unzip, and go to the bathroom one last time).

Do I have a preference now? On cool days (45-50), I’d vote for the Cortech insulated gloves. On chilly days (40-45), I’d go for the convenience of the MW battery-powered gloves. But when it dips below 40, I think the Gerbing gloves are the answer.

As for cost:

Gerbing gloves: $169.95 (includes battery pigtail/harness, which I already had for the jacket)
Dual controller: $99.95
Dual controller cover: $10.95 (so I can anchor the controller to jacket or tank bag)

If you want Gerbing jacket liner only:

Liner: $219.95 (I’ve never seen new ones for less)
Single controller: $69.95
Single controller cover: $10.95

Mobile warming women’s TX Heated Gloves: $209.99
(I got’em on sale @ BikeBandit for $188.99, which includes two batteries + charger)
Spare MW battery: $35.99/each

Lyric inspiration on the way home (from Christian Kane’s “Let’s Take a Drive”) reminded me of what a hot-rodder I used to be:
“I bet if you look real hard,
You can find that girl within.
She’s probably waiting’ in the wings
For you to come along
And let her out again.
You need a quarter mile, a bunch of horses, and some gasoline.”

Yes, I do. I’ve let that girl sleep for far too long. I miss the petroleum perfume in garages. I miss taking things apart to see their metal souls. I love the clang of parts being reassembled into something that roars to life and pushes you back in the seat.

I’ve just spent 3 days at the Motorcycle Dealer Expo in Indianapolis (http://www.dealerexpo.com). I create graphics for a restorer of vintage bikes, bringing old logos and other components back to life, so I came along to prowl the aisles. My knees hurt, and my feet are bigger than my shoes, but that’s what happens at trade shows. When I see booth bimbos slinking by in their Spandex outfits and 8-inch stilettos, I think two things: I need to diet, and jeez, their feet must hurt. They weigh about 110 pounds (15 lbs of which being unsprung weight in the way of glue-on boobs). Safety considerations: no danger of their falling backward, and, if there’s a flash flood on the Expo floor, they will float.

I’m a street rider with a background in print, currently working as a technical writer and software trainer. That combination, understandably, dictates what I find interesting in such a show. But here are some things that caught my eye:

Danny Gray Airhawk Seats and Pads: www.airhawk.net
A company whose poster stylishly proclaims “This will save your ass” immediately touches my heart. And my ass. While their seat line is currently geared toward cruiser and bagger owners, they’re considering branching out beyond that market. The Airhawk technology is available in strap-on pads, as well as custom replacement seats for a wide variety of bikes from Harley Davidson to Honda and Yamaha cruisers. I have a factory gel seat on my SV650; it’s not bad—in fact, it’s much more comfortable than the seat in my old Honda CR-V, which is filled, I have concluded, with an eco-friendly mix of sand, horsehair, and pea gravel. But after 100 miles on the bike (or 12 miles in the Honda), I’m wishing for a spinal anesthetic. The Airhawk pads (and the custom seats Danny Gray builds with the Airhawk technology) have an interconnected network of air bladders that cushion the rider. Now, after sitting on a sample Airhawk pad, I’m thinking about getting one for the bike, one for the Honda, and one for every chair in the house. I suppose it would be more cost-effective to just buy one and shove it down my pants.

Twin Industries, Inc. Water Transfer Systems: www.watertransferprinting.com
As a lifelong printing person, I find the water transfer systems fascinating. A carrier sheet is floated onto the surface of a tank of water. The carrier sheet itself dissolves in the water, leaving the ink sheet floating. A spray of solvent liquefies the ink completely, allowing it to wrap into all the nooks and crannies of a part dipped into the tank. There’s no electric charge involved (as with powder painting), and none of the hand-fitting required by decal applications. Twin Industries markets a wide variety of patterns, from geometrics such as carbon-fiber-look to camouflage. They will also create custom materials. The tank is only $2900, and supposedly doesn’t present problems with EPA requirements; most of the ink would be deposited on immersed parts, and the small amount of solvent required to liquefy the ink sheet apparently is not an issue. If I had a Jacuzzi, I’d be tempted to try this at home on a small scale, but for the embarrassment of explaining my full-body camouflage tattoo.

Adaptiv Technologies Electroluminescent Jacket Inserts: http://bit.ly/xQQAzO
I’ve come close to not seeing archetypal biker guys dressed in all black, on blacked-out bikes, with a little miniature Christmas light for a taillight, and I’m looking for bikes. Imagine how hard it is for a minivan-driving, text-reading driver who’s not looking for us.

I’m a huge fan of being visible—I have a yellow bike, hi-viz yellow jacket, and hi-viz yellow helmet. I see people slamming on the brakes at cross streets, no doubt thinking, “jeez, I don’t want that all over my grill.” That’s right: I am not a cool, hip biker chick, slathered in brooding black. Nope, I’m a giant, dorky bumblebee.

But all the yellow in the world doesn’t help much at night; I lament that my jacket does not glow in the dark. Adaptiv Technologies’ new GlowRider jacket uses electroluminescent inserts on the shoulders and back to make a rider a bit more visible. The inserts aren’t brilliant, but they’re arguably more visible than narrow reflective piping. Adaptiv claims it can glow for 10 hours on the rechargeable battery pack.

As for me, I’m holding out for a jacket completely covered in LEDs, programmable to display heartfelt messages to those bozos barreling up behind me at a stop light.

GoPro 3D System: http://gopro.com/3d-overview

GoPro 3D Hero System and Johnny Five: Separated at birth?

The GoPro 3D system is really slick: two Hero cameras in a case, linked together. Shoot your action scene, upload the data from the SD cards, and combine the two views using GoPro’s free CineForm Studio Software. Then, play your 3D video on a compatible 3D TV (they were using huge LG screens at the show), don the appropriate  glasses, and drop your jaw. The glasses at the show were radial Polarized lenses (not the old red/blue anaglyph lenses), which had very little effect on image brightness. The view angle seemed to have no limit—you could move side-to-side, with no loss of depth effect or focus. It was truly the best 3D I’ve seen, period. I gather that the CineForm software allows you to export for anaglyph, passive, and active 3D systems. I wish there were something compelling in my life to make this worth having (Look! I’m changing my oil—in 3D!)

More to come…

First ride of the New Year, slipped in between the quick rain showers. Pointless in its mission, but peaceful and pretty in the setting sun. Rounded the last curve to see a transparent full winter moon hanging (appropriately) over Moon’s Tree Farm.

It’s the last chance I’ll have before rain, cold, and a week-long cross-country trip intervene.

Charged my batteries a bit.

My old Xena disc lock/alarm lost the will to live; while it still functioned as a mechanical lock, it refused to make a sound, despite cursing, cleaning contacts and installing new batteries.

So I took advantage of the warm day to ride up to Cycle Gear and get a new Xena lock. This one is more petite, but should still do the job. I know that if the a-holes want my bike, they’ll drag it off in spite of a squealing alarm, but the hope is that it would at least act as a psychological deterrent to the casual thief. Besides, it’s yellow, and they threw in a Xena cable for free. How could I resist?

Xena XZZ6L disc lock/alarm; XZA-150 cable

This lock takes a single CR2 battery rather than the double stack of watch batteries required by the old one. I inserted the battery, reassembled the alarm module, and went out to the bike to try it.

Nothing. Not a peep.

I unlocked, reinstalled, relocked. Silent night. I wiped off the little reflector plate. Nada. Zilch. Argh.

Well, I thought, maybe I’ve installed the battery backwards… I went back into the house and disassembled the alarm module; the battery was installed correctly.

Wait — what’s this? I put on my reading glasses and, on closer inspection, realized that the battery was shrink-wrapped in thin, almost invisible plastic. Doh! I slapped myself on the forehead, and peeled the plastic off with a razor knife.

It hollers now: 120 ear-splitting decibels. That’s more like it!

Arai Vector 2 Helmet in Hi-Viz Yellow

My five-year-old HJC helmet was showing some wear — rock chips in the paint, some small tears in the liner. It’s still sound, I’m sure, but a number of sources recommend that helmets be replaced every 4 or 5 years. It’s not just because of expected wear-and-tear; the DOT and Snell safety standards are periodically revised.

I’d lusted after Arai helmets for several years, and this year I decided to give myself an early birthday present. Some reviewers describe the Arai Vector 2 helmet as an “entry level” helmet — that just means that it isn’t designed to be used as a race helmet. The ~$450 price hardly qualifies as “entry level” in my book (or wallet). I rationalized it by dividing the price by its expected 5-year lifespan. Of course, there are the “how much is your brain worth?” arguments. And I’ll admit that the hi-viz yellow paint appealed to my desire to be visible (for miles). At last — a helmet that matches my DayGlo jacket. By the way, the selection, price, and service at Helmet City are great.

Handling the HJC’s strap and vents had long since become an unconscious set of actions; now I have to fumble a bit to buckle up. It’s a snug (but not overly tight) fit. Wind noise is considerably less than in the old HJC, and the Arai is much more aerodynamic; buffeting on windy rides is substantially reduced. I haven’t even tried using the earplugs yet.

That’s the good news.

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You know you’re living in a small town when…

…oncoming drivers do the one-hand-lift off the steering wheel to wave at you. You wave back. And you have no idea who they are.

…the guy at the UPS store greets you by name.

…the pharmacist says “Gee, why aren’t you on your bike today?”

I live near a country crossroad which has been the site of several unsuccessful little diners attached to a convenience store. It’s one of those death spots (perhaps over an Indian burial mound or some other cursed land) that seems to suck the life out of any business. The newest incarnation is the Corner Stop Grill, which opened yesterday. (The more realistic name, “Soon-to-Fail Grill,” might put off potential customers. Perhaps they could European-ize the name: Szündeféle Grille.)

I rode up there today as a neighborly gesture, and had a grilled cheese accompanied by the NASCAR soundtrack on the TV. The owners are nice folks; we talked motorcycles a bit, and I wished them luck.

I ran my Saturday errands and took the long way home. The way the roads curve, the visible sky at the end of each of curve changed from clear blue with a hint of hazy sunset to threatening dark gray, and back again. Empty threats of rain are a constant tease these days, even accompanied by pointless thunder. What we’d give for a good gully-washer to clean the air and water the parched lawns.

The sky lied, and so we wait in summer quiet, with only a soundtrack of katydids and tree frogs.

100-pack box of FogTech anti-fog wipes.

I’ve seen the 5-pack of FogTech for as much as $7 (the retail is $4.99). So I was delighted to find a box of 100 for $45 on eBay, through Mill Tool Supply. I now have enough FogTech for the rest of my life. And then some.