Triumphrat

Pauljo · 01-22-2008

I've always used the battery harness that Widder supplies on my past motorcycles and scooters - attached directly to the battery terminals. Same with my Gerbing Gear. Gerbing does supply a battery harness free with each garment, which is nice - Widder makes you purchase it separately. Where Widder uses a 10A fuse, Gerbing uses a 15A (their garments draw more power - and are warmer).

The thing is that most of these past rides had a seat that was easily flipped up, or lifted off, by using a key or button. So I could easily hide the garment power cord back under the seat when it was not in use. Not so with the Bonneville. Even with the extended bolts, it is more of an effort (and more time consuming) to detach the seat - something I'd rather not fiddle with in cold temperatures. So the accessory plug seemed to be a neat alternative. Of course, by the time I tracked down and bought the individual Powerlet adapters for my Widder Gear, Gerbing gear, and Battery Tender - the cost went up some (OK - it doubled). Still, it is a neat solution. And I did switch the accessory circuit 10A fuse for a 15A to accommodate the Gerbing gear.

Incidently, I was talking to Widder yesterday because I think I have an issue with my Lectric Gloves. I saw that they put a notice on their website that their warranties will only be honored until 12/31/2008. I asked about that. My suspicion was correct - they plan to go out of business at the end of the year. I was told that it is a labor cost issue. Even with outsourcing some of their garment production to China they cannot compete with their larger competitors. That is sad news - I've been using their heated garments since the early 80's. Although my Gerbing gear is warmer, the advantage Widder still has is that they draw less power - so on "alternator challenged" machines like my People 250 I can easily run the Widder stuff - but not the Gerbing garments.