Jercoupe Posted December 18, 2007 #1 Posted December 18, 2007 Today I got the tourmaster heated vests I ordered long ago. I hooked them both up interested in the draw on my electrics. I could not find any info on the amp draw but figured them to be the same as the competition. Well they are not. Each vest with collar draws 4.5 amps which was a lot more. Anyway I got them hooked up and they are toasty warm. I cranked both on high and kicked on the heated grips with the bike running in the garage (rained today) and even at idle the kuryakyn volt meter stayed in the green. I wont know for sure till i can run it all on high for a extended time but so far it looks good. Btw, i dont run driving lights. Looks like I'll be staying toasty!
Lone Eagle Posted December 18, 2007 #2 Posted December 18, 2007 And you DID buy another set for your other half, DIDN'T YOU!:rotf: Good on ya, Jack. Went on the Wreaths Ride to Gulinda Saturday - was wishing half way down in the morning I had a set of those. Have a good one and Merry Christmas to you and Bev.
Jercoupe Posted December 18, 2007 Author #3 Posted December 18, 2007 Yea i bought her one too.. Figured i could wire in a switch to shut hers off if the electrical system couldnt handle it! Guess i wont need to now. Just kidding. It would be mine that got shut off first. After all its her bike! Im just the driver.
pegscraper Posted December 19, 2007 #4 Posted December 19, 2007 Tourmaster, is that the Synergy brand on the 'wing site?
Jercoupe Posted December 19, 2007 Author #5 Posted December 19, 2007 syngery is the name of the heated line from tourmaster
Midrsv Posted December 19, 2007 #6 Posted December 19, 2007 Jack, Keep an eye on the voltage. I have the Kuryakyn volt meter and with my Warm-n-safe heated jacket and passing lamps I can start out with a fully charged battery and the jacket turned up to about 80% with 2 green lights on the meter. After about 20 minutes in traffic I have to keep the engine revved a bit to keep 1 green light on. At idle I lose both green. As soon as I disconnect the jacket it only takes a minute or so to get the voltage back. I would expect if I rode for several hours I would continue to lose the charge. At about 50% on control there is no problem. Your vests may pull less from the electrical system sine you don't have arms. I do like the looks of the Synergy jackets. If I were buying again that would be it. Dennis
Jercoupe Posted December 20, 2007 Author #7 Posted December 20, 2007 Thanks for that info Dennis. I have never seen 2 green lights on my meter. I only have one green light on most of the time. I'm doing a laughlin NV run the day after Christmas so I will see how the power draw is with both vests operating .
Midrsv Posted December 20, 2007 #8 Posted December 20, 2007 I always have 2 green lights on the meter (without the jacket on), even at idle. Dennis
Jercoupe Posted December 25, 2007 Author #9 Posted December 25, 2007 Ok Bev and I are on a road trip to Laughlin Nv for for the christmas holidays. Yesterday we rode for about 3 hrs with our tourmaster vests on. It was 48 and foggy for a good part of that and the vests worked great. I was able to run both on hi with my heated grips on hi also. We could only stand the vests on hi for about 10 mins before we had to go to med. Anyway the volt meter stayed on green but at a stop light at idle the yellow light started flashing so i turned off the grips for a min. I am sure we are right at the max of the electrical system on the bike. I didnt think the Venture could be much more comfy but heat on a cold day will spoil you!
Sgtglenn Posted December 25, 2007 #10 Posted December 25, 2007 Just to play it safe consider disconnecting the carb heaters. Conserves about 60 volts and has no ill effect on the bike's operation (that I've noticed). Can be done by pulling apart the clear bullet connector on wire located behind the right side cover just under the flasher module. Be sure to tape the exposed end to prevent shorting.
pegscraper Posted December 25, 2007 #11 Posted December 25, 2007 Sixty volts? Sixty watts maybe. And the carb heaters are completely unneeded.
Jercoupe Posted December 27, 2007 Author #12 Posted December 27, 2007 Thanks for the idea to disconnect the heated carbs. 60 watts is equal to 5 amps which is even the power consumption of one vest on hi. I suspect carb icing is possible on a venture but if it does I can always set up a switch on the carb heat. Ok. Yesterday We rode for many hrs in 38 degs and i was doing a lot of power management to keep the volt meter in the green. (havent disconnected the carb heat yet). Both vest on med with my grips on high did cause the meter to go to yellow right after i started the bike. Since my grips were more important to me than the vest I left the vest off (wifes stayed on). It took about 15 cold mins:cold: before I could turn it on again. The meter seemed to stay green after that as long as we did not start and restart. I think the carb heater disconnect will solve this problem.
Jercoupe Posted December 28, 2007 Author #13 Posted December 28, 2007 Just to play it safe consider disconnecting the carb heaters. Conserves about 60 volts and has no ill effect on the bike's operation (that I've noticed). Can be done by pulling apart the clear bullet connector on wire located behind the right side cover just under the flasher module. Be sure to tape the exposed end to prevent shorting. thanks Sgtglenn. I did the disconnect and no more issues. Road home today for about 3 hrs and it didnt matter what i had on, it all worked fine!
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now