I <3 Svart
fast rider
Santa was very good to me this year and decided that my all-weather riding jacket and my mesh overpants weren't going to cut it anymore as morning temps begin to dip into single digits. As such he very generously left me a Hotwired Jacket Liner and a Hotwired Pant Liner under the tree.
Value: at around $200 each they may seem a bit steep until it's weighed against the cost of a new winterized analog jacket and pants for which I'd likely spend more, use less than half the year anyway and which would introduce exactly 0 degrees of heat in addition to what my body already produces. As I had no winter gear prior to this the value for me was obvious, but the more and better winter gear you have the lower the returns you'll see on your investment.
Fit: Santa's elves perhaps assumed I'd be indulging myself a bit more at the Christmas dinner table. Both garments fit a bit large which is a shame as they are intended to be midlayers and are most effective when held close to the body. The only place this really affects me is in the arms where the voluminous sleeves taunt my poor gym regimen and hold the toasty heating elements just out of reach. It's worth noting that you can save $30 and get the vest instead which may be the more sensible option for those of us not blessed with 24 inch pythons. The pants in particular are very elastic around the waist so my recommendation is order a size or maybe even 2 sizes smaller than the charts recommend.
Installation: The Hotwired system (it also has available glove liners for $90 and insoles for $80 which I did not opt for... yet) is 12V and connected via included harnesses that attach directly to the battery terminal and will likely be familiar to anyone that has installed powered accessories on a bike before. The only issue I ran into is that my stock M6x12mm terminal bolts were a hair too short to accommodate both harnesses as well as the harness for my heated grips requiring that I switch. Ideally M6x14mm would probably be fine, but my local Autozone only had M6x16mm and they work fine as well. This issue can also be alleviated by utilizing Hotwired's Y-splitter which will run all pieces of the system off of a single battery harness. This is also handy as it only requires one unplug to free me from my bike.
Effectiveness: While the weather refuses to comply and give me a properly cold day to test in, it is at least below freezing and I've never felt the need to raise it above the lowest setting even with just my mesh overpants covering my lower half. There are 3 levels of adjustment and I can confirm that on the highest setting you can turn them on and be almost uncomfortably warm before you've had time to get out of the garage. You become immediately aware that this system is actively heating you rather than passively insulating your own body's heat. I'll probably revisit this section once I get some proper, bitterly cold winter weather.
Controls: The controls are stupidly simple, accessible, and discrete. They are controlled via buttons that hang down off the garments on a tab similar to a garment tag, one for jacket and one for pants. They are on the clutch side so they can be adjusted while in motion. This built-in system makes Gerbing's walkie talkie controller thing look absolutely stupid and it's included rather than sold separately (for $70 by the way). They turn on and off with a 3 second press of the button and toggle between the 3 heating levels with a short press.
Flaws: As these are midlayers they really would benefit from stirrups and thumbloops sewn into the cuffs to keep the garments in place while you layer over them. I have overpants so it's not too irritating, but I can imagine that bunching would get infuriating for people without the luxury of zipping their pants on and off. There are no heating elements in the cuffs as far as I can tell so I imagine it would be quite safe to sew stirrups on yourself, but really this is something that Hotwired should have had the foresight to include off the factory line. Small complaint, but I have to think of something negative to say about this system.
Final Thoughts: It's hard not to gush. It's priced competitively and designed intelligently. I doubt I'll actually end up springing for the glove liner and insole as heated gloves and socks make more sense to me and have the added benefit of fewer things to unplug and less drain on my battery, but it was nice of Hotwired to design the jacket and pants with those upgrades in mind. I'll be revisiting this from time to time with my thoughts as I continue putting miles on them, but for the time being I'm in love.
Jacket liner. Note the button which hangs below the garment so that it is accessible even when layered on top of.
Pant liner. Same story with button on a longer tab so that it is within reach while in riding position.
A bit baggy for a pant liner. Order small. Also pictured are my Speed and Strength Black 9 Moto shoes which are so comfortable I just wear them as shoes most of the time.
Both controllers and plugs shown in (poorly) simulated riding stance.
Value: at around $200 each they may seem a bit steep until it's weighed against the cost of a new winterized analog jacket and pants for which I'd likely spend more, use less than half the year anyway and which would introduce exactly 0 degrees of heat in addition to what my body already produces. As I had no winter gear prior to this the value for me was obvious, but the more and better winter gear you have the lower the returns you'll see on your investment.
Fit: Santa's elves perhaps assumed I'd be indulging myself a bit more at the Christmas dinner table. Both garments fit a bit large which is a shame as they are intended to be midlayers and are most effective when held close to the body. The only place this really affects me is in the arms where the voluminous sleeves taunt my poor gym regimen and hold the toasty heating elements just out of reach. It's worth noting that you can save $30 and get the vest instead which may be the more sensible option for those of us not blessed with 24 inch pythons. The pants in particular are very elastic around the waist so my recommendation is order a size or maybe even 2 sizes smaller than the charts recommend.
Installation: The Hotwired system (it also has available glove liners for $90 and insoles for $80 which I did not opt for... yet) is 12V and connected via included harnesses that attach directly to the battery terminal and will likely be familiar to anyone that has installed powered accessories on a bike before. The only issue I ran into is that my stock M6x12mm terminal bolts were a hair too short to accommodate both harnesses as well as the harness for my heated grips requiring that I switch. Ideally M6x14mm would probably be fine, but my local Autozone only had M6x16mm and they work fine as well. This issue can also be alleviated by utilizing Hotwired's Y-splitter which will run all pieces of the system off of a single battery harness. This is also handy as it only requires one unplug to free me from my bike.
Effectiveness: While the weather refuses to comply and give me a properly cold day to test in, it is at least below freezing and I've never felt the need to raise it above the lowest setting even with just my mesh overpants covering my lower half. There are 3 levels of adjustment and I can confirm that on the highest setting you can turn them on and be almost uncomfortably warm before you've had time to get out of the garage. You become immediately aware that this system is actively heating you rather than passively insulating your own body's heat. I'll probably revisit this section once I get some proper, bitterly cold winter weather.
Controls: The controls are stupidly simple, accessible, and discrete. They are controlled via buttons that hang down off the garments on a tab similar to a garment tag, one for jacket and one for pants. They are on the clutch side so they can be adjusted while in motion. This built-in system makes Gerbing's walkie talkie controller thing look absolutely stupid and it's included rather than sold separately (for $70 by the way). They turn on and off with a 3 second press of the button and toggle between the 3 heating levels with a short press.
Flaws: As these are midlayers they really would benefit from stirrups and thumbloops sewn into the cuffs to keep the garments in place while you layer over them. I have overpants so it's not too irritating, but I can imagine that bunching would get infuriating for people without the luxury of zipping their pants on and off. There are no heating elements in the cuffs as far as I can tell so I imagine it would be quite safe to sew stirrups on yourself, but really this is something that Hotwired should have had the foresight to include off the factory line. Small complaint, but I have to think of something negative to say about this system.
Final Thoughts: It's hard not to gush. It's priced competitively and designed intelligently. I doubt I'll actually end up springing for the glove liner and insole as heated gloves and socks make more sense to me and have the added benefit of fewer things to unplug and less drain on my battery, but it was nice of Hotwired to design the jacket and pants with those upgrades in mind. I'll be revisiting this from time to time with my thoughts as I continue putting miles on them, but for the time being I'm in love.
Jacket liner. Note the button which hangs below the garment so that it is accessible even when layered on top of.
Pant liner. Same story with button on a longer tab so that it is within reach while in riding position.
A bit baggy for a pant liner. Order small. Also pictured are my Speed and Strength Black 9 Moto shoes which are so comfortable I just wear them as shoes most of the time.
Both controllers and plugs shown in (poorly) simulated riding stance.
