Gerbing Electra Suit, Gloves And Socks
GERBING ELECTRA SUIT, GLOVES AND SOCKS
How to electrify your next ride
CW EVALUATION
IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE who hasn't been cold on a motorcycle? Nah, we didn't think so. Like you, as we've searched for ways to avoid freezing our 'nads off on cold rides, we've tried just about every battle strategy we could think of, from small skirmishes to full-frontal assaults. The $250 Gerbing Electra suit and collar (Gerbing Electra Products, E. 750 Dalby Rd., Union, WA 98592; 206/898-4225) goes a step beyond most of our strategies so far. Consider it a major thermonuclear engagement in the fight against freezing.
The suit consists of a nylon denier overlayer, a quilted layer of 8-ounce polyester Fiberfill insulation and a light nylon liner. Inside all that is woven a network of electric wires of the same sort found in your favorite electric blanket. The suit, and the electric gloves and socks that can be used with it, are plugged into your motorcycle's electric sys tem via a thermostat, sold sep arately for $44.50. This is wired to the bike's battery. You get cold, you turn up the ther mostat, you get warm. Easy.
If this sounds pretty good to you, well, it is pretty good. But there are a few things you should know. First, the multi pocketed suit, made to Gerb ing's own design, is very bulky and not very stylish. Wear it, and you'll feel like the Michelin Man. You'll look like him, too.
Also, the suit is designed to be water-resistant, but it is not fully and completely water proof. So it can leak, Gerbing says, though ours did not. With just 12-volt current runfling through it, wetness poses no safety hazard, however. Should you get wet, you're not likely to make sizzling noises.
Lastly, the suit, with its ther mostat turned full-on, draws 110 watts, and the gloves and socks each draw an additional 22 watts, for a total of 154 watts with everything up and running at full-toast. That's a lot. Gerbing recommends using the suit with a motorcy cle that produces at least 280 watts of electrical power. We used it with a bike that made 240 watts. This abuse soon whittled the bike's battery down to a nub, which forced us to turn the suit off and ride cold, a condition not helped by the cold air leaking past the storm flap covering the suit's zipper. Fortunately, bikes that make so little electrical power are unusual. Most produce at least 300 watts, and some, such as Honda's Gold Wing, produce as much as 542 watts.
`Ihe socks (~35) and gloves ($79.50) seemed a bit on the crude side, with heavy wires woven through them, but in spite of that, they worked, plugging into fittings at the end of each sleeve, and at the bottom of each of the suit's zippered legs.
We were pleas antly surprised by the effective ness of Gerbing's Electra products. They're not par ticularly stylish, but when given the choice be tween being styl ish and cold or
bulky and warm, we'll wear this outfit to stay nice and toasty.
