I'd like to buy some heated liners this winter but have read that the bike's electrical system is weak to begin with. I've done some searching to no avail; can anyone refer me to step-by-step instructions so I know what to purchase and how to install said components? Willing to spend some money to make this work. Would appreciate any feedback anyone could give, ie: prior experience, hardware links, etc.

Thanks,
VP

Look for ones that use the least amount of amps. There are so many aftermarket places that have them. You can google them, and look at the different vendors and see what will work best for you. Look out for no name brands that are really cheap, you get what you pay for. And they are really easy to hook up to your system, and most come with a toggle switch so you can turn them off when you are done using them.

A stock bike has about 70w of juice to spare. Do not buy anything that exceeds that.

Most heated gear has a maximum wattage listed. You really want a "Heat Troller" control, NOT a simple on off switch.

In general, the bike can usually run ONE piece of heated gear. DO install a voltmeter to monitor your power use....as diffrent RPMs produce diffrent wattages.


Google "Warm and Safe heated gear"...

I'm wondering if you would get any better available power if you changed to a MOSFET R/R. I know my voltage output is a lot better since I changed my original R/R. Had to replace the stator cuz mine fried so I replaced the R/R as well.
Something to think about if u can't find the gear u like that will work, I don't know much about heated liners.

70Watts isn't a whole lot for heated gear. Keep in mind that it what is considered by some here to be the max unused capacity from our stock charging system.

A MOSFET Regulator may push more voltage, but you also don't want to stress the stator as this might contribute to it failing prematurely.

The stator puts out potential and a finite amount of current available to the system.

The R/R converts that current to the max useable voltage/current.
Whatever is not used by the system is them dumped or "shunted" to ground.

Use too much current and you stress the stator.....use too little currentr and the R/R works harder to shunt the unused portion....generating heat and possibly stressing the regulator. this is one reason i think changing all bulbs to LED's is a bad choice....unless you are adding something else to balance it out.

If you want to use heated gear on the stock charging system (or any accessory), you should figure out how much wattage it requires.

If it is less that the 70Watts mentioned, then you are probably OK. if you are at the high end and your battery is weak, the constant charging of the battery might push you over the edge.

If you need to free up more power, you could reduce the overall usage of the system by replacing some bulbs with LED's.
Head light, running lights and dash lights (always on) use the most power. Brake lights, turn signals don't use as much since they are not always on.

I always suggest keeping a "balanced" approach to adding accessories.

I have a Synergy heated jacket and I had a problem when we added it. If I used the jacket, and with a new battery, when I'd turn the bike off, I'd come back to a battery too tired to go.

We moved the R/R to the left side and put on a voltmeter. I usually only use the jacket on low/medium (I am in the temperate NW after all ), keep an eye on that meter, and now have no problem when cruising. When I get into town and the charging drops, I just turn the rheostat down to the lowest possible, or off. (Actually, I haven't had a problem since moving the R/R.)

Another option here of course is to get other heated gear that run off their own battery pack so you're not straining the bikes electrical system...

I'll be riding at temps under 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Is there any way to upgrade the R/R and the stator? Worth it? I could convert my bulbs to LED but I'm weary about doing so. Knifemaker, I'll continue to search for low wattage gear. As usual, thanks for the feedback.

I guess that type of gear would be available in hunting/fishing catalogues? I had not thought of that possibility before. It sounds like a very viable option to the VN750 electrical limitations.

For upgrading the chargining system. Send Tim Parrot at http://tpe-usa.com/ an email telling him you want a high out put stator wound for the vn750. And then get the MOSFET R/R (such as one of the kits offered by http://roadstercycle.com/) Our stock charging system is rated at 30 amps, you can bump it up to 50 amps by simply replacing the stator and the r/r...