Keis X4 heated jacket with controller

KeeF650 said:
This may answer your question about the adaptor lead:

http://www.keisapparel.co.uk/faq.html

:thumb
Click to expand...

Cheers for that K.:thumb2
I have bought all that was reqd and have been impressed already.
Some info for anyone who wants to power two vests from one power lead through the 3 way connector. An extension lead to cope with the distance between rider and pillion wont be available until Oct 09 which i believe is soon after the glove inners should be available again.
 
I just went to order one of these from Motohaus and gave them a call before hitting pay to see when they'd be able to send it out and unfortunately it wouldn't go out til 5th Jan. However, they were exremely helpful and pointed me at BykeBitz in Yately who were just as helpful and with a placed order will put it in the post tomorrow. Same price apart from a small increase in postage which given I get it a week or two earlier is no problemo.

Interestingly I asked why the size difference smallest size sm=34-38 on Motohaus & sm=40-42 on Bykebitz and the friendly guy at Bykebitz said they took a tape measure to these because of the differences in sizes we seem to get from overseas made suff and reflect that size. Anyways, he'll change it if I need to but 40-42 sounds about right with a bit of wiggle room to spare for a lightweight like me :)

I intend connecting straight thru to the battery and hopeflly run the Starcom from the single power socket as I do today. I'll let you know how I get on.

And thank-you for all the constructive/useful comments which helped sway me to go for the Keis kit. It's what makes this site so useful.

Happy Holidays.
 
How true to siize are these jackets?......... I wear a 44 jacket when I buy a normal office suit. The sizes seem to be 41-44 or 44-47 so Im unure which to get as the Widder i had said 44 and was more like a 42 so too tight
 
I would say about rite, i ordered the small 38/40 as i am a diddy guy:D
over a very thin fleece it is a tiny bit loose ( ment to go close to the skin )
but good for me as i can still move about in it.

Tested over the last few days in the Bl***y cold....:thumb
 
bustupbiker said:
I would say about rite, i ordered the small 38/40 as i am a diddy guy:D
over a very thin fleece it is a tiny bit loose ( ment to go close to the skin )
but good for me as i can still move about in it.

Tested over the last few days in the Bl***y cold....:thumb
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply :thumb2
 
Thanks for the review.:thumb2

I was thinking of getting a heated vest for some time but couldn't justify £150 for the BMW item. I saw the Kais at Bahnstormer for £88.08 with the free controller, and decided to get one. I usually wear XL (approx 44" chest size) but got a Large which fitted comfortably over the thin cotton jumper I was wearing. I also bought the BMW 'cigar' power adapter for about £6 and fitted it to the power lead (after a quick test).

I tested it using the car battery for 12V and was seriously impressed with the heat once it had a chance to reach working temperature at level 3.

Can't wait to get the GS back on the road and feel the benefit on a decent ride out, along with a set of Tucano Urbano bar muffs provided by Val.H. :)
 
Keis Heated Insoles

I was so impressed with my KeisX4 heated vest that I spent out again on a set of the heated insoles from Motorworks. (Cheaper than heated socks and probably more robust.)

These things really are the best !!!

They are basically a simple heated foam insole that can be trimmed to fit your boots. Comes with the fused bike battery lead plus a Y splitter cable to run inside your trouser legs to supply each foot. They only draw 450mA and get to 40 celcius (just over blood heat) to keep the feet toasty.
 
Faulty Heat controller - split wire - check yours

Anyone have this happen. The outer sleeve has split just as it enters the flexi thing. I can vouch that it hasn't been pulled or abused. I have been using it daily over the cold spell and noticed it after a long ride yesterday. You might want to check yours.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/davedyer/3197185368/" title="14/01/2009 Test controller by Dave Dyer, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3383/3197185368_4634fb287e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="14/01/2009 Test controller" /></a>

I'm not too fussed, had I been off tomorrow I'd gone up to Motorhaus and got them to change it. However, a bit of self-amalgamating rubber tape has sorted it.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/davedyer/3197222450/" title="14/01/2009 Test controller fix. by Dave Dyer, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3381/3197222450_edf3f8d62d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="14/01/2009 Test controller fix." /></a>

Did the other end as well just in case.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/davedyer/3196379253/" title="14/01/2009 Test controller fix. by Dave Dyer, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3418/3196379253_cd2ef84d7e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="14/01/2009 Test controller fix." /></a>
 
Dave,

This happened to mine as well (same situation, no 'abuse' but cold weather riding)- I sent it back to the supplier and they replaced it within a couple of days with no problem:)
 
I did think about sending it back but then there's no guarantee it wouldn't happen to the replacement. Hopefully my fix will be permanent.
 
I am considering one of these X4 heated waistcoats and wonder if anyone would be so kind as to post a close-up of the connectors between the jacket/controller and controller/battery lead?

I may have to make up some connecting leads of my own and wondered if they use a common connector so that I could get away without cutting the manufacturers leads off and fitting some generic ones instead.

Many thanks in advance.
 
They come with push-together jack plugs as standard and also with a fused lead with ring terminals for the battery.

You can buy a lead with a fused cigarette type adapter to plug straight into the bike, or adapt the battery terminal lead with an adapter of your own.

Its all on their website: http://www.motohaus.com/acatalog/Keis.html

On an aside, I tested my heated insoles today on a ride and nearly burnt the soles of my feet, they were roasting. I think I need thicker socks next time, my thin cotton ones let too much heat through too soon. Very effective.
 
Pukmeister said:
On an aside, I tested my heated insoles today on a ride and nearly burnt the soles of my feet, they were roasting. I think I need thicker socks next time, my thin cotton ones let too much heat through too soon. Very effective.
Click to expand...

Either you've got warmer weather where you are, or you've got sensitive feet!:D

My heated insoles work, but even with thin socks, I wouldn't call them roasting...:tears
 
Thanks Pukmeister, I've had a good read of their site already, but I'd still like to see a closeup of the 'jack plug' so I know what I would be dealing with.
 
Stan, welcome to the site.

The plug male part is 11mm long and 6mm wide.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/davedyer/3199883310/" title="15/01/2009 Connections by Dave Dyer, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3488/3199883310_5034778896_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="15/01/2009 Connections" /></a>

The centre of the plug has a kind of a pincer insert to grab the central pin of the socket.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/davedyer/3199885412/" title="15/01/2009 Connections by Dave Dyer, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3260/3199885412_15d8601092_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="15/01/2009 Connections" /></a>

The socket is recessed to provide a weather tight seal between the two

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/davedyer/3199884816/" title="15/01/2009 Connections by Dave Dyer, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3343/3199884816_62c5354a69_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="15/01/2009 Connections" /></a>

The internal diameter of the plastic collar that the plastic shoulder of the plug slides into is 10mm.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/davedyer/3199884232/" title="15/01/2009 Connections by Dave Dyer, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3389/3199884232_dcdb6e43d7_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="15/01/2009 Connections" /></a>

Although they appear to be based on lap-top types, I've tried to plug the left-hand plug from my lap-top into the socket and it doesn't fit - the Keis is on the right and you can see that there is a slight difference in size.

Also you can see the different shoulders they have and this may cause you a problem if you find the right diameter.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/davedyer/3199943980/" title="15/01/2009 by Dave Dyer, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3123/3199943980_938493c640_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="15/01/2009" /></a>

You can buy extra leads off their site and this may be your only source of compatible plugs and sockets.
 
Thank you so much davedyer, that was VERY helpful of you indeed.

Now I can try to source some suitable compatible or alternative connectors.
 
Just as an aside I've just seen a very similar and cheaper alternative from Blazewear UK called the Rider, it looks as though it uses the same battery pack as the Keis so I would imagine the Keis bike power lead would fit no problem.

The big bonus is its £75 which includes the basic battery and charger.

Look here
 
regarding the splitting leads problem on the controller. I had 3 of these go over the winter.. a bit annoying but 1 of them was a bit more serious in that the wiring copper core was exposed on both of the inner wires... not very safe..

I found it was fine if kept in a pocket or something to keep the wire itself warm enough to remain flexible but as an experiment , on the last controller i had i took it out of my pocket, in the cold , and flexed just a little (not that far to be honest) and watched it split before my eyes.

Shit.. to be frank

i dont use the controller anymore and just have it plugged straight onto the power lead. It was always set on max anyway and it used to bug me that it would always come on a mid heat.

Still the heated jacket itself is excellent, its just the controller unit that lets it down otherwise. No wonder they were giving the controller away for free!

I dont know if they are still giving away the controller with a jacket but if not, dont bother, yourll only have it on max anyways. Save yoursen 30 quid.

Of course all this is just my personal experience / opinion... and being fair motohaus replaced the controller without question so an excellent service from them (many thanks to the attractive sounding lady who's name i cant remember ;) )
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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