First thing to decide is what gloves to use.
I have some snowmobile gloves that are a little large and fairly warm alone. Not nearly warm enough below 40 degrees for any extended time though. Picked up some brown cotton work gloves from Tractor Supply that fit snug (they will stretch). They are not too thick but enough to keep the warm heating wires from burning your skin. They fit perfectly inside the snowmobile gloves. Try your setup on just like you expect to use it. Sit on the bike and hold the grips. Are they comfortable? Too tight? Too fat? Now is the time to make any changes.
How to attach the wires
When I made the shirt I attached the wires by threading a 3" needle with the wire and weaving it in and out of the material. This meant exposed wire inside the shirt next to the skin. Not good. Since I am trying to stay warm an extra long sleeved t-shirt underneath is not a problem. The gloves will not allow that. Looking in the fabric store I found some Wright's brand 1/2" iron-on hem tape. Seemed like just the ticket. The wire has a 600 degree Teflon coating so the iron did not damage it. Had some pieces of iron-on patch material in my sewing box as well. Yes I have a sewing box! I am single and I have to know how to sew!
Routing the wires
My first thought was that most of the wind and cold would be coming from the front and hitting the back of my hands. No need for wires on the palm sides. Starting with the little finger I ran up and down each finger and thumb on the outside. This gave two wires on each digit. I extended the wires down the back of the hand. At each bend I placed a small piece of the patch material. See pics below. Yes it is ugly but once it is in the outer gloves it will never be removed. Good thing I bought two pairs of the cotton gloves.
Problems
The gloves were snug to begin with but stretchy which made them just right. The hem tape is like iron. No stretch at all. Since it was applied flat when I wrapped my hand around the throttle it was way too tight. Also it was twenty degrees in the garage and after ten minutes sitting on the bike fretting over the glove my palm was cold. Plus at the tip of each finger where the wire doubled back there was a hot spot. Sharp bend means lots of heat in one location. Plus all the patch material made the whole glove too stiff and inflexible. On the first two fingers I had the wires too close together making them too hot.
Second try
I started in the same place on the second try but with one important difference. I pinned the end of the finger to the ironing board and stretched the glove out. Then I pinned the other end down to hold it while I ironed the wire on. Only one wire per finger. Up the back, down the palm side, over to the next finger and back up. All the while keeping each finger pinned and stretched. Made big loop at the cross over to cut down on hot spots. Covered the crossover with patch material. Stretch is a lot less necessary on the palm. On the one crossover on the back of the hand I stitched it to the glove to keep it flexible.
The thumb on the first try was really bad. Could barely get it around the grip. So when I got to this one I put the glove on and gripped a paper towel roll to get the shape right. Then I started routing the wire and pinning it in position. Up the palm side and down the outside. After I had it where I wanted it I started stitching it down. No hem tape at all on the thumb. I only have one wire across the back of the hand kept well down from the knuckles so the liner can stretch. Back to the starting point. Make sure to stretch the back before ironing the tape so it will stretch. I stitched down the wires at the tips of the fingers to keep them from snagging anything. I also stitched down the ending points of the wire to keep it secure. I am not going to get any style points for my needle work but it won't come loose. The gloves are uniformly warm, palm and back, with no hot spots in my limited test in the garage. The controller is barely turned on with one glove so I don't think it will be much of a draw on the charging system.
Connecting to the controller
I built a controller from a DC motor controller I got from QKits online and a project box from Radio Shack that I modified.
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To connect to it I need some plugs on the liners and a harness. I looked at everything Radio Shack had and settled on some 1/8" inline phone jacks. They do not need to be stereo but I took what they had. The stereo jacks have three connection points in each jack. Make sure you use a multi meter to connect to the same ones in the male and female or you will be dead in the water. Check after each jack is installed for continuity. I added 5" of 18GA wire to the end of the heating wire on each liner and attached the jacks to that. This gave something more substantial to sew to the liner for strength. Everything is shrink wrapped both for durability and to make it water tight. As an added precaution I filled the barrel of each jack with hot glue before I screwed it on. Belts and suspenders don't you know. I also sewed 4" or so of the wire to the liner to keep from pulling on the heating wire. If you look at the bottom picture you can see it.
The harness
To connect the liners to each other and to the controller I made a harness from some 12GA speaker wire I had. Lamp cord would work as well but I did not want to go back to the store. I first cut a piece of wire long enough to go from my left wrist across my shoulders and down to my right hip. The hookup I installed on my bike is on the right side. Next I cut a piece from my right wrist to the middle of my back. Don't cut it too short. You need enough wire to hang out the sleeve of your coat to be able to connect the gloves. I spliced into the long wire by cutting just one wire and soldering and covering with heat shrink. Put the harness in your coat and put it on. There is a loop in mine to hang it from that makes a great place to wire tie the harness. Check the length of the wires and cut off any extra. Add the jacks and you are ready to go.
The final product
One thing I forgot to mention. Every joint in the wires and every jack is soldered and heat shrinked. Lots of vibration and mother nature on a motorcycle. You don't want to be a hundred miles from home and have something not work. Here they are one I put in the snowmobile glove so you could see why the jack is so long. Hope someone gets some pointers from this. If you have any suggestions or comments please post to http://forums.delphiforums.com/MCTourer
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Fri.22.02.08 05:20 John Saurer