R18 B / TC Heated Seat (Working)?

Scott Semone

Scott Semone

Well-known member
Visit site
The last time I went out for a ride in weather below 50° F I didn't feel any heat from my seat; however, my grips were almost too hot to hold on to them.

I recently checked that the seat was actually plugged into the wiring harness; which it was - so, I'm wondering if others have experienced anything along the same lines as me, or perhaps if there is something that might be inhibiting the seat from warming up.

My last ride was pretty short (8 miles), and I probably didn't go over 60 mph; so, thinking the electrical management system didn't have enough to heat the seat due to the low engine (alternator) rpm and or time? Again, grips were almost too hot to hold.(Set at 3), Seat was set at 4.
 
Scott Semone said:
The last time I went out for a ride in weather below 50° F I didn't feel any heat from my seat; however, my grips were almost too hot to hold on to them.

I recently checked that the seat was actually plugged into the wiring harness; which it was - so, I'm wondering if others have experienced anything along the same lines as me, or perhaps if there is something that might be inhibiting the seat from warming up.

My last ride was pretty short (8 miles), and I probably didn't go over 60 mph; so, thinking the electrical management system didn't have enough to heat the seat due to the low engine (alternator) rpm and or time? Again, grips were almost too hot to hold.(Set at 3), Seat was set at 4.
Click to expand...
Scott,
My R18 is new to me, but in my limited experience with her I find the handle grips get very warm (hot) at any setting above 2. My seat does take a few minutes to warm up.
Steve
 
Scott Semone said:
The last time I went out for a ride in weather below 50° F I didn't feel any heat from my seat; however, my grips were almost too hot to hold on to them.

I recently checked that the seat was actually plugged into the wiring harness; which it was - so, I'm wondering if others have experienced anything along the same lines as me, or perhaps if there is something that might be inhibiting the seat from warming up.

My last ride was pretty short (8 miles), and I probably didn't go over 60 mph; so, thinking the electrical management system didn't have enough to heat the seat due to the low engine (alternator) rpm and or time? Again, grips were almost too hot to hold.(Set at 3), Seat was set at 4.
Click to expand...
If you are only traveling 8 miles, my hunch is the heating elements didn't have time to get up to temp yet. A seat is a larger surface area than grips, so it will take longer to warm up. Also, your hands are much more sensitive than your seat area, so you'll notice the temp faster with your hands.

I find the grips on the R18 at highest settings get very warm. I have an R18 Classic & only need to put the grips on 3 if I ride in 20-30F temps. In the upper 40s, 1 is plenty, while 2 is good from around freezing to mid 40s. This is augmented with battery heated gloves, so the tops of my hands which are fully exposed to wind blast can be warm. If you are on a B or TC the fairing blocks a lot of direct wind blast on the hands, so just heated grips can work fine. My GSA has hand guards which keep a lot of wind off the hands & it only has low & high heat on the grips. I only need high heat when it is <20F in that setup & only need low when it is in the 30s. The high heat on my GSA is not as warm as the highest on my R18 though.

In warmer temps like mid 40s, I typically don't even turn on the heated grips or heated gloves on my R18 if the ride is <20 miles. It does take a few minutes for them to warm up, but my hands won't really start to feel cold until I've been out in the temp for at least 30 minutes. Also, I'm on the lowest setting in that temp anyway, so it's not a big deal. In colder weather like 20s or 30s, I do turn them on when I start riding as you'll feel the cold much quicker. 50F & warmer, I never use the heated grips or heated gloves, as just the insulation of the glove is plenty when it's so warm.

With all the above said, the assumption is you are using good quality winter/cold weather riding gloves. These will have both insulation (often Thinsulate), but also wind proof to avoid the wind chill impact. If you try to use summer gloves in cold temps, all the air flow meant to keep them cooler in summer will freeze you in winter. I typically have 3 variations of gloves (live in the Northeast USA), for summer, spring/fall & winter. Older winter gloves were quite bulky and had negative impact on control feel, but modern gloves are much thinner & have better feedback as a result.
 
The seat just seems to take much longer to heat up. I was wondering about this just the other day, I had turned the seat heat on but was also wondering if it was actually heating up. It was working, it’s just not as noticable.
 
I rode my bike home from the dealership with the temps dipping into the low 40s. The seat heater took a while to warm up, but it worked and kept my buns warm the whole ride (2.5 hours). I had my on setting #3.
 
Scott Semone said:
The last time I went out for a ride in weather below 50° F I didn't feel any heat from my seat; however, my grips were almost too hot to hold on to them.

I recently checked that the seat was actually plugged into the wiring harness; which it was - so, I'm wondering if others have experienced anything along the same lines as me, or perhaps if there is something that might be inhibiting the seat from warming up.

My last ride was pretty short (8 miles), and I probably didn't go over 60 mph; so, thinking the electrical management system didn't have enough to heat the seat due to the low engine (alternator) rpm and or time? Again, grips were almost too hot to hold.(Set at 3), Seat was set at 4.
Click to expand...
My seat warms nicely at the 3 setting but when riding at below 32 F it take about 5 highway miles at 70mph for me to feel the heat coming on.
 
Since I’ve had both, I’ll say the Bagger seat both gets much hotter and hotter 2-3 times faster than the TC seat. I like the TC seat size, height and comfort but it takes 30 minutes easily to get warm where I can feel it. I agree, those grips could slow-roast a brisket.
 
Well actually... /s

The manual says that setting 5 for the heated grips and seat is for quick heating, and the level should be set to where you want it after it's reached temp. I can't imagine leaving the grips on anything more than two, but on cold rides (upper 30s), I've kept the seat at 5.
 
Scott Semone said:
The last time I went out for a ride in weather below 50° F I didn't feel any heat from my seat; however, my grips were almost too hot to hold on to them.

I recently checked that the seat was actually plugged into the wiring harness; which it was - so, I'm wondering if others have experienced anything along the same lines as me, or perhaps if there is something that might be inhibiting the seat from warming up.

My last ride was pretty short (8 miles), and I probably didn't go over 60 mph; so, thinking the electrical management system didn't have enough to heat the seat due to the low engine (alternator) rpm and or time? Again, grips were almost too hot to hold.(Set at 3), Seat was set at 4.
Click to expand...
UPDATE:. All is working well. A couple of us were able to sneak out for a ride in yesterday's 55° F weather; where I wanted to test my heated seat, recently installed TC Lower Leg Wind Protection and a newly installed pair of heated grips that I wired up on my buddy's HD Road Glide.
 
glad I found this thread...looks like it's not my seat then.

just brought home a new TC and thought something must be wrong with my heated seat. I'm used to bmw heated grips able to scorch my hands at high, but at max of 5 my seat didn't feel like it was working at all. same with max 2 on the rear seat. I took it off and checked the connection thinking it must not be connected and it was connected. :cry:

I hope with use it gets a little more effective, temps are dropping fast. I have a Sargent seat with heating and it'll scorch my bum. The TC option 719 seat is super comfortable so I'm hoping to stick with it.
 
been taking my TC on commute rides to work at temps. between 7-11 celsius in the mornings. At heat settings of 3 my option 719 seat warms up good after about 10 minutes. Went on a long ride it the evening last week and the seat kept my butt from freezing for sure. Though i ride with heated vest as well.
 
Hhmmmm... watching re the seat.
For reference only: no problems here. Some recent rides in upper 40s - low 50s F, once with raingear. Setting the seat to just 2 was uncomfortable; 1 was fine. I typically do wear jeans rather riding pants so that may be why my experience has been different.

The grips, even through the Grip Buddies., work VERY well.🙂
 
thanks guys. I'm thinking bmw put the heating elements deep down close to the seat pan so takes a while to work it's way up. Since it's a new seat maybe lots of air in the layers of foam it has to cross also, so I'm hoping with use it'll heat a bit quicker. just in case though, when I take it in for first service I'll ask them to check it.
 
Just takes a while longer than the grips... I ordered the TC 760mm seat, I'm assuming that'll take even longer lol

Glad its working for you... How are the lower wind deflectors working for you? Are they worth it? really hating all the wind from under the fairing and I bought the winglets, reduced it a bit but I still get a lot of wind.
 
RyBread said:
Just takes a while longer than the grips... I ordered the TC 760mm seat, I'm assuming that'll take even longer lol

Glad its working for you... How are the lower wind deflectors working for you? Are they worth it? really hating all the wind from under the fairing and I bought the winglets, reduced it a bit but I still get a lot of wind.
Click to expand...
if the 760mm is the TC tall seat, yeah you'll probably get to your destination before you feel heat, lol. I have a heated Sargent seat on another bike and it goes into turbo mode for 10 minutes when you first turn it on to get it hot fast then goes to your setting. I wish the bmw seat did that, I put it on 5 for a short ride and didn't feel anything before I got back. 1st world problems though, lol.

I actually haven't opened the wind defectors yet so I can't tell what they're doing until I try that for comparison. it's not a wind free ride but what I notice is a little buffeting behind my helmet at times but I think it's from the air coming up over the windshield.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top