Looking for opinions on Bickle warmers from China | GTAMotorcycle.com

Looking for opinions on Bickle warmers from China

ppawlows

ppawlows

Active member
As the title says I am looking for opinions/reviews on the Bickle warmers from China. Any issues or problems, are they worth the money? I know they cannot be repaired like the Canadian made Bickle warmers, but if used and stored correctly without incidents, will they last? Thanks.
 
Normally I wouldn't want to speak on someone else's behalf, but I think John will agree. "Bickle" warmers from China, are not the real thing. If there is something being sold with his name on them from some other source, I believe John would want to know what that source is.

Don't support counterfeiters.
 
John Bickle does have an import set of warmers available now. BRP Tire Warmer
I bought a set at the track early this year when my regular set broke a wire in the rear warmer. The Bickle imports are fine. The wire grid is a little tighter than most, meaning a more even heat and get to just about the right temperature in about 45 minutes (160 F). I've only used them for 5 or 6 days, but no problems at all.
 
Interesting, didn't know he had done that. Price is around two-thirds the regular ones, with the down-side that they are not repairable.

I'm thinking that if you do a lot of events, the original ones are likely worth the extra coin. Occasional use, perhaps not.

John sells good stuff.
 
Ditto

VFR.CBR said:
John Bickle does have an import set of warmers available now. BRP Tire Warmer
I bought a set at the track early this year when my regular set broke a wire in the rear warmer. The Bickle imports are fine. The wire grid is a little tighter than most, meaning a more even heat and get to just about the right temperature in about 45 minutes (160 F). I've only used them for 5 or 6 days, but no problems at all.
Click to expand...
 
i have used a set all year, they do heat up well but dont insulate as well, an do require more power to use. i pretty much used cozys all the time with them. if i wasnt so cheap,(did not now if i was going to race this year) the originals would have been bought. my first Bickle warmers are back ups now, and i bought them in 1997. do the math
 
I can chime in on this,,We got the Chinese ones so we could compete with Chinese. Trying to sell my Canadian made stuff against Chinese was like apples and oranges.
They both have their pro's and cons'.
Chinese,cheaper but do not last as long
Canadian made, More money, last longer are repairable,heat better and are more insulated for a better heat soak.
The Chinese was interesting as I have seen many night mares out of China. But of the 30 sets we sold last year we had one with an issue.
IT was right out of the box so we swapped it out.
They do need a bit more power so a 1000 generator won't cut it.
racerpro171 used them this year and did them proud running against Jodi at Shannonville.
I won't say they are awsome, but they have been a very very good Chinese warmer to date. I have a friend in China that sourced these for me and
the company came highly recommended.
But what we did learn this year is that all tires , Dunlops especially like more heat. So getting a good heat soak with any tire is paramount today. So as racepro171 suggested,,cozys are necessary to keep the heat in. Keep in mind the rubber is better and what was the norm isn't anymore. If you are racing something to consider. Trackdays,,not so much.
If you want to ask me any questions feel free to e-mail me.

John
 
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Thanks for your replies. I was not aware that the Chinese warmers require more power and since my genny is rated at 1100 watts, I will need the Canadian made warmers.
 
ppawlows said:
Thanks for your replies. I was not aware that the Chinese warmers require more power and since my genny is rated at 1100 watts, I will need the Canadian made warmers.
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alll Chinese warmers I have seen and most of our competition draw about 1500 watts. The way we designed ours we do draw less.
But some generators like Honda and Yamaha under rate what they can do. But, some over rate as well. So the best way is to actually borrow or see if you can run something with 1500 watts. Start up is the hardest. But on the Canadian made ones we are just over 900 watts per set.
 
A friend asked my opinion about the chinese Bickle warmers this past summer at the track, he kept tripping the fuse on his generator.

I put the set on a watt meter. The chinese Bickle have an initial draw of slightly over 1000 watts. Once they have warmed up the draw goes down to about 900 watts. Depending on your genny you will just make it or just miss it.

I have a set of previous gen Bickle warmers (the Bickle badge is painted on rather than a stitched badge). They have an initial draw of 850 watts and a continuous draw of 775 watts.

Something that is good to keep in mind when buying a generator or buying new warmers.
 
FYI folks all warmers will have the biggest issue with start up. If you get caught with a problem,or your buddy jumps in on your power. Put the rear on first and get it going for a few minutes and then plug the front in. It will sometimes allow you to get through that start up window when your genny is just not enough. Just plan a few minute more for your warmer application time. This will work some of the time but not every time.
 
cjbenedict said:
I have a set of previous gen Bickle warmers (the Bickle badge is painted on rather than a stitched badge). They have an initial draw of 850 watts and a continuous draw of 775 watts.

Something that is good to keep in mind when buying a generator or buying new warmers.
Click to expand...

Our Canadian made warmers are still the same process we have used for 15 years. So the draw will still be the same. We have just refined the insulation and heat soak abilities. So with better insulation the warmer will be on less as it reaches temp. That's our Canadian made model.
 
I'm able to use two sets of the standard Bickle warmers on my 2000w (1600w continuous) champion inverter generator by using that method.

How much notice do you need to make a set of your standard warmers with a number printed on them?
 
dricked said:
I'm able to use two sets of the standard Bickle warmers on my 2000w (1600w continuous) champion inverter generator by using that method.

How much notice do you need to make a set of your standard warmers with a number printed on them?
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Right now? A few minutes!;) But as we get into February and later it all depends, but on average about a week.
 
Thanks for all replies. Actual power consumpition figures came very handy. I purchased Champion generator from CT, it is rated at 1500W start up, 1300W peak and 1080W continous. Hopefully it will run the Canadian made Bickles.

cjbenedict said:
A friend asked my opinion about the chinese Bickle warmers this past summer at the track, he kept tripping the fuse on his generator.

I put the set on a watt meter. The chinese Bickle have an initial draw of slightly over 1000 watts. Once they have warmed up the draw goes down to about 900 watts. Depending on your genny you will just make it or just miss it.

I have a set of previous gen Bickle warmers (the Bickle badge is painted on rather than a stitched badge). They have an initial draw of 850 watts and a continuous draw of 775 watts.

Something that is good to keep in mind when buying a generator or buying new warmers.
Click to expand...
 
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ppawlows said:
Thanks for all replies. Actual power consumpition figures came very handy. I purchased Champion generator from CT, it is rated at 1500W start up, 1300W peak and 1080W continous. Hopefully it will run the Canadian made Bickles.
Click to expand...
What does your bike look like, I need to pit far away from you :)

jk
 
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