I have a 1988 Hurricane and am considering purchasing a Gerbings electric jacket liner. However, I'm not sure the system is capable of powering the liner (77 watts), Valentine radar detector (max of 425mA (?)) and GPS (0.5W). Everything I read cautions that older bikes may have a problem.

 

So that would be

Jacket 77w
Radar 5.1w
GPS 0.5w
======
82.6watts

I would be running a separate circuit from the battery

I suppose the question is, can the alternator regenerate power back into the battery fast enough, and does the extra power requirements cause a heat issue in regards to the regulator as this issue has been raised many times.

 

Unfortunately the 88 Hurrican output is only 350 Watts

The k Model onwards is rated at 390 Watts. But you would need to change a few things to do a swap.

In either case I would be doing a refresher on the regulator/rectifier (see my other post)

The only way to make sure is to take it to an Auto electrician and get him to measure the amount of current it uses. Times that by the battery voltage and you will have the amount of watts the system is using.

 

If there is going to be a problem, It's the jacket. I suppose you could run it off another battery that is charged overnight, like a UPS battery or a bank of D Size rechargeables, but it depends on long you want the jacket to last in one day.

A typical UPS 12v7AH will last probably just over an hour.

But I thinking that the bike will have enough power anyway.
especially if you disconnect the front light and put a switch on it (probably illegal)