This winter is winding down, and heated gear is showin up in clearance sales. I'm also thinking of adding auxiliary lighting.
(want to be a Heritage when I grow up kinda thing)

I have an '08 XL883C, and looking to avoid a dead battery, a fried alternator or regulator, or owning more gear than I can use.

Looked through both owners manual and service manual, but can't find specifications. Any answers for maximum acessory watts or amps?

 

From the April '09 issue of American Iron, Sportster Corner, page 148: 2006 1200L - HD heated gear dragged the alternator down. 14 amps at 1000 rpm, 20 amps at 2500 rpm. That 20 amps is probably gonna be the max, no matter the rpm. Cycle Electric offers a 3 phase system for the Sporty that is 17 amps at 1000 rpm, 38 amps at 2500 rpm. Special order only: 1-800-523-2645 ask for Kirk.

 

From the specs in the Harley Heated gear manual:

XL 2007 and later:

Charging capacity: 30 apms with engine running at 3,000 RPM. At Idle: approx 18 amps

Amps needed to run the bike: 16 plus an additional 2 amps to maintain battery charge

Power Draw of Heated gear:

Jacket Liner: 5.9
Vest Liner: 4.15
Pants Liner: 3.4
Gloves: 1.7

Note this is for 2007 and later. For 2006 and prior the Charging capacity is 22 amps, and the amps needed to run the bike is 8 amps, plus the 2 additional amps for battery charging.

I would scan this chart and accompaning graphic, but the print is so small I don't think it would be readable after the scan and posting here.

If you ride in the winter. I highly recommend the heated gear. I run the jacket liner and gloves, with no electrical demand problems. I do sometimes turn the heat off if I'm sitting at idle for an extended period. And since I'm currently running with a headlight bulb that draws WAY more than the stock bulb. I avoid the highbeam when using the heated gear.

 

Dunno if this will help but here's a test you can perform if you know someone who has a powerlink or multimeter with inductive lead (or can take somewhere) which will give you idea of how much your bike is actually using to charge the battery:

1. MAX CURRENT/VOLTAGE OUTPUT:__________AMP (MINIMUM OF 85% OF CHARGING SYSTEM RATING)
POWERLINK or DVOM WITH INDUCTIVE LEAD CONNECT TO BATTERY INDUCTOR ON MAIN C.B. {SMALL BLK WIRE TO REGULATOR VIA CIRCUIT BREAKER} ZERO AMP METER WITH RUNNING BIKE REV TO 3K ADD LOAD TO 13V RECORD AMP VALUE DISCONNECT P-LINK (-) TO RESET {MUST BE LESS THAN 15 VOLTS}

2. CURRENT DRAW:__________ AMP
POWERLINK or DVOM WITH INDUCTIVE LEAD CONNECT TO BATTERY INDUCTOR TO BATTERY (-) DISCONNECT STATOR CONNECTION RUNNING REV TO 3K ENERGIZE ALL ELECTRICAL LOADS RECORD VALUE

3. CURRENT LEFT TO CHARGE BATTERY:__________AMP
SUBTRACT #2 FROM #1 RECORD VALUE {This is how much total is available}