Outdoor storage advice/experience needed!

Good evening all,

My pointy is a year-round commuter for me, and is currently garaged when not in use - however I'm moving soon and won't have access to such a privilege. My bike is in great condition at the moment, I give it a thorough clean at least once a week and keep it well covered in lubricating spray; I'm just worried that it will furr up and start to drop to bits...

Does anyone store their bike outside year-round? If so what additional preventative maintenance do you carry out, and what storage solutions has anyone come across?

From a brief Google I've come across a few supposedly waterproof 'tents' - I'm assuming that waterproof yet breathable would be the ideal scenario as I could imagine condensation would build up a bit on the inside?

Any experience or helpful pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Lee

I've seen you can get like proper bike tents that pull over the whole way and lock? They seem worth a look mate

[Sid Squid]

If it's in frequent use then any old cover will be fine, it won't be covered up for long enough for condensation to be a problem.

I have gone through 3 covers, having never had the privilege of a garage. The last and most expensive one I've had is the best. Its a motrax but that's by the by. The reason I rate it is 1. Its a ride on cover that zips all the way around; 2. Has a soft material on the underside which wont scratch the paintwork; 3. Is breathable; 4. Is lockable with security loops by each wheel for a heavy duty chain and; 5. Most importantly, its durable. Its taken such abuse in the last year and is going strong.

I have had no problems having kept the bike under this cover because it won't blow away or batter the bike in high winds and keeps the bike far more secure than a conventional cover even without the chain lock.

However, I think a tent type setup in the back garden would be more ideal if you have the space + a ground anchor. A good ground anchor is probably one of the best deterrents, emphasis on good (and yes that generally means expensive). But remember, peace of mind is priceless. Good luck.

Edit: Btw, agree with Sid. If you ride it regularly then your normal maintenance regime will be fine. For example checking/cleaning chain after every ride (if necessary), checking for leaks and washing off any surface crud including mud etc before it becomes ingrained. Sounds like you do all this anyway so shouldn't be a problem.

The furring will happen over time if the nuts and bolts aren't stainless etc. Unless you are truly pedantic about your cleaning.The only real solution to this in my opinion is to change the cheap nuts and bolts. Other than that it will be fine.

I haven't always had access to a garage but I have never worried about my bike being out in the weather. If it was out in the winter weather and I wasn't going to ride it for a few weeks I would cover it with something but if I was going to ride it every day it didn't get covered. I'm not the person who has to have my bike sparkling clean all the time either, just clean it off once in a while and go. All I would worry about is the bike getting stolen. Chain it down and clean it off when the sun comes out.

Oh and I live in California where it doesn't get below freezing and only rains 3 months out of the year.

Cheers for the replies chaps - thankfully where I'm going security won't be a problem (although you never can take that for granted!), So weatherproofing really is my main concern.

I do really like the look of the motrax covers Runako - do you have the 'deluxe' version? I do like the idea of the loops at the bottom to let a chain pass through the wheels, should stop it flying off in the wind.

And great, I'll keep up my regime. I suppose two main areas of focus would be to ensure both the area around the fuel filler cap and the spark plugs stay nice & dry? Likewise, I've not heard either of these to be problematic on pointies.

Cheers again folks,
Lee

Originally Posted by Flemboselecta

I do really like the look of the motrax covers Runako - do you have the 'deluxe' version? I do like the idea of the loops at the bottom to let a chain pass through the wheels, should stop it flying off in the wind.

No, I have the ride on cover which is similar to the one in this link - http://www.hainesmc.co.uk/motorcycle...rcycle_covers/ - but larger.

So the cover will never blow away because the bike is sitting on it and its zipped all the way around with the ability to put a mini padlock through the zips (although I've never felt the need to do this).

The travel case that also came with it is magentic and can double as a mini tank bag if you wish to take it with you (again, never have). It seems to take exhaust heat well but then we live in the UK so anything hot cools down pretty quickly.

I can't really say anything bad about this other than its a bugger to keep clean - especially if you're a careless so and so like me and leave it out in the rain for a week!

I kept my 1st SV under cover due to no garage but I don't know it helped that much. You have to wait for the exhaust to cool (unless you buy a very expensive cover) before you can cover the bike, if it rains in that time then you're only going to trap the water in there. This lead me to rarely covering it at all in the winter.

Anyway, having briefly had the luxury of a garage I treated myself to an R6. However, now the garage is gone again i'm protecting the bike with one of those top covers that doesn't cover engine and exhaust. It actually does a very good job of protecting most of the bike and the rest is protected by a can of this http://triumph-online.co.uk/castrol-...ly-13926-p.asp each month

I use an Oxford Stormex when mine is parked outside and it does an excellent job of keeping everything dry, you don't need to wait for the bike to coold down either. Due to it's construction though I found it beneficial to use an extra strap around the outside to stop it trapping the wind and knocking my bike over, though it only did this once when it was blowing a hooly!

Mines been outside for nearly 3 years, washed annually and never covered.

Brakes need rebuilding each year due to salt, but otherwise it is surviving. Probably needs a bit of attention to the subframes now as well.

Really depends on how upset rusty fasteners and dirty downpipes make you .

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