Motorcycle covers

[_Russ_]

Im moving (again!!!) and will be between houses for 2 weeks in a rented trailer-thing right on the coast so my Motorcycle will be outside exposed to the weather and salty atmos, Iv'e never used covers before...are they worth it? or do they just trap condensation and become more trouble than they are worth.
The one I've scoped out so far is the Oxford heavy duty one...any good?...any other recommendations?

 

[Steel Icarus]

I like Kim Wilde's version of Born to be Wild

 

[newme]

Im moving (again!!!) and will be between houses for 2 weeks in a rented trailer-thing right on the coast so my Motorcycle will be outside exposed to the weather and salty atmos, Iv'e never used covers before...are they worth it? or do they just trap condensation and become more trouble than they are worth.
The one I've scoped out so far is the Oxford heavy duty one...any good?...any other recommendations?

Used the Oxford one on two bikes and it worked great when I actually used it.

 

[spudulike]

I wouldn't bother buying a cover for two weeks. How about spending the money on a couple of cans of ACF-50?

 

[RubyToogood]

There are two types of covers: plastic ones that melt if you put them on a hot bike, and fabric ones that aren't waterproof.

My usual tactic is to get the former and then fail to ever put it on the bike because you can't do it when you've just got off and then you forget about it until it starts raining when it's too late.

HTH.

 

[_Russ_]

I wouldn't bother buying a cover for two weeks. How about spending the money on a couple of cans of ACF-50?

Already have ACF-50, mostly use it on my Aeroplane but its not gonna stop soggy seat plus I never use the stuff around the wheel area due danger of getting it on the discs and being wire Spoked wheels this is one of the areas that tend to suffer most from corrosion

There are two types of covers: plastic ones that melt if you put them on a hot bike, and fabric ones that aren't waterproof.

My usual tactic is to get the former and then fail to ever put it on the bike because you can't do it when you've just got off and then you forget about it until it starts raining when it's too late.

HTH.

Hmm, good points. Though I think I'm disciplined enough to go back out and cover it after half hour I may well be fooling myself

 

[_Russ_]

I like Kim Wilde's version of Born to be Wild

It's got nothing on the original though

 

[RubyToogood]

Already have ACF-50, mostly use it on my Aeroplane but its not gonna stop soggy seat plus I never use the stuff around the wheel area due danger of getting it on the discs and being wire Spoked wheels this is one of the areas that tend to suffer most from corrosion



Hmm, good points. Though I think I'm disciplined enough to go back out and cover it after half hour I may well be fooling myself

Slightly more seriously, although two weeks is not going to hurt it - they are designed to withstand rain and are not made of sugar - putting a cover on it does seriously reduce the chances of it getting nicked. It's like a weird cloak of invisibility.

 

[pogofish]

The Oxford canvas one was the cover I swore by over many years - I got through two or three as winter storms can eventually cause them to rip as the fabric ages but they don't burn/melt on hot pipes and scraping off/polishing out the remains of a cheaper plasticky cover is no fun at all. They breathe reasonably well and definitely do a good job of protecting the bike!

Incidentally, I think I can thank my Oxford cover for getting me my very best ever cat - BD. He took to sneaking under my newly covered bike and snoozing in the warmth of the engine till eventually, he accepted my offer of tuna and decided to move-in with me.

After that, he took to sitting importantly on the covered bike seat - When I wasn't riding the bike, it was his..!

 

[StoneRoad]

A couple of weeks isn't going to hurt a decent m/bike.
But I would suggest that any day that you can taste salt on the wind, make sure that the bike gets a wash down to remove salt.

I've used various covers, none of them have been particularly spectacular. The expensive canvas one shed fibres and dust !
Try getting a seat cover - The dualseat on one of mine used to soak up water, so I got an elastic edged thing to keep the water out of the stitching. Looked a bit weird ! but worked. The longer term cure was to have the seat apart and seal behind the stitching with a waterproof tape. Which is what I did a couple of months later when I had a chance to do the work and the foam pad was properly dry.

 

[_Russ_]

A couple of weeks isn't going to hurt a decent m/bike.
But I would suggest that any day that you can taste salt on the wind, make sure that the bike gets a wash down to remove salt.

I've used various covers, none of them have been particularly spectacular. The expensive canvas one shed fibres and dust !
Try getting a seat cover - The dualseat on one of mine used to soak up water, so I got an elastic edged thing to keep the water out of the stitching. Looked a bit weird ! but worked. The longer term cure was to have the seat apart and seal behind the stitching with a waterproof tape. Which is what I did a couple of months later when I had a chance to do the work and the foam pad was properly dry.

Cheers, the salt thing is perhaps my main concern as im staying literally on a cliff top and although Iv'e had and ridden (mostly Off Road) Motorcycles since I was about 12 (a 70's Suzuki TS250) I seem to have become far more neurotic about them deteriorating...perhaps its an age thing.
I think the canvas option sounds like the thing

 

[spudulike]

I seem to have become far more neurotic about them deteriorating...perhaps its an age thing.

I always commuted by motorcycle and the amount I saved on fares and time allowed for swapping to a new bike every 35K miles or so. Although it was also a pastime, these bikes went straight out in all weathers so I never got into trying to keep a bike spotless ... same goes with bikes I buy now I'm retired so I guess the neurotic worry got beaten away long ago.

 

[pogofish]

The expensive canvas one shed fibres and dust !

But that all blows away when you wind the throttle a bit..!

And it stops pretty quickly after the cover weathers-in - a few weeks.