Hi All
I don't have a garage for the riding months so my bike is in my driveway covered all summer. I'm looking to see what you all recommend for an all weather cover that'll last me more than 2 years. I bought a Bilt one last year and already has 2 tears and looks like it's 10 years old!
The sun creates and destroys. Day-after-day exposure will fail your cover. Buy a few on sale.
Most importantly: Ensure your arrangement allows condensation to dissipate from under the cover. Otherwise, some surfaces on your CB will pit.
It does help to allow your bike to reach ambient temperature prior to covering. However, depending on how cool your nights get, sometimes condensation is unavoidable.
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You can store in winter snow with cover. However, ensure your center stand exposed bits (or side stand) are well greased. Otherwise, next spring it will be peeling.
My bikes are garaged at home, but outside in an office parking lot for eight or nine hours a day. My office happens to be next door to Nelson Rigg, a motorcycle cover company, so I’m never without a cover.
But, even their best will fade after a year just with just that level of exposure. Trying to get two years out of any cover would really be pushing it for material integrity.
I mentioned in a post a while back that I’ve been using hi-vis covers ever since a coworker bumped into my bike in the parking lot. At the time my black cover had faded to light grey and he said it blended in with the lot and he didn’t see it.
I think this is hilarious- they are doing construction on my street, and dust gets under my decently sealed garage door. I bought a seven dollar cover on eBay just to use as a dust cover inside while I’m away on business trips. Just got it, and it’s basically a grey trash bag. Billed as an “xl” it fits over about 2/3 of my Bonneville.
I get the Cycle Gear Bilt covers. If I do a couple coatings of 303 I can get a good two seasons out of them (the sun in phoenix is brutal). They came out with a much more expensive cover that I've had maybe three years. The fabric faded from black to light grey in fairly short order but the bit that bugs me the most, the seam tape over the seams failed in less than a year. However; the fabric is still holding strong.
But on their cheaper model eventually they develop a tear - typically around but not limited to the mirrors. But they do the job of keeping the sun, bird poop, 75% of the desert dust and other crud off the bikes. Alas; the cats like to lay under them, especially in the winter. Since they earn their keep by eating the fruit rats they get a pass.
I pick them up on sale, they are simply not worth their retail price. Just picked up one yesterday. Don't need it yet - but I will.
The plan is to put a ramada over the area where I park the bikes; hopefully that will help me get an extra year out of them.