Leaving your bike outside in winter

I am a pikey so I haven't got a garage. I need to protect my "bike" from
the ravages of winter so I'll be leaving it in the back garden exposed to
all of the elements. I have sprayed a whole £12 can of ACF50 on it, paying
particular attention to all the bits that may rust (exshaust system, bolts,
chain, forks stanchions, electrics, under the seat/ tank, switchgear,
fairing bracket, blah diddy blah, etc). Is there anything else I should do
to preserve it o'er the winter? I shant be riding it again (SORNED) until
March/ April next year so apart from bi-weekly engine starts to keep the
battery topped up and prevent the engine from siezing up, It'll be utterly
neglected.

Thanks friends,

Love,
John Banks

 

Plenty of GT85 on the brake discs. Pay particular attention to the discs
- given them a nice thick coating of the stuff.

 

[snip]

Get an Almax chain. You don't want to come home one day and find a space
where a bike used to be.

 

Buy a cheap bike cover - you know it makes sense

 

Pah!

Just drag 'em for a bit, it'll soon burn off.

 

I usually find a bike cover caused more problems with condensation than it
saves. I have a garage but it is still quite damp inside, so I bought a
plastic garden shed in my local free adds. I had to cut the side off to get
the bike in and gaffer tape it back on. Cost me £35.

 

Even the breathable ones ?

that's what I use

 

The cheapo Oxford cover I bought from Argos about three years ago is doing a
great job for me. It is lightweight and vented - probably not fully
rainproof - but it definitely keeps the worst of the weather out.

 

Ian Field: WHOOSH!

 

Use some form of bike cover; see below.

The real problem for bikes under any kind of cover isn't rain itself,
but humidity cycling.

A cold night, followed by a rise in temperature that is faster than
the mass of the motorcycle can follow could well lead to the machine's
temperature falling below the dew point.

That means that atmospheric moisture will condense *everywhere* on the
machine that the atmosphere can reach; switch innards, fuse boxes,
breathers, all the places that you can't see and don't tend to think
about.

The idea of a vented or breathable cover is to give this now excess
moisture a chance to evaporate as the temperature of the machine rises
above the dew point; otherwise it would be virtually trapped in there.
Needless to say, don't use an unvented or non-breathable cover.

My two tips: place an old folded towel over the petrol filler-cap (if
that's where the tank breathes through) to form a virtual atmosphere
of its own; and screw a folded piece of oily rag up the end of the
zorst pipe (to stop airflow getting back to the cylinder(s) and into
the engine through an open zorst valve.

Be generous with the spray; wherever you can reach with it, so can
condensing moisture.

 

Scottoiler FS365 spray. Lots of.

 

Darwinism in action - sounds good to me!

 

If you're so bothered, why don't you?

 

One of these? http://www.vac-bags.co.uk

 

So come to a bike group and forget to trim sigs.

http://www.ukrm.net/faq/index.html may help you.

 

I think that's the idea.

 

I just remembered. Don't buy a cheap PVC bike cover as it will
take the paint off your bike. I presume a polythene vac-bag is OK,
but it wouldn't be mouseproof.

 

Under some sort of cover I hope?

I have sprayed a whole £12 can of ACF50 on it, paying

Yeah, make sure there's **** all of that stuff on anything vinyl, or it'll
eat it while you watch the telly. That includes the wiring under the tank.
It's great in the connectors, but not so great on the insulation. A wipe
with a cloth stops it causing too much grief, but don't "spray & go".

I shant be riding it again (SORNED) until

Get an Opimate on the thing.


--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19

 

Don't breathe the fumes then.


--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19

 

The responses were to John Banks. He knows the feeling of this place, so
he'll be out there right now giving his discs not one coating, but two (at
least) followed by a final poshing coat of trans fatty acids, no doubt. Then
he'll do what's expected and drop his breake pads in oil to keep them from
squealing next spring.


--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19