Motorbike cover

erica74 · 09-12-2019 10:49am #1

Morning all

I've recently moved and have nowhere indoor to store my bike at night. I decided to buy a bike cover. I thought I had secured it against turning into a sail in the wind. However, I got up this morning to find my bike over on its right side. No damage thankfully. It landed on quite a dense hedge so I was as lucky as you can be in this sort of situation.
I've checked all the fluids, casings etc and all looks fine.

Obviously I'm now reluctant to use the cover, however, I also don't want my bike exposed to the elements, particularly rain. Does anyone have any bike cover recommendations or other suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

enrique66_35 · 09-12-2019 11:32am

I use the Oxford Aquatex cover (https://www.motorcycleshop.ie/oxford-aquatex-cover-1479-p.asp) and it survived the night and didn't pull the bike over but its a fairly snug fit on the bike which helped it not catch the wind too much.

My wife's bike has an Aldi (or possibly Lidl - I don't recall) cover on it which is a bit too big for it and while it didn't pull the bike over, it was only clinging on by the handlebars this morning as the strap (still closed) had been ripped out on the right hand side. Had to tie it back on by pulling the strap through the hole it left and tying to itself.

I'd recommend the Oxford cover but getting a good fit to the bike is important. The cheap covers have a tendency to rip in high winds if there's any bagginess.

sirmixalot · 09-12-2019 11:41am

erica74 wrote: »

Morning all

I've recently moved and have nowhere indoor to store my bike at night. I decided to buy a bike cover. I thought I had secured it against turning into a sail in the wind. However, I got up this morning to find my bike over on its right side. No damage thankfully. It landed on quite a dense hedge so I was as lucky as you can be in this sort of situation.
I've checked all the fluids, casings etc and all looks fine.

Obviously I'm now reluctant to use the cover, however, I also don't want my bike exposed to the elements, particularly rain. Does anyone have any bike cover recommendations or other suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Same here, didn't get off so lightly though, Stuck throttle (bar ends pushed into grip and hand guards, mirror cracked, foot brake side peg broke) I have a video of it, I'll stick it up.
Must of been some gust though, it's a 1000cc bike on its side stand full with petrol. Only knew it fell when the tracker rang my phone to say it was moving, looked out the windwo and the poor bast@rd lying on it's side...

sirmixalot · 09-12-2019 11:51am

Also that's an expensive or not cheap cover on it, fits like a glove with back box, screen etc. Guess if it was vented more it would not of been so easily knocked over. Anyway lessons learned, no cover on my bike when it's a stromy one from now on.

erica74 · 09-12-2019 12:36pm

sirmixalot wrote: »

Same here, didn't get off so lightly though, Stuck throttle (bar ends pushed into grip and hand guards, mirror cracked, foot brake side peg broke) I have a video of it, I'll stick it up.
Must of been some gust though, it's a 1000cc bike on its side stand full with petrol. Only knew it fell when the tracker rang my phone to say it was moving, looked out the windwo and the poor bast@rd lying on it's side...

Oh jesus, sorry to hear that!

erica74 · 09-12-2019 12:40pm

enrique66_35 wrote: »

I use the Oxford Aquatex cover (https://www.motorcycleshop.ie/oxford-aquatex-cover-1479-p.asp) and it survived the night and didn't pull the bike over but its a fairly snug fit on the bike which helped it not catch the wind too much.

My wife's bike has an Aldi (or possibly Lidl - I don't recall) cover on it which is a bit too big for it and while it didn't pull the bike over, it was only clinging on by the handlebars this morning as the strap (still closed) had been ripped out on the right hand side. Had to tie it back on by pulling the strap through the hole it left and tying to itself.

I'd recommend the Oxford cover but getting a good fit to the bike is important. The cheap covers have a tendency to rip in high winds if there's any bagginess.

Thanks, going to have a look at that cover now.

The cover I have now is quite baggy, I just bought one on amazon thinking I could just strap it to the bike and it would be fine. I had it strapped to the front wheel and back wheel and I had bungee cords holding down the cover around the middle, to try to prevent it turning into a sail, but that still wasn't enough:(

I'm very lucky to have gotten away with no damage.

sirmixalot · 09-12-2019 12:45pm

erica74 wrote: »

Oh jesus, sorry to hear that!

Such is life...

Anyway just wondering, what do the down vertical spike things serve as on the underside of the foot pegs? Just saw that on the ground too and didn't notice it from the peg at first, thought it was something more serious.

Stock image:
suzuki-v-strom-650cc-1000cc-foot-peg-lowering-kit-fits-2014-models-and-onward-[3]-127-p.jpg

suzuki-v-strom-650cc-1000cc-foot-peg-lowering-kit-fits-2014-models-and-onward-[3]-127-p.jpg

D3V!L · 09-12-2019 1:13pm

sirmixalot wrote: »

Such is life...

Anyway just wondering, what do the down vertical spike things serve as on the underside of the foot pegs? Just saw that on the ground too and didn't notice it from the peg at first, thought it was something more serious.

Stock image:

Thats commonly referred to as a "hero blob". They touch the road when you're leaned over too much.

sirmixalot · 09-12-2019 1:16pm

D3V!L wrote: »

Thats commonly referred to as a "hero blob". They touch the road when you're leaned over too much.

Well that happened for sure, shame I wasn't on the bike when it was at that angle!

Sir Galahad · 09-12-2019 5:53pm

Bloody hell thats an amazing video. You'd never believe it if you didn't see it. I've a tractor

BMW GS 1150 Adventure and I had 30 L of petrol in it ready for the week ahead and thankfully it never moved. I must be in a sheltered spot compared to you.

IrishGrimReaper · 09-12-2019 7:09pm

Oxford Stormex

Have one about a year now and nothing has fazed it - very sturdy construction. I'm based in Galway so do get battered by storms often enough it's tight fitting around the bottom and connects by plastic belt buckle for more security .

Wind hasn't blown it over yet but the fence behind the house has come down every time

sirmixalot · 09-12-2019 8:38pm

Sir Galahad wrote: »

Bloody hell thats an amazing video. You'd never believe it if you didn't see it. I've a tractor BMW GS 1150 Adventure and I had 30 L of petrol in it ready for the week ahead and thankfully it never moved. I must be in a sheltered spot compared to you.

Only 150cc below ya and 10 litres too. It's around 230kg, BMW probably a bit heavier but not so much, I've now parked the car the other side of it so if it goes the auto will prop it up

CJhaughey · 09-12-2019 11:31pm

If you have no centrestand/ mainstand then it sometimes helps to tie the front brake back with a velcro strap, the effect of the front brake locking on can help with movement.

zubair · 09-12-2019 11:56pm

Park it 90 degrees the other way. The gusts won't catch the bike as it will be sheltered by the car and I'm assuming your house. Also it will be leaning more onto the side stand by parking it into the slope of the drive way.

sirmixalot · 10-12-2019 12:09am

CJhaughey wrote: »

If you have no centrestand/ mainstand then it sometimes helps to tie the front brake back with a velcro strap, the effect of the front brake locking on can help with movement.

Good tips, would it not be more likely to topple on the centre stand though?

sirmixalot · 10-12-2019 12:12am

zubair wrote: »

Park it 90 degrees the other way. The gusts won't catch the bike as it will be sheltered by the car and I'm assuming your house. Also it will be leaning more onto the side stand by parking it into the slope of the drive way.

Good advice too, there's 2 ground anchors there in the drive hence the position, I've pulled the car right up to the bike so it's now blocking the wind.
Heard theres another storm on the way, Brendan! ****e name TBH

CJhaughey · 10-12-2019 7:53am

I find the centrestand is much more stable usually, all the weight is through the middle of the bikes axis and through the stands legs, its not distributed across three points of which two are flexible and can roll.
Not saying it can't blow over, depends on the strength of the wind and direction as well.
Work out the prevailing wind direction and then try and park the bike into it as Zubair said, making the area affected by wind as small as possible.

sirmixalot · 10-12-2019 10:27am

CJhaughey wrote: »

I find the centrestand is much more stable usually, all the weight is through the middle of the bikes axis and through the stands legs, its not distributed across three points of which two are flexible and can roll.
Not saying it can't blow over, depends on the strength of the wind and direction as well.
Work out the prevailing wind direction and then try and park the bike into it as Zubair said, making the area affected by wind as small as possible.

I took off the cover last night, Car to the side as a wind breaker, wind was the same direction as the night before, all good today

CJhaughey · 10-12-2019 12:07pm

If you have ground anchors is it possible to use them as tie down points to stabilise the bike?

Acquiescence · 10-12-2019 3:12pm

Sorry to hijack thread a bit. But has anybody got a cover you can drive onto then zip up, I found something similar on an ancient US website but nothing current.

sirmixalot · 10-12-2019 3:35pm

Acquiescence wrote: »

Sorry to hijack thread a bit. But has anybody got a cover you can drive onto then zip up, I found something similar on an ancient US website but nothing current.

It'd have to be pretty high right? These look interesting

sirmixalot · 10-12-2019 3:45pm

CJhaughey wrote: »

If you have ground anchors is it possible to use them as tie down points to stabilise the bike?

Genius! Love this, like the ratchet straps you use on the ferry to secure bike! I'll be getting on to Amazon in a few mins for that.
There's one anchor by the front wheel, all I'd have to do is ratchet the handle bar to that, should keep it from that initial shift that causes it to gain momentum then tip over.
Great idea CJ!

Acquiescence · 10-12-2019 6:27pm

sirmixalot wrote: »

It'd have to be pretty high right? These look interesting

What I had imagined in my head would be best described as a bike sized gearbag.

That says more about my imagination than what I'm actually looking for.

Edit: if you could get something like this with a side door

The QuietMan · 18-12-2019 8:24pm

I've Oxford Aquatex on my larger bike, a Halfords own brand on the scooter, definitely recommend the aquatex cover.

Claud 14.7 to 1 · 05-03-2020 12:47am

Maybe you can tie it down with some ropes/ratchets if it gets really windy? Is it possible to build a small shed? I've seen people do that. Any way to park it between objects so as to act as a wind break? I'm not sure, maybe there's something on the market to prevent bikes from falling over due to wind. Perhaps run an Internet search. Nothing specific springs to mind, sorry.

The QuietMan · 14-03-2020 3:20pm

The wind snapped the strap on my bike on Thursday, now using bungie cords to hold it down, i'll be damned if i'm forking out another 50 quid on a cover 6 months after the last one.

Motorbike cover

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