It’s now summer and the heat is on! Do you put a motorcycle cover on your bike or leave it out in the open? Many commute to work when the weather is great. Then when you park your motorcycle, for long periods of time, what do you do? The lucky ones have a garage or parking structure to park in but some of us are left to the elements.
When in search for the perfect shade, either a tree or the side of the building, there are a couple of factors to think about. Trees offer plenty of shade but they also can come with a variety of birds. Which means bird droppings. The droppings can be corrosive to the paint job and a mess to clean off the seat. If you choose the side of a building, check for the heat that may radiate off the building. Also, make sure that your motorcycle can be seen, so that nobody will back into it.
Cover or not cover?
With this in mind it leaves a person the option to either let your motorcycle sit in the sun or search for a motorcycle cover. Let’s take a look at what’s on the market. It comes down to how much of the bike you want to cover, just the seat or the whole bike.
Various Covers
Seat Cover: Keeps seat cool, so as not to burn your bottom when you jump on. Doesn’t cover your tank, handlebars, or grips. Easy to carry and store.
Half Cover: Covers handlebars, seat, tank, and grips. Easy to carry and store.
Full Cover: Covers entire motorcycle, full protection. Hard to store and carry. Usually for long term storage.
Questions you need to ask yourself before you buy:
Waterproof or water resistant?
Sun and UV protection?
Security or just a cover for the elements?
What size do I need?
It’s hard to find an unbiased review online, because they want to steer you towards a certain manufacturer. The best way to search for advice is to ask your buddies or go onto to a blog and see what riders are saying. As always warranty speaks volumes and cheaper is not always the best! We searched for a review list that seemed to be accurate and current; here is a link if you are interested: From “A Cool List” acoollist.com/best-motorcycle-covers/
Lastly, the advantage of a half cover or full cover is it keeps eyes off your motorcycle. We have heard of some unfortunate people having their Throttle Rocker stolen right off their bike. With a cover on, it keeps the sneaky thief from ripping things off. As we all know nobody should be touching our motorcycles!
