Discussion
I had an Oxford Stormex cover when I kept my bike outside a few years back. There were heat proof areas sewn into the fabric & they reckoned you could chuck it straight on. I never really trusted it so let the bike cool for half an hour before fitting. It also seemed to make condensation worse in the winter.
For a bike kept outside I've regularly used one and never had any issues with any of them melting to any part of the bike or exhaust system even with chucking it straight on after a ride. I have however experienced what others ahve said with the hideous condensation issues under a fair few of them. They are however quite disposable items even if you buy the more expensive ones. I think the longest life I've had out of one is 2 years, after that they start to crack, unthread, or wear due to rubbing around touch points in the wind.
My bike dealer chucked one of theirs in when I got my bike, as I wanted one to stick over it when it's parked up in London. I arrive at work, chuck the cover straight over, and head in. Have been worried about the exhaust melting it, but no sign so far. It has however got pretty sun bleached and I'm not sure how much longer it will last.
I've used R&G and Lidl covers. Put them on as soon as the bikes are parked. However, I have an inline 4 so the headers go straight under the bike and the cover can't touch those. On my single where the header comes out the side I let the bike cool a bit first rather than risk it. So for me it depends on the bike, the headers are the only bits that would really get hot enough (and cat on newer bikes I guess). If I had a naked Guzzi or BMW boxer twin, for examples, I would probably wait for it to cool a bit. If I had a faired inline four I'd assume it's safe to throw the cover over as soon as it is parked.
Sea Demon said:
I've got an Oxford Stormex, does the job & I chuck it straight over my GSXR after a 45 mile commute, exhaust either side, never burnt/melted the cover or had anything stick to the exhausts.
Will also depend on the bike as well as the cover, I use indoor covers if I park in the Garage rather than the workshop as it is dusty/damp.I put one over the Guzzi after leaving it a few minutes to cool down to find the cover had melted to the 2 exhausts which sit very prone either side of the fuel tank, I managed to clean the burnt fabric from the pipes OK but the now the cover has a couple of holes in it.
I have one of the cheap Maizjok covers from Amazon. I did in fact manage to melt part of it on the exhaust, but only once:
It has two straps, one that goes under the belly of the bike and a second that goes through the front wheel, which generally means that the strap ends up sitting on the brake disc.
I find that if I put the cover on when the bike is wet, the bike is still a little bit wet when I take it off - I parked it up for about five days last week, and it was still damp afterwards. But it's not really thick enough to trap a substantial amount of heat. I mostly use it as a theft deterrent.
It has two straps, one that goes under the belly of the bike and a second that goes through the front wheel, which generally means that the strap ends up sitting on the brake disc.
I find that if I put the cover on when the bike is wet, the bike is still a little bit wet when I take it off - I parked it up for about five days last week, and it was still damp afterwards. But it's not really thick enough to trap a substantial amount of heat. I mostly use it as a theft deterrent.
Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff