[Redfox]

Last night we met at a fellow bikers house (Harley guy but he had lots of beer) and we got on the subject of winter storage. One fellow said that he went out to show his bike to someone the other day and when he took the cover off it, the bike was full of condensation. He never had the water repellent cover on it but it was still collecting a lot of water. His bike was a Harley so maybe just maybe they are just not noisy but water collectors also. Not likely. Anyway, one chap said that another rider had just built a styrofoam shelter for his in his shed. He took the windshield off, surrounded the bike in the styrofoam sheets, taped the corners and left a trouble light on inside. This sound s like a great idea. I am going over to see it tomorrow. We live on the East Coast of Canada and we get big swings in temperature and lots of humidity so this just might do the trick.

 

[budoka]

Just be carefull Red. Humidity in a sealed environment with no way to get out is not a good thing. That's why we have vents in the roofs and vented soffits on our houses. A bathroom exhaust fan that you can turn on/off peridically is a good idea for a storage shed (if it's tightly sealed), or just a circulating fan if it's not real tight. Not too sure about the light bulb; heat and humidity is a recipe for rust and corrosion.

 

[ggrider]

Follow Budoka's advise and check your owner's manual on storing your motorcycle for extended periods of time. Living in Saskatchewan means storage is just part of life. Keeping my bike in a wam environment is not an option, so one thing that is important, if it's going to be stored where it is cool, keep it dry.

 

[Redfox]

The idea of the light inside his styrofoam bike shelter inside his garage was to keep the frost out and the moisture down. In Saskatchewan you will not have the humidity problems that we have. I will check it out anyway and see if it has some benefits.

 

[detdrbuzzard]

thats why he should have cardboard or carpet under the bike, it catches and holds the condensation from the floor

 

[WA9FWT]

thats why he should have cardboard or carpet under the bike, it catches and holds the condensation from the floor

Good answer detdrbuzzard about covering the floor with cardboard or carpet, some one else asked why do that on a board.I just did not get around to saying why we do that.
I was up North (northern WI ) a few weeks ago to service a small tractor.When I pulled off one of those plastic covers all I saw was what looked like mild dew.It was gray in color so I wiped down the whole tractor and made sure I had a film of oil all over it. Any thing covered has too breath.Also the mice like to eat all rubber.and moth balls solve that problem. WA9FWT Phil

 

[detdrbuzzard]

i usually spray lemon pledge on my bikes as another moisture barrier

 

[budoka]

Right you are detdr! Lemon pledge is like the aspirin of the wax world, no-one knows how many things it's good for. It even takes the spider-web scratches out of the windscreen. Redfox I realise the trouble lamp was for heat, just not sure if it will put out enough heat to keep the humity at bay. We used to use 100w light bulbs under the crawl space of mobile homes (trailers) to help keep it warm behind the skirting. It helped, but running a duct from the furnace worked better. We also had screened vents on opposite corners of the unit. No humity or condensation issues even at -40.

 

[detdrbuzzard]

wait till he gets the electric bill from running a light 24/7 for the next three to six months, pledge is much cheaper spray down the whole bike front to back and top to bottom. it will wash off easy come spring with just soap and water

 

[Poncho Ramrod]

Hi from Newfoundland, Redfox. I've heard of the light bulb trick before but it was used in a room beneath a home that never got below 10 degrees celcius but it worked. I'm not sure about an uninsulated garage. As for the lemon pledge, I swear by it. I clean my bike with it all the time and a can fits on the bike easy for cleaning on a rode trip. You might smell like a lemon after using it in a small garage, but hey, could smell worse. Lyndon

 

[Redfox]

My brother has been using pledge for years on his Harley's and like you guys he swears by it. I went over to see the fellow with the lightbulb inside his styrofoam shelter in his shed but he was not home so I could not ask him questions. Around here nobody locks anything so I was able to go in and take a peek. He had styrofoam on all sides and the top and bottom. It was around 5 degrees when I was in and although the shed was cold, when I put my hand on the shelter it certainly did not feel cold like his walls. When I was growing up we often put a lightbulb in the well to stop it from freezing so I am thinking that it just might work but I will still get out the pledge. Thanks guys.