Somehow the movie 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' comes to mind.

 

Move out of the city, and ride when you want to
Buy a house for yourself, instead of the guy that owns the garage. Maybe your boss owns the garage and insists on keeping the office where it is so you must use his garage...[:-][8D]

So glad I own a house, and work where I choose to.

 

chiabate

thats what i figured - that they would be and would remain slippery. it's just that i can get a discount for parking there, associated with the school. millenium would be more expensive. i work downtown so i have a metra monthly. was trying not to spend to much. i could get to class for nothing (using monthly and student pass on cta) as opposed to 20-25 for parking. guess i will just have to get out of class early and get home and ride.

 

Parking Garage,,, ohhh Noo!!
every movie I watch,someone gets murdered or raped there,,, dont do it!!!!

 

hey biz44

i hate those things in cars. having to go down 3 levels without stopping is just a pain. not sure how good i would do to stay away from the oil slick with 3 levels. and then if you did tip, what a royal pain getting the bike back up. one story down i could do it. and there is no parking on the bottom level so i would have to go up at least one meaning down at leat one. you have to go up one helix ramp (didn't know that was what they were called) would be kinda okay, but no guarantee on that.

i was just wondering who out there had used garages with those ramps and how it was.

but thinking it just ain't worth it for the ride time seeing as i could get downtown for free (have monthly train pass and free bus pass) so riding on the congress or the stevenson and then that parking garage or a more expensive one.

and you can never have enough practice or confidence

 

my advice... roll the poochie and make it bark at every turn before disengaging clutch and letting it rip up the next ramp.

and buy a cheap ricer cover. dirty it up a bit.

 

I work part-time for a large theme park in Orlando that has the largest parking garage in the south-east. I ride my SG everytime I work there but I keep it chained up to one of the large concrete pillars that hold up the upper levels. Carrying that chain used to be a pain in the butt but now that I've got the bagger, I take it everywhere! I know a really determined thief can eventually steal anything but I figure if he wants it bad enough to go through all that rather than move on to an easier target, he probably wants it more than I do. In that case, I have really great insurance.

---Chris

 

Parking garages can be fun if you have loud pipes. Sets off car alarms.

 

I park my bike every day in such a structure, where we own two garage boxes. It's on the last (bottom) level.
The ramp is usually of creased concrete, with very high grip. The centerline of mine is smooth, I just avoid that. Each level's floor is painted concrete, though, and can be very slippery, especially when it rains. Oil is not much of a problem, as the floor gets regularly swiped and washed. There's 24/7 video surveillance and a custodian / janitor.
Security is pretty good.
As far as it comes to bikes, just warm up your engine before going up the ramp. The load on the engine will be higher than while just riding along a flat road, so the manual's recommendation of just warming up your bike while riding (for EFI models) doesn't really apply there.
Also, be cautious when getting to each level: slow down and watch for other vehicles getting in/out of the structure. I witnessed an accident happening exactly this way, between two cars. Nobody was injuried, but with a motorcycle, even at the reduced speed you keep in there, the consequences could be dire.
Negotiating the gate could also be tricky. My place has a proximity tag reader at the bottom of the exit ramp, and a gate at the top. You ride/drive near the reader's antenna and a green light shows you're ok to go. Be sure, that you got your exit open, as backpedalling to the bottom of the curving ramp to re-read the tag may be tricky.
Be extra careful when getting in/out with another vehicle. I just prefer to let them go and then go down the ramp by myself. Too many idiots that stop abruptly on the ramp because they fear they are about to hit the inner or outer wall, or that turn into a level without signalling. Doing an emergency brake going down a steep curved ramp is a good recipe for a dropped bike.
This said, if it has surveillance, it's actually a good place to keep your bike. It's nothing extraordinary, you just got to understand it and stay aware of some little peculiarities.