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I covered my bike and put a Damp-Rid container under the cover with it, so far its got about a cup of water in the bottom so I know its working and the bike is staying clean and dry.
I wonder ... I never tried it myself but...wouldn't one of those micro fibre sheets work for moisture control. I know they can suck up water like crazy .... They come in large sheets, and if you laid one down under the bike, would it wick water and moisture away?
I've had a 40W light bulb under mine so far this winter with a bed sheet covering the bike. It seems to work pretty good, but the bike still gets a light haze of moisture on it sometimes. Even though the sheet is so porous you can see through it, I think it was trapping some moisture so I took it off for now and the bike is dryer. I just upped the bulb to a 100W so we'll see how that does. My garage has a pressure-treated plywood floor with vapor barrier insulation under that and 2x6 pressure-treated joists under that and pressure-treated 4x4's under that.
I haven't tried a fan yet, but it sounds like a good idea. The only way to keep the bike totally dry may be with a heated garage or one of those bike bubbles, but I'll keep trying. In any case it's way better than my first two bikes (Hondas) had it. They sat outside all winter because there was just no other option at that time.
If it were up to me the bike would be in the living room.
Here in South Louisiana we have humidity like you would not believe. I keep my bike in a large metal building on a old piece of carpet covered with a king size bed sheet with a cheap three speed fan blowing under the sheet. Have done it for years and it works great.
When I bought my first sporty the dealer told me something that really worked but
seems like no one else does this?? I did for a few years while I cared, but now I don't
because it is messy and I change every thing around too quickly to worry about rust
any way....
Anywho the dealer here said the best thing to do in a cold storage is to use no cover at
all and spray every inch of the bike except leather and rubber with WD-40. It keeps the
condensation off the metal parts great.. it's easy to clean off the bike in the spring...
but it does leave a mess on the floor because it drips.
I have some thoughts on this which agree with some of the comments and disagree with others.
First off, you have to eliminate the conditions that cause condensation, which is cold metal coming into contact with warm humid air. This most often happens in the spring when there can be cold spells followed by rapidly rising temps. and rains with high humidity the next day. Thats the condition much of the counrty is seeing now.
If you used a good airtight cover with dry air in it, you wouldn't have a problem. Most any cover will do to keep the dust off, but none of them I know of are airtight enough to keep the humid air out. I think the easiest way is to hang a 60W light bulb up under the cover, any cover, say from the handle bar on the kickstand side, so it doesn't touch anything when covered. I think you'll find this will keep the covered bike warm enough under the cover to prevent the condensation. The more completely covered the bike is the better to keep the heat in. A fan here will only blow the heat out and humidiry in.
A fan on the bike will help if there is no cover or heat used. The fan will be better than nothing.
I've had a 40W light bulb under mine so far this winter with a bed sheet covering the bike. It seems to work pretty good, but the bike still gets a light haze of moisture on it sometimes. Even though the sheet is so porous you can see through it, I think it was trapping some moisture so I took it off for now and the bike is dryer. I just upped the bulb to a 100W so we'll see how that does. My garage has a pressure-treated plywood floor with vapor barrier insulation under that and 2x6 pressure-treated joists under that and pressure-treated 4x4's under that.
I haven't tried a fan yet, but it sounds like a good idea. The only way to keep the bike totally dry may be with a heated garage or one of those bike bubbles, but I'll keep trying. In any case it's way better than my first two bikes (Hondas) had it. They sat outside all winter because there was just no other option at that time.
If it were up to me the bike would be in the living room.
I had planned on the living room myself. My son, his wife, and my grand son moved in. So, I bought a metal sided building with a plywood floor(14X16) and it sits on concrete blocks. I will get a little haze of moisture on the bike when I start it up, but when I first pull the cover off of the bike it is dry.
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