Hey all,
I am getting ready for my first winter with my RKC and wanted to get your opinion. The previous owner said he put a work light under the bike during the winter to what I presume was to provide some type of heat source.....not entirely sure. I did a search on the site and only saw one other person say they did this to cut down on condensation.

Anybody do this, put a light bulb under the bike?

I plan to put the bike on stacked 4x4s to get the tires off the ground and use a HD cover from previous owner. I'm located in central IL and my garage is attached to my house, but not heated with a painted concrete floor so it can get cold in the midwest winters.

Any advice is most appreciated.

 

i lay a drop light on the ground just about under the pipes. it's just enough heat to drive the moisture away. 100 watt bulb and been doing it for years. i think putting it directly under the bike it's a bit to close to the engine and frame. after all i'm not trying burn it to the ground.

 

We have milder winters in Tennessee, but I've owned Harley's for over 25 years and never put a light under my bike during winter. I do try to keep the gas tank full and on a battery tender.

 

Did 10 winters in MN. No need for a light. My garage was insulated, but not heated (attached to house) and would stay 29 to 40 degrees inside. Never a problem. You will be fine.

 

I think that's just a waste of money. Cold weather doesn't bother anything. And as for condensation, that only happens after a very cold period is followed suddenly by a very mild humid period. That's not very often. Even still it won't hurt anything.

 

My wife parks her car in the garage year round. When she pulls it in on a rainy day the garage becomes very damp as the car dries. I ended up buying a de-humidifier from Home Depot and run it at night when it's rainy out. That solved my problem, the bikes, tools and posters stay nice and dry. I don't worry about temperature.

 

We have some cold winters here in Wisconsin. I lay out a old piece of carpet underneath the bike to keep moisture down, get the tires off the cement with a few pieces of wood, fill tank to the very top and plug in battery tender. No issues yet

 

That brutal Winter we had a few years ago, I had my bike in an unheated storage unit. I had read on HDF that it was bad to cover your bike, so I didn't use my cover. One weekend it was 30 below, and windy. I went to put my battery tender on, and my whole bike was coated with 1/4" of ice. I had to melt it with a hair dryer, and then cover it. I didn't have any problems with condensation after that. So I would just cover it.

I used some dehumectant the first years, but then I stopped, I didn't notice any difference.

 

Mine froze and cracked into pieces on the floor.

 

Some people also use talcum powder and don't forget the Music CD of the ocean waves...to put the baby to sleep.....