"Water-proofing" the bike

[mattian]

Winters coming. I love it, riding in the freezing rain and gearing up with my layers of thermals underneath. When else do you ever have an excuse to wear a balaclava?????......

anyways, my bike is my commuter bike, my only form of transport. I have to park it on the side of the road with everyone else and my major concern is when it rains on my bike all day while its stationary. I know that water in the electrics and pooling in the nooks and crannies is not good. I am wondering if any of you have any tips to keep my bike as corosion/damp free as possible. CRC is a good friend....... any other tips?

cheers.

[p.dath]

You could get a cover if you a really concerned.

[george formby]

CRC or silicon spray on relays, switch gear, connections etc. Tacky as it looks, if I have to leave my bike in the rain all day I put carrier bags over the switch gear on the bars to stop water pooling inside. Make sure your HT leads and battery are in good condition, spray the leads too but don't get carried away. Cold & damp are murder on an old battery. You can smear a skerrick of vaseline on your nuts if your worried about them getting rusty but their is no salt on the roads here so basic maintenance & cleaning will keep on top of things. A bit of plastic over your seat will help to stop the foam inside turning into a bath sponge, nothing worse than riding with a cold, wet seat, it gives you piles. Carry something to clear your lights & visor of road crud. Check & oil your throttle, speedo & clutch cables & make sure the little rubber covers are good. Lack of lube + water will wear them out very quickly. Keep your chain clean & well lubed, riding in the rain turns the grease into soap.
Make sure your tyres, suspension & brakes are up to scratch.

[mattian]

You could get a cover if you a really concerned.

Yeah, I did use a cover for a while but I gave it up. It seemed to keep just as much moisture in as it kept out.

[hmmmnz]

in my eyes a bike is like a dog, they were designed to live out side,
crc/wd40 all the electrical stuff and she'll be sweet as a nut

they were just fine

[CookMySock]

ugh, I couldnt bear to leave my bike out in the rain. I did it once (for a few days) and I had to polish the shiney alloy bits for ages until they were nice again. Ick.

Steve

[hmmmnz]

admittedly i had the whole cooling system freeze solid, and i wrecked the water pump when i turned the bike over,
and these days the bikes live in the garage, but i'd happily leave my bikes in the rain, snow ect

[mulletman]

ugh, I couldnt bear to leave my bike out in the rain. I did it once (for a few days) and I had to polish the shiney alloy bits for ages until they were nice again. Ick.

Steve

Like when your at the Burt Munro rally eh.

[jonbuoy]

Modern bikes are pretty good in that respect, my Z750 Warhorse - lives in the cold and rain 24/7. Electrics are well tucked away and its only fresh water so not very conductive to low voltage DC and not very corrosive either, a spray once every six months does the trick.

[CookMySock]

Like when your at the Burt Munro rally eh.

Did it rain that much at the munro? That would have been a hoot eh.

Steve

[Ragingrob]

On occassion I've gotta park my bike outside overnight, now that the weather's getting shit I think that I'll be grabbing a cover for it and hopefully it'll work well.

[hospitalfood]

small cheap tarp that allows air flow and some bungee cords will do the trick well, but better is finding somewhere to park that is undercover, it is not that hard usually