What winter cover to keep my beauty warm at night ?

[Electrolyse]

Hello there ,

As you may(be) know I have a s10 here in Switzerland, the temperature at night could go down to -25°F here in winter at night, for some reason I cannot put my bike in my garage -- (it is an electronic one for the building but the idiot who made it forget to think about bikers, so when you enter it inside, the sensor does not "see" you as a vehicle so the doors won't close) -- so I'm looking for a nice winter cover for my S10, something made for S10 is possible, I dont need the usual Yamaha grafittis like" GOOOOOOOOOOOOO ROSSSI 46 GOO!! a mono color will be fine.

I just need something that fit the beast to protect it from ice, snow, rain and wind etc for the next 3-4 month (regarding that should I disconnect the battery ?!)

As usual, thank you for your help.

Stef-

 

[StefanOnHisS10]

This is always a hard one because the waterproof covers also make it impossible to ventilate when moisture is starting to condensate on the bike. Which makes it rust. Most of the dealerships in the Netherlands offer the possibility to put your bike at their place (warm/dry) for a small fee. Is that an option in Switzerland?

 

[Electrolyse]

This is always a hard one because the waterproof covers also make it impossible to ventilate when moisture is starting to condensate on the bike. Which makes it rust. Most of the dealerships in the Netherlands offer the possibility to put your bike at their place (warm/dry) for a small fee. Is that an option in Switzerland?

I don't know if that possible, probably, but I would like the bike to be near me when I need it, and IF I don't use it for a month cover it to avoid ice at minimum.

 

[Madhatter]

well Texas ain't Switzerland , but my bike lives (a 2019) outside 24/7 . if I'm riding it a lot and the weather is nice , I do not cover it at all . if the weather says rain I use a heavy duty water proof cover my wife got me from cycle gear . a lot of the mornings I find my bike (when not covered) wet with heavy dew , so I wipe it down with a towel , and that some what cuts down on the need to wash it .... on my 2012 which also lived its life outside , the water or rain did not seem to harm the bike but the plastics had sun damage like color fade . we get lots of sun and heat . if my bike is wet I never cover it till its completely dry (don't want to trap moisture under the cover.) Yamaha built a pretty wether resistant motorcycle and with some common sense measures it does quite well. cold weather and today as an example its 45 for a high. Christmas Day the forecast is for 80 degrees ( Fahrenheit ) so we never have long periods were riding is shut down by the cold. you might have a blast were a week is bad but then it warms and off you go on a ride. Merry Christmas .

 

[Electrolyse]

Merry Christmas as well.

 

[Cycledude]

If it’s going to be parked for 3-4 month I would either disconnect the battery or plug it into some sort of battery maintainer , otherwise your battery will most likely go dead .

 

[Sierra1]

I assume that you also have a car that you put in the garage? Is it possible to put the bike in first, and then the car? That way the door would shut. Otherwise, I'd go with Madhatter's suggestion. And as far as the battery goes, putting a Battery Tender style devise on it where it's parked would be the best/easiest. If that's not possible, I'd remove it, bring it inside, and put it on a tender.

 

[Electrolyse]

I assume that you also have a car that you put in the garage? Is it possible to put the bike in first, and then the car? That way the door would shut. Otherwise, I'd go with Madhatter's suggestion. And as far as the battery goes, putting a Battery Tender style devise on it where it's parked would be the best/easiest. If that's not possible, I'd remove it, bring it inside, and put it on a tender.

it is doable but VERY annoying. Ill need someone to bring my car out if I need the bike, na I wont do that.
I will call the elevator guy and ask who is the genius who made this thing and make it usable for bike ... anyway it will takes some time.

 

[Sierra1]

Yes, for daily use that wouldn't be an option. But if you know the bike is going to parked for long period(s) of time, it might be worth the extra effort to keep her out of the weather.

 

[Checkswrecks]

This is always a hard one because the waterproof covers also make it impossible to ventilate when moisture is starting to condensate on the bike. Which makes it rust. Most of the dealerships in the Netherlands offer the possibility to put your bike at their place (warm/dry) for a small fee. Is that an option in Switzerland?

This is exactly the problem with most covers, especially the cheap ones that are essentially plastic bags. Although not intuitive, you want a cover to either breath or be loose enough to allow some air flow.

 

[Madhatter]

if you do leave it outside watch those fork tubes , any dirt will attract moisture and pitting of your tubes may occur .... my cover or covers never quite cover the low.

 

[Checkswrecks]

if you do leave it outside watch those fork tubes , any dirt will attract moisture and pitting of your tubes may occur .... my cover or covers never quite cover the low.

I'd suggest a different route. Spray or wipe potentially points that will potentially rust with a corrosion preventive such as ACF-50, BoeShield T9, or CRC.

Not a penetrant like WD-40 and not a lubricant. Those have different purposes.

 

[StefanOnHisS10]

Good point about the ACF-50. Good stuff!

 

[Electrolyse]

I have finally bought a ventilated HONDA stuff in the HONDA dealer near me, we dont have YAM here .. yet !
I will get it in a week and try that out, I will get a ACF-50 can as well thanks for the tip

 

[Don in Lodi]

Once the sub freezing weather gets there, doesn't it stick around for weeks and weeks? Once it freezes out the battery should be stored indoors above freezing. With the battery out of the bike it will take some time and tools to reinstall. Kind of defeats the perceived need to have the bike ready to go at the spur of the moment in sub freezing temps.

 

[Electrolyse]

Once the sub freezing weather gets there, doesn't it stick around for weeks and weeks? Once it freezes out the battery should be stored indoors above freezing. With the battery out of the bike it will take some time and tools to reinstall. Kind of defeats the perceived need to have the bike ready to go at the spur of the moment in sub freezing temps.

To be honest I come from south of France when winter means 30°F, we see ice/snow once every 30 years there, so I almost have no experience about that.
I was thinking about turning on engine 5mn every week to fulfill battery, but I don't even know if that will be enough ..

 

[StefanOnHisS10]

First: running the engine 5 min without riding is considered a bad thing in my book. Hooking up a battery tender is a better idea.
Second: south of France?? We moderators can see totally different… IP Adresses are left on every website you visit. So an explanation?

 

[Electrolyse]

First: running the engine 5 min without riding is considered a bad thing in my book. Hooking up a battery tender is a better idea.
Second: south of France?? We moderators can see totally different… IP Adresses are left on every website you visit. So an explanation?

I wrote : "To be honest I come from south of France" doesn't mean I actually live there. << I wanted to say COMING FROM, I have no experience in winter situation because I moved here in Switzerland.
Anyway my English isn't that great yet, so ..

 

[StefanOnHisS10]

Ow haha! No problem, English isn’t my first language either (not even second). Thanks for the explanation!

 

[Electrolyse]

Ow haha! No problem, English isn’t my first language either (not even second). Thanks for the explanation!

thanks Boss