I don't deserve a Katana

[KentuckyKAT]

I have recently moved into a new place and no longer have a garage. This killed me as we've had a pretty rough winter here in Lexington Ky, watching my Kat go through several snow storms and some heavy winds and cold rains. I've had it under a cover and a tarp over top that, but i fear i may be experiencing some problems when it's time to pull them off. Anyone have any tips on anything i can do to protect it and what i can do once the tarps come off to help repair whatever damage its encountered?

[Wild-Bill]

Park the bike on pavement and make sure you've got airflow up under the tarps. if you can rig the tarps so they don't actually touch the bike, that's ideal. The problems are: 1.) You WILL get some moisture up under the tarps and you want it to be able to evaporate. and 2.) If the tarp is touching the bike then the wind will move it, grinding away at the bike's finish.

For future reference, a good solution for next year might be to see if you can rent a corner of a buddy's garage for the winter. Put a sheet over the bike and plug in a battery tender and you're good to go. Offer your buddy $10 a month or something and it'll make up a little for the loss of his floor space and keep his wife off his back.

[swapdip]

My main ride is a 85 gv1200 and I dont think we have ever had it in a garage in the 6 years I have owned it, I am pretty strict on keeping it covered but yeah like he said moisture gets in there all the time. Ever since we rode it across the country this bike has always been a little ratty cosmetic wise, but it never fails to run like a champ. If you keep your bike tarped against rain and you ride it regularly, there is no reason why the mechanics should suffer as a result, even on a 26 yo bike.

I used to live in London when I was younger, one of the moistest and most miserable cities I have ever ridden a motorcycle in, and it seems like half the population rides over there. Almost nobody uses a tarp in the city, and they run the gamut of old and new bikes, from brand new BMWs to super old Moto Guzzis and everything in between, all gets rained on regularly.

If you find that the rain has had an ill effect, well all you gotta do is clean or replace that part. Water in the tank, change your filler cap gasket. Corroded electricals, change or clean them. Really if you keep up your maintenance then there is no reason why a bike can't weather any storm, just the same as a car. However, generally a tarp is sufficient IMO.

[hardlydangerous]

We built a tiny shelter for my friends bike in an afternoon, it just looks like a big dog house with a slanted roof lol.
my other friends park thier bikes in them plastic or metal garden tool sheds. both cost less then $800
6X7 is large enough
wind blowing a cover on paint will quickly destroy the finish

[Sky]

http://abrisharnois.com/en/products/storage-shelter.php

I bought a little thingy like that before I had a garage .. was able to fit a Katana and a Bandit 1200 in a 5x8 shelter ... takes about 2 hours to put together

[zuma]

And by all means, you deserve a Katana.

[xx2fast4uxx]

Have you looked into this?

http://www.cycleshelter.com/

I've seen them a little cheaper out there too.

[Wild-Bill]

A friend of mine has one of those. Loves it.

[xx2fast4uxx]

A friend of mine has one of those. Loves it.

Does he use it outside? If so, how does it hold up in weather?

[Wild-Bill]

He's been using it outside for about 6 years, the last 4 in New Jersey where we get a lot of wind and ugly weather. The top has a tear (taped shut) and now he has a garage for the bike so it's getting used for the kids' bikes. The frame is still going strong.

[xx2fast4uxx]

Same weather here, I'm in RI. Mine is garaged at parents, was looking into a plastic shed or that. I will probably go with a shed. More protection from weather and other things.

[Wild-Bill]

A shed would be better but it's not really practical if you don't have a yard.

[hardlydangerous]

the plastic wrap sheds will work fine, just go to harbor frieght and grab a heavy duty tap to cover the entire thing. it will last a lot longer then the cheap semi clear plastic they come with.
My 21' portable garage for my boat is basically a steel fram with heavy tarps. It lasted well but have to keep heavy snow off it. 1" of snow is fine but you dont want more of that on there before you shovel it off

[Kattie]

A buddy of mine parks his bike in the house in the winter...In the summer he parks it on the porch with a cover over it...lol...Its an 03 Harley Davidson Road King 100th Anniversary...His father got hit by a squid rider last year on the bike and my friend sold his Harley and his truck to give the money to his dad to fix it back...The bike belonged to his father,His father passed last year and he found the title and his dad had signed it over to him...So needless to say he treats the bike like its one of a kind.

[doblerj14]

i bought one of these to store the bike year round and it works well. Have had as much as 6 inches of snow on it and 60 MPH winds and i have not had a problem with them.

http://www.cycleshell.com/