Learn how to protect your motorcycle from theft or weather conditions, while enjoying the convenience of storing it outside.
If you own a motorcycle, you’ll be happy to know that it is okay to keep your motorcycle outside.
However, you will need to take some precautions to help protect it from any damage.
Keeping your motorcycle outside may be a convenient storage solution, but there are a few things you’ll want to consider before making the decision to store it in this way.
What Should I Consider When Storing My Motorcycle Outside?
There are a few common factors that can contribute to the damage or wear of your motorcycle when keeping it outside.
These common occurrences can typically be prevented as long as you are conscious of them, so before you begin storing your motorcycle outside, make sure to consider and prepare for these potential threats.
1. Weather Conditions
Weather conditions will vary depending on your location, however, each type of climate has its ability to cause different types of damage to your motorcycle.
Rain and snow are usually thought of first because the water and ice can rust or corrode the metal materials.
While it is okay to occasionally ride your motorcycle in these elements, overexposure to them from storing your motorcycle outside is not recommended. What Damage could do rain to your motorcycle?
On the contrary, overexposure from the direct sun can also be damaging to your motorcycle. Heat and direct sunlight over time will alter the colors and cause any leather materials to crack or dry out.
2. Bugs and Debris
Bugs, dirt, and debris are everywhere, so if you store your bike outside you can expect to see at least one of these on or around your motorcycle.
If you don’t ride your motorcycle very often you may see spiders creating webs on the outside or inside any open materials like the exhaust pipe.
Dust and dirt build-up is also a very common occurrence.
3. Theft and Vandalism
While no one wants to think about their motorcycle being stolen or damaged by another person, it can happen to anyone, especially if you are leaving your motorcycle outside.
Even if you live in a safe or less populated location, this is still something that you will always want to prepare for.
Protect Your Bike From The Environment
Although you can’t do anything to prevent harsh weather conditions, you can prevent those conditions from causing any damage to your motorcycle.
A few ways to do this is by storing your motorcycle underneath a structure, like a carport or shed, or purchasing a weather-resistant cover.
Whether you are trying to protect your motorcycle from the sun, snow, or rain, it is always best to keep these elements from coming in direct contact with your motorcycle.
If you have a shed or carport to store your bike under, this is a good start.
Even if you do have a structure to store your bike under, you still may want to consider protecting it with an extra cover.
There are many covers to choose from and you will want to do proper research to decide what materials are best for the weather in your environment.
Also, make sure to consider how long your motorcycle will be left outside.
The longer you store your motorcycle outside, the more you will want a cover with heavy-duty materials that are made to last.
Lock Your Motorcycle when Stored Outside
To people who are looking to steal a vehicle, they may think a motorcycle is easier to steal than a car, so make sure you don’t let it be.
The best way to prevent your motorcycle from theft or vandalism is to keep it in your sight and keep it locked.
There are multiple ways to lock your motorcycle from locking the steering to purchasing additional u-locks.
While one lock may seem like enough, it’s always better to be safe than sorry by having multiple locks on your motorcycle.
If you are able to, you should always lock your bike to something heavy that would be hard for a thief to move or take apart.
Overall, for every concern regarding storing your motorcycle outside, there is a solution.
As long as you consider the above concerns and take proper precautions to prevent them, your motorcycle should be completely safe to store outside.
