Hi guys,
I am wondering if anybody knows how to cure my bikes condensation fault, whilst its parked up over winter?
Today to my horror, i uncovered my bike to warn it up, and it was soaking wet and going rusty.
Its only been parked up for about 3 months now, and is dry stored in my garage?
I pressume that i'm not going to cure the damp in the air, but i need prevent all my hard work going rusty.
Is there something i could spray all over it, that would be easy to remove when i use it again.
I did already spray it WD40, but it didn't seem to work?
I thought about Wax Oil, but its horrible to remove.
See i've spend nearly £2,000 restoring this bike, and the thought of all the hard to reach places going rusty worries me.
I have even thought about parking in the house, but i can't get in in.
"Stuff the wife"
Thanks,
Dave.

Dave, what have you got the bike covered with. If it's plastic sheeting, it might not let the bike breath. A canvas type cover might be better..

Yeh, it probably just wants a bit of air round it. I'd have thought WD would do the job if it's not wrapped up too tightly.


And just warming it up occasionally isn't a good idea. If it's going to be stood for a long time give it an oil change and then leave it alone. Old oil contains acids that can wreck bearings over time. It's a good idea to drain the carbs too, just run it with the tap off till it stops, then fill the tank to the brim so there's no air gap in it.

vac bags

is probably the best bet if you dont need to get it out in a hurry (ie the first time the weather looks halfway reasonable - you may only have an hours riding time!)

Otherwise (if you can brace yourself) the local HD dealership sells some good spray on stuff - I cant remember the name at the moment but it keeps the Raptor and the Harley paint and chrome in good condition even being ridden right through the winter. But you can probably get it elsewhere

Vaseline ? this is the one and only time you will hear me recomend it, if anyone asks it wasnt my idea. But it has no castenegenic and washes of with gunk.

May as well put my five eggs in......

If the bike is in a garage then I reckon it's better covered loosely with an old blanket than a bike cover unless you're going to go all the way and put it in a vac bag like Shebee said.

If you insist on putting the bike cover on, put some old newspapers on the seat first, put a brick or something on them so they don't fall off. They will act like blotting paper and absorb the moisture, but you need to change them regularly - I can't tell you how often, you have to find out by trial and error cos it depends how damp your garage is.

The other thing I have in my garage (well most years I do, never got around to it this year cos of my leg) is a couple of , well I can't remember what they are called but they are special containers that you fill with water-absorbing crystals, the water collects in a reservoir below the crystals. I have 2 in a standard size garage and they cope fairly well. Again, you have to check them regularly cos the crystals become exhausted and need replacing after a while. You can buy them in any hardware shop.

If you mean Silica gel crystals, the sort of thing you get in little bags in new cameras etc., you can dry them out and re-use them.

The old type Silica Gel was blue, and turned pink as it absorbed moisture. Pop it in the oven for a couple of hours at about 150 deg. and it turns blue again.

However, we've recently been stopped using it at work as there was some concern over the dust given off it you're handling it a lot. We use barrels of the stuff for transformer breathers. The stuff we use now starts off yellow and turns green as it get wet.

No these are not silica gel. The crystals (they're more like flakes of something) go in a perforated container on top of an empty container; as they do their stuff the crystals disappear and water is collected in the container, when the crystals have all gone the container is full of the water it's collected from the air, then you start again.

I had a look on the B&Q site but couldn't find them, so maybe I should have said 'any small hardware store' - I get mine from the little parade of shops round the corner..... B&Q just offered me expensive electric dehumidifiers.

This is just a guess on this year's experiences. We re carpeted a room in our house and I threw the old carpet on MY side of the garage floor I also used a canvas cover and take it off the bike now and again. Opening the garage door a couple of times a week lets in fresh air also. The Guzzi and Honda have a lot of steel on them and I havent even bothered to coat them in any oil and there isnt any sign of rust......well the Honda had some to begin with, but it hasnt gotten any worse. Our humidity is fairly high as well and we're about 20 miles from the Pacific Ocean.

Old bed sheets work well too. I can sometimes feel the dampness that they have soaked up.

That, as they say, is way, way tooooooo much information my waterside friend

Hadn't realized what that looked like in print