Triumphrat

mrrad · 09-23-2007

Ive been on the verge of buying a new bonnie or speedmaster but dont have a garage just a carpark (parking lot) right outside my window . I can cable lock"almax" the frame to a concrete post and cover the bike with something like the oxford rainex. I just cant get my head around buying a new bike and leaving it outdoors in the English weather can some of you guys give me some encouragement or advice with my dilemma , anyone in the uk maybe ? Thanks Lenny.........

EnglishWombat · 09-23-2007

Ok.... I'm on my second America and I don't have a garage or even a driveway.
The 06 is now used every day, the 03 was till it crashed. That's now at my parents housde and is in a garage.
It takes a bit more care in keeping it clean but is fine. I live in notthebestbutnottheworstpartoftown but had the Triumph Alarm fitted, and for the first 2 months had a chain round the lamppost that's next to it... now it's just left on the alarm.

It sounds like you really want one or the other, and just want reassuring that it'll be fine.

It will.

Get one.

CAPTDON · 09-23-2007

ou can do it but will be chasin rust & corrosion a lot. Do a weelyy gig & should be ok Use a cover!!vented. Watck the chrome on these bikes- it isnt hte best!!

Steve7527 · 09-23-2007

My bikes have always been kept outside under a cover but I'm yet to find out how well the Triumph will fair compared to my previously Japanese stuff. The point I guess is do you go without because you haven't got a garage or do you get it anyway. I had to get it anyway.

Must warn you though that my bike isn't a month old, been rained on slightly once and there's rust at the point where the front peg spring meets it's mount! Took 8 years for the Yamaha to do that and I abused it terribly (please forgive me TDM)

mrrad · 09-23-2007

Thanks guys for the encouragement , Wombat you really must like the America to get another one ! Steve, this is what I am thinking about the rust, I just spoke to a guy who had a Suzuki and rode it in all weather and I didnt see a spot of rust on it, to change the subject slightly I read a review and some dude was complaing about the engine cutting out in the rain with his speedmaster, are these bikes ok in the rain ?? Thanks alot Lenny

EnglishWombat · 09-23-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrrad

Thanks guys for the encouragement , Wombat you really must like the America to get another one ! Steve, this is what I am thinking about the rust, I just spoke to a guy who had a Suzuki and rode it in all weather and I didnt see a spot of rust on it, to change the subject slightly I read a review and some dude was complaing about the engine cutting out in the rain with his speedmaster, are these bikes ok in the rain ?? Thanks alot Lenny

As I said I ride mine every day, and never had it cut out. Rain or otherwise. I know of people who don't ride them in the rain, but I do....

I meant to include get a cover but forgot.... ne of those days...

And I loved the first America that much that when I got enough money to replace it, what else was I gonna get?? there was a potential that I couldn't get her back on the road, so I got another one, just in case....

koifarm · 09-23-2007

Perhaps you can find garage space nearby somewhere...at the least maybe you could rent one of those small self-storage units, put in a nice workbench, a lift, a radio, an easy chair and tv along with a little dorm fridgy....could be heaven....a little snug get-a-way....
bill

uzidzit · 09-23-2007

When i had no garage I kept three bikes in my house one in the kitchen and two in the living room!

When i lived in a loft apt in collage (rochester ny) on the forth floor we took the bikes up in the elevator, to the loft. (suzuki G550h)

koifarm · 09-23-2007

Hey uzidzit....Funny you should mention that...it brought back the memories of winters in Chicago and no garage....my roomie and I just dragged our bikes, a sportster and a bonneville, into the living room of our one bedroom apartment for the winter...they became furniture.....but hey, it worked....every now and then when a bottle of southern comfort made it's way into the front room and somehow became empty, we would open up the windows and fire the suckers up.....just to keep em fresh, mind ya....nothing like the smell of carbon monoxide to add to a hangover....lol...
Bill

spiki-spikester · 09-23-2007

I kept my T100 outside for nearly two years & use it in all weathers - not a single problem.

The main thing is to keep it under a cover & to have an alarm so you can hear if it is knocked or anyone tries to move it. A good cover is one of the best security devices you can get. Get one with a strap to stop it blowing off, or use a tie-down over a normal cover. I lost two Oxford Rainex covers to windy days before I sussed that out ! Luckily they are cheap on eBay

If you take care of the chrome there will be no problems. A session to clean the bike and wipe over on the chrome with a chrome polisher every month or so is a nice way to unwind for a couple of hours and get to know the bike better at the same time.

As for rust, it will happen. As part of the battle I'm about to try out ACF-50 to prevent corrosion, it is supposed to stop corrosion forming on aircraft and be safe for bikes.

Just go for it - and insure it fully comp, just in case