On my Kennington pitch I got talking to a biker who kept his Beemer outside and wanted to get a new cover…
Thought he could get away with a £15 Ebay special …Nooooooooooo!
I know most of you old hands know this but as a bit of advice ….You get what you pay for!
You need to see at least two things on an outside bike cover…
Vent Flaps - Otherwise your cover will balloon up like Katie Price’s boobs an a windy day - then deflate then balloon then deflate. Every time te material is rubbing against the pointy bits on your bike and slowly splitting the material - after a few nights of that and it will look like Edward Scissorhands has been juggling with it - shredded!
Strong rubberised PVC material (at least on the top half) Cheap nylon covers degrade in sunlight and start to split very quickly ( sometimes you don’t notice and the rain finds it’s way in )
After a few mistakes I settled on the Oxford Rainex which is 2/3rds PVC and 1/3rd nylon for the lower bit - a good compromise between price and performance = I also have a Motex one that is canvas / rubber , expensive but it is 5 years old with no problems.
The cheap anorak material ones also melt easilly - I have to leave the bike to cool for a bit before using my cheapy Hein Gericke one, which means I rarely bothered with it.
My thicker oxford one (I think it’s a rainex) has a heat resistant panel round the exhaust so i can get straight off the bike, cover it and go inside.
Er /// I only saw one bad review and that was a guy blaming the vents on the Rainex from not stopping his bike from blowing over ! Er… the vents prevent the cover from ballooning upwards but no cover can stop lateral force from blowing a bike over - unless it had big holes in the side!
Didn’t read ALL of the reviews but they seemed positive in the majority… I don’t work for Oxford but I have had it a year with no problems…
I also have a cheapo from HG but I only use that the rare times I go to Cheltenham…
Rainex has been two years of constant rain + snow and anything else until I moved to Epsom wher eI had a garage… Only problem was that once I put it on before my underseat exhausts had cooled down and they did burn a whole. But generally very very good
I used a Stormex, excellent cover and durable. Lock it down though or a tram will have it to kip in. Seriously. Plus locking it down is good for security as it’s a total ball ache to remove quickly even if you have the keys.
I’m just asking out of curiosity, as I’ve done a bit of research before buying a cover and it seems that 90% of covers are not fully waterproof and the rest 10% either are heavy as hell or the price is too big.
I have a JDC cover, which is supposed to be waterproof, but it is not. But I got it for bargain price, so can’t blame.
It has two vents positioned at the uppermost part where the mirrors protrude. There’s an elasticated cord to secure the two sides underneath the bike, the cord was a tad short but extending it with an old boot lace has worked out fine. It’s been out in all weathers for the last four months and so far so good it’s done what it does and is showing no signs of deterioration. Yes it was proper cheap so expect it to be on the flimsy side when compared to the more expensive covers but it keeps the Bonne’ dry which is it’s sole purpose in life. I only got it for temporary use between house moves but its proving to be a decent cover and the bottom line for me is at £10 a time I’m not going to worry if I have to replace it after a years service of if some scrote takes a fancy to it.
Three sizes available inter webbey ebay wotsit here The large 215cm long by 155 cm high by 44 cm base fits the Bonne’ like it was made to measure.
Ive an Oxford Rainex too and have no complaints. Never had a problem with the hot exhaust and the bike always seems fairly dry, even after heavy downpours. The silver bit at the bottom soaks up water but then I roll it up into a sausage and leave it outside the house on the floor (out of sight). The underside of the rubber part has always remained dry and clean though (which covers all but the engine)
I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Oxford as I’ve found some of their stuff to be rubbish. (Gloves leaked, tankbag zip broke etc) but the cover has lasted me 4 years and still as good as the day I bought it.
I have an R&G cover it doesnt leak as such but you do get some condensation on the bike. I have had for 4 years and apart from fading it is as good as new.
I’ve got the oxford Stormex and I can’t say I’m hugely umpressed. The Rainex seems to be much better. It barely fits over my VFR and the chassis is often damp which sucks. That said, it works better than the cheaper versions I’ve had
I have some cheap cover from Dr.Bike and I got it from J&S maybe about 3 months ago. Been told it is waterproof but after only a few weeks when it is raining it is sticking to the bike like a wet shirt to the boobies and bike is wet when I take it out. It has no vents too and few times I found it laying on the ground next to the bike even that the size is M and fits bike perfect, it would propably go away but it was held by a footpeg or something like this. I have fitted a velcro straps and secure it now through a back wheel and it stays on the bike. Still, bike is wet after rainy day so as soon as I’ll have some spare money I am going to spend a bit more and get something proper. Oxford Rainex got a good reviews here so I’ll propably go for it.
