G'day all
Since my trusty S2R is used as a daily commuter, It's sits out the front of my work in the sun all day, and the Sun up here in Northern Australia is very harsh, For example: My Tinted Windscreen that was black, is now purple from sun fade in less than 12 months!
I have been considering getting a bike cover from a supplier, this company makes a cover the only covers the top 1/3 of the bike (So the most fragile parts I suppose, Tank, Cowling, Bikini fairing and plastic trims)
This also means you can pull up, cover the bike while it's still hot and the cover is away from all the hot bits of the bike.
This cover has 4 points around it to pull it down over the bike and they attach to foot pegs and the front brakes with plastic hooks to stop the cover flapping around on windy days.
Now, Is it worth doing this?
I know a lot of painters cringe when you refer to car/bike covers because the damage they can do to paint work because of fine dust getting caught between the cover and the paint, also Moisture getting trapped and so forth.
Is the Cover going to do more harm than good?
Not sure what covers you're looking at, but an alternate might be a Geeza
http://www.gezagear.com/ (http://www.gezagear.com/)
Unless it grows due to photo synthesis, the sun is a KILLER of anthing organic so I'd say yea. I've done a lot of outdoor finish testing and believe me, no finish is sun or outdoor exposure proof. I've been thinking of covering mine here in central US I can only imagine the intensity in the southern hemisphere. Be sure to get a cover that is aluminized to reflect the IR energy. Motorcycles are less prone to finish damage due to chafing from wind than say a big-ol-car because the handle bars and mirrors ted to lift the cover away from the tank, which is about the surface that a cover could damage.
2c
Another thing to note, if you go with a cover it will generally start to wear at the high points where it touches: top edge of the fairing, back ot the tail, etc. Just get some 3M or other clear adhesive protectant film to put over those spots and you can ward off the worst of the damage from the cover.
Scott
Like Ducnial said, there is no really good way to protect the finish entirely, but a cover is definitely a good step. A good coat of wax on the tank works wonders towards protecting the paint too. I haven't waxed mine in a while, and it definitely shows. When I bought the bike I didn't have anywhere to store it other than under a cover (which I routinely forgot to put on) and now I can see a bit of fading in the seat material and a substantial amount of discoloration on the mirrors and the plastic on top of the gauge cluster, and that was after only 4 months. Whatever cover you get, make sure it has a soft lining, at least on the part that's going to be touching your tank most frequently. A good windy day with a harsh plastic cover slapping against your tank can really F up a paint job.
Cover her up man. I would. 8)
Wow, that sounds like some serious photon flux!! The clear coat on several of my CF bits has faded due to UV, but my tinted windscreen has retained its original color. I can't imagine what the sun in your neck of the woods would do to clear coat!!!! :o
Thanks everyone, then a covering I shall go.
Thanks for the link Yuu, that cover looks much better than the cover I was looking at here in Australia, me thinks an order shall be heading off to them in very quick time [thumbsup]