bike cover and lock

[John0]

i'm going to be heading back to clemson in about a week or so, where i dont have a shed or basement to park in, only curbside.  ever since i got the bike at the beginning of the summer, ive been wanting to get a cover.  but what i want is to be able to cover it and then when i go to ride it be able to stuff the cover under the seat so that i dont have to run it back to my dorm room b4 going riding.  where ill be parking it gets sun all day, no shade at all.  so what are my options? 

also, being its curbside parking, what kind of locks are available? get a cable and run it through front and rear wheels?  there is nothing physical really to lock it to (light poles or anything)

thanks,

john0

[DoD#i]

I don't think any covers will fit under the seat - but I could be wrong. Bungee-net on the rear seat might work.

As a supplementary lock, get a disc lock - but don't forget about it being on there. 

You should also have a really basic "keeps the honest people honest" padlock on the cover (most have two grommets under the middle of the bike you can lock together). Obviously, the cover can be cut off - it's just fabric, so  a cheap lock is fine.

But: the serious thieves will just pick the whole thing up and put it in a truck. And they'd cut off (or break) any lock to a solid object if you had a solid object to lock it to, so fast you'd hardly notice.

[fred]

Find some other guy with a way nicer bike and park next to him. You don't have to be theft proof, you just have to be a little harder to steal and a little less desirable than the bike next to yours....

[scottpA_GS]

Yea, a cover will not fit under the seat. You would need to get a tank bag or something to put it in. I got a Nelson Rigg cover and its great! The last cover I got from JC Whitney lasted abobut 2 years and faded and started to fall appart. this one is about 2 now and is still in good shape 

[06GSF]

...

also, being its curbside parking, what kind of locks are available? get a cable and run it through front and rear wheels?  there is nothing physical really to lock it to (light poles or anything)

My suggestion... Transfer from Clemson to USC...   

[John0]

"Find some other guy with a way nicer bike and park next to him. You don't have to be theft proof, you just have to be a little harder to steal and a little less desirable than the bike next to yours...."

there is an awesome ducati that regularly parks along that curb. 

"I got a Nelson Rigg cover and its great!"

how much should i be looking to spend on a cover?

"My suggestion... Transfer from Clemson to USC..."   

but Clemson > USC*10  (see football record)

[tripleb]

you can get a cover for $10-$15 I think.  Actually I can sell you mine for cheap since I have a garage now.  Only used it for about 3 months.

Never used a lock, but I like the find a nicer bike idea.

[medevac]

I just got this lock in red for mine, it works great:

http://www.bikebandit.com/product/6381?WT.mc_id=681409

Plus it's ridiculously cheap since it's on close out.  You can clip it to the grab rail or whatever when riding.  As far as a cover you can go three routes depending on how cheap you want to go:

really cheap is a PVC cover, which I would not recommend for two reasons.  One is that it will not breathe, the second is that you must wait for your bike to cool otherwise you will end up with a custom composite PVC-metal exhaust.  On the other hand, if you are not going to keep it on the bike, then walking back to the dorm to get it at night will give you some cool-down time.

The second option is a "water resistant" which is what I have now.  If it sprinkles I'm good but heavy rain and it's just as wet as if it hadn't been covered.  Benefit is that it does breathe.

The best option is a bit more pricey but get one that is waterproof yet breathes and has some vents in it.  These usually but not always have a heat resistant lower half of the cover although I would let mine cool some anyway.  Also these more expensive ones usually come with a cord and small lock.

I also park mine outside all the time but I'm lucky that there are 3 really nice bikes in the same complex other than mine, and I double park it in front of my truck with a chain to the bumper of the truck.  So you would REALLY have to want a 1995 500 cc Suzuki to go to all the trouble get mine.  The thing about thieves is that most of them are lazy and not exaclty Lex Luther material....so if you make it harder than the next bike they'll take the easier option.

[John0]

pm to tripleb