What it says: "Never seen rain"
What it means: "Owner is a pussy"

 

:thumbsup

:nod

 

My bikes are always garaged.

That's when I'm not out riding int he rain, snow, salt, cinders, hail and blistering sun.

The phrase "always garage kept" seems to hold a lot of weight to a potential buyer.

My Dyna was an outside bike. When I bought it, it was left outside (owner didn't have a garage) and it was evident. Cadmium plated parts were rusty and the engine looked really bad.....

 

My Dyna was an outside bike. When I bought it, it was left outside (owner didn't have a garage) and it was evident. Cadmium plated parts were rusty and the engine looked really bad.....

That's what the term means to me.

Riding in the rain is not nearly as hard on the bike as sitting in the elements 24/7 365 days a year. It's not just rain that's hard on the bike...as I've discovered my bike doesn't like sitting in the triple digit sun all day while I'm at work..and reminds me of that fact on the way home every day last month.

Non-garage kept = rusty brackets.

Non-garage kept and low miles = dry rot and rusty brackets.

 

Non-garage kept = rusty brackets.

Non-garage kept and low miles = dry rot and rusty brackets.

That's not strictly true.

My bike lives outside and although I cover it every night it does suffer from the elements. My wife says I've got OCD but the bike gets a THOUROUGH cleaning at least once a week. It looks better than when I bought it 3 years ago.:nod

I do agree that if a bike lives outside and ISN'T looked after then it will be a rust bucket.:thumbsup

I would also say that anyone who allows a Harley to deteriorate like that doesn't deserve to own one!:loco

 

My bike is alway's garaged at night Unless I'm out of town. Who would ride anywhere when it's gonna rain? hahahahahahaha

 

My garage is only 12' and doubles as my 14 year olds bedroom (back of our toy hauler). So, my bike gets covered every night and wiped down once a week. We live in our 5th wheel 11 months out of the year, so none of my vehicles are garage kept, I just take care of them the best I can.

 

I've even seen listings where people put "non-smoking home" in the description. I could understand if you were buying someone's couch or recliner, but a motorcycle?

 

Now that's funny. :laugh

 

Don't know about you but I get more dings by having it in my garage then if I left it outside. This kids are brutal with all their crap in the garage.

 

"Kids" ??? Hell i barely let my wife in my garage....:laugh

 

I scratched my front rim with one of the kid's bikes....odds are if I'd made them move the bike, they would have been more careful, and less pissed off.

 

I Clean mine when It needs It,and always after a rain ride,
I waxed It last year !
I wipe the bugs off after a ride but thats about it.

I better wax It again I guess.

 

I live in England. It pisses down with rain all the time here.:madIf you have even slightly better weather than we have you should be fine!:laugh

Having said that we've had some beautiful days lately and I've been loving the riding! England in the two weeks we call summer is unbeatable!

 

To me, Garage Kept = I try to take care of my stuff.

My daily-driver bikes have all spent 10-15 hours a day sitting outside my places of work 5-days a week, nearly every week of the year in whatever weather happens to be happening. If it's sunny, I put a Geza Gear cover on the thing to help keep UV damage at bay, but that's about it. If its raining, it gets wet. It it hails, I keep my fingers crossed. If it snows or there's freezing rain... shame on me for not leaving work before the roads became unsafe for M/Cs with street tires.

But, my dirty bikes spend their down-time at home in the garage, always have their fluids changed at the proper intervals along with all other required maintenance, and about once a month or when they really look nasty, they get a proper cleaning, a little polishing, and then some Zaino wax.

Again, that's what Garage Kept implies to me.

 

I park in the garage most of the time, my biggest enemy is forgetting the damn alarm code to open the garage. ( I tried writting it down, few to many beers at the watering hole and I can not remeber were I put the paper with the code.)

I at least get the bike under the awning by the dog house off the garage.

Seriously what I ride in weekly would seem to be far worse than leaving the bike outside a night or 3.

 

Sooo , what?

Yer not a real biker if ya take care of yer bike and keep it inside?

My bikes are kept inside , unless they're outside. I don't baby them , but I don't neglect them. I like to keep 'em looking good. I wash them when too dirty , but only do a 'detailing' about once a year. Usually during the winter to kill time in the garage.
If it's nice out , I occasionally leave the one I'm riding outside behind the house overnite so I can get to work a bit earlier the next day. But I don't panic if it/we get caught it the rain. And what happens on a road trip , happens.

Some guys that ride to work actually carry bike covers in their bags and cover it even on a beautiful day so the sun doen't fade anything or birds don't drop a bomb on it. They're so concerned with the resale or trade-in value.

There are many good reasons to keep a bike out of the elements. Corrosion and dry rot of rubber parts like brake lines and tires. Don't forget attempts at theft or vandalism either. Someone here had their bike knocked over at night recently.

I remember a big fuss over a thread about a bike (blue EG)that was obviously left outdoors most of it's life and what a crime that was.

 

I keep mine in when not riding, it does get wet and dirty, had it 2 months now and been caught in the rain a few times and it has been dirtied up, even has 2 lil chips in the front fairing I noticed from highway riding. It does get dirty but it does get washed also, I do not neglect my bike. Why buy it if you are just gonna keep it inside. They do not stay new forever!

 

Garage kept to me = I don't ride much but love to show off my Harley to my friends when they stop over, lol

 

Interesting theory...

Pretty close minded actually.
I ride at least one of my three bikes daily (Shovelhead in inclement weather, Heritage in good weather, and Ironhead whenever the hell I feel like it) and on the weekends I usually clock a couple hundred miles, especially when I go to Dallas. But then every so often it comes time for me to deploy back to this shit hole again and the bike stays in the garage. So yeah, my bikes are garage kept. Not garage ridden.
I thought anyone with half a brain would use deductive reasoning to figure out that when you're riding it, it's obviously not in a garage.

And I'm sure there are people that buy Harleys, keep them outside, ride them very little, and show them off to their friends too.

 

Hmmm...I don't have a garage but my bike is well taken care of. I ride to work every day, and I am lucky enough to have a shady spot under a tree in which to park. But when I go on a recreational ride she sits in the sun or the rain or whatever. I don't stress over it.

She resides under the tree out front when I am home. If it looks like rain, I throw the cover on. Like today- we are on the edge of a tropical storm and it has been pouring all day. When it stops raining I will take off the cover and wipe her down. Once the temps start staying below 100 I plan on building a little lean-to next to the house.

I bought my Harley in mid-May and have put almost 4,000 miles on her since. I dare say she is cleaner now than when I bought her. No brag, just fact. I do all my own wrenching as well. My wife says I am obsessed. :rollin For me, it's all therapeutic.

Think about the folks who live in western Washington. If you don't want to ride in the rain there, you might as well not own a motorcycle. I have lived there on and off since 1975, most recently for four months from November 2010 to March 2011. I saw a lot of bikes on the roads and in parking lots in the drizzly rain. So even if you keep your bike in the garage there, it's going to get rained on regardless.

When I think of the phrase "garage kept," I think about owners who live up north where the weather is severe. Bummer for them 'cause they can only rider for six or seven months out of the year. That phrase doesn't automatically make me think that their bike doesn't get ridden or that they are a poser or a RUB.

Heck, if I had a garage I would use it, for sure, and I wouldn't care what anyone thought about it.

 

Mine is garage kept but I ride it every chance I get! I am just lucky enough to have a garage that isn't for the cage so my bike has a home when it isn't under my ass, come winter I'll be damn happy it's in my heated garage next to the beer fridge.

 

Mine's garage kept but get's ridden and not hidden in all weather. it's got a bit of surface rust & stone chips hear & there but I call them character lines

 

Hate to admit mine in garage/cave every night except on trips. Sat out in rain storm a couple of times it survived. Hate riding in rain or sleet but have done that a few times also. My 1944 Farmall M has never sat out in the rain since I've owned it and I use it in the woods. My JD compact is in the shed at night but it has set out a couple of times in the rain. Winter time the compact comes in the heated garage. The bike is in the heated cave.

The daily drivers they sit out year round. Gotta have priorities.

 

Did you wax your bike before you left it in the rain?

 

Garage kept... by way of example

 

Why does it make a person a 'real rider' if their bike is 'kept' outside instead of in a garage? Geez!

I've ridden though rain storms so bad you couldn't see 200 feet down the road. I've ridden dirt roads, mud roads, gravel roads and in the snow a couple of times. Yes, my bike is garage kept. It's also kept clean, waxed, and maintained. So what?

I don't understand why that rubs some people the wrong way and makes them go on a diatribe about how I (and others) can't possibly be a serious rider, or how I just want show off my bike rather than ride. Just because I like a clean, shiny bike.

My neighbor left Houston last Friday and arrived home this morning, on his Wide Glide. What was the first thing he did? He washed it, even before going into the house. So I guess he's not a real rider because he likes a clean bike??

Sorry folks, sometimes I get riled when I see stones being thrown when it's not necessary. It's 3:40 a.m. here, maybe I'm tired and should just shut up and go to bed. :sleep

 

You wanna start a real chitstorm. Start up a thread about Dirty Bikes.:ducking

 

Yeah My bikes are in my garage or my 20' container never leave em outside only when campimg or visitin freinds,I sleep abouve my bikes so security is awsome it goes like this 2 slugs thru the floor followed by scatter rounds dont care what i hit ill check when i get down there,and i ride my bikes like they should be ridin sun,Rain ,Snow dirt roads,mud,hillclimbs,and wut ever i point the front tyre at...My bikes are washed and maintained meticulously and always will be..so label my azz wut ever you will if it makes you feel better about yourself...........Suck it!!!!!!!

 

I keep my bike in the garage and my lawn tractor in the shed.:nod

 

My bikes like to watch my basket swing only high enough ceiling to hang it from..............................just sayin.........