Waterproof bike-cover for DR-Z 400 SM?

[Princepugh]

Hiya Folks

Just recently joined up having taken the bold decision to get rid of my old VTR-1000 Firestorm in favour of a 2006 DR-Z 400 SM. I’m revelling in the chuckable handling and immediacy of the power delivery but have discovered that my existing bike cover is, not surprisingly, not big enough to cover the whole of the front of the bike.

Has anybody got any suggestions or recommendation in terms of an outside waterproof fully enclosing cover for these bikes please? Not got room for the enclosing tent design just want something compatible with the off-road/ SM thing.

Grateful of any advice.

Ta

PP

[01speed3]

I picked up a cover at Wal Mart actually. I think it was $40 or so. Didn't have to wait for shipping, picked it up while I was out grocery shopping.

Here's a link http://www.walmart.com/ip/Classic-Accessories-MotoGear-Deluxe-Motorcycle-Cover/5982680

I remember mine was the sport bike cover. They have a few different ones to choose from. It completely covers my DRZ, all except for the very bottom of the tires. I've had it for almost 2 years and have never had an issue.

[Princepugh]

Cheers - yes, have been looking at some of the Extra Large standard covers. The problem seems to be the wide bars and tall mirrors - I've seen some scooter covers which have like owl ears for the mirrors but not sure they'll be too shy on height and I need the wheels covered as I know what the weather can do over a British winter.

Will continue the search...

[DLConaDRZ]

I picked up a cover at Wal Mart actually. I think it was $40 or so. Didn't have to wait for shipping, picked it up while I was out grocery shopping.

Here's a link http://www.walmart.com/ip/Classic-Accessories-MotoGear-Deluxe-Motorcycle-Cover/5982680

I remember mine was the sport bike cover. They have a few different ones to choose from. It completely covers my DRZ, all except for the very bottom of the tires. I've had it for almost 2 years and have never had an issue.

That's where i got mine , It was last years stock and bought it on clearance for $18 .At the other end of the isle was the exact same cover for $60 . Was there at the right time and got lucky , seems to work really well and very heavy duty.

[cringer]

Oxford stormex in medium. Good fit and very water proof. And storm proof apparently but don't get many of them in UK

[Princepugh]

Just to round this thread off, I plumped for the Oxford Rainex cover in large which fits just right. The shop I got it from actually gave me the Stormex in error but I took it back - nice product but its real bulky, like a waterproof duvet, lol.

Will post a pic later.

[Kx450fguy]

if i am hauling my bike in heavy rain i put two socks over the exhaust just for insurance, but i use a tarp, its more expensive then a bike cover but most people either have a tarp or know someone that has one, it sounds pretty ghetto but it works really good

[Princepugh]

[Johnson79]

Looks like a nice cover, although it looks like a lot of extra room under there, I wonder if a medium would fit more snug

[cringer]

Medium stormex fit's fine with drz. Although i like to wrap a bungee round it as it can be flappy in wind. I think you could probably get away with small as they are quite tall and wide cover's. But the stormex keeps bike bone dry in all weather's.

[Princepugh]

What you can't see from that angle is how the wide bars fill the cover without exposing the front wheel. Also, for some reason, the Stormex is a little more generous in height that the Rainex, which would have made wheel cover marginal.

Anyhow, we've had a few downpours over that last few days so we'll see tomorrow whether or not the cover did its job.

[Bedunjgi]

I fold my mirrors down & use the Large Guardian/Dowco weatherall cover with the heavy black top & silver bottom fabric & use the attached under bike tie strap with a small lock to keep the honest people honest from having a peek. They have an excellent warrenty replacement program. At least they used to. We will see next time one of them needs replacement.

[Princepugh]

Well, after just under 3 years of use through some pretty grimy weather, the Oxford Rainex has pretty much succumbed. The more rubbery black material is still reasonably intact, although it did fail at one of the touch points necessitating a repair, but the lighter silver material has ripped and the seams failed. More annoyingly, the red soft coating on the inside has decided to shed and covered the bike with crap.

 

I suppose I shouldn’t be too disappointed for the price and given the weather it has endured but I’m now looking a product made from ‘Dritex’ by dustoffcovers.co.uk for a similar price so I’ll post on how this unravels.

 

PP

[SumoRus]

ill get my hands on one of these one day

 

 

http://www.cycleshell.com/

[hinksy]

Well, after just under 3 years of use through some pretty grimy weather, the Oxford Rainex has pretty much succumbed. The more rubbery black material is still reasonably intact, although it did fail at one of the touch points necessitating a repair, but the lighter silver material has ripped and the seams failed. More annoyingly, the red soft coating on the inside has decided to shed and covered the bike with crap.

 

I suppose I shouldn’t be too disappointed for the price and given the weather it has endured but I’m now looking a product made from ‘Dritex’ by dustoffcovers.co.uk for a similar price so I’ll post on how this unravels.

 

PP

 

 

I bought the same one here in oz . It also lasted about 3 years and did the same thing , leaving crap all over the bike from the disintegrating insides . I think it is because it cannot breath so the inside just sweats , everyone sweats in oz . One thing I found was , not to cover the bike when it was wet . We have our wet season during summer and it sweated so much under the cover , that it affected the anodizing on the forks . Glad the cover rotted because of that . All is good now , I built a 8 x 3 meter shed to house it in , so I just use a dust cover now , greg

[MtnRyder25]

That cycle shell is freaking sweet I want one!

[Princepugh]

I was really tempted by the folding bike covers – you can pick them up for about £140 here in the UK and I love the idea of just folding the cover back and getting straight to the bike but I’m just too short of space where my bike is locked up to make it viable. Also considered a shed style construction but again space is restricted and I’d block the view and light out from our back window, which might not be too popular with the missus so for now it’s Hobsons choice with the cover.

 

This Dritex stuff is supposed to be breathable and rot resistant to some degree some I’m hoping for better things. Think I’ll take some of the previous posters advice and turn my mirrors down before putting the cover on as the baking sun split the Oxford unit in this area last summer.

 

Will post some pics up when I get it.

[Princepugh]

In my rush to see the spring sunshine I forgot to update the thread but as you can see below, the new Dritex cover from dustoffcovers .co.uk has arrived and has been put to use.

 

It’s very lightweight compared to the previous Oxford unit and is consequently much easier to handle, although I still managed to put it on back-to-front last night – you can never truly account for the idiot in people! There is a little Dritex pouch to pack it into and I think at a push you could carry the whole thing around with you as it’s not massively bulky and is fairly light.

 

 

It has a mottled finish and the water beads on the surface – whether this will remain the case  we’ll have to see. It also has a decent belly strap which is sufficiently lengthy to enable one to reach it under the bike without having to get down on all fours.

 

 

There’s no heat proof inner layer to speak of so I’ve not been fitting to the bike straight after running.

 

I’ve also taken to spinning the right hand wing mirror assembly inwards by 180 degrees before fitting the cover in order to  gain a bit more length from the cover and avoid a major stress point.

 

So far so good – the clock is now counting.