Storing moped or high performance motorcycle outdoors

Question

Is it not an issue to keep a moped or high performance sports super bike outdoors in the driveway or street like we do with cars? Will the motorcycle not get damaged from rain sun etc? Cars don’t suffer damage

Answer 1

Sun will cause fading, yes but, it could take quite a while. I made the big mistake of keeping my toys outside over winter. That caused quite a bit of cosmetic damage. Wind, snow, ice, cold then hot will cause most damage. It's always better to store out of the elements but, the vehicles are designed to be outside while using them... So, yes you can store them outside but, similar to cars, the exposure to sun will cause fading to paint and degradation to plastic components.

Answer 2

First off, storing is not the same as "parking". For the sake of conversation, we can assume you actually mean long term storage.

It's ridiculous to suggest cars aren't damaged sitting in the sun. Melted dashboards, dry-rotted tires, and squirrel nests in the engine bay can testify. This even takes no account of actual inclement weather, like rain or subfreezing temperatures, getting stolen, or knocked over by lousy parkers.

For motorcycles the issue is certainly worse: there are several critical components that are more or less exposed directly to the sun, like parts of wiring harnesses, spark plug boots, brake lines, basically anything rubber is bound to become brittle and hard under UV radiation. Add to that, several metal components are exposed to the elements like braided brake lines, fasteners on the exhaust, and so on all of which will cosmetically rust in one season, and may fail completely after longer.

A simple cover or even a tarp is well worth the peace of mind. All the better if you can chock up the wheels to preserve the tires from developing a flat spot. Your motorcycle owner manual has a several step process for storing a bike, and usually says to bring it indoors, in addition to draining the gas tank, lubricating pistons, storing the battery separately, etc.