Effect of Sun on the NC700X

[kumatae]

As I was walking back from lunch, I noticed that my bike sits in the sun about 5 hours while I'm at work and it's literally sunny 365 days here in So Cal and I commute 4 days out of the week. There aren't that many trees at my work parking lot but I did notice an area under a tree not too far away from where I normally park that would allow for shade entire time it is parked but I would have to deal with falling leaves and what not. I see relatively newer cars in so cal with horrible faded paint jobs all the time and I'm guessing its the sun. Not sure what impact sun would have on the NC700X but would you park in the shade? My bike is parked inside the garage when not commuting. There is absolutely no issue with security in the parking area so that's least of my concern.

 

[Convict1997]

Must be some of those vicious California leaves I've been hearing about.

 

[GoRovers]

Vicious indeed.

 

[randypower]

Someone posted about 3 years ago (on this forum?) about a melted dashboard spot. The sunlight had passed through the windscreen which acted like a magnifying glass to concentrate the light onto a single spot. I guess it was just long enough.

Regardless, I'd pick shade, especially with my black NC. It collects a lot of heat.

Randy
XT250, Super Tenere, NC700X

 

[kumatae]

Someone posted about 3 years ago (on this forum?) about a melted dashboard spot. The sunlight had passed through the windscreen which acted like a magnifying glass to concentrate the light onto a single spot. I guess it was just long enough.

Regardless, I'd pick shade, especially with my black NC. It collects a lot of heat.

Randy
XT250, Super Tenere, NC700X

This isn't a issue for me. My Madstad hasn't effected my dash at all but I think I'm going to park in the shade from now on just to be safe.


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[mreric]

or just buy a cheap cover for it. it takes 30 sec to put on

 

[kumatae]

or just buy a cheap cover for it. it takes 30 sec to put on

Might be an opportunity for me to use my frunk. I do have a cover that I got for free from a Craigslist transaction. I'll have to give it a try.


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[randypower]

or just buy a cheap cover for it. it takes 30 sec to put on

How do you keep the cover from melting on the pipe if you don't wait a few minutes for it to cool down?

 

[danapellerin]

As I was walking back from lunch, I noticed that my bike sits in the sun about 5 hours while I'm at work and it's literally sunny 365 days here in So Cal and I commute 4 days out of the week.

I live in Fresno, CA so I know all about the sun and heat. While I don't have an NC yet (soon I hope!), I always park my current bike in the shade if I can. The paint will probably be fine, but anything plastic or rubber (especially black) is definitely going to dry out and fade. At one point I found a spandex cover that would stretch just over the top of my bike, basically covering the dash, bars, tank and seat. It was really handy and you could put it on in about 5 seconds. I can't remember the brand but it was similar to the ones at skn-it.com or geza.

 

[ld_rider]

How do you keep the cover from melting on the pipe if you don't wait a few minutes for it to cool down?

Few covers actually cover the exhaust pipes. What you want is one that covers only the windscreen, dash area, and the seat. If for some reason you wanted to cover the entire motorcycle, those covers come with heat resistant panels that won't be damaged by the warm exhaust.

 

[randypower]

Ah... All the ones I've bought are full covers and none have had a heat resistant panel. But then I but cheap.

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[kumatae]

How do you keep the cover from melting on the pipe if you don't wait a few minutes for it to cool down?

My cover isn't made for nc700x and so is smaller and couldn't cover the pipes even if I want to especially with the windshield and the top case. It'll look funny but think it'll do the job. Picture to come tomorrow.


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[rippin209]

I garage my NC700X at night but other then that it's in the sun, I don't even try and put it in the shade and I've never opened the cheap cover I got as a bonus from a online vendor. My NC is a silver 2012 and the plastic looks the same as when I got it over two years ago.
The red or blue might show sun damage more easily IDK

 

[Neostorm]

I guess I have a completely different approach than most. I used to detail cars and when people would park there car in the shade, those would be typically be the ones that would take more damage. The stuff that the trees drop is something that causes pretty bad damage to paint. (Generally plastics are ok from this) if you get the crap off everyday so it does dry fully it's doesn't do very much damage.

The sun does damage too, however I think this is a lot easier to protect against with high quality products i.e. Not turtle wax.

I purposely park everything I can in the sun because I know my paint is protected. My car is almost 10 years old and looks new because I care of the paint.

I don't like covers either because when the cover touches the paint it scratches it especially when there is any dust in between the paint and the cover. When the wind blows it moves the cover and acts like sand paper. Of course depending on a bunch of factors like how dirty the bike is and wind will speed up this process.

Of course this is just my observations and opinions and I'm a little OCD with my stuff

 

[Doc True]

Your exhaust should have a heat shield the will prevent any damage from a cover.

 

[SergeantChuck]

I am a commuter too and I ride my bike to work 5 days a week year round. Although, Arkansas may not be as sunny and hot as California, we still get plenty hot and have lots of sun most of the year. The most noticeably faded area on my bike are the plastics on the handle bars where the switches are located. Some of the icons are beginning to fade away and the plastic is more of a grey than a black. This is where I notice the worst bit of fading. I have a Puig windscreen and no issues with melting my display or anything else. The seat looks a little weathered too so getting a small cover would probably be the best option if your worried about the affects of the sun.

 

[Fuzzy]

I use a Kiwi Cover, thread here:KwiKover by Laminar

Keeps seat dry in rain, cool in sun. Convenient and always their stored behind seat.


Other options are Nelson Rigg half cover or the one Beemerphile tecommends The Traveller Half Motorcycle Cover | E-Z Touring Motorcycle Covers

 

[b_rubenstein]

I live on the East coast of central Florida where lots of sun and there's very little air pollution, and commuted for a year to work and noticed no change to painted or black plastic parts. I did notice that when the bike got rained on, there were usually no spots after the water evaporated. I think that having few pollutants in the air may have as much effect on the finish as the sun.

 

[kumatae]

Day 1 of using a cover.

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[AsureDawn]

I have a heavy duty cover I got for when/if I have to park it outside at home, but haven't used it much since it's usually under the carport.

As for the plastics, they were very faded from being outside at the dealer, but after 4-5 coats of armorall (from a bottle, not wipes) they look almost like new (except for the blinker housings--guess they're made of a different kind of plastic). The icons are still faded, but more visible now that the plastic isn't grey, and I don't usually look at them while riding anyway.