Avoiding tire flat spots - Winter storage

Slotheadslim

Slotheadslim

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I hate to talk about winter but I have to start thinking about storage. I have a two car garage with a car in each bay. There isn’t a lot of extra space so wherever the bike is parked for the winter it’s staying there. It would most likely be stored in front of the cars.

My old bike had a center stand that kept the rear wheel off the ground. I was able to spin the front tire every couple of weeks to avoid flat spots. Since the R18 doesn’t have a center stand I’m thinking of other approaches. One option are flat stoppers, ramps that insulate the tires from the cold garage floors:

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/bti-rr-fs-mc?seid=srese2&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Brands+|+R&utm_term=4581252645333938&utm_content=GSAPI+5dde8e04ccb6b

Has anyone used these or similar before? I have a Wheel Dock https://wheeldock.com/ and I’m wondering if one of the ramps could be trimmed down to work with the dock so that the bike could be stored upright? I know raising the wheel in the dock might affect stability so maybe this isn’t a practical approach and I need to use them without the dock.

Thanks,

Tom
 
What sort of temperatures are we looking at? Prolonged sub-zero? Right around freezing? If the former, I'd be working on ways to mitigate the effects of the cold on the rubber. That could include removing the wheels and storing those indoors, or raising the entire bike. If the latter, i'd be content just moving the wheels/tires around periodically. If it's even warmer than that, I'd not worry about it.
 
I’m located in Massachusetts so we can get heavy snow. The garage isn’t heated but I find if I drive a car in with snow on it the snow will melt because the roof is long, slanted and generates a good amount of heat from the sun hitting it, at least above freezing most of the time even if outside is a frozen wasteland. The only issue with moving the bike around for the tires is that it will be buried behind a generator, 2 cars and some other things so pulling it out casually to move it is a hassle.
 
In Michigan, gets very winter like here too. Mines on a piece of commercial carpet, keeps a layer between the cold cement and tires. Definitely will wheel it out the garage and start it up once a month or so, therapy for me to hear it run and good to turn those tires too. I’ll ride a street lap on those rare two days above 30 degrees, dry and 😎 .

No ideas for a full stand, maybe fabricate a center jack plate to get some of the weight off her? The barricaded spot is a tough one, best of luck!!
 
R18Art said:
I've lived at the base of the Rockies for 25 years and have some motorcycle that only get ridden a few hundred miles a year. I don't move mine around to prevent a flat spot. Never had an issue with tires going out of round or anything like that....
Click to expand...
Yeah,but the Rockies is a dry cold,isn't it?:)

Just kidding.On topic,the new dual compound tires of today are not susceptible to flat spots.I definitely would keep em aired up maybe a few pounds over the limit.
Amother issue to consider is tire age.Personally,I'm not riding on a tire over 2 years old even if it has low mileage and good tread.Although I usually put 2 new tires on my touring bike every year.
Hope this doesn't turn into a debate like the infamous oil/filter,LOL.:cool:
 
I contacted the Wheel Dock company and they indicated using the flat stopper ramp would raise the apex of the tire to the point the chock won't work correctly (The flat stopper ramps raise the tires by an inch). They didn't think flat spots would be an issue. I also called my local BMW dealer who sold me my bike and whom I've been working with for years. They store a few hundred bikes for customers every winter right on the cold concrete and they said they've never had an issue with flat spots so I'm not concerned. They echoed the sentiment that if the tires were really old/underinflated that could be a problem but I only have 800 miles on the bike and it's 2 months old so that won't be an issue for me. My bike will be on its Wheel Dock under a cover for a long winter's nap in a month or so. Thanks everyone for the feedback.
 
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