Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Finally can keep my ba inside!

I have been slowly dinking around turning my shed back into a garage.I got it done today and moved my bike inside.No more wet seat in the mornings or pain in the ****** covers to remember before it rains.Problem is,after I pulled her in and admired my new playpen I heard this gnawing sound in the wall.A few years ago rats invaded our little rural area because our eldery neighbors had holes in the foundation allowing the little ****** to find a warm home After the whole neighborhood became familiar with the Orkin man we havnt seen one since,I sure hope it was just a mouse.Thought they were gone.Maybe it wasnt a rat I heard.

Squirrels are destructive little bastages too.

You betcha they are,but not quite as evil as a rat.

I'll tell you what, mice can do a real number on wiring under the seat of a bike, and elsewhere. If you think you got mice, just a few moth balls around or in the bike cavities in the winter will keep them away.

Lock the cat up with the bike.

The cat idea's a good one. If ya got mice and ya leave your bike too long just watch they don't try to nest in your bike somewhere.

Otherwise a nice feeling to have your bike under cover!!

My first morning riding the bike out of my very own shed!Totally cool,no dew,it warmed right up!

You don't park it in the livingroom or bedroom?

Speaking of putting her away - it's about a month away & I'll be keeping my 04 BA in my unheated garage. Since I don't have a tender, I'm guessing it's probably a good idea to remove the battery and bring it inside the house. Should I run the gas dry or use fuel stabilizer? Any other hints out there for storing in subzero cold, oh ye men of many years & vast experience?

Get a battery tender. Run the bike or drain the tank and the carbs. Run the bike as often as possible.

Good for you,

I always felt the bike itself was the inexpensive thing, it was the "house mods" that killed me

Those little rodents don't care for the odor of napthalene (moth balls). If you use a lot, take care it's vented when you are inside messing with the bike, I heard the fumes can potentially be toxic. I heard of an old(er) lady who overdid it with m'balls in her house and the fumes caused internal organ damage. Just sayin'........

jh

squirrals taste better than rats though, apart from the red ones

Greybeard's advice from a recent "winterizing thread". This is what I've always done (and add Stabil):
"Along with adding fuel stabilizer, make sure the tank is as full as is practical. The less air space, the less condensation will collect."
Get some rat traps for the corners of the shed for that issue.

You know rats are truly smart critters.Back when we had so many of them I had 10 traps set and caught not 1 of them.They would be sprung sometimes but I never caught 1.My wife even got a pic of one on our back frikking porch during a snowy day.I asked her if she had time to grab a camera why didnt she take the xtra step toward a shotgun.To ****** with opening the window either!

At work a couple days ago we watched a mouse running outside it went right around 3 traps.

Wow Ian! I'd say catch that little sucker and sign him up for that there "Wipeout" show on ABC then!!!

(that is of course unless your plan is to get yourself your own "reality show" by floatin' him away in a balloon or somethin'!)

Yeah, I had a full garage, then Brad, my 17 year old, got his first car (a 74 Maverick) and started sanding on it, now, of course, it has to stay in the garage until he can afford to have it painted...