Road trip - Big hail stones forcast.

[Tang62]

I'm new to riding a trike much less across country ( was great) and much older. Riding back to Washington state. Figured weather would be no real factor for me. Rain? No worry's. So back in Sept. I was in Colorado Springs, Co. and the forecast was 1 inch plus hail storm. Checked with the staff (where I was staying) as to where I could park the wing under cover. None to be had.

So I hauled butt out of there. Question to those who had the experiences of this is.

How do you protect your trike? On the road, I'd hope to find a over pass and hang out till? But when your done for the day - laid up where ever. And the weather guessers call for the destruction of your trike by hail, what do you do?

[mhgoldwing]

I look for a DIY car wash. The bays are big enough to pretty well protect me and the bike. Any place with a cover! hahaha. At night you either get out and take the trike to a safe place or figure out the direction of the storm and try to pull up next to a wall to give it some protection.

So far I've been lucky and any hail was small and soft. Wheew!

[1dn5up]

I Cary a light weight bike cover for trips. If at a motel , and hail is predicted, I’d cover the the bike with a spare bed blanket, pillows, as Thers always at least 4 , find cardboard and then cover to hold in place. On the road, find a gas station and fake a brake down under the pump roof.

[FuzzyWuzHe]

I know this is not inline with the OP's question, but, I'm a firm believer that you can't beat nature. Not much you do will protect your ride from 1" sized hail, or sand storms or almost anything nature can dish out. I was in monument valley with my 07 Ultra and ran into a hefty wind storm. If you've every been there ... you know there is nowhere to hide. The wind storm turned into a dirt storm. All that pretty reddish dirt turned the wind into a "sand blaster". Needless to say, the front faring, upper and lowers, the front of the tank, the saddlebags and the trunk got sand blasted. So what is your base line protection .... ????

INSURANCE. My company were amazed at the damage an hour in this stuff did to the bike. Since it was new, like less than a year old, and I had upgraded the comprehensive coverage, they told me to take it to HD and get it fixed. No deductible on my comprehensive coverage. Harley ended up going with new painted parts since the repairs would be cheaper and quicker. The also found portions of the frame that had been blasted and repaired the paint on the frame while apart. The primary cover was also pitted on the front, along with various other chromed items. Total bill, $9K and change. Nuff Said!

I have learned lots of things in my life ... here's a couple that apply to bikes/trikes

-Locks keep honest people honest.

-Bike covers make the bike more comfortable for the riders the next day. (not as wet or as dirty when it's left uncovered

-No matter what tools you carry, when you break down, your gonna need one you don't have.

-If you carry a gallon of gas, you're gonna need a gallon and a half.

SO ... what's a rider to do. Accept that you will get wet, something, a stray rock kicked up by a truck or hail or a huge June bug, will eventually put a ding in your bike/trike. Heck, could be something as vanilla as granny/grandpa or some snowflake hitting your bike/trike with their car door, because they thought she could "borrow" part of your space because your bike/trike didn't fill it.

Again ... you can try as you will to protect your ride ... but ... something WILL happen. Again, I say, Insurance is your friend. It's required by law, but, you can get the protection you need by paying up a bit. Just my $0.02 worth ...