It's been many years since I had to think about this sort of situation, but...  what I used to do was leave my bike outside all the time (no garage to keep it in) and go outside and start it up at least once per week, if not multiple times during the week.

If it was warm enough to be able to ride around the block a couple of times, I'd ride around my neighborhood (trailer park), otherwise I left it sitting and ran it in place.

Back then I had a center stand so I could stand the bike up and put it in gear to keep everything going (chain, wheel, etc.) if I wanted to.

Winters in my area aren't that bad, though there were times when there was snow/ice on the ground or in the forecast and I would avoid riding the bike at those times.

I used to ride almost full time as the car that I had back then wasn't that reliable and/or had it's own mechanical issues, so just being cold wasn't enough of a reason to not ride.  Insulated overalls were used to cover me as I rode to and from work, etc.  When I had a car that I could drive, I would take it and over time I had saved enough in costs to be able to get a better car so the bike got used less and less over time, and with little ones in my home, well, eventually I was somewhat commanded to stay off bikes if possible.

It's many years later, I've survived a wife that was killed in a car wreck that wasn't her fault, and wife 2.0 doesn't mind me riding.  My kids are grown and have their own income, I've got plenty of insurance, so I ride and enjoy myself knowing that the risk is always there in everything I do, even if it is just driving a car minutes away from my home (as happened with wife 1.0)

If you can go for a ride every coupla weeks I don't think you need to do anything. I'm aquainted with a few bikes that don't get rode any more often than that, and the guys that own them think they ride a lot

oldNslow wrote on 09/17/13 at 17:43:16:


You must be talking about me I barely get in 10,000 miles a year!