[Video Transcripts]
The main question I need to ask myself is: what do I want to use it for?
Let’s say I want a cover for travelling. Maybe I have a nice safe garage at home, but when I’m at the motel or out camping, I want to keep the rain and thieves off my bike.
Nelson-Rigg Deluxe All Season Cover
For that, give me Nelson-Rigg’s Deluxe All Season Cover. I mean just look at the thing. It packs down tiny .
And when I get where I’m going, I can pull it out of my sidecase and have a seriously technical cover. The shiny band around the bottom isn’t just bling. It’s aluminized fabric so my muffler doesn’t singe a hole through the cover. And these little triangles hide mesh ventilation panels so condensation doesn’t build up on my bike. The Deluxe isn’t fully waterproof, mind you, but I find that it’s good enough so long as I make a tight fit without any areas for water to pool.
I have elastic around the base, with grommets at the middle and nose to tie it down against the wind. Nelson-Rigg included these little elastic hooks for linking up the grommets and it’s actually the only cover on my list to throw that in.
On the front there’s a Nelson-Rigg logo, which is nice and vague. A motorcycle cover is actually one of the best ways to prevent theft because people can’t tell what’s underneath it. A thief probably won’t risk sneaking a peak under the cover just to find out I have a piece of crap under here.
On the flip side of that logo, there’s also an anti-scratch panel to lay over my windshield.
I ordered a size extra large, and it fits over my V-Strom 1000 pretty well. It’s a little bit higher off the ground than I’d like, but that’s pretty typical for sky-high adventure bikes.
Nelson-Rigg Econo Cover
Now the Deluxe is perfect for travelling. But what if I want to cover my bike at home . Just something to keep the dust off in the garage…
Then I can save a lot of money by getting Nelson-Rigg’s Econo Cover. The Deluxe will run you about 70 bucks whereas this one – 35. It’s essentially a motorcycle-shaped plastic sheet. No aluminized muffler cover, no soft windshield panel, no elastics, no precise fit…
And the benefit of that is that it’s really easy to put on. Everything else on my list will magically appear on this bike thanks to the power of video. And that’s because they all require some awkward tugging and pulling. But the Econo… well it’s that easy. This is an extra large by the way, and it fits my Strom 1000 pretty good.
Now the PVC is fully waterproof and there are grommets along the bottom to tie it down, so you might be tempted to use the Econo outside.
But don’t do that.
This material is really flimsy. It’s more than enough for indoor use but if you leave it flapping around in the wind – or heaven forbid you try to trailer a bike in it – the Econo will tear itself to shreds.
So I’d take this guy for garage use only. And yeah – an old bedsheet or a random tarp would do the same job. But the Econo only costs 35 bucks so, why not?
Dowco Guardian Weatherall Plus Cover
Now let’s swing to the other end of the spectrum. Let’s say I need a cover to go on my bike all the time, outside, in the rain, in the snow. Something bulletproof.
Then I’ll fork over 150 bucks for the Dowco Guardian Weatherall Plus.
This guy has all the bells and whistles. Heat shield for my exhaust system, soft liner over the windscreen, elasticated bottom, grommets sewn in. It also has something Dowco calls “Moisture Guard,” which, as far as I can tell, just means there are holes under here for letting condensation out. The material also has a fancy name – ClimaShield Plus. It is fully waterproof and I’d say it’s about 5 times sturdier than the Nelson-Rigg Deluxe. Probably 50 times sturdier than the Nelson-Rigg Econo.
The weatherall also has four pockets stitched onto the inside, which is where I could install the Dowco Guardian Alarm system … if I had actually bought that.
Dowco tried to offer everything and in a few areas they went a little too far. Like this hole for getting at my disc lock alarm. I mean seriously, how hard is it just lift it up?
I do really like the technical sizing system though. This is the adventure touring spec, which fits perfectly. I can also get covers specially made for Can-Am Spyders, scooters, sport bikes, high-rake cruisers, full dress tourers, etc. etc.
Because the Weatherall Plus is so heavy-duty, it doesn’t pack down quite as well. I’m not pleased with this weird backpack thing either. I’m obviously gonna throw the cover in my sidecase so I’d way rather have a compression sack.
Dowco Guardian EZ Zip Cover
Kinda like this one. This is the Dowco Guardian EZ Zip Cover and it’s exactly the same as the Weatherall except for four things.
One – it comes in the compression bag, which you know I love.
Two – there aren’t any interior pockets in there, so I can’t install that Guardian Alarm System that I didn’t buy.
Three – the sizing isn’t as precise. No adventure touring option so I had to go with this XXL. It gives me the height I need but the elastic on the bottom is way too wide for my narrow wheelbase.
And four – there’s a zipper! Yes, this makes it a little easier to put the cover on. But mainly, I just love that it gives me easy access to my side case.
Other than that it’s the same bulletproof cover as the Weatherall. Dowco actually offers a limited lifetime warranty with this thing, so they know they made something good.
And that’s it for my favorite motorcycle covers. Give me the Nelson-Rigg Deluxe for travelling, the Nelson-Rigg Econo for covering my bike in the garage. And if I need a really heavy-duty cover, I’ll take the Weatherall Plus for bikes that require special fitment or cover alarms, and the EZ Zip if I care more about getting a compression sack and a zipper.