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Shed for bike?


Calinazaret

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Hi, I just bought a bike and I need a way to house it. It's sheltered currently in a rickety makeshift lean-to sort of thing and I'm looking to buy a little storage shed of some kind.

Any recommendations of a place to start looking? Well-made brands? I'd rather have something of quality, it doesnt have to be large elaborate but I want it to last and take care of my baby.

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Above all you want something substantial that will be hard to break into. Expect to spend a bit of money. Home Depot and places like that have she'd kits you build yourself. You will want to either pour a concrete slab or at least build a wooden pallet for it to stand on. They make plastic ones but I wouldn't trust my bike to a structure that can be violated with a blowtorch and a car hanger.

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There are some Amish built ones on the left side of 40 as you are heading towards Hebron (not sure where you live) they look to be built very strong and they come out and just drop in place. I believe they even have in house financing available if needed.

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I like the plastic sheds.  They are pretty much zero maintenance.  You can build the base with $100 in pressure treated lumber or concrete.  If you do the wood base the whole project should take less than 4 hours.

 

I am probably getting one of these this summer

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Suncast-Sutton-7-ft-3-in-x-7-ft-4-5-in-Resin-Storage-Shed-BMS7791/203702042

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having the bike out of sight is the biggest security advantage to keeping it in a shed.

 

If people want in, they will get in.

 

Speaking to the rubbermade shecks in particular, I have seen a LOT of police reports where those are broken into.  As someone pointed out, the only "tool" needed to break in is a lighter.  You heat the door and just pull the lock off when the plastic melts.

 

Smart thieves won't even need to do that (the lighter becomes a "criminal tool" and adds an additional charge).  In the process of talking to one of the victims of such a theft, he said his shed has been broken into multiple times.  The plastic "frame" flexes enough that you can easily push the doorframe up enough to pull the door off the hinge.

 

 

What I'm saying is GO WITH A WOODEN STRUCTURE. 

 

And don't skimp on your hinges and locks.  If you are going to have ventilation (and I suggest that you do), put any vents or windows high up, and make them too small for people to fit through.

 

I don't know that I could build a 5x8 for $500, but i'd like to think I could keep it below $1,000, and get something more like 8x10...

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Easily build a 5x8 for less than 500.00, heck I think the package for one of those at Menards is about that price, with pressure treated flooring.  You'll need to level the ground, then I recommend putting 57s(limestone) under it too and using that for the base, then put the shed right on it.

 

I built my 8x10 for about 800 and that was years ago when these premades weren't nearly as nice, or cheap as now.

 

Look at Menards, if you're in Cbus look at Anderson's, believe they sell them uber cheap.

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Just like an Amish barn raising. Without beards.

But I prefer the beards! :-P

I'm not as worried about thieves as I am about the elements. And bugs crawling out of my gauge cluster. I just moved from California and I know vehicles get eaten alive out here...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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If you're only concern is the elements then a rain cover would be the easiest and cheapest option but if you don't ride much moisture will build up inside it on hot days. What do you mean by chewed up? The biggest enemy to vehicles here is road salt, and after a few good hard rains that's no longer an issue until winter comes again. Other than that it's the same exact sun here as over on the left coast and as far as I know it rains water here too...so idk what you expect to be so harmful about ohio weather vs California.

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The only critter damage I've seen in Ohio is a mouse taking up residence in an airbox and leaving a bunch of seed pod shells behind.  Birds make nests in airplane cowls, but there aren't spaces big enough on (most) motorcycles.  Rain, salt and rust are your environmental enemies here.

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I built a 10x8 shed to house my two bikes last summer. It took most of summer and cost about $1,600 for everything. I vinyl sided it and used architectural shingles to match the house/garage. 

 

http://ohioriders.net/index.php?/topic/102707-bike-has-a-new-home/

 

I know you asked about buying a pre-made shed. Just wanted to put my experience out there and the cost. 

 

Home Depot has a 8x8 (maybe 8x10) shed kit you can buy for $999. It doesn't include much of a floor and uses 2x3's for the beams. The reviews also stated a lot of problems with warped boards. 

 

I would either build my own or buy some pre-made that i could look at first. 

Edited by ludwb675
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I built a 10x8 shed to house my two bikes last summer. It took most of summer and cost about $1,600 for everything. I vinyl sided it and used architectural shingles to match the house/garage. 

 

http://ohioriders.net/index.php?/topic/102707-bike-has-a-new-home/

 

I know you asked about buying a pre-made shed. Just wanted to put my experience out there and the cost. 

 

Home Depot has a 8x8 (maybe 8x10) shed kit you can buy for $999. It doesn't include much of a floor and uses 2x3's for the beams. The reviews also stated a lot of problems with warped boards. 

 

I would either build my own or buy some pre-made that i could look at first. 

 

If you're going to be where you are for a while - like, say, a decade - this is the way to go.  I built my own about 15 years ago the same way - 10x12 with vinyl siding for about $1,300 all in.  Today ~$1,600 sounds about right.  If your living status is likely to change in a few years, then go vinyl as long as it doesn't look like crap.  I'd stay away from the Home Depot/Lowe's kits unless you buy some extra lumber to beef it up.

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I can't begin to think of a motorcycle shelter without my mind just taking off.

 

I have to ask...

 

What do you want that shelter to do for you and your bike?

 

1)  Do you just want to keep off the elements like dirt and water, like a cover...

2)  ...or keep people from wheeling away your precious....

3)  ...or have enough room to do a little maintenance on it...

4)  ...and have electric for a light bulb...

5)  ...or more electric to plug in a little heater for when you want to sit on it in the middle of winter and make zroom zroom sounds...

6)  ...or have enough space for your 2nd motorcycle that you will find yourself lusting over. (Oh yes you do!  We all lust for a 2nd bike.)...

7)  ...or have even more electricity for other things, like a mini fridge or a power tool or a TV...

8)  ...or have enough room for lawn and garden items to be stored as well...

9)  ...or have enough room for a tool box and work bench for more in depth bike maintenance...

10) ...or to be able to tow this shelter behind a vehicle, like a trailer, for going to the track or on rides beginning miles from home...

11)  ...or ???

 

All of a sudden I feel like I need an RV with a built in garage.  My mind just runs with ideas building on ideas.

 

.

Edited by JackFlash
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The only critter damage I've seen in Ohio is a mouse taking up residence in an airbox and leaving a bunch of seed pod shells behind.  Birds make nests in airplane cowls, but there aren't spaces big enough on (most) motorcycles.  Rain, salt and rust are your environmental enemies here.

 

JB had a mouse living in his airbox when he bought his bike.  It chewed the foam air filter, and the metal housing!

 

if the elements are the only concern, then the rubbermade stuff will do well.

 

But from what I'm seeing, they are expensive.  The steel sheds are a LOT cheaper.  I just searched "plastic shed" on Amazon, and got a ton of results.  a decent sized rubbermade setup is going to be $750-$1,000 very quickly.  Similarly sized steel units start under $300...

 

**edit - this looks like the ideal solution. http://www.amazon.com/Arrow-Shed-YS47-A-4-Feet-Storage/dp/B0015ZXYCU/ref=sr_1_21?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1397492356&sr=1-21&keywords=plastic+shed

Edited by redkow97
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as an aside, a 5x8 enclosed trailer may cost marginally more than a shed, and also have more uses beyond simply keeping your bike out of the elements.

 

Stick it in the back yard with the wheels chocked and leveled with jacks, and it's a shed. 

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