Hello Everyone! Today I have a product review that would definitely be useful to our community. Audew an automotive accessories company sent me one of their bicycle covers to test out. I have been testing the bicycle cover on a moped for 4 months now.
Let me start by saying I was excited to test this out. We all have some moped friends that do not have a garage space for their mopeds so they leave them outside. Using a bike cover or motorcycle cover to protect your moped from the weather isn’t a new concept to many, but for those wondering, I’m happy to give some pros and cons I have experienced while reviewing this cover.
MOPED COVER REVIEW – FITMENT
One thing I wanted to make sure of is fitment or coverage. To do this I took one of the largest mopeds made a Vespa Grande. It is one of the larger and heavier moped models. I tested on a stock Vespa Grande with its high bars but minus the rear rack. I figured if the cover fits this model it would have to work for almost all moped models out there. Unless you have a fully custom stretched moped like @ManicMopeds.
For the test of covering a moped, I was happy with the results. The cover does its job in completely fitting over the moped and did not leave any of it exposed. It also fit well, it wasn’t too loose on the moped like if using a motorcycle cover.
MOPED COVER REVIEW – WATER RESISTANCE – RAIN
The next item I gave attention to was the water resistance. I broke the testing into two parts, one is rain and the other moister. I am surprised to see the cover is holding up, keeping the mopeds dry and rust-free. Here in Houston, we get a lot of rain in the fall and winter seasons making it a great time for testing the water resistance.
For the rain tests, I was looking for two things. One was preventing flash rusting and the other preventing the seat from soaking up water. I have had my mopeds stuck out in the rain many times during rides and rallies. Because of this, I know how some parts of mopeds will easily flash rust.
Another issue I’ve seen with a moped that has been out in the rain is the seat holding water like a sponge. I paid close attention to how well the cover prevented the seat from absorbing rainwater. Mopeds or motorcycle seats have some plastic underlining to help keep water out of the seat foam. I tested multiple mopeds some with seat foam exposed.
The outcome of the rain test protection for the seat has been positive too. I went on test rides after each rain when possible. Surprisingly the seats were dry, and I was also impressed by water not getting into the carburetors making the mopeds difficult to turn on.
MOPED COVER REVIEW – WATER RESISTANCE – MOISTURE
I am impressed by the testing protection of rainwater, but then I checked on the Vespa one day after a very foggy night out. I thought if the cover protected the moped from rain that it would keep the moped dry no matter what. After that foggy night, I realized I did not keep moisture out like a misty fog. In the morning there were water beads on the cover from the fog. Then when I removed the cover I was surprised to see water on the vinyl seat.
I whipped off the water with a towel and then took the moped for a ride. Even though moister got onto the seat, it wasn’t enough mist to be retained in the seat like a sponge. Wiping off the water was enough to keep me dry on the test ride. The misty fog wasn’t enough to cause flash rusting either.
MOPED COVER REVIEW – WIND
Testing in the winter provided the opportunity for wind testing. Would it blow off in the middle of a storm leaving the moped exposed to the rain? I knew the cover came with some features to help keep it from being blown off the bike, but would it hold up?
In short YES it stayed on the mopeds in severe rainstorms here are how the features on this cover helped. The cover has elastic stitched into the base. This does a decent job of keeping the cover on the moped, but it alone won’t keep it from coming off in higher windy conditions. The other feature is a couple of adjustable straps that clip into each other. These straps keep the cover snug to the wheels preventing the cover from being taken off.
MOPED COVER REVIEW – SECURITY
I suggested a few covers in previous articles for securing your moped. In another article, I gave a reason for using a bike cover for security. Cover a moped so people pass it up for another bike or motorcycle.
People will take the covers and leave the moped. I have friends this has happened to. The Audew bicycle cover has a slot that is also double stitched to allow a chain, cable, or U-lock to pass through. This will help keep the cover secured to the moped as well as let you lock up the moped at the same time.
The cover I mentioned the article for 5 products to keep your moped secure has a grommet hole for only a cable lock to pass through. Most of us have chains and not cable locks to secure our mopeds. The Audew cover will fit a chain lock to pass through the wheel.
MOPED COVER REVIEW – PORTABILITY
A feature I thought was a bonus is its portability. My friend Joe has motorcycle covers he uses on his mopeds and they do not look like they would be easy to take with on a ride. The Audew cover is compact and comes with a small caring bag. If you have a rack on your moped, you could carry the cover with you and still have room for a spare fuel can. This way you can cover your moped when leaving it outside for long periods of time like work.
MOPED COVER REVIEW – CONS
If you could store your moped in a garage or shed I would recommend that over the use of any cover. I talked about it not keeping all moisture out like misty weather that could creep in under the cover. I haven’t had the cover long enough to test through the Texas sun and heat. I’m not sure how water resistant it would be after being beat on by our summer sun.
I thought the material was similar to a tent for camping. If you have ever camped in the rain you would know that a tent holds up to a certain amount of rain. So I thought well this cover will be good until the chemical that makes the water bead up wears away from use. Then I looked into the cover more and found out that it has a layer of polyurethane coating, but how long will that last when exposed to our Texas heat.
MOPED COVER REVIEW – RECOMMENDED USE
Overall I’m comfortable recommending this cover. I like the snug fit compared to loose motorcycle covers. Paring the cover with the ability to store your moped under a porch or something similar is a good solution for no garage. The cover would protect it from the weather that the porch couldn’t. I still recommend the cover for those with no porch but suggest keeping an eye on it. The sun tends to make things brittle over time. I appreciate that it prevented the seat from becoming a wet sponge. For that alone, I recommend it to anyone who has to leave their mopeds outside.
If you’re interested in picking one up I’m providing a link to their product page for the cover.
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