Bike Security
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Well I too live in a City... Tocangelos, well ok Tacoma, WA. I'll tell you what I've done and so far So good for my 04 R1.
#1 get the Fahgettaboudit. It a damn tough chain and it holds against the weather great.
#2 Get the Scropio Alarm. I think thats what it is called.
http://www.scorpioalarms.com/home.aspx
Took me about 30 minutes to install and works like a dream. (Though I wish it was a bit easier on the Batteries for the remote every 3 months or so need to be replaced.
#3 Get a Steel pole. Well hopefully there is one you can use to hook the bike to. Else you'll need to grab a Hammer-Drill and Put in a Solid ring to connect to. These can be purchased I think directly from Krypton, The stronghold/Super Stonghold is an example.
Anyway, the benefit of all this is the Fahgettaboudit has a $1000 warranty if its cut or hacked to sack a bike, so thats quite nice.
Then with the Scorpio installed you can get notified a few blocks away if something is up with your Bike, nice for an apartment, or maybe a dorm environment.
Cheers
#1 get the Fahgettaboudit. It a damn tough chain and it holds against the weather great.
#2 Get the Scropio Alarm. I think thats what it is called.
http://www.scorpioalarms.com/home.aspx
Took me about 30 minutes to install and works like a dream. (Though I wish it was a bit easier on the Batteries for the remote every 3 months or so need to be replaced.
#3 Get a Steel pole. Well hopefully there is one you can use to hook the bike to. Else you'll need to grab a Hammer-Drill and Put in a Solid ring to connect to. These can be purchased I think directly from Krypton, The stronghold/Super Stonghold is an example.
Anyway, the benefit of all this is the Fahgettaboudit has a $1000 warranty if its cut or hacked to sack a bike, so thats quite nice.
Then with the Scorpio installed you can get notified a few blocks away if something is up with your Bike, nice for an apartment, or maybe a dorm environment.
Cheers
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17,451 Posts
Out here in Utah we carry supplemental insurance by Smith and Wesson. It's the ".357" anti-theft device. Works like a charm. Additionally, in Texas it is legal to shoot anyone who is stealing your property. You could move there. It's safe since the Bushes are in DC.
Seriously, my cousin - who was a professional thief and drug dealer- told me that in stealing vehicles thieves can overcome almost any one device. But if they run into several anti-theft devices they go elsewhere to look for easier pickings. If you use a couple of kryptonite locks, ensuring you lock the bike to a strong metal object and use a pager type alarm that blows a horn as well you will probably discourage most any thief. If the bike is not tied down they simply pick it up, put it in a truck and drive away. It may seem silly to carry all that crap, but not as silly having the bike ripped off.
I'd love to hook up a spare igntion coil and rig it to shock anyone who touches my bike. Or maybe a tear gas canister tied to a motion sensor. Or VX gas. Too bad that sort of thing is against the law.
Seriously, my cousin - who was a professional thief and drug dealer- told me that in stealing vehicles thieves can overcome almost any one device. But if they run into several anti-theft devices they go elsewhere to look for easier pickings. If you use a couple of kryptonite locks, ensuring you lock the bike to a strong metal object and use a pager type alarm that blows a horn as well you will probably discourage most any thief. If the bike is not tied down they simply pick it up, put it in a truck and drive away. It may seem silly to carry all that crap, but not as silly having the bike ripped off.
I'd love to hook up a spare igntion coil and rig it to shock anyone who touches my bike. Or maybe a tear gas canister tied to a motion sensor. Or VX gas. Too bad that sort of thing is against the law.
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771 Posts
The few test of bike locks that I've read basically come to this conclusion:
"If they want your bike, it will be gone"
The chains are the worst, the caliper locks are better, and if you can secure it to a concrete telephone pole, with a pit bull chained to you ride, thats the best.
All of the locks and chains can be cut by an carbibe cutting wheel, and if the bike is not tied down to something solid (a building), afew burley guys can just pick it up and toss it into a van or truck.
The main purpose of locks is deterant. See this lock, it easier to steel the bike down the street.
Hope some MOron has some more hopefull advice. Personally, I have too many freinds that had bikes stollen (protected by all types of different methods). My 95lbs mutt seams to be the best deterant so far, but that only works at home.
"If they want your bike, it will be gone"
The chains are the worst, the caliper locks are better, and if you can secure it to a concrete telephone pole, with a pit bull chained to you ride, thats the best.
All of the locks and chains can be cut by an carbibe cutting wheel, and if the bike is not tied down to something solid (a building), afew burley guys can just pick it up and toss it into a van or truck.
The main purpose of locks is deterant. See this lock, it easier to steel the bike down the street.
Hope some MOron has some more hopefull advice. Personally, I have too many freinds that had bikes stollen (protected by all types of different methods). My 95lbs mutt seams to be the best deterant so far, but that only works at home.
Park your bike in the doorway of your apartment. Everyday you can then walk around it, smile at it, and stare at it thinking, "I wonder what modification I can do next...." This really only works if you are on the ground level, or if you are brave enough to put it into an elevator everyday and lift it up to your apartment. And if you are going to Pitt or Carnegie Mellon in Oakland, I'd be concerned about security too!!
1. The conventional wisdom is to use two security devices, e.g., a disc lock and a chain. Each requires a specific tool to take off, and thieves apparently rarely carry multiple tools.
2. Try to place the face of the lock in an inconvenient place, where it's hard to smash with a hammer or drill out.
3. I'm also in Pittsburgh. My KLR got stolen out of my back yard. I was lazy and hadn't locked it that night. Cops said that if I use only the ignition lock, any 15 year old with a screwdriver can ride off with the bike. Lesson: *any* security device is vastly better than just the ignition lock.
4. I now garage my bikes for $50/month. Many garages seem to be available at that price, at least in Shadyside.
5. Bike covers do wonders for deterring prying fingers.
-Lujo
2. Try to place the face of the lock in an inconvenient place, where it's hard to smash with a hammer or drill out.
3. I'm also in Pittsburgh. My KLR got stolen out of my back yard. I was lazy and hadn't locked it that night. Cops said that if I use only the ignition lock, any 15 year old with a screwdriver can ride off with the bike. Lesson: *any* security device is vastly better than just the ignition lock.
4. I now garage my bikes for $50/month. Many garages seem to be available at that price, at least in Shadyside.
5. Bike covers do wonders for deterring prying fingers.
-Lujo
Anyone try those Sreaming Zena disk locks. They have a motion sensor and go off if someone moves your bike. They also make a chain that works the same way.
I wouldn't worry about carbide cut-off wheels, they make enough noise and sparks to bring the whole neighborhood outside.
I wouldn't worry about carbide cut-off wheels, they make enough noise and sparks to bring the whole neighborhood outside.
Yes, we do have a theft problem in the UK. Years of experience have taught me this:
1. There is no defence against the man with the van. No matter how many locks you have on your bike, someone who really really wants it will pick it up and put it in the van
2. Alarms are pointless and annoying. Nobody hearing one is going to pay any attention. I know this because when I park my bike alongside the others in a crowded space, sometimes I brush against one with an alarm and set it off. Not one passer-by even turns his head my way.
3. The easiest bike to steal is the one with no defences, so if yours has two locks on it, the theif will go elsewhere.
4. Which two locks? A small disc lock and a good U-bar lock. U-bar locks are usually stronger than locks and chains. Kryptonites aren't as good as they would have you believe: Abus are better, imho.
5. The good news: thieves only steal what they can sell. That means current model sportbikes which are in demand, and big twin H-Ds which can be broken for parts. Other stuff - and that means your SV650 - aren't as interesting to them.
1. There is no defence against the man with the van. No matter how many locks you have on your bike, someone who really really wants it will pick it up and put it in the van
2. Alarms are pointless and annoying. Nobody hearing one is going to pay any attention. I know this because when I park my bike alongside the others in a crowded space, sometimes I brush against one with an alarm and set it off. Not one passer-by even turns his head my way.
3. The easiest bike to steal is the one with no defences, so if yours has two locks on it, the theif will go elsewhere.
4. Which two locks? A small disc lock and a good U-bar lock. U-bar locks are usually stronger than locks and chains. Kryptonites aren't as good as they would have you believe: Abus are better, imho.
5. The good news: thieves only steal what they can sell. That means current model sportbikes which are in demand, and big twin H-Ds which can be broken for parts. Other stuff - and that means your SV650 - aren't as interesting to them.
The choices we make. Had to go to an urban school. I left my wallet on my car seat with the door open one evening. Came out the next morning and someone had shut my car door for me and left a note on the seat telling me to be more carefu. Wallet still on the seat. I'd be finding a long term solution as opposed to a lock.
I think lbauer gave you some good affordable advice.
- Two locks
- A cover
- Make it more of a hassle to steal your bike than it is to steal another one
I'd also add, don't leave it parked in the same spot all the time if you park on the street. Move it every couple days. This makes it harder for a thief to plan how he is going to steal it. Most important, use the locks and cover every night. The one night you are to tired or rushed to lock it up will be the night it gets stolen.
- Two locks
- A cover
- Make it more of a hassle to steal your bike than it is to steal another one
I'd also add, don't leave it parked in the same spot all the time if you park on the street. Move it every couple days. This makes it harder for a thief to plan how he is going to steal it. Most important, use the locks and cover every night. The one night you are to tired or rushed to lock it up will be the night it gets stolen.
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5 Posts
Thanks for the advice. I think I'm just going to invest in a couple of different anti-theft devices, probably a disc lock as well as a chain.
The worst part about all this is, yesterday around 4:00PM, someone tried to jack my bike. Apparently they just got scared away, because the ignition cylinder was destroyed, so they certainly could have rolled the bike off.
The bike wasn't even behind a building, or in an alley. No, it was parked right at a street corner, in the middle of the day, with hundreds of cars going by.
My insurance company sent a tow truck (after 2 hours), but didn't bother to tell them I had a motorcycle. They couldn't tow me. Then they were going to send another truck (ETA - 1.5 hours), which I just declined. My brother-in-law drove down from Erie, and we loaded the bike into his pickup.
Incidentally, cost of a new ignition cylinder and matching gas cap? About $250. I was going to let a shop do the work, but when I asked them about the "star" screws under the cylinder, the guy told me that you just had to drill them out. Another shop told me you could buy the tool. This is factory-certified training at its best.
The worst part about all this is, yesterday around 4:00PM, someone tried to jack my bike. Apparently they just got scared away, because the ignition cylinder was destroyed, so they certainly could have rolled the bike off.
The bike wasn't even behind a building, or in an alley. No, it was parked right at a street corner, in the middle of the day, with hundreds of cars going by.
My insurance company sent a tow truck (after 2 hours), but didn't bother to tell them I had a motorcycle. They couldn't tow me. Then they were going to send another truck (ETA - 1.5 hours), which I just declined. My brother-in-law drove down from Erie, and we loaded the bike into his pickup.
Incidentally, cost of a new ignition cylinder and matching gas cap? About $250. I was going to let a shop do the work, but when I asked them about the "star" screws under the cylinder, the guy told me that you just had to drill them out. Another shop told me you could buy the tool. This is factory-certified training at its best.
What's really lame is people will steal _anything_. I've known people with total beater cars and bikes that were stolen. Would you steal a $600 rustbucket Toyota? Someone did. How about an old Honda Dream? Yep, took that one too. You'd think these idiots wouldn't risk getting caught for something old and slow, but apparently they don't care.
It's sad when I have to worry about leaving my old CB350 unattended for fear some jacka$$ will take off on it and dump it in a field somewhere.
-=Goggles=-
It's sad when I have to worry about leaving my old CB350 unattended for fear some jacka$$ will take off on it and dump it in a field somewhere.
-=Goggles=-
People suck. And they suck for various reasons and causes. Liberals and conservatives will debate the many sides but I think a claw hammer in the top of the head would be one cure.
What do you do when you find a dollar bill? Try to find the owner? How about a $100? Or Timex watch or a Rolex? How about a diamond ring?
Now how do you think you would respond if both your parents were crack addicts? Too many shades of grey: one claw hammer fits all. Secure your bike and save the hammer.
What do you do when you find a dollar bill? Try to find the owner? How about a $100? Or Timex watch or a Rolex? How about a diamond ring?
Now how do you think you would respond if both your parents were crack addicts? Too many shades of grey: one claw hammer fits all. Secure your bike and save the hammer.
It's new so there's no feedback on this yet, but CycleTrak--cycletrak.com--sell a nationwide global positioning based subscriber service that's supposed to help you recover your stolen scoot. If your bike is stolen and not recovered within 30 days or totaled, they pay you $1,000. Small consolation for a missing Aprilla Factory, but it may be worth checking out.
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43 Posts
Re: Watch out for Big Brother!
What's more likely to happen if you install this system: (1) your bike is stolen and recovered, or (2) you receive a speeding ticket in the mail because the GPS/cellphone you installed on your bike ratted you out to the local gendarmes? This is just another revenue enhancer for the local taxing authority.
What's more likely to happen if you install this system: (1) your bike is stolen and recovered, or (2) you receive a speeding ticket in the mail because the GPS/cellphone you installed on your bike ratted you out to the local gendarmes? This is just another revenue enhancer for the local taxing authority.
I have a Xena lock and it works well. Plus, in case you forget to take if off your disk, the alarm sounds as soon as you take the bike off the stand. Its good for short-term locking in a reasonably public place, but for overnight you need to add a chain. I use a Kryptonite chain and lock around the rear wheel and frame to a pole, with the Xena on the front wheel at night. BTW, Xena makes a chain lock with an alarm to. Check out a British mag like Bike.
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