Stolen Motorcycles?

[Markopolian]

What do you guys use for security/ to protect your bikes from being stolen. There is always the locked garage but im moving into an apartment that has no garage.. and what about when your out riding and you want to go in somewhere like the mall? what do you guys find the best? chain? alarm? hire someone to stand there with a bat?
haha. Just want to get some opinions. thx!

[Ducati]

Cobralinks are good, and available in 4 or 6 foot lengths. Also incorporate disclock and lock your bike to a pole that cannot be ripped out of the ground or to a tree that is too big to cut down quickly. Lock the bike by the frame, and then use another chain to lock the wheels together or to the frame. For added security and rain/birdshit protection, get either a cheap ugly tarp or a lockable bike cover.

[Markopolian]

I have heard that people will just cut chains like they are nothing though. are those cobralinks pretty tough? and will these things fit on the bike for like say at the mall so i can just pull it out?

[Ducati]

Cobralinks are really tough. We used them when I worked in the motorcycle industry back in 1995. We used a Cobralinks chain to lock the gates of the entire compound. This was in Whalley, which is crackhead central. They were never cut despite a cuple of incidents where it appeared someone had tried. (Or maybe the dogs scared the would-be burglers away)

[RiCE-DaDDy]

We all heard before...nothing will stop a a thief if they are persistent enuff.

Disclocks are a minimum, then like Ducati said, bring out the big chains lol

Alarms if u got some brand new ducati or the like, but those can drain batteries.

[Markopolian]

sorry.. what is a disclock???

[RiCE-DaDDy]

u know, bike brake rotors are cross drilled right?
u just put a lock between the holes so the wheel can't rotate

[Chester]

holy shit i didnt know people actually stole motorcycles

[Ducati]

Also, try to find a place very close to the entrance, and in a well lit spot. What type and year bike are you trying to protect? Some are more theft-prone than others.

Most bikes are stolen either as acts of opportunity and convenience, or someone is specifically searching for a particular make and model of bike, or fairing pannels from your specific model of bike. You may end up just loosing your fairing, or seat section, or pipe, and not the whole bike.

Thats why a cover is a good idea, and there are lockable covers. Mine cost me $90.00 in 1993. It is cut-resistant and has a cable lock that tightens under the bike and locks together with a small padlock, or can be locked by threading the Cobralinks through it.

[Markopolian]

My bike is a 2003 Suzuki GSX-R 600. yeah that cover sounds like a good idea. I would need to get cobralinks for sure and hopefully they fit in the compartment on the bike. Whenever I go somewhere im going to try and keep watch on my bike and check on it but its hard to do sometimes when your in someplace.

(also my bike is the Black/Silver paint scheme. so not as popular as the blue/white on the suzuki's for panels)

[Ducati]

The compartment on your gixxer might not be large enough for all that stuff, so at the very least buy a disclock, and if you park it, park on a conspicuous public place. Your bike is a prime candidate for theft of parts or the entire bike.
You can attach your disclock to the rear signal light, if it wont flop around and fuck up your paint. Each bike is different. Or wrap it in a shoprag and keep it in your underseat storege.

I have also seen interesting little Clutch Locks, that fit on the handlebars and lock the lever. I have not used them, but they look small and convenient.

[air_mikey]

Originally posted by Chester
holy shit i didnt know people actually stole motorcycles

yeah man its crazy. i knew a guy who got his bike jacked a year ago. ended up getting around 7 grand from the insurance though.

[method]

get a cover.. if crooks cant see it, they're far less likely to steal it.

[Ducati]

Theft Insurance is optional in most provinces. Your bud was lucky he opted for the coverage. I know several who were less fortunate.

[Markopolian]

Yes I will have theft coverage for sure! how does it usually work? If the bike gets jacked do they give you what the bike was worth at the time? And how much does the deductible usually run? That will help me sleep at night

[Khyron]

Theft insurance was the most expensive part of my policy if I recall correctly. I pay around 650 a year, and that's with theft. It would have been like 200 bucks less without.

The most common way to steal a bike is to have 2 or 3 guys drive up in a truck and dump it in the back. So chaining up the bike is a good plan, as well as keeping it somewhere public. As long as the chain can't be cut with simple bolt cutters.

Khyron