NEWS

Knowing how motorcycles are stolen goes a long way into being able to protect against their theft.

To understand how bikes are stolen, you need to understand there are three types of motorcycle thief;

1) the professional thief- steals to order. Organised and efficient, target the specific bike, with the intention of whisking it away in preparation for stripping down, cloning or export. This group of thieves may have many machines in different stages of preparation. With the increase in trackers and data marking they will not want to be caught with a "hot bike", so will park it somewhere quiet, "pinch and park". It has been known for this type of thief to strip down immediately, whilst still in the van.

2) the determined thief - steals to a "shopping list" of types/makes. Willing to cut, smash, break to remove the bike away from the scene, again parking it somewhere quiet often within a couple of miles, until the heat is off.

3) the opportunist thief - doesn't really know what they want, but will steal if the opportunity arises. Normally looks for the easiest target with least security.

Whilst many bikes are stolen from the street outside during work hours, the vast majority are stolen from the owners home. Keeping a bike out of sight is important, having it visible from the road under a cover or because you leave the garage door open is an invitation for a thief to return at a later date.

Be aware of vehicles following you home. Also be aware that thieves love garages. Once into a garage they can pull down the door and grind away quite happily at your ground anchor chain, whilst the neighbours only hearing a distant noise of someone doing DIY.

What you need to know about what thieves do

1) Manufacturers steering locks - with enough force to the handlebars and front wheel they are broken easily.

2) Ignition - Ignition barrels can be removed with a self tapping screw and a claw hammer.

3) Disk Locks/Chains - can be ground off with a battery operated grinder

So knowing this, why bother fitting anything? The assumption that every thief will be tooled up for every security device is wrong. Some thieves will be very well prepared, others less so. Mechanical locks are still a huge deterrent to motorcycle theft, the more security devices you fit, the more trouble it will cause the thief, the more likely they are to find something easier.

How to secure your motorbike

1) always engage the steering lock, deters the opportunist.

2) fit an immobilizer with visual indication (LED), again it will deter the opportunist especially as it indicates that removing the ignition barrel won't allow them to start the bike with a screw driver.

3) use a disk lock, the more visible security devices you have the more thieves will look elsewhere.

4) anchor to a solid object, but don't let the chain rest on the ground as this makes it easier to grind/cut. This will encourage many thieves to look elsewhere.

5) security mark the components on your bike and use the sticker provided. Thieves are put off by bikes having security marking, it means if a single microdot is found on a part in their possession, they have some explaining to do, and ties them to a stolen bike.

6) use an alarm. Audible alarms have a use, but ask yourself, last time you heard an alarm going off ... what did you do about it? Think more about silent alarms, ones that notify your mobile phone that your bike or the locks are being attacked.

7) use a tracker that transmits as little as possible, thereby being invisible to radio frequency detection devices. Thieves are wary of them, their usual response is to "pinch and park". If after a week the bike is where they left it, then it is safe to take it to their lair. Contrary to popular belief trackers do not have to be expensive.

Our Trackers are specifically configured not to be found by using detectors