So, security..

[Shiv]

In light of recent discussions I've wondered:

What's the best thing you can do to prevent your bike from getting stolen?

Disc lock?
Picked up.

Chain?
Cut.

Combination?
Cut, then picked up.

Alarm?
Maybe the best option, but drowned out once in a truck.

Lojack?
Traceable, but can't help once the bike is cut up.


So, short of a motion tracking weapon mounted nearby your bike that fires when anyone touches it, how do you protect your ride?

[NorthernPete]

have you seen my bike, it is its own anti theft....

Butt ugly and broken... but I love it anyways... (I think thats my wifes theory on me as well)

[Jamers!]

In light of recent discussions I've wondered:

What's the best thing you can do to prevent your bike from getting stolen?

Disc lock?
Picked up.

Chain?
Cut.

Combination?
Cut, then picked up.

Alarm?
Maybe the best option, but drowned out once in a truck.

Lojack?
Traceable, but can't help once the bike is cut up.


So, short of a motion tracking weapon mounted nearby your bike that fires when anyone touches it, how do you protect your ride?

i had my bike and will have my next bike chained to a pole, the chain was very thick, thicker than must bolt/chain cutters are. the lock was built into the pole so couldnt be cut. To top it all of i have a german shephard and he sleeps not more than 4 feet from my bike


JWF

[Shiv]

Explain your locking system more. How was the lock built into the pole?

Is this a lock/pole that went together and was built for like a residence?

And what kind of lock was it?

[TechTMW]

Shiv, (statistically) the chances of your bike being stolen drop significantly with every one of the security measures that you posted. One is OK, 2 is better, and so on.

Personally, I think the safest bike is one that is out of sight - like in a garage.

That being said, if the bad guys want your bike - they will get it no matter what the security measures are.

Naples is a HUGE property crime area. Hardly any Rapes, very little murder outside of the Mafia clans killing each other ... but theft is rampant. The houses have Steel shutters and bars to keep out thieves. Alot of people have Dogs ... But Neapolitan thieves poison the dogs, and can figure out any lock.

Another point is ... if your stuff really isn't worth stealing, is it worth the trouble to the thieves? I have 3 bikes, 2 1991 moddels and one 1982 model. I don't keep them locked up, even in naples. Nobody wants them. If I lived in LA with a brand new MV Agusta, i'd at least have a chain lock , alarm, and a disk lock. And you'd better believe it would be chained to a pole.

[FlyerPhil]

I just bought my bike. Haven't even got it home yet. I'm going to keep it on the street because I really don't feel like paying $200/month to keep a 2,000 bike in a garage.

I'm going to put a Kryptonite chain and disc lock on it and a cover over the bike. Maybe an alarm system as well(funny, an alarm beeped at me for just *looking* at a gixxer from about 4-5 feet away tonight).

Still, I don't think I'll come up with a better anti-theft device than it being a 20 year old Shadow.

[CNF2002]

You forgot pager alarm...the only way your bike is going to be prevented from being stolen is if you can be there to catch them.

No one else cares. The thief could spend 30 minutes breaking all the other locks on your bike and people would just walk by.

[ShawnKing]

What's the best thing you can do to prevent your bike from getting stolen?

As I said in another thread - don't get off of it.

All the methods you mention *can* be defeated but, if you use any one or a combination of methods, it's less likely.

Thieves by their nature are lazy - they want the easiest target they can find. If one bike has locks and the one next to it doesn't, they'll go after the unlocked bike.

(The above does not apply to professional bike thieves stealing "on contract". If your bike is the one they want/need, they'll take it)

Do as much as you can to protect your bike and have enough insurance to cover it if it does get stolen.

The other thing you can do is live here in Nashville, TN. Apparently, we're the "safest" place in the US for bikes.

Lojack?
Traceable, but can't help once the bike is cut up.

True but with an average recovery time of 2 hours, those thieves would have to work quick.

My biggest issue with LoJack is limited coverage - they don't cover the bike throughout the US.

[BigChickenStrips]

i know i sound vigilante but if your bike pages you and is being stolen, you might wanna have some form of "persuasion" to deal with the people taking said bike. i dont think bike theives are generally violent but they might try to hurt you if they think they will be in a prison cell with a big biker named Ball-Masher.

so you see 2-3 guys loading your bike into a van, what are you going to do? yell at them? cry for help? write down the licence plate (probably a stolen tag)? you gotta have a plan, not just a pager.

my plan is a 25 rnd bananna clip and neighbors who will help me plant a steak knife in the guys hand before the fuzz shows up (j/k)

(in reality, i dont think i'd shoot a person unless i really was being threatened, but i wouldnt hesitate to spray that "poo poo" at their car and see how they like having their car messed up)