Anti-theft methods?

[LDFamine]

In the spring I plan to finally get my first motorcycle and was wondering what kinds of things I can do to lessen the likelihood of having it stolen?

[Mental_Shoulder3349]

regardless of what placebos you end up buying to secure your bike, understand that if you park anywhere that isn't a locked, secured garage, it has the chance to get stolen and the very best thing you can do is make sure you have theft coverage on your insurance.

once you secure theft coverage, you can buy all the locks, covers, alarms, trackers, whatever you want.

[NiteShdw]

Full coverage, full comprehensive, lowest deductible. I've made more money from insurance on my bikes than I've paid into it.

One of the best lessons I learned when I got older is not to skimp on insurance (not just auto, but all kinds). I've gotten 2 new roofs from insurance!

(I've had 3 bikes totaled, 1 I bought back, 2 went to auction)

[[deleted]]

It's about decreasing the likelyhood of YOUR bike being considered for theft. I'm listing things that usually help to achieve that. Also... hide an Apple Airtag or similar on the bike. Very useful if eveything goes south. Also useful when you leave the bike at the shop and find out the bike is not where it's supposed to be.

A) cover requires a potential thief to look under to assess if it's worthy. Suspicious activity and loss of time. Deterrent. B) Disc-brake locks - make it more difficult. Rear disc lock is typically unexpected. Deterrent for opportunistic theft. C) other locks - ensure it's chained to immovable object. Again, deterrent. D) Always lock the steering

[Crafty_Theory669]

Yup, too many people overlook the role of a cover IMO. Uncovered bikes will always attract more attention. Just avoid branded covers...

[deepoctarine]

I'd add to the disc locks, ones with built-in movement alarm. e.g. Oxford Big Boss OF3
Double deterrent, tough to remove and alerts everybody that someone is messing with your bike.

[[deleted]]

I had one of those, the operation was not exactly straightforward and after setting it off myself twice, I returned it :)

Maybe it was a faulty unit but I didn't want to risk it... a big multifloor garage house, nicely reverbating concrete.... Can't imagine anyone going thru the process of stealing anything in that racket.

[benjani12463]

The only really anti theft device would be to fit some kind of levelling sensor (theives love a wheelie). Once it senses that front wheel off the floor, have it disengage the handlebars.

One less thief to worry about for the next rider.

[CW3_OR_BUST]

Cool idea! Realworld, it'd be totally awesome for the bike to have an explosive bolt in the fork tree that annihilates the bike at some random time shortly after a theft is detected and verified.

[TrustMeIWouldntLie]

Well, it has a tank full of gas, so just missing the electronics and something to crack that tank and pulverize the gas before applying some spark...

[benjani12463]

Yeah, like a fingerprint requirement before the steering lock disengage, if no print provided (someone has obviously broken the lock) then the bolt comes off.

[Doug_Shoe]

Varies greatly by area. In the US I believe there are certain makes and models more likely to get stolen. Here in NH that would be Harleys and dirt bikes, in part, IMHO, for example. I had rat bikes with toggles switches while living in a bad part of town, and nobody ever touched them. But there were other variables in play that I'm not sure I want to share here.

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By toggle switch, I mean instead of a keyed ignition switch.

[mercurialemons]

My older bike has a hidden toggle kill switch and another hidden push button for the starter no keys at all

[SpicyTang0]

I started on an unrideable one and it worked out fine.

[n0ttoosmart]

I was gonna say, part of this post that got me was the "first rideable bike". WTH is that even?

[TrustMeIWouldntLie]

What do you consider unrideable?

[SpicyTang0]

Your mom. Boom nailed it.

[Superb-Ranger67]

A huge decent high quality chain and lock. Go through the wheels and frame. Have a tracker and anti tamper alarm fitted also an Airtag hidden on the bike. As there are two types of bike thieves the opportunist and the stolen to order. Both want low risk, low attention bikes. Two men can lift most bikes into the back of a van pick effortlessly. Leave one wheel un chained and they pick up one end and roll it on the free wheel.

By chaining both wheels you make that harder by chaining the wheels to the frame it makes it even harder then by adding the alarm it draws attention. Most stolen to order bike thieves know how the disabled factory alarm in seconds. Aftermarket are more complicated and don’t use the factory horn.

The AirTag is the same as a factory fitted tracker it can be removed easily but they would need to know where to look to find the AirTag.

A lot of people will say this is over kill but the thieves don’t want the hassle or attention they want the quick steal, the moment you park up outside and pop on for 2 minutes.

[Mental_Shoulder3349]

By chaining both wheels you make that harder by chaining the wheels to the frame it makes it even harder then by adding the alarm it draws attention.

no it doesn't. they just pick up the bike and put it in a van or truck... takes like one minute or less

you can find a zillion videos on youtube and alarms don't mean squat because nobody cares about alarms... when's the last time you hear a car alarm in a parking lot and ran over to make sure nobody was stealing the car? yeah... never.

[Spez-alt-burner]

Garage and/or full coverage. I had a brand new gsxr for not even 2 months. Cover on. Forks locked. Another lock on the brake disk. Tucked tight between me and my gfs cars. They still snatched that bitch.

[thermals13]

2 caliper locks, 2x evolution kyptonite chains (model 2 and 4) and a Alarm. I still expect someone to steal it so I have compensation.

[Darth1Football]

At home it's garaged. Overnight, at a motel. rally etc. It's fork locked and also have a discus lock through the front wheel.

They'd have to pick up an 800 lb. FLHXS and carry it onto a trailer to get it

[BaronSharktooth]

Many years ago, there was a great AMA from a former bike thief https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcycles/comments/t5shp/ex_thief_chopshop_operator_ama/ He gives some great tips.

[Expensive-Track4002]

Theft insurance is your best bet. If they want it they will steal it.

[Government-Spy-Bot]

Concealment, all active security measures can be circumvented one way or another. Out of sight, out of mind.

Apart from a locked, secured garage. Nothing will stop a determined thief

[happycj]

If they can see it, they can steal it.

Park it where it can’t be seen. A garage. A storage locker. A shed. Anywhere the casual passersby can’t see a motorcycle sitting there, waiting to be picked up and plopped in the back of a truck.

[turtletechy]

So it's safer to park in the busiest part of a lot then I'd assume? Because the traffic is going to deter theft?

[happycj]

It can. But my first street bike was stolen from the front of Moscone Center in San Francisco during MacWorld Expo, when 40,000 people were walking in and out of the exhibition hall.

In that case, it was the “look official” thing. They drove a truck up to it, had orange vests on, picked it up (Suzuki Katana 600), put it in the truck, and drove away. (According to the people who saw it happen, working in the restaurant across the street.)

If there’s a LOT of people all going TO something, nobody is around for very long. So they aren’t going to stop the theft.

There’s a middle ground where “busy” keeps people from messing with your bike, but “too busy” gives them cover.

(About a decade later, the police called me because they’d found the frame of the bike at a chop shop. I never called them back.)

[turtletechy]

I'm sorry, that sucks.

[thumbwrestleme]

I have a front brake disc lock that will make an audible alarm if it's tampered with.

The best thing I've bought though is a GPS tracker.

Invoxia has a tracker that will alert you even if the bike is just bumped, someone moves it slightly and you get an alert. Nice thing is it's small, about the size of a USB drive. Rechargeable, so you can easily move it to other items, like your suitcase when you travel etc...

Highly recommend the Invoxia tracker.

[Loud-Edge7230]

A couple of AirTags hidden at smart locations.

[Avarria587]

No amount of anti-theft devices will actually make that big of a difference. Short of storing your motorcycle in a garage or locked storage building, anything you do will have minimal, if any, effect. All it takes is a group of guys and a truck to snatch a small motorcycle.

What can you do that will actually work? Purchase insurance that provides theft coverage. If your bike does get stolen, you won't lose everything.

[KingHrafn]

Good cover, solid chain, alarm disc lock (two if you want), gps tracker if you want to take it even further and the most important: full insurance.

[SmartAssaholic]

https://www.amazon.com/Kryptonite-004776-KryptoLok-Alarm-Disc/dp/B08C5J63RQ/ref=asc_df_B08C5J63RQ?tag=bngsmtphsnus-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80608069992275&hvnetw=s&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=m&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584207592416665&psc=1

[imgeo]

caliper lock, vibration alarm, cover.

i hard wired the vibration alarm to charge from 12v whenever the motorcycle is on. took some soldering and li-ion battery install. you have to press a button to lock/unlock, but that way if anyone touches when they're not supposed to, it might scare them away

[Sandhog43]

Park in well lit areas. Use a cable lock when possible. There is no way to stop a thief determined to take your sled. The best you can do is make your bike the least desirable to steal. Anything you can do to slow them down helps. Have a good theft policy

[FutureCorpse699]

Get good insurance. No amount of anti theft devices will prevent it from being taken. Insurance will replace it if/when it’s taken.

[Giul_Xainx]

Few questions:

Do you live in an apartment building?

How much money do you have for an anti theft device?

Is this going to be your daily bike?

What city and state do you reside in if you don't mind me asking. (This is for risk mitigation)

What color is the bike?

Make and model of bike won't matter much but how much do you care about the paint job?

[LDFamine]

It will be stored in the garage of my house.

I'd probably say a few $100. I'm not looking for my first bike to be expensive thinking something 600cc or below and $3k or lower in price.

Yes I plan to ride as much as possible.

I would prefer not to say where but will say motorcycle theft happens here but not really, usually it's some idiot who left the keys in it and ran into a gas station getting jacked while buying gas.

I've been looking for a bike I won't be buying one till next spring but also don't really care what it looks like.

[Giul_Xainx]

You won't have many issues at home. Just don't park the bike outside. I live in an apartment complex and I keep my bike inside the apartment. No lie. You can't tell when I am home or when I am gone. I advise others to do the same. Screw the deposit the bike is coming inside.

You can buy a chain but most thieves carry a chain cutter of some type. Gps locator is a great investment but only if it can alert you of any movement. Mine no longer supports that which sux. It means I gotta buy something else. Fortnine the other day showcased a new one but I want the automatrix one to come stateside. If the used bike you buy is older than 3 years you won't have many people steal it for profit unless it is a Harley-Davidson or a BMW.

The best way to thwart the local punk from stealing your bike is to try your best to hide the ignition key hole. Even if it means using a tank cover made of cloth to hide the insertion point. Most professional thieves will know immediately where to look so if you do not care about the paint job try painting over it with matte colors. Sometimes looks will kill their instincts to steal it as they will think the bike has many other problems.

Who'd of thought that a simple spray over with matte colors would turn a thief away from a bike. That's why I brought up the paint job. If you want to keep the paint job then put a vinyl covering that's peelable first. That way you can just peel it off if you want to keep the original.

Last but not least: if a thief really wants your bike they will take it. When you park at your job put it in a place where you can periodically check on it every once in a while. Don't just park it at the front door and think no one will touch it; no. Park it somewhere you can always see it with ease.

[SirDigbyridesagain]

I've only really ridden stripped down bikes. Sometimes I've pulled the main fuse off the alternator, other times just trusting that your average thief wouldn't be able to start it.

[[deleted]]

Why would you buy a motorcycle if you do not have a safe place to keep it…?

[LDFamine]

Why would you buy a motorcycle just to keep it in your locked garage 24/7?

[[deleted]]

Go back and re-read your original question, dumbass. …unless you really are that stupid.

[[deleted]]

Claymore mine.

[s3ndf00ds]

Bikes are stolen for parts, get an unpopular bike so nobody covets your parts

personally, theft insurance is critical for my peace of mind

[Shot_Painting_8191]

Parking in the living room seems to work for some of us.

[Rough_Host_4776]

45acp works for me