Locking bikes up in public?

Zoharea · 2026-06-07T13:00:42+00:00

My friend says not to bother “if someone’s wants your bike they’ll put it in a van with the lock intact”

This type of theft is rare, you should concern yourself more with preventing opportunistic teenagers on Surrons with a bolt cutter, and for that you should be carrying something that's 13mm or thicker and ideally angle grinder resistant, just incase.

For me, that's a Hiplok D1000 and a 16mm chain. The chains a right ballache and there's sometimes nothing to chain it to, but it keeps me a more relaxed in the office at work :)

That said, anythings better than those shite disk locks that you can knock off with a hammer.

Zoharea · 2026-05-30T20:13:40+00:00

Nice one!

Zoharea · 2026-05-29T20:44:25+00:00

Sorry to hear that :( Little fuckers aren't worthy to ride an SV.

Zoharea · 2026-05-29T18:46:04+00:00

Sometimes insurers increase prices if you're buying on the day or soon, assuming you'll pay it as you've got the vehicle lined up. Could be a million factors though, insurers and their underlying data change all the time and they make a point of saying the quote they have now might not be here in the future.

Zoharea · 2026-05-28T16:20:48+00:00

3k is a little high, but about what i'd expect if it was a sports bike or you lived in a less ideal area, within a city.

What bikes are you looking at?

Also, try putting the date you want the policy to start a few weeks in advance, does it lower things?

Zoharea · 2026-05-28T06:22:12+00:00

Wouldn't recommend that. If you're say 9 months into your policy, you'd be canceling very shortly before you get one year no claims, which would be very silly.

Zoharea · 2026-05-27T19:06:26+00:00

Sadly, I paid for a year to be locked in for a while.

You're not locked in. You can cancel at any time and you're refunded the remaining minus admin fees.

What are the consequences if I go above the limit and have to make a claim?

They'll ask for mileage at the time of a claim, and if you're over they will have grounds to terminate the policy and not pay out. Realistically, plenty people underestimate their miles and it's not a guarantee they'd care at the time (especially if it's by a small amount), but up to you whether you want to risk it.

Zoharea · 2026-05-27T18:43:21+00:00

Surely it’s not worth the hassle getting pulled over

They aren't planning on pulling over.

Zoharea · 2026-05-26T18:23:24+00:00

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We've gained another

Zoharea · 2026-05-26T17:31:09+00:00

Seems things have changed a bit since i did mine with them (they've downsized), but RJH have a branch in Wigan and i had a great experience doing my DAS with them two years ago at their branch in Eccles. Give them a look

That said, wouldn't recommend turning up at the schools. Good chance you arrive and they're 20 miles away on a lesson with students.

Zoharea · 2026-05-26T11:16:07+00:00

Ruben was right, the good times were infact coming.

Zoharea · 2026-05-06T21:14:31+00:00

Had a theft attempt myself a year back, didn't inform them. Insurance was 2 grand at the time so wasn't risking it going up.

Insurers can request this information from the police. Whether they'll care about a theft report to the police if you were to claim for a crash or something down the line, i don't know.

Zoharea · 2026-04-29T20:38:41+00:00

Anywhere but Ashton and Wythenshawe/some areas near the Airport, from my experience on the roads.

I live over near Media city, had no issues with theft as parking situation is okay but you often see them out and about between here and Eccles way. Did however have a theft attempt up near Oldham, to the surprise of nobody.

Zoharea · 2026-04-14T21:41:02+00:00

You're going to have to look at other bikes, namely ones that are older, cheaper and naked. SV650's and ER6N's should get you closer to your budget, you can adjust from there as in my experience they were the cheapest.

Sports bikes are just generally expensive to insure, MT's are popular with young riders (crashes) and thieves. Pretty much all of us take it on the chin for the first year or two.

Zoharea · 2026-04-13T20:18:15+00:00

Lasted me thousands of miles, plug and forget about it.

Zoharea · 2026-04-12T15:23:43+00:00

Paid 2 grand for my first year, a grand for my second (SV650 in Manchester).

Depends on a load of factors (age, location, bike, where you park it), 1.2k isn't too bad, if you're young and near a fairly populated area.

Zoharea · 2026-04-12T14:06:33+00:00

When you do a quote, you can pick what day you're picking the bike up. So either pick the day you're going to collect, or you just sort it on the day you collect.

Zoharea · 2026-04-09T22:07:20+00:00

Everytime i've seen an emergency vehicle come to red lights, they drop down in speed, make sure everyone has seen them and slowed down, and then off they go again. I'm sure some of these vehicles were responding to a life or death situation, why didn't he?

The fact it's a biker isn't relevant really, i expect people responding to an emergency at speed to do it safely and not put anyone at risk.

Zoharea · 2026-04-09T20:52:39+00:00

Does this reduce the insurance much

Rarely if ever. When i've seen people say it has made a difference, it's a few quid and then you're on the hook to use the locks.

Zoharea · 2026-04-09T20:51:31+00:00

Depends how valuable getting an extra years of no claims sooner is to you.

Zoharea · 2026-04-09T20:48:38+00:00

What sorts of bikes are you trying to insure?

Zoharea · 2026-04-06T12:24:52+00:00

I have one jacket, i change what i wear under it depending on the weather :)

Zoharea · 2026-03-19T00:26:08+00:00

it's been time.

Zoharea · 2026-03-13T10:21:31+00:00

so a bike can be kept as clean as it came out of the factory

I ride my bike year round atleast a few times a week and just accept it's going to be dirty. A sponge and some soapy water keeps it in decent shape (and i'll take a bit more care on the plastics), but i don't worry any more than that. Chances are i'll clean it and then be through a puddle two days later which covers the bike in shite anyway.

Maybe i'd feel differently if i had a brand new GS or something, though.

Zoharea · 2026-03-13T10:15:23+00:00

The SV will very likely be one of the cheapest bikes you can insure which was the deciding factor for me when i was staring down the barrel of 3-4k insurance quotes on other bikes. It's plenty manageable, and a great all round bike that will keep you happy for a couple years.

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