About Safety

[tzel]

Hi guys, I was just a little curious about the safety of having a motorcycle. I mean, are they stolen a lot? Like, what's the ratio of having your motorcycle stolen compared to say... cars being ripped off or hotwired? Yeah, this is kind of a dumb question, but this is one thing that I'll have to consider when buying a bike. Do you guys use like, security systems or maybe stick on a kryptonite lock on the rear wheel when you park it? If you could fill me in, that'd be a great help. THanks.

[Z_Fanatic]

Other guys might have more knowledge about this, but I think no matter what you do, bikes are a lot easier to steal than cars. The only difference is car to bike ratio is low, so it seems cars get stolen more, but hot bikes are just the same. You could just pick one up on a van and go. The only prevention is buy an unattractive bike in today's standards (see below, hehe), and get a theft insurance with GAP included.

[aussieidiot]

same as cars. if they want it they'll take it.

you can fit alarms and immobolisers just as in cars.

disc locks stop people moving your bike and playing with it.

personally i have a Kryptonite chain and disc lock. don't use the chain much but then i don't park for long periods were thieves can trace my daily routine.
also my 954 has a built in immoboliser the same as cars do these days. can't start it without the key and you cant hotwire unless you replace the computer and some other electronic part which i can't remember.

basic rule of thumb is park in high movement areas in a spot that is difficult to push the bike or lift it.

[NaKeDZX]

Good advice. I know more people that have had bikes stolen than cars. If you don't have a garage, I'd find something to lock it to. 3 guys and a pickup is all it takes for just about any bike.

[CBURKE]

Yeah my boy got his 2004 suzuki 750 stollen like 2weeks after he got it. But i bet it's someone he knows. Witch is who will steal them most of the time. I don't really think chains are gonna help, if you have about 3 guys they can just pick the bike up and put it in the back of a truck and bye bye. I think the alarm thing may be the way to go. As for insurance (agent here) they will only give you like 1,000 to 2,000 on theft. So you may wanna get agreed value, this means you get it appresed for what you think it is worth. I'm in FL but i can do othere states for insurance and i do bike's all the time. Let me know if you need any help.

[tzel]

hey thanks guys for the input. I was booted up from my apr 9th class to mar 5th (this saturday!), and so I'm just considering everything and hoping to be riding on a bike in a month.

I was thinking of maybe getting a nicer bike, like a cbr or a gsx (used of course), but those would probably catch some eyes, and I live in a studio in town, so I would probably have to park it on the street... where it could easily be stolen. I don't know, there's a couple of bikes that are always parked on the street, but I guess I can't afford to be too trusting.

I guess a used ninja would be good enough to fit my need for power and also because it doesn't really look it's worth a lot to deter thieves.

Thanks guys!

[cousincletus]

My 1992 Harley Sportster had padlock holes where you can lock the steering. It would definitely slow a thief down and make his job harder. I had State Farm ins. and they pay book value but the book value on a Harley is always way lower than what it's actually worth.

[CBURKE]

Very true, and state farm is always ready to please. They bend over backwards to make the customer happy.