Tips to stop your motorcycle being stolen

What can be worse than going outside to get on your bike, and it not being there? Your pride and joy, gone, stolen.

Unfortunately, there is no alarm that can’t be defeated or garage that can’t be broken into. What can you do?.. make your bike the hardest to steal. Thieves don’t want to put time and effort into stealing; they want an easy take and a fast get away. Your bike needs to take more time to steal, than the profit merits. It needs to be less appealing, than other bikes in the same area.

After my bike was taken I did some research on motorbikes being stolen in the UK, reading up on the National Crime Intelligence Service (NCIS) and Motorcycle Crime Reduction Group.

Thieves are attracted to motorcycles because they are easy to transport, secreted, they can easily be broken down into parts for the black market or for joyriding. Motorcycles are also known to be lacking in anti-theft technology and generally thieves can crack locks without too much hassle. The recovery rate for motorbikes is extremely low compared to larger vehicles, like cars and van.

A sad statistic is that for every five motorbikes stolen in the UK, only two were recovered in 2015.

So which motorcycles seem to be most at risk?

Top Bikes Stolen in the UK 2015:

• Yamaha 600 R6 
• Yamaha YZF-R125
• Triumph Daytona 675
• Kawasaki ZX-6R
• Honda CBF 125
• Yamaha YZF-R1
• Suzuki SV 650 S
• Suzuki GSX-R 600
• Honda CBR 600 F (M-W)
• Suzuki GSF 600 Bandit

If you own any of the above and are now thinking.. I need to sell my bike, do not fear. There are a lot of different ways to protect it.

Security Alarms, Immobilisers and Locks

Do a combination! You need to make it as hard as possible for thieves, the more obstacles they come across; the more likely they are to leave it.
Buy a good alarm and immobilizer. If they are approved by your insurance company, and Thatcham or Sold Secure it’s even better. You need potential thieves to pass your bike over for an easier target. Datatool are another good provider of alarms & Immobilizers, check them out at datatool.co.uk

Locks on the bike, use more than one - Disc locks, chain locks and also D locks. Always put the steering lock on. Make these features stand out on your bike; thieves will be put off by the alarms, locks and they won’t be able to ride the bike away because the engine won’t start, ideal!

Secure your garage

I wrote an article about when my motorbike was stolen, and the insane lengths the thieves went to get it. I have now moved house, somewhere with a garage. So now making the garage secure is extremely important!

I would recommend a ground anchor to secure your bike to, attached to the back wheel of your bike, rather than front. The ground anchor I use and trust is the Oxford Anchor Force, extra strong bolt-down. It is also good practice to use a chain long enough to run through the wheel and a frame member, as It only takes a single tool on most bikes to remove the back wheel.

Reinforce all access points to your garage with extra locks and alarms on the doors can’t hurt.

Mark your motorbike

While opinions are divided about marking your bike, it has been proven as a deterrent.

Vehicles have been stopped by the police and the marks did actually established ownership. The police can struggle identifying cloned bikes, but with the marks they are able to pinpoint removed parts. The marks ensure thieves being charged and bikes returned to their owners.

As well as the bikes being easier to recover with the marks, they are far less attractive to take in the first place.

Although many new motorbikes have security systems fitted now, Ultra Violet pens are a cheap and easy way to mark your bike. You can write your postcode or registration number on the bike. Thieves hate these marking because they can’t sell it on and if they are caught with them, its hard evidence.

Something else you may want to consider is the Alpha Dot technology. Each of the Alpha Dots are printed with a unique Personal Identification Number, to secure the dot all you do is paint it on with the glue. After this the dot will be virtually impossible to remove, once found on the vehicle there is no need for forensic analysis as the Police can convict with the Alpha Dot. If this is of interest have a look on their website: alpha-dot.co.uk

Keep them safe!

If you are interested in selling your motorbike, just go to We Buy Any Bike and enter your registration for an instant quote from us!