Best Practices: Security

[Wintermute]

This forum is about bikes/equipment getting stolen.

OK, how do you keep this from happening? Post your tips here.

Seeing as how apartment complexes seem to be a common factor in bike thefts, how do apartment vets lock up their rides? Share.

[DavidofColorado]

I have heard from a reformed bike theif that they were never worried about someone waking up when they stole a bike because they would come in the middle of the night when you were sleeping. If you can hear the guy you would have a better chance of doing something to stop him. So if your in a complex get an alarm on it and sleep with one eye open.

[willb003]

Before I moved here, I kept mine under a carport, steering locked, disc lock, cover on it and a car pulled into spot so that its wedged in between wall and car. That and I usually checked on it every night or if I heard a weird noise.

[= Buckeye Jess =]

I do a lot of what Will does as well. I have the disc brake lock on the front, steering locked, cover (when I remember to put it on after the bike cools..). I also have a shorter cable lock that I leave no slack in. I'll try to wind it through both wheels and the frame before I wrap it around the huge metal supports for the carport. If my car is there, I'll wedge the bike in as I can. My number one thing though is that my bedroom window looks directly out and over my carport spot, so I leave my window wide open and have the blinds angled so I can just open my eyes from bed and see the bike. I've gotten to the point that I wake up every time someone walks by the place, so I hope that if someone ever tried to take my bike that I'd wake up for it. My rent may be higher than in other places, but I also live in a pretty darn safe place where I actually CAN go to sleep w/out totally freaking out about the bike out there. (I do plan on getting an alarmed lock here soon though.)

My neighbors are awesome too and definitely help me keep an eye out on things. They know that NOBODY even touches my bike w/out me being right there. I got a call once when some brats were oogling it and I was able to run downstairs and snarl at them. lol

If someone is going to steal your bike, nothing is going to stop them. The best you can hope to do is to make it take them as absolutely long as possible in the hopes that they'll either give up or be seen. Oh and if you have any biker neighbors, it helps if you can start cable locking all of the bikes together. Damn hard to pick up and run away with multiple bikes in complete silence.

[Sean]

Buy a bike that no one wants to steal :up:

[DavidofColorado]

Buy a bike that no one wants to steal :up:

I had an 83 VF700 f interceptor and I had someone try and steal it when I went to a movie at the belmar theaters (Alameda and Wads) I think that I came out and scared them away. But they started tearing up the ignition and I didn't even notice until later when there was light and I was having trouble sticking the key in. They will steal anything if they get the opportunity IMO. Just make it harder to steal and you should dissuade most thieves.

[charlesard1]

I use the "New York Noose" chain and large lock. I also have a Zena alarmed disc lock that goes off if a nat sits on the bike. At home it is always garaged. I have had two bikes stolen in 20 years.

[Stuart Little]

Have a bike like mine that is 16 years old, and weighs close to 600lbs wet.... But yeah, steering lock, parked up against side of house with car next to it so it can't be rotated in steering lock or flipped on to a mattress and lifted by 4 dudes

[CaptGoodvibes]

I pay a little extra for a garage...

[King Nothing]

I pay a little extra for a garage...Winner winner, chicken dinner!

[Matty]

I pay a little extra for a garage...

:imwithstupid:

disc lock on the front is pointless if a thief really wants your bike. It's more of a deterent. It's basically as useful as having your steering locked.

Most thieves work in two or three. One or two to lift the front of the bike up and one inside the truck or van to help pull it in.

Using some sort of big asss chain locked to something fixed to the ground is your best bet.

[sugarrey]

I used to park my bike in a parking garage. Use the parking garage to your advantage Find a 90 degree corner made of concrete. Park your bike in the corner and then park your car on a 45 degree angle blocking it in. It should be nearly impossible to get out unless they move your car....

The picture is how I used to park my bike. Had a concrete pillar and two cars blocking it in....And a 17 year old kid pulled my bike over the hood of the honda there and stole it. It was parked in front of the honda, you can see where he screwed up the front of the car and the dent in the hood.

Now its garaged, barred and lojacked. If they want it, they'll get it...

INSURE THE SHIT OUT OF IT!!!

[willb003]

^^^ damn what a punk

[noskills]

I have heard from a reformed bike theif

What is the statute of limitations on "reformed"? Once a theif always.... I can't stop thinking about the movie Misery. Hobble that Motha F*er, then I will buy the reformed statement. If you can't tell I hate theifs.

I took a carmel one time when I was a child. My mom cured that with some old school!

Rant - Sorry. I would have tire marks going into my appartment.

[DavidofColorado]

What is the statute of limitations on "reformed"? Once a theif always.... I can't stop thinking about the movie Misery. Hobble that Motha F*er, then I will buy the reformed statement. If you can't tell I hate theifs.

I took a carmel one time when I was a child. My mom cured that with some old school!

Rant - Sorry. I would have tire marks going into my appartment.

Its not a statement I make lightly. But they went to jail and paid their debt to society and are making a good effort to put their scumbag past behind them. And they are doing it without outside forces so I am giving them the benfit of the doubt. But I still remember their past and watch him.

I don't like thieves either. But if they are trying to change why not give them 1x second chance.

[konichd]

There are a lot of things out there and being a rental business obviously keeping track of bikes is a pretty high priority.

Personally I keep my bike in a garage and it has lojack installed.

However the rental bikes aren't the same, people take them and most stay outside when rented for multiple days. What I've found that works the best is a system called ZOOMBACK. Other GPS/Cell Phone tracking devices are hard wired in with a 24 hour battery life. Not hard for thieves to find as all you have to do is follow the batttery leads. The Zoomback is cheap, is a small unit a little larger than a cigarette lighter, doesn't need to be plugged in, and can hold a charge for 7 days. You can hide it anywhere on the bike making it harder for potential thieves to find it.

[Stank Juic3]

If I ever caught someone stealing my bike, I'll be going to jail for attempted murder. I'll go ape shit on their ass.

[Devaclis]

My bike is a piece of property. I will try to prevent the theft of it. I will not put myself in physical harm to defend it. I have great insurance. It would get replaced.

[JohnEffinK]

:imwithstupid:

But I would still be angry and would likely cuss a lot.

John

[DavidofColorado]

If I ever caught someone stealing my bike, I'll be going to jail for attempted murder. I'll go ape shit on their ass.

I am with stupid on this too, in that its just a piece of property and not worth putting my life in danger. And only because when the cops showed up I don't want to blamed for the criminals fall to the ground and subsequent falling on my fist and foot and rifle butt. I just want the police to know that he was accident prone and I found him that way.:confused::puppy:
Cops have told people that you take a chance with your life trying to steal something in my neighborhood. But, apparently graffiti is tolerated.

[McVaaahhh]

At home, I garage it and leave it at that. I figure if the thieves are going to take the trouble to break into my house/garage to get my bike any locking system isn't going to do shit and it's insured so I'll get a new one. :D However, if I hear someone in my garage I will fully enforce the make my day law...

When I'm out and about I don't do anything with it as I rarely take it somewhere where I leave it alone for hours on end. I do have a disk lock and will use that on occasion, but I generally don't worry about it.

If I lived in an apartment, I would probably have a different outlook on security as it seems like a hot-bed for thieves.

[MetaLord 9]

Garage it, insure it, and, if you've gotta, replace it.

If you don't wanna die on the bike, why would you wanna die for the bike?

[dirkterrell]

If you don't wanna die on the bike, why would you wanna die for the bike?

I agree with you but part of this sentiment probably arises from the fact that little seems to be done about thefts. Just file the insurance claim and get a replacement. Let everyone pay for it with higher premiums. Something really bothers me when I see city police sitting on I-25 tagging people for going 6 over but they "don't have enough resources" to deal with bike theft, unlicensed drivers, etc.

As I have said before, I don't blame the cops for this. They are enforcing the law as directed by their superiors (ultimately politicians) and apparently people going a few miles an hour over the (artificially low) speed limit on a limited access highway are a bigger threat to public safety than thieves and unlicensed drivers. It doesn't surprise me that people want to protect the things they have worked hard to buy rather than letting scumbags walk away with them while the police are busy manning speedtraps.

Dirk

[DavidofColorado]

Wouldn't your own premiums go way up if you filed a claim? They might even drop your insurance and share the fact that you had a claim with other insurance companies so they will know to charge accordingly. It might be worth it to try your best to prevent the theft in the first place. IMHO.

[MetaLord 9]

Definatley fair points, but what's the solution? Raise the speed limits to reasonable numbers and then grossly inflate the fines for breaking them to account for the revenue drop?

I can't say that I wouldn't be interested in stopping someone from stealing my bike, but if I can get it through my head early enough that I should only push so far, then I'm more prone to back off at the right time & not equate my life to the market value of a two year old bike.

[Devaclis]

Talk shit to my wife - I will kill you

Talk shit to my friends - I will kick your ass

Steal my property - I will get it replaced.

Now, I am all for preventing ANY of the above situations from happening. There are varying degrees to the last 2 points. The first is an absolute. I have priorities other than becoming a temporary police officer, negotiator, or crime scene investigator.

[dirkterrell]

Definatley fair points, but what's the solution? Raise the speed limits to reasonable numbers and then grossly inflate the fines for breaking them to account for the revenue drop?


Why should traffic enforcement have anything to do with government revenue? If it's really about public safety, eliminate the fines and go points only with definite (and non-negotiable) point fines for speeding. When you have no more points left, you don't drive. If you do, go to jail. That would solve this horrific "public safety" problem and not allow it to be abused as a revenue generator. There are studies on how to best set the speed limit (read: safest speed limit) of a road and that is clearly not what is done. I have pointed out before that the speed limit in front of the Wal Mart on 287 in Lafayette is 55-60 (depending on which way you're going) and yet the speed limit on the south end of 36 is also 55 (and it's also crawling with cops). That's just stupid and has nothing to do with public safety.

I'll bet if you asked most cops whether they'd rather be catching thieves or catching speeders, they'd opt for the former.

Dirk

[Graybird]

So now that you all have made me PARANOID about the safety of my bike... I guess I will just LoJack the damn thing and maybe get it and a couple of others peoples bikes back when they find it!!

[LiQuIdAiR=OTB=]

I agree with you but part of this sentiment probably arises from the fact that little seems to be done about thefts. Just file the insurance claim and get a replacement. Let everyone pay for it with higher premiums. Something really bothers me when I see city police sitting on I-25 tagging people for going 6 over but they "don't have enough resources" to deal with bike theft, unlicensed drivers, etc.

As I have said before, I don't blame the cops for this. They are enforcing the law as directed by their superiors (ultimately politicians) and apparently people going a few miles an hour over the (artificially low) speed limit on a limited access highway are a bigger threat to public safety than thieves and unlicensed drivers. It doesn't surprise me that people want to protect the things they have worked hard to buy rather than letting scumbags walk away with them while the police are busy manning speedtraps.

Dirk

I agree, they are focused on the wrong things. In fact, wouldn't it be great if they made public announcements of stolen property or things that might be prevented with more attention paid by ourselves and our neighbors. We make our best efforts here using forums and public access avenues like craigslist but what do the police do? File it.

By the way, what safety concerns does unlicensed drivers pose? I see more dangerous driving from licensed drivers then not. I would know. I drove very safe for over a year :)

This kind of topic bothers me.

[Valguard]

I agree, speeding should not be a revenue generator but unfortunately it is. What is worse, IMO, is that it's not a fair one. There is a huge difference between a millionaire getting a $250 fine and a single mom, struggiling to get by, getting a $250 fine. The kids are going to feel that in the grocery budget. Someone, think about the children! :cry:

On another note... hidden kill switches! This is yet another tool one could add to their arsenal of anti-theft weapons. I'm going to try to put one hidden in the trunk. I mean, it wont help in preventing someone from walking away with it. But, they with be a little confused when their wiring tricks do nothing...muwahaha. :banghead:

[Ricky]

2 way pager alarm
lojack
zoombak or similar device

IMO, buy a bike that someone WANTS to steal. Put lojack on it, leave the key in it, and help the world get rid of criminals. Also, get a 2way pager alarm system with a silent local alarm so that when it does move, the remote gets a message.

With a zoombak device, you can set up zones that alert you when you leave or enter a certain zone. With that, you could seriously catch some thieves.

[dirkterrell]

By the way, what safety concerns does unlicensed drivers pose?


People who haven't demonstrated at least the very minimum required knowledge/skills shouldn't be on the road. That, coupled with the very high likelihood that unlicensed drivers are also uninsured makes them a big risk to others.



I see more dangerous driving from licensed drivers then not.

How do you know they are licensed?

Dirk

[LiQuIdAiR=OTB=]

People who haven't demonstrated at least the very minimum required knowledge/skills shouldn't be on the road. That, coupled with the very high likelihood that unlicensed drivers are also uninsured makes them a big risk to others.



How do you know they are licensed?

Dirk

True that. I wish there was a better way to teach people how to drive. Then maybe we could raise speed limits and accidents would decline.

About me knowning about good or bad license..Of course I cannot know for sure without qualifying. But I would guess, if someone doesn't have a license and they still drove, for example a friend of mine, lost his license but had a family to feed and a job to get to, would he not drive more careful? Or would he speed and jump in and out of traffic? Most would say he wouldn't, others might.

True about the insurance part. Unfortunately, true. This kind thing is a moot point. We will of course comply and submit to law since they are in control and supposely appointed by our peers. I don't like to automatically quantify a persons situation based on what it says on paper.

[Wintermute]

There's a reason Finland has produced more driving world champions per capita than any country on earth: First license after 30 hrs of instruction and 20 theory lessons (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driving_licence_in_Finland), then during the 2 years that one is valid you take more classes, with slippery and night training.

[rforsythe]

Garage it, insure it, and, if you've gotta, replace it.

If you don't wanna die on the bike, why would you wanna die for the bike?

Agreed. I have some other security features at home as well, but bottom line I've taken reasonable steps to secure my property, and pay that money each month to cover me in case someone gets greedy. Beyond that, I am not going to get killed for a motorcycle, no matter how much I like it. The neat part about bikes is I can generally get another one.

Yes if they're in my garage I may consider enforcing the MMD law, but there again ... bike, death, bike, death ... not a hard tradeoff. If they come into my house itself I consider that sacred ground and will unload however.


I agree with you but part of this sentiment probably arises from the fact that little seems to be done about thefts. Just file the insurance claim and get a replacement. Let everyone pay for it with higher premiums. Something really bothers me when I see city police sitting on I-25 tagging people for going 6 over but they "don't have enough resources" to deal with bike theft, unlicensed drivers, etc.

I don't disagree with you on that, catching thieves doesn't make them any money.


Wouldn't your own premiums go way up if you filed a claim? They might even drop your insurance and share the fact that you had a claim with other insurance companies so they will know to charge accordingly. It might be worth it to try your best to prevent the theft in the first place. IMHO.

Prevent it, just like you prevent an accident. Things do happen though. Your premiums may go up, they might not, just depends on where you do business. I totaled my first bike, got it covered, and they didn't raise my rates. If you file a claim, it will go in CLUE and other companies will see it as well, but I am not sure a theft claim really affects you as much as covering damage beyond repair. I doubt they will drop you over this one thing unless you have a history of costing them money.

[#1Townie]

apartments are big targets cuz people get cheap and dont get the garages and leave their bikes out.. to be real with all of you if a person wants your bike they are going to take it.. most bikes that get stolen are stolen by other riders for parts..

truth is nothing but keeping your bike locked up in side is the only sure way of keeping your bike safe.. those locks for rotors are easy to cut off.. getting to the battery on any bike is easy and thats all you have to do to disable most alarms.. stearing locks can be broken by a larg yank on the bars.. even if a person doesnt feel like going into all that in your lot it only takes five guys and your bike is gone in seconeds.. odds are before you can even get your shoes on as you hear the alarm chearping.. 4 for the bike and one to hijack you if you come out..

so realy if you live in a complex then get the garage if no garages then bring it into your apartment.. cant do that then hide it, and no in front of your car doesnt mean much.. i have repoed many bikes that were stuffed in the space in front of the persons car.. chain it wheel lock it put as much crap on that bike as possible .. if it doesnt look like an easy catch then odds are in your favor that the people will move on..

[Mister BOYD]

Just jumped on the bandwagon. This comment doesn't mean crap to you, but the most sure fire way... GARAGE! Thanks for reading a redundant statement. No safer place for it. Theives are shit and will do anything to get what they want.

[Stuart Little]

apartments are big targets cuz people get cheap and dont get the garages and leave their bikes out..


Yeah, because it's a requirement to have money to own a motorcycle... I'm not sure I like how you phrased that and I'm sure you didn't mean it that way but damn, some people just can't afford a garage... sometimes things like paying off student loans, or food is more important that paying a complex 50-100/month for a garage.

[#1Townie]

Yeah, because it's a requirement to have money to own a motorcycle... I'm not sure I like how you phrased that and I'm sure you didn't mean it that way but damn, some people just can't afford a garage... sometimes things like paying off student loans, or food is more important that paying a complex 50-100/month for a garage.

hey take it how you want.. i live in a complex.. im not loaded with cash.. we have had some hard times this last few months but i still have a garage to keep my bike in.. a few years ago we lived in a complex that didnt even have garages so i kept the bike in the tiny ass living room. i had to ride the bike up over a curb and then up a rock incline then had to turn the bike on the kick stand then another 4 inch step to the slab in front of the slider.. try that shit when theres snow on the ground.. it was by no means to disrepect to any one.. its just most people feel why pay for a garage when the only thing they will keep in it is a bike..

look i know what i do cuz i steal cars and bikes for a living.. i have seen people go to some lenghs to keep their shit frfom getting repod.. if i can get my hands on it i can figure out how to steal it.. alarms no alarms.. locked stearing colums or the key left in it.. i even figured out how to load a rocket with a locked stearing colum into the back of my f350 by myself..


look truth is it takes no more then 30 seconed for you bike to be gone.. you can have your two way pager and all that but its not going to go off till the guys have grabbed it.. you will get to see them load it and be gone before your shoes are on.. the only real way to save that bike is to keep it locked up inside..

[DavidofColorado]

A great way to steal your bike is to get it away from where it belongs and start it later. If you have to pick it up and put it in a truck and start it later. Or simple push it down the street and then hot wire it. If you can stop them from moving it you will have a better chance of catching them in the act.

A garage is a deterrent and will force most thieves to go down the street to an easier target. But if your away on vacation or something they might have the time to steal it. (So don't post on twitter or facebook that your going on vacation!)

I am such a light sleeper that one of the times that I am awoke in the middle of the night I wish it was someone I could shoot.

[derekm]

If you can afford a nice bike step ur game up a little to a house rental with a garage

[CYCLE_MONKEY]

Why should traffic enforcement have anything to do with government revenue? If it's really about public safety, eliminate the fines and go points only with definite (and non-negotiable) point fines for speeding. When you have no more points left, you don't drive. If you do, go to jail. That would solve this horrific "public safety" problem and not allow it to be abused as a revenue generator. There are studies on how to best set the speed limit (read: safest speed limit) of a road and that is clearly not what is done. I have pointed out before that the speed limit in front of the Wal Mart on 287 in Lafayette is 55-60 (depending on which way you're going) and yet the speed limit on the south end of 36 is also 55 (and it's also crawling with cops). That's just stupid and has nothing to do with public safety.

I'll bet if you asked most cops whether they'd rather be catching thieves or catching speeders, they'd opt for the former.

Dirk
Dr. Dirk for president!:)