Do i need the alarm ?

[Rowle]

Hi all.
Just about to order a new GS and it now comes with the datatool tracker as standard.
On the options list there is an alarm for £225 but do i need it???
The tracker datatool stealth S5 looks like it does the job as long as you keep paying the yearly subscription...

So, if i added the alarm am i just wasting £225 ?

Thanks all for the help.

 

[JJH]

Opinions vary but I’d go for it. I’ve had an alarm on my bike since I don’t know when. Won’t stop a pro but might styme a opportunist. JJH

 

[AndyGS]

Personaly i have never had an alarm on any of my bikes as i think they can play up and drain the battery,the first year is a free subsription for the tracker and then start payng after that if you want to,but its not really free as bmw pay for the first year and im sure it sneaks into the price of the bike.

 

[Blackal]

£225 will buy a top of the range chain/padlock + a top quality alarmed disc-lock.

That’s the route I would be heading down.

 

[stick]

Depends on you situation really .
For me no as my bike is securely located , and I never leave it unattended as only use for pleasure .
If I was , say , using it for work transport or my only means of transport and parking was not secure , yes , and a big fook off chain as well.

 

[Eunuch]

Have a 1250 now without an alarm but had one on my 2013 1200 that I hardly ever used.

Stupid really since it was factory installed, but I never bothered to use it so I opted not to on the 1250.

 

[Rowle]

Just done a few insurance quotes on line and adding the alarm and/or quality lock does not drop the premium !
If you take the stealth datatool off though it goes up by £90. (You cannot order a GS without one now though).
If you let the subscription lapse the policy goes up then by £90.

 

[Nutty]

I had one on my first GS. Wouldn’t bother again tbh.

 

[Jverdoes]

So, if i added the alarm am i just wasting £225 ?

My R1 was stolen in Finsbury Circus right outside a cafe. It was fitted with a Datatool System 3 alarm, Xena alarmed disc lock and massive chain. It did not stop them stealing the bike in a very busy part of London.
I went into the cafe to ask if they heard the alarm or seen anything and got the reply, "we hear alarms all day mate, its a bloody nuisance"

If your bike is parked outside and the alarm goes off, Mr Joe Public is in most cases too afraid to intervene or not bothered.
The tracker is probably the best method to protect your bike, or stand a chance to get it back but in my opinion, a £225 alarm is a waste of money.
Alarms, disc locks and chains don't trouble them at all when they are armed with 18V grinders. If they want it, they'll take it.

I will rather make sure my insurance is watertight and make sure you declare everything so they don't have a loophole not to pay out.
Hopefully you have a garage to keep it locked in. I'll rather spend that money to make the garage harder to break in to.
Out of sight, out of mind.

 

[Rowle]

Jverdoes - thank you for that.
Great points to consider.

 

[Mr Bean]

Have a 1250 now without an alarm but had one on my 2013 1200 that I hardly ever used.

Stupid really since it was factory installed, but I never bothered to use it so I opted not to on the 1250.

The BMW alarm is not Thatcham approved and therefore not recognised.

 

[Tarka]

So, if i added the alarm am i just wasting £225 ?

Yes.
Vehicle alarms, especially motorcycle alarms, only ever turn out to be an inconvenience and annoyance to the owner.

 

[Doc]

I would also say don't bother .Maybe a decent disc lock or lock and chain.

 

[shedracer]

If its the DATATOOL TRAKKING ADVENTURE, make sure its the one with a proximity key fob and not the one which only has an app to disarm it (or turn on ignition). If its the one with only an app on your phone, it will drive your crazy. My brother has the app only to disarm or turn the ignition on, with text message when bike is moved without deactivating (I think you get about 30 or so free a year). He puts a cover on the bike, to protect it from dust etc and prying eyes. When he wants to deactivate it with a cover on, he has to use the app, every time he does this, then takes the cover off, its sends a text about unauthorised movement. If you try and remove the cover, to turn the ignition on to deactivate, it also sends a text message! Eats away the free text messages in no time and to add more text messages to the subscription, its very expensive. He has spoken to Datatool about this on numerous occasions, and the crux of the matter is, even though he has used the app, if the tracker is in sleep mode, as it would be if its been parked up over night, it needs the ignition turning on, to wake it to receive the message from the app to deactivate!

So if it doesn’t have proximity key fob, don’t use a bike cover and whenever you move the bike, always make sure you’ve turned the ignition on! I was thinking of having one, but his experience put me off. His was free with his Honda, but when you think about the annual subscription and maybe additional texts after the first year, it works out a lot more than the £90, if you let the subscription lapse!

Don’t have any experience with the latest Tracking Adventure S5, but looking at their website, it has a proximity fob, so as long as you have the key near the bike, then I guess it wont have the same issues.

 

[Matty589]

It not the TrakKing Adventure, it’s the Stealth. The Adventure I bought for one of my bikes has the fobs but you can turn EWM off, which is what sends all the spurious texts. It’s not necessary anyway.

 

[Tigger390]

I have the Trakking Adventure with only the app and I have set a small geofence around my house which allows me to move the bike without the ignition on. Once it goes outside this area it works as normal, and as was previously said, the alarm is not Thatcham approved so unlikely to get much of an insurance discount, if any. My bike has it as it was a 'stock' bike with it already fitted.

 

[Mr Bean]

I have a Biketrac - you need to switch the ignition on to switch the unit off. At first it was too sensitive and I would get phone calls when taking the cover off or fitting the top box. Eventually I learnt that they can reduce the sensitivity and now it only alerts if I push the bike without switching the ignition on.

What I do like about it is if the bike goes down they will call the wife to say so - the majority of my riding is alone.

 

[MRDDD]

Tracker

I have an all trac tracker fitted by bmw main dealer brilliant i get an message within 2 minutes of the bike being moved followed by a phone call

 

[MRDDD]

You can also put into service mode if you want to clean or move your bike

 

[Belco100]

I always get the BMW alarm fitted. It integrates into the bike well ie flashes dashboard lights, Immobilises, controlled through menus (on latest versions) etc. Doesn’t flatten the battery - goes into low power mode after a week (?) or so. Why get anything else?

The new Tracker does look good, but that has a monthly cost with it.