Go to Bennetts social, there are videos of them testing a wide variety of locks and chains
Motorcycle security when away from home
- Thread starter Wapping
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There's plenty of you tube videos testing various chains and locks; Bennetts have a good section where they list all the one's they've tested to destruction. Conclusion I came too was that most chain up to 13mm link size are on a par as most can be cut quickly so no benefit to using a 13mm over say a 10mm. Some are more resistant to cropping (hexagonal hardened links 12 to 14mm) but no better than say a good 10mm chain to diamond angle grinder disc attacks, so these more portable chains are more for a deterrent to opportunist thieves but best backed up by layering with D locks and/or disc locks. Diamond cutters will rip through most chains but have trouble getting through grinder resistant D locks. Testing has shown that ordinary metal grinding discs cut resistant locks better but you'd need half a dozen or so to do the job, which makes it time consuming and noisy.
Best presently seems to be the grinder resistant D locks from Litelok, Hiplock, Abus and Onguard. All of those should resist angle grinder attach for a minimum of 5 minutes but some will resist far longer and that's just to go through one side (generally these locks need both legs cutting). I've seen test results varying from 5 or 6 minutes to 20 minutes and no thief is likely to hang around for that length of time.
I use two crop resistant alarmed disc locks which are also hardened to make them difficult to defeat with an angle grinder (due to awkward positioning), a litelok X1 and Hiplock 10mm bike chain. Layering is the key. I have one non grinder resistant Seatymason d lock which is cropper proof and incredibly light for the size. It's an excellent lock against opportunist thieves, and is cropper resistant (tested).
If I was touring or leaving the bike unattended overnight, I wouldn't rely on any grinder resistant D lock alone, I'd really want a hefty chain too to lock the bike to something solid as a lot of professional thieves use vans and don' worry about the locks unless bike is chained to something. Three or four hefty blokes can lift most bikes into a van easily enough within seconds.
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Layering is the key. But there are plenty of posts that suggest a disc lock is useless, as they just cut the disc around it. I use a Hiplok D Lock, plus a 10mm chain to anchor to anchor the bike to something (if there is something). Then an Abus disc lock on the rear. If leaving overnight I also put the cover on.
The bike parking at my local hospital is useless, nice cover and bays, problem is, they have ground anchors, but they are so clogged up with crap they don't work, and the bays are to small for most bikes.
The ones in the local car park is even worse, at the rear of the bays are massive iron rings that you can chain your bike too, but the bays are to small, so if in the bay, the front wheel of any bike larger than a moped, protrudes onto a yellow marked walkway in front, so you get a ticket for being parked on the yellow cross hatches.
The bike parking at my local hospital is useless, nice cover and bays, problem is, they have ground anchors, but they are so clogged up with crap they don't work, and the bays are to small for most bikes.
The ones in the local car park is even worse, at the rear of the bays are massive iron rings that you can chain your bike too, but the bays are to small, so if in the bay, the front wheel of any bike larger than a moped, protrudes onto a yellow marked walkway in front, so you get a ticket for being parked on the yellow cross hatches.
Spend ten minutes to unclog them?
Or is that someone else’s job?
As for the size of motorcycles? That all important, ‘Presence’ comes at a cost, literally
If it was that easy I would, but again, where they are located in the bay, if you get to use one, the bike would stick out even more. Next time, I'll take my tools along and some WD40 and service all the ground anchors.Spend ten minutes to unclog them?
Or is that someone else’s job?
As for the size of motorcycles? That all important, ‘Presence’ comes at a cost, literally
Globetrotter
Registered user
Hiplok DX1000 on a heavy duty barrier with a Oxford Nemesis disc lock and other security measures (no armed guards yet...), is a pretty decent combo. I imagine around 12 grinder cutting discs or 4 diamond discs to get through this combo with 30 minutes time and a hell of a lot of noise.
Or, 2 minutes with a ratchet set and you come back to a very well secured front wheel only.......
I must admit that was my very first thought. The bike will in all like likelihood be broken for parts anyway.
Globetrotter
Registered user
not even armed guards would stop someone getting something they want albeit nine layers of security with three you can see is pretty decent... the harder we make it the higher the probability it'll be there in the morning
You're right, why bother spending cash on D locks, chains or disc locks. Wish I had thought of that, could have saved myself some cash.
I'm not condemning locks are useless, only that such a high number is not much better or more practical than a lock on the front & rear. Any thief who wants it - will get it. So long as your Bike is harder to take than the one next to it - you'll be ok.
They wouldnt want the front wheel anyway, the nail in the tread looks well dodgy lol
Globetrotter
Registered user
They wouldnt want the front wheel anyway, the nail in the tread looks well dodgy lol
Well spotted
on every lockup I always hammer a couple of nails in the front and rear as a deterrent lol
Most of the thefts are simple push away events, when bods can’t be arsed to apply even basic security to a vehicle, commonly worth several thousand pounds.
Stupid or lazy, it’s a toss up which.
10 years ago I took a “security steel rope” thing on my first Europe trip. Heavy piece of kit.
Never again. Nobody wants to steal my bike any more.
I take my chances. The pros will lift any bike on their shopping list.
Never again. Nobody wants to steal my bike any more.
I take my chances. The pros will lift any bike on their shopping list.
Until they do! It’s a long walk home. A decent u lock and disc lock isn’t much to carry but can prevent a load of hassle.
Disc locks do provide much hilarity when the owner forgets to remove it. Not for them but for the rest of us. It’s not a case of if but when.
I now always put the disc lock on the disc at the back of the fork leg, that way when the inevitable happens the wheel only rotates 2-3” rather than a couple of feet, wrecking the rotor mount.
DAMHIK
DAMHIK
Happened in Spain many years ago. Group set off from the hotel and noticed one of our number was missing a few miles up the road. Pulled in and waited for 5 minutes and still no show. Rode back to the hotel to find him beside his bike looking very hot and flustered. He’d tried to ride off with the disc lock on and went over, after much struggling a passer by helped him lift the bike.
After much hilarity and piss taking off we went again, but not him bike stopped abruptly and over he went. He’d forgotten he’d put locks on both wheels.
I was laughing so hard I nearly dropped my own bike.
Luckily the only damage was a bruised ego. We still laugh about 14 years later.
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