Bike theft is still rising

Wapping · Feb 16, 2023

Whilst I know this report is from the usually overly dramatic to completely hysterical MCN (“I wouldn’t wipe me dog’s arse wiv that, mate”) it doesn’t mean that the statistics are entirely wrong.

I had got lax during Covid, I admit that. But, I took the winter to update my own locks and sold my old ones to offset some of the cost. I also refreshed the pound of butter in my fridge.

All confessions and joking apart, bikes do get stolen, most often off the street where many are simply abandoned to chance. That chance ranges from “But I only left it for a minute, whilst I bought a brew” (nothing takes a minute) to all day, with no hint of a lock or any form of security.

The bike thieves are brazen, often thuggish but they are not stupid. They know where the bike bays are. Similarly, they know that if you leave your bike “For a minute, mate” whilst you stroll to the local cafe or Pret to maybe stand in a queue, buy your coffee and sandwich and stroll back, you will be longer than a minute. They watch you go. That is all it takes….. bang! Bike gone.

Nobody needs Fort Knox but a minute spent putting on just a disc lock and a minute spent taking it off again, might well save you an hour or more catching a train or cab home. It might well save you the additional hour you’ll spend on the phone / filling in a form telling your insurer that you’ve had your bike stolen from near enough under your nose.

The choice is yours. Make the right one.

Ex-Call Centre Chimp · Feb 16, 2023

What disc lock mister?

Wapping · Feb 16, 2023

https://www.kryptonitelock.com/en/products/product-information/current-key/998457.html

Which is good enough for most things, except of course that the bike is locked to itself. Quick to put on and take off again.

I think a U-lock with a chain (when chained to something else) is ultimately better but it weighs more of course. Arguably it’s more of a faff, too. If it’s more of a faff, the downside is that you won’t use it when you should.

I have one of the new Litelok X3 locks on advance order.

tuftywhite · Feb 16, 2023

I've recently purchased a Roadlok. https://roadlokuk.co.uk (Speak to Billy Big Roy on here if you want one)

Chris, dealt with my order. Lovely bloke, great service.

Bennetts' Social did a review on the Roadlok, which seems to have done quite favourably.

Looking forward to fitting it on my bike.

tis eye · Feb 16, 2023

Ive got a Squire Atilla - Sold Secure "Diamond" disc lock in the armoury of locks keeping my pride and joy secure - don't rely on just one lock.... There is a long pin version that goes through twin discs but the short pin for me looked a better option with only one end of the lock exposed rather than both on the long pin version, bought at the bike show off Squire with a show discount £159 and worth every penny - now I've seen and used it i buy it at full price anyway, they even went to the Harley stand and made sure it would fit the bike (not much room between the spokes and the disc) but it just fits the front (doesn't fit the rear.)

Really pleased with it and recommended. (it comes with spacers to fit different disc thicknesses)

Flappytabs · Feb 17, 2023

I use a LiteLock One. its a cracking bit of kit.

Mr Bean · Feb 17, 2023

tuftywhite said:
I've recently purchased a Roadlok. https://roadlokuk.co.uk (Speak to Billy Big Roy on here if you want one)

Chris, dealt with my order. Lovely bloke, great service.

I've used one since 2018 and they are a great piece of kit once set - my tip is to put the bike on the centre stand and rotate the wheel until the pin engages. If you set it by wheeling the bike, it can be really tight to remove.

IMO, much better and more convenient than conventional disc locks and chains etc.

Chris is a top guy too - he gave me a significant discount on a second unit as the bike was written off shortly after I'd fitted it - I needed one for the replacement bike.

Wapping · Feb 17, 2023

Roadlok are indeed convenient and easy to use, therefore they DO get used. Their only downside is that the bike is locked to itself, rather than to something. But that’s a fault with all disc locks and just using a chain (that is not chained to anything solid) of course.

As the article suggests:

A. At least use something, even if it’s just for the ‘one minute’ when you buy a coffee.

B. A layered approach is better than one item alone. Obviously this is often more practicable in a garage or when the bike is to be abandoned all day or overnight…. Assuming that is that there is anything (other than another bike) to chain it to.

That being said, when our landlord at HSBC kindly put in bars for motorcyclists to chain their bike to, few riders used them. The same lack of basic enthusiasm occurs when motorcyclists do not use the ground anchors or bars put in by councils, all of which were demanded by the same motorcyclists who, in the same breath, shout loudly that they shouldn’t be charged a pound to park.

I am not sure what more manufacturers are meant to do beyond factory fitted alarms, trackers and ECU immobilisation to prevent or discourage the theft of an entire bike, simply as (unlike a car) it is so liftable and easily breakable into its component parts. That you can get several more bikes into a container or hidden away in a lock-up, when compared with cars, is just a bonus.

Alarms are not popular and trackers (if you have to pay an annual fee) are sometimes regarded as a rip-off. The latter is compounded when bods say “If me bike is stolen, I don’t want it back ‘cos I don’t know what they done with it”. Those same bods will then moan about insurance premiums.

SiRich · Feb 17, 2023

Can anyone recommend me a chain, prob 2m maybe 1.5m, want to spend as little as poss really.

Bike is garaged.
Garage is motion sensor alarmed.
Oxford Boss alarmed disc lock attached to rear wheel disc.
Shackle round front wheel
Oxford ground anchor

Currently just using a cheapo oxford ‘trip wire’ to loop shackle to ground anchor.

Any 2m chain recommendations £50-£100ish (no lock needed) just for in the garage at home, i will use the trip wire when out and about.

Wapping · Feb 17, 2023

The trouble with asking what is the best chain or indeed what is the best lock, is that you’ll inevitably receive a lot of replies from people who have not come close to having their bike stolen. This implies that their chain or lock must be good, which brings us round to the pound of butter in the fridge, as being equally effective.

I would just Google ‘Best motorcycle security chain’ and chose one that suits your little as possible spending limit. Quite often you’ll see chains being heavily discounted and / or including padlocks in the deal. This is on the grounds that any chain is better than no chain.

One of my chains was free, as it was dumped by thieves who had left a FireBlade in the alley behind my house, waiting to see if it had a tracker on it. Now I think about it, I should have nicked the bike…. The biter bit. The chain itself was fine, it was the cheap padlock that the thieves had mangled.

I can say that since I have had the stolen chain, my bike has not been pinched, so it must be fantastic. That and the pound of butter in the fridge, naturally.

King Rat · Feb 17, 2023

tuftywhite said:
I've recently purchased a Roadlok. https://roadlokuk.co.uk (Speak to Billy Big Roy on here if you want one)

Chris, dealt with my order. Lovely bloke, great service.

Bennetts' Social did a review on the Roadlok, which seems to have done quite favourably.

Looking forward to fitting it on my bike.

That will be brilliant on my drum brakes! Fresh Country Life (you can't put a betta bit o butta on your knife!) in the fridge, 2lbs, just to be on the safe side. :thumby:

To give an idea of the lengths the pikeys will go to (caught on cctv). On the Monday the pontoon and rigid plastic safety boat and outboard were put on site, the outskirts of Doncaster on a remote section of river, not overlooked by anything, but with a footpath along the far bank. The pontoon was chained to the bridge. The safety boat was chained, with a Gold Standard Squire 14mm shackle chain and SS60CS padlock. The top security lock and chain available. On Tuesday morning we came in to find the pontoon was untouched, but the safety boat was gone, as were all the power tools (not ours) from the locked security container, inside a locked compound. The client, AMCO refused to employ a security guard, instead using a monitored CCTV company. The CCTV showed 4 balaclaved men with two battery angle grinders and a quad bike... they felled a 2-foot diameter tree across the access road to prevent security or police from getting on site. Meanwhile they ground through the top level 14mm chain, hauled the boat up the bank with the quad (all filmed) and towed the boat up through the woods to the top road - I followed the furrow the keel of the boat made in the mud/soft ground. While they were doing that the other two used the other angle grinder to cut the shrouded lock OUT of the door of the container and stacked all the power tools up ready for the quad to collect. Two rode the quad out, two made off on foot. Boat and outboard about £5000, plus the power tools around £12,000.

This is the chain they cut through, only it was 1.5m long:
https://www.squirelocks.co.uk/shop/tc14-4.html

ymfb · Feb 17, 2023

Interestingly when we hired a bike in the US they were insistent that we used the disc lock whenever we left the bike, which we did. By the end of the trip it was second nature that I have continued since being back. It may not be as good as a Roadlok, but it is obvious and works for me. I know we aren’t parking in a major city, when I do it will be with the big lock, and chain.

Wapping · Feb 18, 2023

King Rat said:
To give an idea of the lengths the pikeys will go to (caught on cctv). On the Monday the pontoon and rigid plastic safety boat and outboard were put on site, the outskirts of Doncaster….This is the chain they cut through, only it was 1.5m long:
https://www.squirelocks.co.uk/shop/tc14-4.html

Simon makes a good point and a not so good point.

Yes, thieves will go to great lengths if they want something badly enough; in this case £17,000 worth of equipment. Likewise, if they want your £17,000 motorcycle badly enough, they will steal it.

The not so good point is that (as expensive - and lesser value - motorcycles are not uncommon) the thieves do not need to trouble themselves that much. They know that, for every decently secured bike they find, they will find two or more of the same or similar value, each with little or no security. Most often they will steal those unsecured bikes instead. Why? Because they are not stupid and indeed are cleverer than the bike owner who does not secure his motorbike.

er-minio · Feb 18, 2023

ymfb said:
Interestingly when we hired a bike in the US they were insistent that we used the disc lock whenever we left the bike, which we did. By the end of the trip it was second nature [...]

This is me growing on powered 2 wheels in Rome.
Never understood people who moan to have to put a disc lock.

Might have to upgrade though. Been using Granit Quick 37/60 since 2003 (I do a have a few spread around the bikes). Might get something more up to date, at least for the GS that spends more time around.

Rushy · Feb 18, 2023

With this Pegase Tracker once you’ve bought it you don’t need to buy any data nor pay a subscription fee…it’s FREE . It’s got a motion sensor like an alarm so even if someone is just messing with the bike you’ll know immediately. Clearly not as good as a lock and chain as a first line of defence but at least you won’t have to carry it with you or remember to use it. Some fab testimonials on the manufacturer’s website, very popular in France where it’s made. You will need a smartphone though

Wapping · Feb 18, 2023

Review of the Pegase Tracker here:

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesoci...ckers/pegase-tracker-review-subscription-free

The review says that there is an updated model coming in mid-2023.

Wapping · Feb 22, 2023

Wapping said:
https://www.kryptonitelock.com/en/products/product-information/current-key/998457.html

Which is good enough for most things, except of course that the bike is locked to itself. Quick to put on and take off again.

I think a U-lock with a chain (when chained to something else) is ultimately better but it weighs more of course. Arguably it’s more of a faff, too. If it’s more of a faff, the downside is that you won’t use it when you should.

I have one of the new Litelok X3 locks on advance order.

Here’s the U-lock in place.

As you can see, it goes through both discs, to leave very little sticking out either side. This is better than some U-locks that are too long (sometimes left trailing on the ground, which makes them vulnerable) or too short.

The yellow cable tie at the top (or is it the bottom) is simply so that I can identify the correct key.

adventuredon · Feb 22, 2023

If they were to cut close to your yellow cable tie, can the U Bit be swiveled while still locked in the cylinders? (usually one side can swivel, the other has the locking mouth.

Hann · Feb 22, 2023

On my (bicycle) ride to work this week i came accross this.
There is no sad a sight than a motorbicycle on it`s side especially one that has been dispespectfully dumped by a selfish thieving scrote.
This Triumph was in very nice condition and looked well looked-after by it`s owner.
I picked it up onto it`s stand and reported it as found.

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Wapping · Feb 22, 2023

adventuredon said:
If they were to cut close to your yellow cable tie, can the U Bit be swiveled while still locked in the cylinders? (usually one side can swivel, the other has the locking mouth.

Double deadbolts and more, to prevent one cut of the U allowing the half to be turned. It takes two cuts to remove the U.

Bike theft is still rising

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getting away with it so far!

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