:angry: I was awoken this morning by my three trusty canines going insane at about 4:30 AM. Someone attempted to steal my baby (2000 VFR) just three feet away from my bedroom window and less than two weeks after I got her!!! Luckily they didn't do too much damage before the hounds scared them off. They tried filing down the ignition, broke off the plastic ring and left the tip of a screwdriver in the ignition.
Amazingly enough, in Phoenix AZ in the middle of the night, not one, but two police cars responded to my attempted theft call. Got a police report number but I'm guessing that the damage done won't warrant a claim with a $500 deductible.
Aside from the pity party, the point is, I need suggestions on security devices for my bike. Unfortunately I don't have a garage. I can put her behind my metal side fence with a lock on that, but I'm interested in a good quality but reasonably priced alarm system. What I don't want is my alarm going off when the wind blows. I've got a Kryptonite U-lock and chain, and will be getting my disk lock off my old bike tomorrow. But I can't really carry anymore than the disk lock when I'm away from home.
Any ideas on alarms? And is there anything I need to pay attention to after having the ignition jacked up?
I have a shed, I built for my bike. But I also have a big cable and a floor ancor that I epoxied to the floor. Just a hardened u bolt, drilled a couple of holes with a masonary bit, and epoxied the threads good, then pounded the U bolt into the holes with a sledge hammer. The Ubolt is hard stuff and thick It would take at least 15 minutes to hack it off and then I lock the cable ends together so they would have to got through that too.
A few days later I found an old padlock with a big hardened steel u on it that slips though and out, its like 6 inches long that would have worked well too for an anchor.
Do you have a cover? You would be surprised how much a theft deterent a cover can be. A disc lock isn't a bad idea either, put a tether on it that reaches the handlebar as a reminder to you and a visual to them. You have to secure your bike, bunch of savages in this town.
I had this same thing happen a few years ago, only the bastards got my baby and did some damage that was well over the 500 deductable. My solution was a lock for the front wheel. Simple, but effective.
The other thing I did was to buy a big beautiful German Shepherd. She also gives my wife a little more comfort since I was gone when the theft incident happened. Oh, and did i mention that the bastard has the balls to break into my garage to get the bike?
Anyway, the dog is the best bet. She can hear things that alarms and locks could never detect. And, she does a great job of letting us know when there are bears in the yard or walking down the street. Plus, if someone is snooping around the house and I let her out, the crook will have much more to deal with than an annoying lock or the shrill of an alarm.
All hail the K-9. :beer:
PS. Okay, the truth is the dog is great, but she is hardly a killer. She's actually more like our kid and is another member of the family. However, the bad guys don't know that.
jwahrmund, Feb 24 2005, 09:31 AMI had this same thing happen a few years ago, only the bastards got my baby and did some damage that was well over the 500 deductable. My solution was a lock for the front wheel. Simple, but effective.
The other thing I did was to buy a big beautiful German Shepherd. She also gives my wife a little more comfort since I was gone when the theft incident happened. Oh, and did i mention that the bastard has the balls to break into my garage to get the bike?
Anyway, the dog is the best bet. She can hear things that alarms and locks could never detect. And, she does a great job of letting us know when there are bears in the yard or walking down the street. Plus, if someone is snooping around the house and I let her out, the crook will have much more to deal with than an annoying lock or the shrill of an alarm.
All hail the K-9. :beer:
PS. Okay, the truth is the dog is great, but she is hardly a killer. She's actually more like our kid and is another member of the family. However, the bad guys don't know that.
Bears in the yard and street? Where do you live Alaska or something? :lol: And I thought skunks in the neighborhood were bad. I had a 185 pound Rottweiler that thought she was a lap dog, didn't protect anything but the freaking cat. You could break in, rape and pillage and she would just stare at you but touch the cat and it was your ass.(insert Sadie was insane emoticon here) I agree a big mean looking dog is a great theft deterent and a great cat protector.
Sorry to hear hondachic. Mine is outside too, but covered. I agree the cover helps but if they know ya somehow, and seen it, they know whats under the cover. I wish I had a way of telling potential thiefs I also have a 9mm sig and I sleep very lightly :) Hope you get everything fixed up without too much expense. Hank
vfr03silver, Feb 24 2005, 06:36 PM I wish I had a way of telling potential thiefs I also have a 9mm sig and I sleep very lightly :)
Amen brother. I find a pump shotgun to be a good deterrent. No shots will ever have to be fired. Just the unmistakable sound of racking a shell into the chamber will scare the shiznit out of any would be theives.
Seriously, the cover is a great idea. I hope the damage isn't too bad. Good luck.
Check the various Goldwing forums for suggestions. Goldwing people seem to be forever adding stuff to their bikes (well, not all of them, I just ride). Search the forums for "alarm". Webbikeworld also has some information, but is geared towards U.K. stuff.
Try a large dealer in your area, perhaps a BMW dealer.
I found a review of one brand...I know nothing about them:
After posting the above, I googled "motorcycle alarm" and got a lot of hits. Company called "Aritronix" has a slick site, claims to be have OEM style connectors for easy installation. I know nothing more than what their web site says.
Aritronix and Scorpio Alarm look a same. They have been advertising in MC magazins for a long time. The system looks nice and the features look good as well, but I could not find any review about them on the net when I was looking for one. It also a little bit pricey. Starts from $300...
Good thing your dogs scared them off. Covers and Locks/cables are a good inexpensive deterent but they may still damage the bike. Don't pay for a full alarm. Go to a car stereo shop that sells Viper alarm systems made by DEI (Direct Electronics Inc.) They have separate components you can buy. Look for a RADAR motion sensor and have them hook it up to a siren with a relay. You can also buy a remote on/off key fob to run it for about $150-200 total. Most packaged alarms have too many whiz-bang features that you won't even use. If somebody really wants the bike, they will get it regardless of what you have on it or attached to it. The siren just keeps the average snooper honest. Good luck and let us know how it all turns out.
Get that thing out of sight and anchored down. A friend had an attempted theft of his bike, stopped by a Bike Brace, I believe it's called. He has since rented garage space. But that's obviously not foolproof either. Stinkin thieves. :angry:
Checked out the website and i'm definitely liking it. But they didn't have any prices posted or info on where to buy. Where'd you get your's and how much did you pay???
ULEWZ, Feb 24 2005, 09:14 PMTry this BikeBrace. One of the guys on the BTE forum had his bike saved by this thing. The theives just gave up. Maybe something to consider. :)
Liking the bike brace. Maybe that for home, and the alarm disc lock for away....
Ahhh the advantages of living in a small town where you can leave your keys in the ignition and not have to worry about it. Even though I don't do it on the Motorcycle because if that got stolen I would break down like a little baby but my car the keys hardly ever leave.
Sorry to about your bike though and I hope the cost is minimal.
woodrasj, Feb 25 2005, 01:16 PMAhhh the advantages of living in a small town where you can leave your keys in the ignition and not have to worry about it. Even though I don't do it on the Motorcycle because if that got stolen I would break down like a little baby but my car the keys hardly ever leave.
Sorry to about your bike though and I hope the cost is minimal.
I use a Cheetah alarm, which I purchased off ebay for about $65. Its very loud siren and ignition kill circuitry works very well. I tried 3 different HJC Chatterbox alarms, but the ignition kill was always intermittent!
navyhelodrvr, Feb 25 2005, 01:59 PMPeople actually live in South Dakota? I thought it was just a movie thing. Learn something new everyday. :P
Yeah and next week Ma and Pa are talking about getting water to come out of this weird looking spigot inside the house. Plus Pa said we are going to get an indoor outhouse and I just can't figure out how he is going to dig the hole for outhouse underneath the house. I can't wait for this because it is cold here and going to the outhouse is really cold and the leaves chaffe my a$$. If we are really lucky we get to have some weird new science where these candles work by flipping a switch and then the room lights up.
Well off to kill some rabbits so Ma can make stew for supper.
woodrasj, Feb 25 2005, 03:28 PMYeah and next week Ma and Pa are talking about getting water to come out of this weird looking spigot inside the house. Plus Pa said we are going to get an indoor outhouse and I just can't figure out how he is going to dig the hole for outhouse underneath the house. I can't wait for this because it is cold here and going to the outhouse is really cold and the leaves chaffe my a$$. If we are really lucky we get to have some weird new science where these candles work by flipping a switch and then the room lights up.
Well off to kill some rabbits so Ma can make stew for supper.
ROFL!! LMAO :lol: :lol: :beer: :beer:
End of thread · 30 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 23 May 2005
