If you want to enjoy your motorbike for many years to come, upkeep is just as vital as motorcycle locks. They’re not simply for peace of mind. We’ll assist you in selecting the ideal motorbike lock for you because there are several options available. However, selecting the finest lock for your needs might be confusing.
Whichever option you select, security has to come first. Motorcycles are simple to steal and to disassemble and sell for components. Some regions are seeing an increase in theft (the USA saw a 30% spike in theft in 2020), while several nations have recovery rates that are 50% or below. However motorcycle security technology is also advancing swiftly so this is a wonderful time to make an investment in your bike’s protection.
WAYS TO AVOID THE STOLENING OF A MOTORCYCLE?
Although there are numerous aspects to address when it comes to motorcycle security, there are a few basic concepts you should be aware of:
Park in a secure area
Always strive to locate the safest place to put your motorbike because they are more easily stolen or tampered with. The safest location will always depend on your particular circumstances, but keep the following in mind:
- Visibility: Will you or a trusted third party be able to see the motorcycle when you park it?
- Stationary objects: Can you secure your motorcycle to a lamp post, fence, or other stationary item to prevent it from being stolen?
- lighting and surveillance: Is there enough illumination or camera coverage where you’re parked for the night to make it hazardous to steal at night?
- Foot traffic: How many people pass your motorcycle while on foot? Who do they represent? While a crowded train station or shopping center may discourage would-be thieves, people walking by in a vibrant area late at night may nevertheless tamper with your bike without intending to take it.
- Secure access: Try to utilize private garages you trust if at all possible. One of the greatest methods to keep your bike safe is to do this.
- How many additional motorcycles are present? Verify the security of any additional motorcycles if there are any. More importantly, you’ll have a baseline to surpass even if you don’t get a sense of how safe the area is. If your bike is the safest in the neighborhood, thieves are unlikely to target it since they want lower-hanging fruit.
LEARN TO LOCK UP RIGHT
Although we’ll cover a ton of motorbike lock suggestions later on, it’s also critical to understand how to make the most of those locks.You may not have thought about the following suggestions:
- When chains come into contact with the ground they break most easily: A bolt cutter may be used to simply brace a chain that is on the ground, or it can be frozen and shattered. In these respects, an attack on a hanging chain is more difficult.
- Front wheels are simple to swap out: If your bike’s front wheel is the only item holding it together, thieves may easily take it off and leave it behind. It won’t cost too much to replace. Attempt to fasten your bicycle by using the back wheel or, for maximum security, the frame.
- Every lock is breakable: The time it takes to pick or break a lock is a good indicator of its strength. So consider deterrent rather than simply locks. This gets us to our next important tip.
PREPARE FOR THE ENTIRE THEFT PROCESS
In this post, we’ll concentrate on locks, but there are other things you should consider as well. A wide variety of motorbike security gadgets are available that function at various phases of the theft process.
- Casing: During this phase, criminals scout around neighborhoods for possible targets and formulate an assault strategy. How can you keep your bike from being targeted by criminals? Perhaps you could wait to fix those shattered fairings to make it appear like a low-value target. Perhaps you might use a cover to conceal the true value of your bike. The mere look of an extremely strong lock may be sufficient to discourage certain burglars.
- Attack: Here is when your motorbike locks really come into play, since this is when the thief truly works to get past your bike’s protection. How dangerous can you make the process for the burglar, and what will they need to do to breach the locks? How will you know when the theft starts?
- Recovery: Do you have a solid plan in place for getting your bike back once it has been stolen? A motorbike tracker similar to Animoto will be the best tool in this situation. Not only will it notify you in advance of an imminent theft so you may prevent it but in the unlikely event that your bike is really taken it will also enable you to retrieve it.
Now that you have a basic understanding of bike security let’s look at some of the best motorcycle lock methods.
IS A MOTORCYCLE’S DISC LOCK ENOUGH?
Put motorcycle disk locks on the brake disk of your motorcycle to stop the wheel from spinning. Additionally, the majority include motion detection alarms, which, in the event of motion, will sound piercing alarms.
The issue is that wheels can be removed, disk brakes can be cut, and motorbikes may be carried. While disc locks for motorcycles may not provide the best level of protection, they do have their purposes. Combine them with one or more additional security devices for optimal protection.
Pros:
- Convenient: Because it is so large, the heaviest and bulkiest motorbike lock won’t be of much use to you if you never use it. Disk locks won’t cause you to experience that issue. Since the majority of them are around the size of a can of soda, you may carry one with you at all times. You’ll use this gadget constantly when you combine it with its ease of usage.
- Integrated alarms: Purchasing a disk lock with an alarm is advised. This will provide you with both physical security and the added benefit of discouraging would-be thieves and alerting you if they go too close.
Cons:
- Easy to attack: Disk locks are susceptible to attacks or as we just discussed, complete disregard. The burglar may decide to transport the motorbike into a waiting automobile by cutting through the brake disk to remove the lock or remove the wheel with the disk lock, depending on the bike and the situation. Additionally brake disk lock shackles are typically narrow since some bikes may not be able to employ hefty shackles. This implies that locks themselves may occasionally be readily broken.
ARE CHAIN LOCKS AND U-LOCKS SECURE?
Disk locks are inferior to u-locks and chain locks. Not only can either stop a bike from rolling, but they can also secure it to a fixed object so that it cannot be transported. Actually, the foundation of your motorbike security should be a chain or u-lock, but which one should you pick?
- Different weights: Because U-locks are lighter, they are more convenient to move. The diameter of a chain link or shackle is what primarily determines how secure a lock or chain is; the larger the diameter, the more difficult it is to break. A lot of motorbike u-locks have very safe 16mm shackles included. On the edge of what is comfortable to haul on your motorcycle is a chain with links of comparable sizes.
- Differences in length: Chain locks have greater versatility since they are lengthy and flexible. The capacity to secure your bike to a fixed object is the most advantageous feature of both of these locks. Due to their diminutive size, u-locks make this considerably more difficult to do. It’s nearly a given that you can secure your motorcycle to something with a chain lock. It will also be easier for you to pass it through your frame than it will be with a u-lock.
- Different vulnerabilities: To prevent attacks, these locks need to be employed in a different way. Thieves may use the inner gap of a u-lock to exert strong leverage and break the shackle, which is considerably more difficult to perform with a chain lock. However, if your chain comes into contact with the ground, it may be simply broken with a sledgehammer or snapped with bolt cutters. This issue is less likely to arise with a smaller u-lock.
MAKING USE OF TWO OR MORE DIFFERENT LOCKS AND A MOTORCYCLE ALARM
A multi-device security solution that works well together is the ideal kind. Starting with two distinct locks is a terrific idea. You may secure your bike to a light post with a chain lock and disable a wheel with a disk lock. But installing an alarm will raise the bar for security. In essence, there are two kinds of alarms:
- Silent alarms alert third parties, such as the owner, to tampering with the motorbike.
- The motorbike is being tampered with and anybody around, including the thief, is alerted by loud alarms.
Every security tool has advantages and disadvantages just as these.
Alarms that go silent won’t stop a theft in progress. But the likelihood of catching the thief in the act is higher. They will either be apprehended by the authorities or receive a severe fright that will discourage them from returning.
In fact, we have a tale about someone who used the quiet alarm feature on the Mini Moto motorbike GPS tracker and alarm to stop a motorcycle theft:
“They successfully removed the steering lock, bolt-cropped the chain, and raised my bike off its side stand so they could push it away.
The impact of loud alarms might vary according on the location. They could also not function as effectively as we would have hoped because most people tend to disregard alarms on private property while they are in public. But in the appropriate circumstance, they can deter burglars or alert the owner or bystanders to suspicious activity.
