Just wondering…anyone know about getting a small and hopefully relatively inexpensive GPS sensor/system put into a motorcycle so that if you do get your bike stolen you can track and recover it?
I enjoy going hiking in the mountains north of Taipei and would much rather drive my Honda CB400SF up the mountain and park for 4-5 hours than be relegated to my beaten up 125cc scooter. I’m just too paranoid to leave my Honda parked, locked, and even chained up in the mountains for that period of time, let alone an hour. I’ve heard stories.
If anyone has any info about GPS systems, I’m all ears, or any other options a guy might have in this regard?
Thanks.
I had a system named “LOJACK” installed on my last 4 cars in the USA. I did not have it on my motorcycle but they now do offer it for them also. lojack.com/
Is there a company similar to this here on the island?
There was a piece on the news last night about GPS systems on cars and that we can go to police stations to ask for them or something. Anyway, they come with a bright pink sticker that goes in the windscreen with a large police emblem on it that says if your car is nicked then they will find you!. It didn’t mention whether this system was for motorcycles too and they weren’t specific about costs either, but try asking at your local city police station about it and see what they have to say. Any local police station may know less about it than how to holster their weapons without someone managing to thieve them, so maybe you won’t have much luck there, but you never know, miracles may happen and policemen may one day do their jobs.
Oh great… Why don’t they write instead “If you steal this car, you have to search for the positioning system first thing…”
There should be a few commercial solutions available, but there are also people “brewing” such a system at home. A few years ago they had to rely on used cell phones, don’t know if they now use GSM+GPS modules. However, you can also build one yourself, just google for “gps gsm avr” or “gps gsm pic”…
Oh great… Why don’t they write instead “If you steal this car, you have to search for the positioning system first thing…”[/quote]
Because now the sticker translates to “Go and nick a car that hasn’t got a tracker on it instead.” Perhaps? And according to authorities it appears to be working, but those aren’t my words, I’m just the messenger this time.
Only people with a certain lack of knowledge can be scared by such a sticker. Slightly talented people should find and disable such an installation within five to ten minutes - especially, when someone reminds them to search. But then again, contrary to what people here use to say (“Taiwanese thieves are sooo smart…”), most local thieves are stupid and rely on violence as their main “skill”.
In Europe, they would be comparable to the Romanian gangs. Poles on the other hand have so far thwarted any counter measure the car industry came up with…
I’m just supposing, but wouldn’t a sticker on a bike be sufficient enough to prevent someone from trying to get the device off the bike in order to steal it from up in the mountains? In the scenario I’m talking about, any extra deterrent might just be enough to prevent the theft in the first place. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking.
I think it would only deter the oppportunist, but someone that is specialized on bikes and seeks them out (rather than stealing anything that he comes across) will probably not be too worried.
In case someone knows which end of the solder iron becomes unpleasantly warm, here is a nice solution - though explanations are in German. But I think the author would answer e-mails, and in the text he says he built 100 units of his previous design…
On a bike I wouldn’t want to display any warning (sticker), as there is not much space to hide things and such a box would quickly be found. A “silent” solution may be better…
For cars in Taiwan XinGuang Security has a LoJack type GPS tracking system service. Not sure if it can work with scooters regarding size or battery power issues. I was going to get it for my 1998 100% Italian made imported Vespa 125, but then I just switched out the cosmetic parts that gave it away as being an import and just park it on the street. Try that, by the way, if it wasn’t Xinguang, then it was the other Big security firm in Taiwan. There are only two main big ones.
I just came across this device. No connections for door or other contacts, but seems to work out of the box. Can also be carried (internal battery) by a person.