I have a new scooter that I bought for 60 grand and then spent another 60 grand in after market parts. Heck, my engine oil cap costs 3,000 alone and anyone could just unscrew that. For the most part I don’t park it anywhere too long…maybe outside movie theaters sometimes would be the worst.
It has an alarm which are cheap, about 1000 n.t. at the right bike shops. i also have the serial numbers burned into most of the parts. I also use a disk lock which in my opinion are much better than U-locks. But I’ve never had a problem with someone trying to steal it yet. It’s been scratched intentionally once or twice.
My old ugly RZR has had some people try to start it but I had a 20nt kill switch under the seat, that might have stopped them from riding away.
If it’s just a joyrider, then they usually don’t care how nice the bike is. My friends scooter is the ugliest piece of crap. But it still got stolen. I’m sure the guy was just late for meeting his girlfriend and needed some quick transportation. Plus some older bikes you can stick any key in the key hole and start it. RZRs are prone to that.
But my best method of protecting my nice scooter is…I bought a shitty scooter. I bought a 50cc scooter from another foreigner for 4,000n.t. . It’s pink with a basket and I have lots of fun picking fights on it.
I have a Hartford Off road bike. 150cc and about 10 hp… lol
However up here in the mountains the big bike crowd often get shocked when I overtake them thru the twisties on the way dont the mountain.
Nothing like road tires on an off road bike with unlimited clearance. Sure they pass me in a straight line, but it’s the cornering speed that I cream them in.
As I’m a heavy bastard and 185cm tal, I have the suspension jacked up. Most Chinese I’ve met can’t get their feet within 6cm of the ground when they mount my bike lol…
Sorry for the stupid question, but what exactly are disc locks?
Is it actually installed right onto your bike, or do you put it on and take it off when you park?
Sorry for the stupid question, but what exactly are disc locks?
Is it actually installed right onto your bike, or do you put it on and take it off when you park?[/quote]
[quote=“Mordeth”]
My old ugly RZR has had some people try to start it but I had a 20nt kill switch under the seat, that might have stopped them from riding away.
If it’s just a joyrider, then they usually don’t care how nice the bike is. My friends scooter is the ugliest piece of crap. But it still got stolen. I’m sure the guy was just late for meeting his girlfriend and needed some quick transportation. Plus some older bikes you can stick any key in the key hole and start it. RZRs are prone to that.
But my best method of protecting my nice scooter is…I bought a shitty scooter. I bought a 50cc scooter from another foreigner for 4,000n.t. . [/quote]
I had my RZ jacked too! Way back when, outside a bar on Heping East Road in Taipei.
Kill switches are your best bet. Who will steal a bike that won’t run. Stolen parts are hard to prevent although I’ve also registered my parts. When I worked in auto recovery people would always ask me the best way to secure a car from theft. You can’t. You can steal anything with a flatbed tow and open almost any car trunk or door. Most car windows smash pretty well too.
“It’s pink with a basket and I have lots of fun picking fights on it.”
I’ve never had a vehicle stolen in Taiwan but while I was in the middle of moving house and ran out for a midnight snack someone stole the RZR’s license plate :loco: Bear in mind there were no locks, alarms or immobilizers and you could steal the whole bike quicker than removing the plate. Now I have to pull off all the non-standard parts to pass inspection and get a new plate. Fuckers.
I can beat that. I parked my NSR in that mushroom village above DaKeng and was gone for maybe two minutes to buy tea. When I came back someone had stolen … the nut holding the right wing-mirror in place. The mirror was still there, hanging loose in its hole.
I looked a right fool turning back up at my bike shop with a mirror in my pocket and trying to explain it.
When it’s at home I have a simple thief-deterrent … five dogs.
The best example of this is the guy who bought a “Big” bike and put some sliders on it (pieces of plastic that protect the bike if it’s dropped on it’s side) and when he took the bike to get it safetied they failed it…because he had modded it…ie the sliders.
This topic being revived has made me wonder about how secure the average motorcycle disc brake lock actually is. Right now I rely on high quality front and rear locks with 14mm pins, an alarm and security coding on major parts. I figured that by parking the bike in a very awkward place to tow and using two different brands of pretty hefty disc locks the alarm would scare most would-be thieves before they got a chance to pick or undo both locks.
After reading about some flaws with major lock manufacturers though, I’m still kind of worried about leaving something so expensive and easy to steal in an underground parking lot. Am I being paranoid or should I anchor the bike to something with a hefty chain and/or install a GPS/pager alarm? What about immobilizers etc? I could rig up a remote control on/off switch for the ignition pretty easily but just how good is the average Taiwanese thief?
Depends upon how professional the thief is. The pros carry acetylene torches, grinders, and huge bolt cutters. IMO, the self-powered alarm with pager, and chain from chassis to fixture (drain pipe or stanchion), are the key deterrents. If you park in the same place, e.g., condo parking structure, the chain stays at that place. A pro can remove any lock, but can’t stop a page from an unseen alarm pager. Honolulu has the highest rate of motorcycle theft in the U.S., and the highest m/c insurance rates as a result. Lots of pro thieves. Lots of thought about anti-theft. The best-rated chain lock is the most expensive ABUS.
I just found this company that sells an alarm/immobilizer combo with 2-way FM transmitter to alert you if the motion detector senses activity - https://www.scorpioalarms.com/products Not sure if this is overkill though at nearly NT$12k.
Our building manager found me a spot in the underground car park that is flanked by a car one one side, concrete pillar on the other and has a metal support nearby from one of the electric parking lifts. The metal supports are designed to support 6 tons of car and moulded right into the concrete. I figure with two alarmed disc locks of different brands, an electronic ignition lock and a very heavy duty chain through the chassis, wheels and metal support that’s probably good enough to deter most thieves. Right? Oh, and a big case of beer for the security guys.
Is the space within the field of view of a security cam? The arrangement sounds better than 99% of open parking spots. In addition, a security gate into the parking structure would be nice, but what you’ve got is excellent.
Scorpio alarms are excellent, but the FM signal does not go far within a building structure.
If they came specifically for your bike it won’t matter what lock you have because the u-lock is easily breakable. The disk brake locks aren’t fool proof either, they can swap the front wheel in 1 minute if they’re prepared. I’ve also heard of them just unbolting the disk and strapping it up and out of the way.
The best is a kill switch. It costs about 30nt and about an hour of your time. If they want to steal just any bike and you happen to be the unlucky owner, they’ll bust the ignition, try to start it, it won’t start, they won’t know why, and then the’ll move on to the next one.
Just go to the bike farm and tell them you want one. All you do is find your coil’s 12v + or - and put a little toggle between it. It’s just like turning a lamp on and off. Don’t use a crappy switch though because you’ll cook it or it might affect your engine performance.
[quote=“turkey_dinner”]If they came specifically for your bike it won’t matter what lock you have because the u-lock is easily breakable. The disk brake locks aren’t fool proof either, they can swap the front wheel in 1 minute if they’re prepared. I’ve also heard of them just unbolting the disk and strapping it up and out of the way.
The best is a kill switch. It costs about 30nt and about an hour of your time. If they want to steal just any bike and you happen to be the unlucky owner, they’ll bust the ignition, try to start it, it won’t start, they won’t know why, and then the’ll move on to the next one.
Just go to the bike farm and tell them you want one. All you do is find your coil’s 12v + or - and put a little toggle between it. It’s just like turning a lamp on and off. Don’t use a crappy switch though because you’ll cook it or it might affect your engine performance.
Get Crackin’[/quote]
I thought about this quite a bit and came to the conclusion that a) if someone really wanted the bike then an immobilizer is going to do shit because they will just drive up and load the bike on, b) a casual thief will be put off enough by two heavy duty alarmed disc brake locks front and rear, and c) the only way to solve a) is to strap the whole damn thing to some concerete fixture via the bike’s frame and pray that it will last out long enough for them to get scared and/or security to notice.
So I just bought two lengths of 10mm hardened steel chain and the largest US-made lock I could find. I braided the chain together, wrapped the whole thing up in flexible plastic tube and passed it through the frame, front wheel and steel post I mentioned before. If someone is going to bother getting through that lot then fuck it, nothing would have worked.
I built a remote-controlled immobilizer for another bike but to be honest it was more of a big kid’s toy than anything more useful than the disc brake locks already installed.
Another good idea someone mentioned to me is to find some tatty old cover for the bike so any passer-by would be less likely to notice there was a big bike underneath.
I mean that if they want your bike they’ll get it. But if they want just any bike maybe yours won’t get scoffed if you have a kill switch.
Some people just aren’t built to haul out a 15kg chain everytime the park it for the night. You must look hillaryous when you whip that chain out and wrap it around something. The next question is where do you store it. THere’s no way that’s going to ride under the seat. I gues you could wear it over your shoulder like Rambo.
I still use a disk lock in combination with the “dirty look” to keep my bike from getting snagged. I’ve got a fair amount of money in the engine as well.
[quote=“turkey_dinner”]I mean that if they want your bike they’ll get it. But if they want just any bike maybe yours won’t get scoffed if you have a kill switch.
Some people just aren’t built to haul out a 15kg chain everytime the park it for the night. You must look hillaryous when you whip that chain out and wrap it around something. The next question is where do you store it. THere’s no way that’s going to ride under the seat. I gues you could wear it over your shoulder like Rambo.
I still use a disk lock in combination with the “dirty look” to keep my bike from getting snagged. I’ve got a fair amount of money in the engine as well.[/quote]
Chain lives at home and most other places I go it’s parked in sight. If I want to take it with me I have a 52 litre top box
Ilary… if you bought that chain from a hardware store that cut it for you… then thieves can cut it in the same way! Kryptonite makes their “New York Lock” that is made with chain links so thick that only Italians can cut 'em. Haha… seriously… they wanted to import the chain from Italy en masse and cut it in the USA, but then it proved to be too hazardous and thus got the factory in Italy to give them exact lengths.
Have you all not heard of Data Dots?! Data Dots came out a couple years ago and I think are sprayed on more expensive models of new car. They’re basically really tiny spheres that cannot be seen with the naked eye, and on each dot is printed the vehicle’s VIN. The dots are sprayed on practically any hard surface of the vehicle; from engine to panels. So, if a professional thief steals your machine, black market parts can be identified as belonging to your vehicle. (Search for Data Dots on your favourite search engine, as I’m too lazy right now to even open a new window and paste a link.)
I know in Canada that there is also cellphone triangulation tracking services available for like $18 CAD per month, and possibly GPS location services, too. I don’t know about Taiwan, though.
Oh! And I read on some website about how to install an old cellphone behind the dash of your car (could work for bikes, too), give it a constant supply of energy from the car battery so that it’s always on, and set it to silently answer calls from your regular mobile. Then, when your ride is stolen… you can call that phone and listen to the thievery conversations and hopefully they’ll give a clue to as to where they are.
But of course, there is the inconvenience of having your vehicle missing when you come out of 7-11 carrying handfuls of refreshments…
