I just had my second scooter stolen. Can’t believe it happened again !!!@
Does it happen often to you ? What must I do to keep it safe?
That’s a good question. It seems that the newer it is, the more of a target it is to thieves. I have a beater, just because I can’t be bothered with putting on a tire lock each time. Other than tire locks, are there any other anti-theft devices available for scooters? Scooter alarms? (Wouldn’t those just go off each time someone tried to move your scooter to make room for parking?)
The alarms do go off every time someone tries to move your scooter. They do succeed in drawing attention though, as I have set a few of them off myself. Luckily when surrounding bystanders looked over I was simply making room for my own scoot and not heaving the brand spanking new scoot into a little blue truck!!! It’s very difficult to prevent theft of scooters as they are so light that a few guys can hoist it into a truck in seconds and be on their way.
I’ve seen scooters being stolen, couldn’t go anything as it was dark and there were more of them than me, also wasn’t too sure at the time. The only way to avoid it is to have an older scooter…
or keep it in a locked courtyard or locked scooter cage (some highrises have cages).
smear crap on your seat and handle grips.
[quote=“MJasper”]I just had my second scooter stolen. Can’t believe it happened [color=#FF0000]again [/color]!!!@
Does it happen often to you ? What must I do to keep it safe?[/quote]
What was the make and model? Is it tricked out or are you just really, really unlucky?
As if that’ll stop em and I am sure they wear gloves. And what does OP do everymorning?? Wipe off crusted crap first thing each day… 
OP sorry about your loss. Its a bummer. When someone steals stuff from me, I get angry but later always think, maybe he needed it ore than I. Fatalistic but it helps…
That sucks, but an alarm as mentioned is the way to go. Did you have insurance for theft?
I was driving a 20 yr old 100cc 2 stroke when I was in Taiwan, and gosh darn, nobody was ever interested in stealing it.
They were not interested even when I took 2 week vacations out of town and left it parked on a sideroad all that time.
Are you serious? Forget about this thread?
If you are not there within earshot to respond to the sound of the alarm, you’re going to end up getting it vandalized by the people who have to listen to that damn noise every ten minutes.
Are you serious? Forget about this thread?
If you are not there within earshot to respond to the sound of the alarm, you’re going to end up getting it vandalized by the people who have to listen to that damn noise every ten minutes.[/quote]
Thats an abnoxious alarm system. Most alarms that work correctly dont do that. At least the guys I ride with don’t complain about it.
Your best plan is to get an ugly POS until you are able to park in a secure location. As long as you continue to park in the same area where you’ve already had two scooters stolen it won’t be safe regardless of what you do to secure. And the alarm is a waste of time unless you can actually visibly see your scooter.
This was one thing that I liked about my motorcycle when I had to park it outside for a couple of months. It wasn’t shiny (but mechanically great) and it was heavy enough that it couldn’t easily be lifted up into a truck. Never mind the narrow maze of scooters that they would need to negotiate.
My best advice is that if you’re going to get an alarm, get a good one. Since you are the only person who cares about that scooter, get an alarm that pages you to the scene. No one is going to intervene with either thieves or vandals on your behalf, so if you are out of earshot of a traditional siren type alarm, your scooter is getting vandalized or stolen regardless of how much noise it makes. It may even end up vandalized because of the alarm, not despite it.
[quote=“dan2006”]That sucks, but an alarm as mentioned is the way to go. Did you have insurance for theft?
I was driving a 20 yr old 100cc 2 stroke when I was in Taiwan, and gosh darn, nobody was ever interested in stealing it.
They were not interested even when I took 2 week vacations out of town and left it parked on a sideroad all that time.[/quote]
Nah… no insurance. Couldn’t be bothered with it.
I’ve been riding this beat up scooter bought from a friend who had gone back to the states. No problems so far.
Fingers crossed.
Half of the time bikes are scoffed because the thief needs a lift. I’ve had a really crappy 50cc scammed and it was found 5km away a month later. If it’s not too nice of bike then all you need to do is install a hidden switch that interrupts the engine’s ignition.
When you get off the bike, flick the secret switch and nobody will be able to start it with a screwdriver.
50nt including labor.
OP where was it stolen?
When -day, night?
Did you have a wheel lock on it?
And did you get the 1st bike (that was stolen) back?
[quote=“cake”]OP where was it stolen?
When -day, night?
Did you have a wheel lock on it?
[/quote]
Both were stolen near NTU where I study; wheel locks on both.
[quote]
And did you get the 1st bike (that was stolen) back?[/quote]
No.
Were these new-ish scooters?
I have also been told told replace the ignition so that every key in Taiwan won’t start your scooter although I haven’t. but I also have secure overnight parking.
Instead of a scooter, buy a 125cc “Wild Wolf” also known as a “farmer’s bike.” Thieves don’t generally care for these - these bikes are mainly used as workhorses (like for delivering propane tanks). Don’t buy the fancy “sports” models, as those are also a target for theft.
Wild Wolf
If you buy a new one, try to make it look old. Repaint the gas tank brown with a paint brush (rather than spray-on) - looks awful. Paint the chrome fenders, and smear some oil on the rims to attract dirt. Install plastic cargo boxes on both sides (actually quite useful for carrying things, but also makes the bike look less attractive).
These bikes are much heavier than scooters, making it harder to lift them into a truck. But they still boast better fuel economy than a scooter - I think it’s the manual transmission that makes the difference.
If you feel that the Wild Wolf is too heavy or impractical (like if you’re a woman who wears a skirt), consider the 100cc Wowow.
Wowow
Think I’ve said this before, but black bitumen paint, sold in the UK for painting cast iron drainpipes, IF it (or something similar) is available here, is good for achieving the rat-bike look, and will come off with white spirit (or petrol) and rags when you want to sell the bike.
Oil (as db said) is very good for attracting dust, and stops the bike rusting.
If you shake up oil with water to form an emulsion, you can spray it using one of those cheapo trigger “plant sprayer” things. The water evaporates, leaving the oil behind.