This morning one of the janitors came up to me and told me some guy was outside writing down the license plate numbers of all the bikes at my work. So naturally I said wtf and went outside and there was this guy with a piece of paper and a pencil writing down the information of all the bikes. Looked liked he had plate #s and serial #s. I was getting kinda pissed but I work at the a transit station and we get basket cases like this all the time so i tried to talk to the guy but he wouldn't talk and all he did was point at his wrist. I asked if he wanted the time and he nodded. So I whipped out my phone and told him "10:12" and he writes that on his paper and walks away. I made mention to security right after that and we have his face on camera plus we have two cameras pointed on all the bikes from two different directions. Now i know you need a serial # and a title to get a key made a dealership but either way i have the thought in the back of my head is that one day i will get out of work and my bike will be gone. Probably over thinking it but if he somehow got a key it wouldn't take 10 seconds to rip off my bike. What can I get to better protect my ride from possible asshats like this? Am I going to have to chain my cbr to a light post for now on lol?

 

first off i would have stopped the guy and demanded to know what he was doing and i would have also called the cops right there and then because honestly that is something i would not deal with. Secondly why is security letting someone like this into the area at all if it is a secured parking lot. alot of people use the viper system but I do not know of any other systems out on the market

 

Either he was mute or played stupid. Not sure which. I couldn't get him to say a damn thing. I'm not kidding you tho when I say that I have met the weirdest most off the wall people at my work so I honestly am not sure if was doing it for ****s and giggles or was really interested in somehow getting keys and stealing bikes. We don't have any secured parking lot and all the bikers park against a large wall near the entrance to the transit station. Security was going to go find the guy but right after we got his face on camera some guy and and this girl were getting in a fight in the cafeteria over shoving there kid into a wall for stealing gum. Just another day at the bus station.

 

Desert eagle.

 

I deal w/ several dealerships & know for certain that none of them will make a key like that. If someone were to call a licensed/bonded locksmith out to try & make a key for your bike, the locksmith won't do it w/o ownership/registration/identification.

As for LEOs, report the suspicious activity to the local jurisdiction. The watch commander will put it on his announcements list. This will alert the officers in that area to be on the lookout for this suspicious activity. Having the security cameras is a real plus if something happens.

As for preventing theft, its all about deterrents. If it appears to a thief that there are hurdles to jump in stealing your bike, they'll most likely move on to another bike that has no deterrents. To this, a rotor lock, chain, cable etc, can help. I know guys that also have installed manual cut off switches that won't allow start-up even if there is a key in the ignition.

Let the guy write down all he wants to his heart's content...as long as he's not touching anything, chances are nothing will happen. Unless bikes are parked illegally, no LEO is going to give you grief over somebody making illegitimate complaints (if that's what they guy's intent is).

 

Is the parking area exposed to lots of foot traffic? Meaning can some thief pull up with a van & pick up your
bike? If riding bike away is the only way thief can steal, cheapest way first to do is get a disc lock with a reminder cables...runs about $15-30 dollars. You can lock your front disc with a attach cable hooked to you handle bar/ or ignition. This will make sure you won't forget to take disc off before riding away. This cable also shows the thief they cannot just ride you bike away. They either have to pick up entire bike or unlock the disc lock? Make it tough for them.

 

That is an awesome idea! I am going to look into it. Wouldn't be much to put that switch in and hide it on the bike.

We have an onsite police officer and I mentioned it too him once he came in but didn't seem too concerned about it. Like i said stuff like this isn't all that unusual around here lol.

The area we park the motorcycles in is basically a huge sidewalk so foot traffic is pretty steady around it. I don't see anyone getting close enough with a van/truck to pick up the bike, well at least without being noticed. Even then for only 15 - 30 bucks a disc lock safety doesn't sound like a bad investment tho.

 

Like gotcbr said, deterrent. If installing a kill switch & hide it? Thief may not have key, but rather chit the ignition. Find ways to make it difficult for thiefs. For working hours, it's routine, daily. Thiefs will know your routine, so you must find ways to make it tough for them, and they will move to next target. Do both if needed to & do it quick. I would temporary chain it up or use a padlock for now until you set it up / time to order disc lock. Peace of mind so you can concentrate on work.

 

Hidden kill switch is a cool idea, IF it's located where you can discretely operate it.
If it's obvious to an observer what you are doing, it's gonna be in-effective.
Just a thought, to anyone considering the option (like me).

Securing it is definitely a good idea. The more obvious it is, the better.
Thieves are (generally) lazy, if it looks hard to steal, they'll go for an easier
target.

Ern

 

first, get insurance

you could switch lock sets (that way no one could write down vin and license plate and get a good key).

and you could do : gps, lo-jack, alarms, etc.

i did a disc-lock before, but i didn't like it (and besides all it takes to cut it is a set of bolt cutters)