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Struggling with security of my bike parked on the street

22K views 144 replies 55 participants last post by  kenja8 
#1 ·
Hi folks, welcome !
A few days ago, someone tried to steal my 2014 DL650 from a street parking in San Francisco. They couldn’t start it but fixing the broken ignition cost me ~$500. Ugh.

As a software entrepreneur I started thinking about potential solutions and would like to invite folks to provide some feedback:

1. what are some of the challenges you’re facing around the security of your motorcycle (where software could play a role ?)

2. what do you do today for the security of your motorcycle ?

3. How do you feel about the current solution ?

4. if you had a magic wand, what kind of solution would you envision to increase the security of your bike (anything goes : lasers, trackers, gps, face recognizing AI robots, chains, alarms etc.)


Appreciate the insights, happy to chat further to share what I learn and brainstorm ideas

stay safe!
Arie
 
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#3 ·
It sucks but the idea is to make the bike less interesting so they will try another target.

If you can live with it, make it look bad by keeping it really dirty, lots of hiviz stickers and even some random dull color plastidip on the panels and tank. Ideally don't do anything that's irreversible, but enough so it will make them think twice.

Alarm with motion/vibration sensor will also help, but you want the one that is connected to the network so you can receive alarm on your smartphone and turn if off quickly when there's a false alarm.

In the end, if they really want that bike, they will get it. So just find a way they will not want your bike. If you are dealing with drug addicts, just move to another part of town ;)

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 
#4 · (Edited)
Hi folks, welcome !
A few days ago, someone tried to steal my 2014 DL650 from a street parking in San Francisco. They couldn’t start it but fixing the broken ignition cost me ~$500. Ugh.

As a software entrepreneur I started thinking about potential solutions and would like to invite folks to provide some feedback:

1. what are some of the challenges you’re facing around the security of your motorcycle (where software could play a role ?) - I do not face them I prepare for them with full coverage insurance.
2. what do you do today for the security of your motorcycle ? - At home they are in the garage. When out touring I try to park as close to the hotel entrance as possible and/or in a well lighted area. Ideally under the entrance canopy (more so because in the morning the dew is not all over my seat). When day tripping or running errands around home, nothing. Park where parking's avalaible. 1/2 the time I leave the key in the ignition and ut my helmet and gloves over the ignition.

3. How do you feel about the current solution ? - Quite content. If my bike gets stolen I'll take the insurance money and buy another. Having had a vehicle stolen and recovered in the past I don't what that again. If its stolen I hope its never recovered. When I got my truck back it was no longer my truck. Evetime I got in it was a reminder of the incident. The day after I got the truck back from the police impound I order a new truck.

4. if you had a magic wand, what kind of solution would you envision to increase the security of your bike (anything goes : lasers, trackers, gps, face recognizing AI robots, chains, alarms etc.) - If I had a magic wand I'd make I so drugs were not addictive or desirable. I also eradicate 90% of the tech especially big brother tech that is omnipresent.
Appreciate the insights, happy to chat further to share what I learn and brainstorm ideas

stay safe!
Arie
Answer in red

You could cover the bike in feces, vomit blood and rancid guts and that will not deter the drug addict looking for anything to steal so they can sell quick to pay for the next fix.

You not dealing with professional motorcycle thief's as the DL is not on the desirable list. Locks, chains, cables, GPS trackers etc. are nothing for a professional. If they want the bike it'll be gone in seconds and bound for a chop shop or as most likely into a sea can and bound for south American country where it'll be either sold whole or parted there.

The best option is have good insurance that covers theft of the bike and anything aftermarket.
 
#9 ·
Only thing I can come up with - is don't live or park in the city unless you have private indoor parking. Can't count the number of vehicles I have seen that were broken into or stolen from the street and ramps overnight in downtown St. Paul where I work.

A good insurance policy with a low deductible is your only real defense.
 
#10 ·
I use a disc lock when traveling and staying in a motel. Just making my D'Elle one of the less desirable targets in the lot. At a restaurant or a park where I may be away from the bike for an extended time, I lock my helmet and jacket to the bike over the tank bag (with its own 4-tumbler luggage lock) with a cable lock. Keeps the honest folks honest.
$1000 USD deductible for everyone else.
 
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#11 ·
As a software entrepreneur I started thinking about potential solutions and would like to invite folks to provide some feedback:
...
4. if you had a magic wand, what kind of solution would you envision to increase the security of your bike (anything goes : lasers, trackers, gps, face recognizing AI robots, chains, alarms etc.)
Appreciate the insights, happy to chat further to share what I learn and brainstorm ideas
Personally, I don't have that problem but I have thought about it for a while.
. I would start with a video doorbell and a pay-as-you-go cellular phone.
. Most of those doorbells come with a proximity sensor.
. I would mount the doorbell behind a semi-armored panel attached at the center of the handlebar mount and aimed at the rider space. Peep hole for the lens.
. The phone is mounted behind a body panel and powered by one of those mini jump-start batteries.
. The doorbell will do what video doorbells do. It will begin with a Siri type voice announcing, "Camera Recording". It would turn on your LED aux driving lights. It would call your real phone and or security service.
. Both phones will have the built in "Find Me" application (tracking).
. You will be able to talk with the person who activated the system, as is common.
. All of the IoT household functions which can turn on the AC etc, are already baked in to activate strobe lights, smoke bombs, tazers, or what ever you choose.

What do ya think?
 
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#12 ·
Personally, I don't have that problem but I have thought about it for a while.
. I would start with a video doorbell and a pay-as-you-go cellular phone.
. Most of those doorbells come with a proximity sensor.
. I would mount the doorbell behind a semi-armored panel attached at the center of the handlebar mount and aimed at the rider space. Peep hole for the lens.
. The phone is mounted behind a body panel and powered by one of those mini jump-start batteries.
. The doorbell will do what video doorbells do. It will begin with a Siri type voice announcing, "Camera Recording". It would turn on your LED aux driving lights. It would call your real phone and or security service.
. Both phones will have the built in "Find Me" application (tracking).
. You will be able to talk with the person who activated the system, as is common.
. All of the IoT household functions which can turn on the AC etc, are already baked in to activate strobe lights, smoke bombs, tazers, or what ever you choose.

What do ya think?
Most of the crackheads that steal things downtown wouldn't be able to distinguish it from the other voices in their heads. :ROFLMAO:
 
#14 ·
I would mount a wyze cam (working if you could get wifi) Phony flashing light and a sticker saying: "Video surveillance in use! You are being watched!" It would be great if you could watch and talk over wifi. A cover with the warning would be super and when they take off the cover you would get the motion alert. kfh000
 
#15 ·
Yeah, that is one of the brands I have considered. Pretty impressive company. I should have mentioned in mu first post that the bike mounted phoe wold be configured as a wifi "hot spot".
 
#16 ·
No software would have prevented the type of damage you incurred. Maybe an over-sensitive proximity/motion sensor would have alerted you to the tampering in progress, but I'm guessing the damage (ignition cylinder) would have taken less than 5 secs to be done. Some Euro Suzukis have immobilizers built into their keys (I think it's an RF module inside the key housing that comms with the ECU). Even a GPS tracking fence would have, at best, alerted you someone was inside that fence but the response time to such an event is likely to exceed the time required to cause damage. Sport bikes have long struggled with this scenario, and there is nothing capable of preventing an outright theft short of tethering the object to an unmovable object. But again, it is their attempted theft of the bike that does the most damage.

The most practical preventative solution is a punitive one, therefore rendering it illegal in most cases. Electric shock, e.g.
 
#17 ·
I carry an alarming front disc lock when parking overnight downtown in large cities. Unlikely that my bike would be touched in my area or when travelling as I tend to travel through smaller towns. I also leave my key in the ignition with gloves covering them when stopping at coffee shops etc. and am fortunate to have a garage at home where I park it.
Is there any way you can chain or use a heavy kryptonite cable to attach your bike to a post?
As for insurance, you would not get much for a 6 year old bike. I dropped collision and theft from my bike when it was around 3 years old.
 
#19 ·
Like said before, best is some form of indoor parking. If that can't be achieved but you do have a "regular" parking spot that's on private property somehow (private parking garage, front yard, ...) then you can talk to the owner and see if you can install some heavy duty anchor there permanently. (Best Motorcycle Ground Anchors Of 2020 (Reviews)) You then lock the bike to that anchor with a heavy duty chain.

It won't deter the most stubborn thief, but it will deter those that are looking for an easy buck. The ones that try to steal your bike by putting a screwdriver in the ignition.
 
#23 ·
In light of the comments about the cost of the repairs needed for attempted theft, maybe not locking the bike ignition is a better tactic. Wheel lock and leave the keys in it. They can start it but can't get anywhere. If they can get the wheel lock off or pick it up entirely you are out of a bike but at least you are not out an expensive ignition lock service. kfh000
 
#25 ·
Then they will steal the keys and try to sell them. Drug addicts do not care what they steal or it what the value as long as they think they can get something for it to fund the next fix its game on. I was watching one of the shows where folks are incarcerated. One young when not selling herself would steal batteries (like AA, AAA) and resell them for a $0.50 or $2 per pack. If your okay risking jail for a $0.50 battery score having or performing sex acts with a stranger for $5 the potential for a couple hundred score from something bigger would be to much temptation. The addicted mind cannot rationalize right from wrong, it just know it what it wants at any an all cost.
 
#24 · (Edited)
You've gotten some great comments on your post.

I live in a semi-rural area in East Texas and store my bikes in a garage. So this is strictly an opinion

Having a bike secured in a locked up location seems the best solution for an urban setting. Insurance can handle damage/loss, but can result in a higher premium. Renting a garage space might be costly in SF, but saves worry, hassle and maybe money. An insurance carrier might be willing to lower premiums. Motohaus (if they have space) among others, is an option in SF. It's $200 a month for long term, but the $500 ignition repair would've covered 2.5 months.

 
#39 ·
I live in a semi-rural area in East Texas and store my bikes in a garage. So this is strictly an opinion
Motohaus (if they have space) among others, is an option in SF. It's $200 a month for long term, but the $500 ignition repair would've covered 2.5 months.
What price convenience? I also live in a mostly rural setting and my bike is parked inside a locked garage. I have to push a button on the garage wall to open the door before I can go out riding. Worth the effort to me.
But at what point does it become pointless to keep an urban bike? How many bus transfers or Über rides might be involved to get to and from where the bike is stored? Those expenses as well as the value placed on the time involved each trip to & from the storage facility should also be a part of the equation.
 
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#29 ·
In your case I would start with a lock on cover for the ignition switch.

That will have them scratching their heads and moving on to the next bike, it could also save you some cash.

A big cable through the rear wheel and up over the seat is another very obvious deterrent.

I never thought a Strom would be a target but I guess the world is made up of all types.
 
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#31 ·
Lil more off topic, wifey was driving along the streets of San Francisco with me caged next to her. I spot a motorcycle lying on its side and order her to stop. Run over and tip it up and on we went. I’d like my story better if it hadn’t been a Beemer. 😝 I love visiting SF.
 
#33 ·
If you are regularly leaving a bike outside in a public place it must be chained to a handrail, post or similar. A plastic covered wire strop is even more effective when coupled with a good padlock. Double up the padlock as a disc lock. Adding a disc lock to the front wheel and maybe a flashing red light adds to the difficulty factor.
The issue is to make it safe and convenient at the same time.
 
#34 ·
as a retired welder I wouldn't have a hard time coming up with a plate that covers the ign switch and locks with a big high vis padlock. 1 alarm lock on 1 brake disk and 2 high vis padlocks on the other brake disks. unless it is a chromed out harley they will look for easier pickings. there are a lot of bikes out there to look for the most valuable that is the easiest to take.
 
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