Anti-theft devices, strategies for bikes

Leepower · 1st April 2010, 20:09

A friend's bike (Yamaha Fazer) got stolen recently. The fellow was crying for nearly a week. He told me that he might get some money back due to the insurance. But the very thought of someone having stolen his 'beloved' has left him scarred for life. A lot more than money goes into a bike . It becomes an indispensable part of our life. So I am starting this thread to prevent those thieves from having the last laugh.
I employ a very common strategy to deter those thieves. I use two thick chains and lock my Bull's wheels (both front and rear). The alarm is pretty useless, I think, because no one is gonna bother about some bike making strange noises.

What about GPS-based tracking devices? Is there anything that actually works in India? Bring it on guys.
Cheers,
Sam

abhinav.s · 1st April 2010, 20:50

I agree with you when you say that more than money goes into a bike. Though i bought my RTR pre-owned, i still love it a lot and feel bad when i have not had time to wash it. I even thank the bike for starting in one kick after not being used for nearly a week [had a P220 as well all this while which was sold off recently]

Coming to safety of bikes, i dont think there is much that can be done in India. Your idea of locking it with chains seems to be a good deterrent. The alarm would work in throwing the thief off guard and making it obvious to others that its not his bike but some one else. Have not heard much about GPS tracking devices so cannot comment much.

Are the company provided locks so fragile or easy to pick then??

aargee · 1st April 2010, 20:56

Check this out from Xenos. This should help you to some extent.

bblost · 1st April 2010, 22:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

Are the company provided locks so fragile or easy to pick then??

Yes. It can be broken quite easily. Hotwire the bike and you are good to go.
I don't know how the more modern FI bikes will behave.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leepower

A friend's bike (Yamaha Fazer) got stolen recently.

Very sorry about that.

Quote:

I employ a very common strategy to deter those thieves. I use two thick chains and lock my Bull's wheels (both front and rear).

Might work in a bullet with its spoked wheel.
In the case of a bike with alloys, a little play and the alloy will crack the chain.

Plus it will only work if you are willing to carry a heavy chain with you all the time.

A bullet is generally safe. Most thieves avoid it and would rather steal the battery.

I am so happy that my bike is so depreciated that no one except me has any idea on its value.

abhinav.s · 1st April 2010, 22:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by bblost

Yes. It can be broken quite easily. Hotwire the bike and you are good to go.
I don't know how the more modern FI bikes will behave.

You have me worried now. I always thought that the locks provided by the modern bike companies are tough to pick and was a deterrent.

Only consolation is both my apartment and office parking are guarded but everywhere else i park the bike i will now have to keep checking once in a while!!

Sumeetstoic · 1st April 2010, 22:38

I make it a point that my bike is parked in a safe place and it is always parked inside my home's compound at night.

For all other times, I use a disc lock. It is a lock you can put in the disc and it does not let the wheel move. It is not very expensive but I had to do a lot of running around to find a good quality one.

cheers

bblost · 1st April 2010, 22:40

I am not very aware of new bikes.
Limited in knowledge to the RE's bikes and Hero Honda's

formel_eins · 1st April 2010, 23:30

I had a pulsar, it was my first bike and I loved it like anything, unfortunately it was also stolen and I still miss her. It is difficult to stop thieves, but you can certainly make things difficult for them, by having fork locks, immobilizers and some GPS tracking systems.

A GPS device not only helps to track your bike but it can operate as a immobilizer too. Actually I work on this technology and we provide such systems. You can PM me for more details.

Leepower · 2nd April 2010, 00:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by bblost

Hotwire the bike and you are good to go.

Boss, How exactly do you hotwire a Bullet

By GPS, I mean GPS-based vehicle tracking devices. So that I/my gang (i.e. my friends, I am not a gangster

) can go and thrash the thieves !!!

---
Note from the Team-BHP Support Staff : Your post has been edited since it contained one too many smilies. We would much appreciate you restricting the smilie usage to 2 per post.

Thanks!

Leepower · 2nd April 2010, 00:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

I always thought that the locks provided by the modern bike companies are tough to pick and was a deterrent

Nope, just smash the ignition lock and reset the wires. That's how robbers operate. It's pretty scary!!!

aargee · 2nd April 2010, 06:50

Hasn't anyone used Xenos on motorcycles or hasn't anyone seen the post at all or is it a complete failure on motorcycles?

Chipz · 2nd April 2010, 07:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by aargee

Hasn't anyone used Xenos on motorcycles or hasn't anyone seen the post at all or is it a complete failure on motorcycles?

Thanks aargee for the link. I was thinking of getting something like this for my RX. There are lots of thieves around here. especially for rx. Police say they take out the engine and would you believe it, they use it as motor boat engine

.

Just want to know if anyone has tried it (I mean xenos). The product looks quite capable. Waiting for a review.

aargee · 2nd April 2010, 07:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chipz

Police say they take out the engine and would you believe it, they use it as motor boat engine

.

Haha, it was being done once, but now, due to the unavailability of the new cylinders I don't think this is done anymore.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chipz

Just want to know if anyone has tried it (I mean xenos). The product looks quite capable. Waiting for a review.

Haha...I'm not sure on the price & reliability factor, but anyone fitting Xenos on their motorcycle should be fitting it on their Ducati, HD, Busa or CBR's here. Atleast, that's what I can think of, not sure if they're worthy enough to fit on RX/RE's. Anyway, I'll try to check out the pros & cons of Xenos.

Note - Did you know that a local auto electrical mech anyone near your house can make one such device for you? At the same time, its very easy to evade it too. Just cut the lines from the battery through the side shield without touching the motorcycle & voila you bye-passed the security system. If Xenos has an additional inbuilt battery or a separate line, then its really worth it.

Chipz · 2nd April 2010, 08:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by aargee

Haha, it was being done once, but now, due to the unavailability of the new cylinders I don't think this is done anymore.

That I am not sure, but last year my friend lost his RX100 and this is what the cops told us. This bike was stolen from trivandrum, but luckily for him, the thief left the bike near ernakulam police station.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aargee

Haha...I'm not sure on the price & reliability factor, but anyone fitting Xenos on their motorcycle should be fitting it on their Ducati, HD, Busa or CBR's here. Atleast, that's what I can think of, not sure if they're worthy enough to fit on RX/RE's. Anyway, I'll try to check out the pros & cons of Xenos..

My RX is my busa

. I will be more than happy to fit it on my rx.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aargee

Note - Did you know that a local auto electrical mech anyone near your house can make one such device for you?..

I dont think a local auto mechanic can make a remote with all these features.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aargee

At the same time, its very easy to evade it too. Just cut the lines from the battery through the side shield without touching the motorcycle & voila you bye-passed the security system. If Xenos has an additional inbuilt battery or a separate line, then its really worth it.

Ya it should have another small battery internally too to sense if the battery wire is cut. It is very easy to cut a battery wire in rx, it is pretty much visible from outside.

What I have done now is that I have put a switch in series to the CID unit and hidden the switch. The bike cannot be started without switching it on. It is pretty much easy to built an alarm and flasher around this. but xenos has replaced the switch with a remote, which is much more safer.

I hope this is not a long post.

prince_pervez · 2nd April 2010, 09:06

My colleague got a security system fitted before he left for Canada. I think the brand was Xenos if I remember correctly. Next, I was witness to the whole install in the company garage as the install guy had come to the office with the kit, tapes, scissors and did the installation in 15-20 mins flat. It had auto (remote) ignition and the usual beep beep when someone touches the bike rather violently and the lock/unlock feature (which is rather a stop/start beep feature).

Now coming back to the effectiveness, well, the beeping was squeal or a meow of a wet cat. But I was told it is loud in the dead silence of the night. In the day time someone could pass it off as a noisy gizmo installed by a college kid.

Apart from the remote ignition I found nothing noteworthy. Pickers lift entire bikes in tempos and leave without a noise sometimes.

God help those with brand new and flashy bikes.

1st April 2010, 20:09	#1
Leepower BHPian Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Maharashtra Posts: 366 Thanked: 78 Times	Anti-theft devices, strategies for bikes A friend's bike (Yamaha Fazer) got stolen recently. The fellow was crying for nearly a week. He told me that he might get some money back due to the insurance. But the very thought of someone having stolen his 'beloved' has left him scarred for life. A lot more than money goes into a bike . It becomes an indispensable part of our life. So I am starting this thread to prevent those thieves from having the last laugh. I employ a very common strategy to deter those thieves. I use two thick chains and lock my Bull's wheels (both front and rear). The alarm is pretty useless, I think, because no one is gonna bother about some bike making strange noises. What about GPS-based tracking devices? Is there anything that actually works in India? Bring it on guys. Cheers, Sam Last edited by bblost : 1st April 2010 at 22:19. Reason: Removed offensive language.
	() Thanks

1st April 2010, 20:50	#2
abhinav.s Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: B'lore,Coorg Posts: 2,802 Thanked: 1,326 Times	I agree with you when you say that more than money goes into a bike. Though i bought my RTR pre-owned, i still love it a lot and feel bad when i have not had time to wash it. I even thank the bike for starting in one kick after not being used for nearly a week [had a P220 as well all this while which was sold off recently] Coming to safety of bikes, i dont think there is much that can be done in India. Your idea of locking it with chains seems to be a good deterrent. The alarm would work in throwing the thief off guard and making it obvious to others that its not his bike but some one else. Have not heard much about GPS tracking devices so cannot comment much. Are the company provided locks so fragile or easy to pick then??
	() Thanks

1st April 2010, 20:56	#3
aargee Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: TSTN Posts: 6,354 Thanked: 10,052 Times	Check this out from Xenos. This should help you to some extent.
	() Thanks

1st April 2010, 22:38	#6
Sumeetstoic Newbie Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: New Delhi Posts: 17 Thanked: 4 Times	Disc lock I make it a point that my bike is parked in a safe place and it is always parked inside my home's compound at night. For all other times, I use a disc lock. It is a lock you can put in the disc and it does not let the wheel move. It is not very expensive but I had to do a lot of running around to find a good quality one. cheers
	(1) Thanks

1st April 2010, 22:40	#7
bblost Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 11,284 Thanked: 17,939 Times View My Garage	I am not very aware of new bikes. Limited in knowledge to the RE's bikes and Hero Honda's
	() Thanks

1st April 2010, 23:30	#8
formel_eins BHPian Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Pune Posts: 168 Thanked: 16 Times	GPS device I had a pulsar, it was my first bike and I loved it like anything, unfortunately it was also stolen and I still miss her. It is difficult to stop thieves, but you can certainly make things difficult for them, by having fork locks, immobilizers and some GPS tracking systems. A GPS device not only helps to track your bike but it can operate as a immobilizer too. Actually I work on this technology and we provide such systems. You can PM me for more details.
	() Thanks

2nd April 2010, 06:50	#11
aargee Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: TSTN Posts: 6,354 Thanked: 10,052 Times	Hasn't anyone used Xenos on motorcycles or hasn't anyone seen the post at all or is it a complete failure on motorcycles?
	() Thanks

2nd April 2010, 09:06	#15
prince_pervez Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Redwood shores, CA, USA Posts: 4,211 Thanked: 53 Times View My Garage	My colleague got a security system fitted before he left for Canada. I think the brand was Xenos if I remember correctly. Next, I was witness to the whole install in the company garage as the install guy had come to the office with the kit, tapes, scissors and did the installation in 15-20 mins flat. It had auto (remote) ignition and the usual beep beep when someone touches the bike rather violently and the lock/unlock feature (which is rather a stop/start beep feature). Now coming back to the effectiveness, well, the beeping was squeal or a meow of a wet cat. But I was told it is loud in the dead silence of the night. In the day time someone could pass it off as a noisy gizmo installed by a college kid. Apart from the remote ignition I found nothing noteworthy. Pickers lift entire bikes in tempos and leave without a noise sometimes. God help those with brand new and flashy bikes.
	() Thanks