Motorcycle security systems 2021
 

I did do a search on this term, and there were postings from 2016 - but maybe nothing newer. Not at lest what I could find. Also, not sure if this is the best place to post this question...but its a start.

As I get closer to having my bike ready, mods for me and spare parts etc. the question of motorcycle security begins. I have read watched and studied this topic quite a bit - its the specifics that I lack....which actual product to buy.

First off - if they REALLY want to steal your bike - they will.
Next - making it more difficult helps.
Be smart about where you leave the bike - of course.
One of the best security devices is a cover.

Now to specifics....Alarm system, GPS tracker, Disk lock, anything else?

Do you have or use an alarm system? Of course the BMW has a built in one, but its pretty meager.

Same question for GPS tracker - but which one works around the world?

Do you use disk locks, with alarms built in and if so which one would you suggest?

Anything other comments of suggestions most appreciated.

I had a lightweight disc lock with alarm for my bike on my 5 year RTW trip. But I found the most useful measure was to have safe overnight parking. A very few times in places I couldnt find safe parking (locked area, guarded area etc) I actually paid a few dimes to guys hanging around the parking area to look after the bike.

Like Snakeboy said. I Alway go for secure parking. If that is not available I park the bike in a spot where it would be a complete pain in the ass to load it into a wehicle. (think in a backyard or a hill) Also try to park it out of sight from the road.

I have a dirty cover and a Abus Granit Victory X-Plus 68 disc lock.

It's a very light lock. It's almost unpick-able (won't be picked on the street). It's very hard to drill or cut with bolt cutters. That only leaves it open for disc cutter attacks. Most thieves don't carry disc cutters (specially in poorer countries).

Always pop the disc lock on the back wheel and cover the bike.

Always going for a secure and if possible guarded parking. Always using an ugly old looking cover.

No lock is 100% secure but I use one in short as in overnight parking issues every time.

If they don`t pick or flex, then 4 guys load the bike on a pick up or truck in a minute.

GPS trackers are useless since you can buy jammers starting from 5$ at alibaba.

Do you know the lock picking lawyer?
See him working 2,5 min to open the Abus Granit Victory X-Plus 68 disc lock.

https://youtu.be/Csa01fsnCQE

Yes. I saw his video. He says "I very much doubt this will be picked on the street". You need a special tool, that almost no one has. You need years of lockpicking experience and it will be a lot harder to pick when it's attached to a bike.

There are very few people who can pick the lock, and these people aren't motorcycle thieves :)

If I was to get new security now:

Cheap cover

ABUS GRANIT ™ DETECTO XPLUS 8077 Disc with alarm lock + Chain Combo. (I would not take the chain on trips - more for home, or if I knew I would park curb side 7n a crime infested city). Use the lock on the rear wheel. Statistically bikes with a disc lock reduces the chance of theft by 1/3. With the alarm, it will be higher. It could probably be defeated in a minute, but with an alarm going for that long, it gets stressful being a thief. Also, if you are close by, you or someone you've asked to keep a look after it might be able to intervene.

Monimoto GPS Tracker, so you can be informed by SMS and find it stashed down the street (thieves often hide bikes close to where they were stolen for a day or three, before taking it away for good, just in case it has a tracker).

Thin cable lock so the thieves can't simply put the bike in a van without spending a suspiciius moment on the cable with a blaring disc lock. It makes little difference to an equipped thief if the cable is thin or just slightly thick, even quite a thick chain.

Probably the worst place you can park a bike is in an indoor parking complex without a full time security guard at night. When I worked in insurance many years ago, we used to call them "parts storage". Apartment parking complexes, public parking complexes, with cameras and security only doing the odd rounds, is in general really much less safe than parking on the street.

If you need to park on a street, try to park on a well lit street that is busy at night, or in a residential area in view from surrounding homes. Preferably under a camera or a building with a night watch, like a hotel, outside a bar that is open all night, etc. Underneath motion triggered flood lights is good also.

From conversations with a very active motorcycle thief (I live around the corner from a Salavation Army soup kitchen, a great source of interesting life stories), it's clear to me that there are several different types of motorcycle thieves. Oh, and since I'm a nice guy, he has promised he will never steal my bike.

1) I need a bike now (opportunity driven)
To protect from this type of theft, you want to make it cumbersome to steal your motorcycle so they move on to the next. These thieves are less prepared, so they may be stopped by having to grind through a disk lock. They may skip the bike with a cover, as they're afraid to be seen. They want to ride away from the scene of the crime, so if you can stop them from starting the bike, they may give up. They may be scared off by alarms.

2) The planned theft
Depending on where you live, this may be the biggest threat. I know it is in Norway. These thieves have professionals with orders, so they are not stealing bikes at random. If they have an order for a 1250 GS, they'll find one and plan on how to steal it. They will look at classified ads to find the location of attractive bikes. They come with a (stolen) truck to carry the bike away. They already know where the bike is, so a cover is of no use. Parking your bike in a garage is probably not a deterrent either, most garages are easy to break into. They don't need to remove disk locks, as they can just lift the bike onto the truck. Disk lock with unbreakable chain? They just leave the wheel. They LOVE an audible alarm, as they tell them where to look for tracking devices. They're in and out in less than two minutes, which means you won't have time to get out of bed to stop them. Then they drive the bike away to a stashing location, and sell it on to someone else for parts or to be exported. You don't stop these thieves, you try to ensure that you can get your bike back, or mitigate the consequences of losing it.

So my view on security is this: If you're in an area where theft of opportunity is a big problem, make it slightly harder to identify and steal the bike and drive away. Mine is parked in the back yard of an apartment building in the middle of the city, so I use a disk lock with a thick chain, so a thief would have to leave the front wheel. If you have a bike that is attractive on the black market (some surprises here, 390 Duke is one of the most stolen models!) make sure you have a tracker installed and test that it works.

But most of all, it is good to accept that owning something means that you can lose something, and you should not own anything that you cannot accept losing. Insurance, backup plans if you travel, and emotional distance to your possessions are good things.

That's a mindset I've travelled with for many many years. I've always been prepared to lose stuff, or walk away from stuff - up to and including the bike. It doesn't mean I want to or that it wouldn't be inconvenient or expensive to do so but it's built into the fabric, into the nature, of travel for me. That's why, with few exceptions, I tend to travel with stuff that hasn't cost me much money and very rarely with bikes that are on finance packages. It's an approach that has come back to bite me on occasions but mostly the 'peace of mind' is worth the trouble.

Even so, a bike is a bike and I take many of the precautions you've outlined above - finding 'sensible' places to park overnight, a cover (sometimes), locks, alarms etc but I've never wanted to be in the position where I had so much invested in the bike that its loss would cause me serious problems. Quite often I've been prepared to write the bike off (financially anyway) over the course of a long trip to the point where, if it gets me back, I now consider it owes me nothing. If I can get more out of it (like the GoldWing I have in the US) and get future trips out of it that's a bonus but not part of my original calculations.

Had an alarm system on my Fazer - previous owner installed it. Kept it turned off. No point in a loud noise maker that will just be ignored. This system even had a radio fob that theoretically would tell me that my bike was being moved... okay, and what then? By the time I get out to my bike, it will be gone.

Factory immobilizer with a radio key is good enough. For an older bike, the cost of bypassing it makes the bike uneconomical to steal.

Every single one of them is defeated by driving into a shipping container or other enclosed metal box. But yes, if anything, get one that doesn't depend on a mobile signal.

I think this video lays it out pretty well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXHEbPzzDzE

TLDR: thick square-section hardened chain with a padlock with a complicated key.

The built-in alarm on a disk lock can be almost totally muffled by sticking your finger over the speaker hole.

You are right if you say picking the lock attached to bike is harder but if you listening and watched carefully than you recognized that he showed a way how to solve this issue.

Maybe I am frustrating you right now but I have this tool and 3 others of the same principle. The tool in the video is maschined on a very high standard and it gives you a very sensitive feedback. I bought the tool from the video from him and the others via ebay. Ebay or alibaba are full of this and other kind of tools you need for picking. Most of them are in poor quaility and need finetuning for a better functioning. But they are cheap and available for everyone who knows the search term.

I am an amateur picker but I started lock picking by following the lock picking lawyer and some others years ago. A lot I know about picking I learned from videos and by just simple trying out. The learning curve was fast and steep.
My goal is to open a lock without destroying it and as quick as possible. Also I have build some tools together with others from my lock picking community. We do competitive speed lock picking. I have been opening different kind of locks just for fun and in one case of emergency a house door of a neighbor who got lock out by his 4yrs son.

If I can learn this by video and reading blogs than other people with criminal intense can do it too and faster...

The lock picking lawyer is right when he says that lock picking of motorcycles is very rare. And I believe if you are on a trip and you avoid big cities, you will be always on the safe side.

If you scroll through his videos you see others kinds of cheap tools you can buy in a every hardware store for small money and you get an idea of tricks how to open a lock by destroying it fast and without loud noises. For this you don`t need years of experience...It`s just a question of your creativity or your criminal motivation...

In my area, a town in notherrn Germany with a basin of 5 mio people, we had the case that a motorcycle repair shop specialized on Harleys was nothing else than gang of thefts. They have stolen more than 200 motorcycles over the years and they use a truck with a special build in crane to lift the bike in 2 minutes into. Bikes got stripped down and parts were resold by the shop. Stolen parts were stored in long time rented trucks.

These type of criminal gangs are the real problem and the chance to become a victim of them will be much higher in your hometown than everywhere else on your trip through foreign countries, I believe.

Superglue works faster and you can use one finger more for stealing :)

Thieves don't turn up dressed as David Niven and pick locks. They spray plumbers freeze on them and use a chisel or bring a petrol powered grinder.

Noise makers are only going to make people with an interest do anything. That's basically the owner. The police in the UK certainly won't react and passers-by just find them annoying.

Immobilisers are the single biggest reason to call recovery services in the UK. Thieves can remove them in minutes, so they only inconvenience the owners.

So

Split your defence into home and away.

At home layer up. Lock the bike to the floor with a chain with a proper security rating. I will be big, 13mm links. Only use locks you can secure against tool access by metal shielding. Alarm the building not the bike. Look for weaknesses like roofing that can be removed and hinges that can be broken. Use better protected vehicles like cars to block in bikes. Keep keys behind further locks and split them up, no hooks in the hallway. CCTV linked to your phone is good. Make some of your security obvious (huge yellow door blocker on the garage, sign up warning of CCTV) and some hidden. Don't leave the bike outside the security for hours where people can start to work out where it lives.

If you are unfortunate enough to have Keyless/Wireless dross, fit a physical lock as well and keep the fob in a Faraday bag (or the microwave oven).

On the road you can only slow them down. Remove the dealers keyring that matches the dealers details on your number plate, its bad enough Honda ID lost keys with their logo. Use a disc lock with a multipart construction, not cast Chinese dross with a barrel lock. A tracker connected to your phone lets you run back when they start with the grinder. A second lock to a cable round street furniture makes them work harder. A cover helps.

You will not stop druggies and scratters breaking into aluminium boxes, nylon bags or plastic boxes. Take your stuff with you.

Make your stuff harder to steal than the next blokes.

Andy

All interesting and maybe what I expected....not a clear consensus as to how to move forward - but lots of great advice.

My concerns are totally for touring. I have a locked garage with motion lights around the building for storage....Not worried at home - and I live in a safe area....still make sure everything is locked etc....

I'm going RTW next year if the Covid thing allows....On the road security is my concern.

I'll be doing lots of camping - so a motion detector will be critical - but I've never head of a GPS blocker before in regards to a bike tracker....looking into this deeper. A tracker makes sense - but I rue the monthly expense.

Where to park, where to stay, GREAT advice - thank you....I listen and learn.

Still have a ways to go...Front brake locks are defeated by cutting the brake line - takes a second.

I have not found anything like this yet in my searches - is there such a thing as a lock for the axle nuts....to help keep the wheels on? My bike can't fit one of those caliper locks that cover the nuts too.

I am considering building a security system out of a Raspberry Pi that will allow me to log into my bike and see what's going on if an alarm is triggered. With a hidden camera and a battery on the Pi - this has possibilities.

Still at it!

Dont overthink this mate.

Camping - whats the chance someones gonna try to steal your bike when youre in your tent 2-3 meters away? Thats not gonna happen!

In a hotel/hostel/guesthouse/Airbnb thing - make sure the place you choose have safe parking. And if not most cities and towns in south and central America have commercial parking areas where you park your vehicle and pay a few dimes.
Also several places in Asia and even elsewhere let you park your bike in the lobby of the guesthouse.....

I also liked what was mentioned above here - dont take any expensive fancy shining bike with half of the Touratech catalouge mounted that cost 20-30 grand €. The chances it will be a target for thiefes increases hundred if times. Take a smaller used bike worth ~ 1/10 of the above mentioned bike and keep it dirty! Nobody would ever look twice at it....

I'm not worried about my BIKE being stolen....I worried about my panniers being ransacked, and while camping, they are not coming off into a tent....

My bike is a used 2013 BMW F800gs - and I'm blacken it. On top of making it ugly. All the tech on the bike will be hidden or while camping off the bike. But I've been warned about panniers being stolen while camping.

That's the thought process here anyway.

...and covid still has the potential to change security situations or shall i name it crime levels negative in future. Time and travellers will tell you if the virus had enough power to mutate economic standards, well known social behavior and hospitality in foreign countries.

Don`t overengineer and get to techy. Use a trusted lock on the front and a heavier one on the rear if you want and if secure parking isn`t available. If the lock is to heavy or to complicated you won`t use it because over time you got annoyed by this precedure.

If you worry about your panniers, expand your panniers with bags you can easily take out. Unlock the panniers to show that nothing is in (and to guide the thief to your tent :) )
You can faster loose your tent when you go for a stroll if you stay longer than a night at one place. Happened to me with a MSR one incl. sleeping bag and pad.

You will loose something but mostly by your own stupidity than by theft. Calculate it to your budget. Trust your senses and self-confidence you gain during tavelling. And don`t forget that in generall people will take care about you if they recognize something against common social rules.

I know there is a 99% security everywhere and why of all things should the 1% hit me if I trust on my feelings and my mind? But if it does, I have to take it as the adventure I went for.

Not at all. I don't even think we disagree on anything.

Rapax - if you are into Raspberry - you are very advanced.

Have you instead considered using a phone. Jailbrake and customize or put an open source os and go from there.

A few hardware capabilities:

• battery
• camera front and back - as a motion sensor, light sensor, camera and more
• Accelerometer
• Gyroscope
• Thermometer
• Hygrometer
• Barometer
• GSM
• GPS
• Bluetooth
• NFC
• WiFi
• Two way audio
• Flash / light
• Screen
• Waterproof
• Built in harddrive
• Small

I can think of dosens of ways to use each of the features for security purposes. Combine it with Dropbox or similar... Used phones, i e. with a cracked screen, you can get for free. There is already a lot of security software for phones - but many have a subscription

Wheelie, I think you just confused me with member krtw who was talking about a rasp.

(Ok, I still use a rasp with Pi-hole for network protection and another older one as a mediacenter for my movie collection but that`s another case)

Back to phone and I don`t know if I got you right:

For sure you can use a phone - even without jailbraking or android os - for security measures on a bike. But all measures will only function if you have a permanent active network connection available. This will work at home but never fully if you are traveling.

We all love our bikes, we spend a lot money in and we want protect us against theft because it is our only mobility device on travels. In my opinion you have to keep security measures as simple and durable as possible. Also I think that too techy installations normally aren`t tough enough for stresses and strains on travels.

KISS solution if you have to take the seat off to remove luggage: make the main fuse accessible.

Easy enough to do in a robust way during overland prep, easy to remove/fix if it strands you and another inconvenience to the scratter who just screwdrivered the crappy OE ignition lock.

Andy

You could give your phone satphone connectivity...

I'm just saying, if you wanted to geek the hell out of this, you could use phone tech to create a security system that far surpasses anything you can buy.

Personally I would go for a monimoto and a disk lock with alarm and a bike cover. In addition, if paranoia got the better of me, maybe one of those personal dirt cheap alarms put on luggage with a simple trigger hack.

You know, the ECU on a bike is techy stuff, and works on gravel roads. You can't just "put this stuff on" and not take the wear and tear into consideration. I'm gonna have LOAD of tech on my bike and the test will be when I dump in in the river. And when it gets covered in mud. Just like everything, you have to plan it out, design it for its specific purpose - or yes - it will blow up in your face. Even then, there's no guarantees - and ain't it ALL a risk? Riding a bike, going to different environments....its a calculated risk I'll be taking - cause I want to.

I'm not talking specifically about security here - but all the tech on a bike. Video, audio, security, GPS, everything.....

I have spent time on material research seeking the BEST most modern anti vibration materials available. And they are impressive. How to harden electrical connections for moisture. I love doing this. Having a ball. And I'll have half of it or more on my bike this summer to test it in real world conditions and a on real difficult roads.

So to naysayers I say - its not about the tech. Its about doing MY thing, my way. Its my trip - and if I want to load my bike full of computers, I will. And if it all fails...who cares. I tried - and had a blast doing so - AND learned.

Security will be the same....I will cover the basics and be smart. Then I'll add tech, cause I LIKE it, and love the challenge - and maybe develop something that can be of use to others.

And if it fails - no failure - just learning.

Thanks for the post.

I agree. The simple security that you actually use is worth a lot more than the complicated high tech stuff that you don't because 'I'm only going into the shop for a couple of minutes'. For me it's been a 1m cable and a padlock that's left visible (with or without my helmet attached to it depending on whether it's a short stop or an overnight). It's been a cable rather than a U lock because it's easier to store. I occasionally back it up with a rape alarm velcroed somewhere awkward to get to with the lead clipped to a spoke to detect the bike being moved. None of that is going to stop anyone determined but it will put off the spur of the moment chancer.

I've occasionally thought it would be nice to have some tech that would tell me remotely if the bike has been moved but I'm not interested in anything that needs some long fragile network data connection to do it. The chances are the one time I'd need it would be the one time the connection had failed. A simple paired transmitter receiver set up would be far better even if it does mean another box to carry in my pocket. There's few around for bicycles that use bluetooth to your phone - like this one : B45H | The Cricket (sadly sold out). Short range but cheap and easy and fine for lunch stops / overnighting in hotels / campsites or even fuel stops (I've had bikes moved a few times by 'overeager' car drivers while I'm away paying so they could get to the pump a bit faster).

If your electronics knowledge is good enough that you can knock up a Raspberry Pi based system in such a way that it doesn't look like a school science experiment and is easy to use and long term reliable on the road then you're operating at a different level to me. Usually these things hang together with a spaghetti nest of ad hoc wiring and a load of terminal clips (or at least the one on my desk does). It's not so much the making it work as making it work permanently that takes the time. The last DIY electronic bike gadget I made lasted one day of a 10 day trip before vibration started snapping bits off the circuit board. Easily fixed with a soldering iron and a bit of thought but only after I got back.

Yes, you can go techy as hell but also sat phones loose connections because of these flying issue over a turning planet.

I would be more interested to know where and how to carry and protect sensitive equipement like cameras, lenses, drones, laptops, etc?

I was thinking about a PELIcase, maybe attached removable to the rear rack but I really don`t know if this place is a good idea?
Talked to a guy who used this solution on his GS.
But maybe I am going to use singel case or pouches for each device and put them in my duffel. Haven`t found a final descission.

The 'in the tent paranoia thing' listening to every minute sound thinking someone is tampering and your lust for tech I kind of share. I've installed on my big travel bike a simple Hawk alarm and used the auxilary start facility via a fob to switch/activate a separate siren and blue flashing led light.
You could also use a trailing lead from your tent with a simple loop circuit that when 'open circuit' occurred would trigger an alarm working from rechargeable batteries and a DIY job using an adaptable box and low wattage relays.
I'm sure you'll find your happy sweet spot for security and as you stated it's a personnel thing. Always use a cover though and a couple of locks.

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

And let's assume it does. Those are gonna be some local rough people with guns/machetes/large sticks. (People who know how to convert a foreigner's motorcycle into cash.)

The motion detector goes off, you wake up, get out of your tent, see the robbers... then what? You help them load your bike into their van?

Very good point.

I remember a few years back some guy parked outside his room in a motel in St Louis. In the night he discovered a couple of guys loading his bike into a truck.

He rushed outside yelling at them.

They panicked at being caught and someone shot at him. Killed him.

Not really worth it. Take your stuff inside, cover the bike, cable lock it, park it in a secure lot or where it's visible to passersby and hotel employees. Then go to sleep- odds are very, very good it'll still be there in the morning.

Live to ride another day.

...........shu

How to use an Apple Airtag (29$/35€) as a "silent" security tracking system for your MC if you are an iPhone XR/11/12 user!

This video shows how to remove the speaker from an airtag. So its possible to use an airtag as a silent gps tracker to show where your bike is located right now.

An airtag has a diameter of 31.9 mm (1.26 in) and a thickness of 8 mm (0.31 in), so it is easy to hide anywhere on your MC!

https://youtu.be/2bozWzHQdVs

Thoughts to procedure:
I would not use a screwdriver as shown in the video. Think its better to use a sharp knife like a scalpel or a thin, sharp cutter knife to cut in the slit between case and inside ring.
After removement of battery I would wrap the airtag in a thin plastic foil to prevent it against moisture.


If you are an iphone (XR,11,12) user and you would like to have silent tracking device in case of a theft, this cheap device can provide it in all areas where enough people are around to ensure that the iPhone network will work.(see note!)

Android users can read only Apple Airtag but they cannot use the Find my option because Apples U1 chip acts as a link to iCloud. Thats also the reason why Android users cannot pair it to their device.


Pls Note:
Airtags are NFC chips which use Bluetooth. They are water resist up to 1m and battery life is about one year. You can change batteries (CR2032) easily by yourself.

If your airtag is out of bluetooth range of your iPhone than the airtag connects to the bluetooth of others iPhones around to send the exact location data to you. This works anonymous and encrypted and other iPhones will not get a notification that they act as a relay.

That means the Finding my option will only work 100% every where were enough iPhones are around!

Apple don`t want that airtags can be used as a tracking device for people e.g. through hiding an airtag in bag to get information about their location.
Thats why an airtag measures the distance and loose of connection time to an iPhone to which they are paired.
If an airtag recognizes long time connection lost to its paired iphone it will begin playing a sound and sending out a notification to others iPhone nearyby.
Through removing the speaker it wil be silent, notification sending cannot be prevented due to closed hardware coding.



Ok, i am aware of that some people might now got an idea how to track their spouse but I think that most people in this forum here may have a quite similar relation and intention with their bike ;):)

Where to camp/park and what bike to use
 

Places:

Best (most secure places are) as I see it

A) Places where there are a lot of people. That see what is happening. And anyone with bad intentions knows that he/they are watched.
I prefer to use official camp site. That locks the entry during night.

B) Places so remote that the probability that someone comes there is very low.
Wild camping far from any normal road. You need an off road capable bike or walking to get there. And it is a place that is very seldom visited. No truck gets there. And no gang of drunk people.


Worst place.

A place the is little bit of the main area. Inside or close to a village. But still were people come and go. And were they can operate rather "free"

Bike:

Best is a bike that is not worth much as parts. Local, cheap bike model. Or an unusual bike. For witch there is no market for parts.

Worst is and expensive bike with a lot of extras.
Harley Davidsons is such an example. They have a great probably to get stolen. And the % that never get found is highest. They are taken apart. And the parts are sold. They are not stolen to be used. I guess that new “Adventure bikes” (whatever that is) with half the Touratech catalogue mounted, are almost in that group.

But it is all about probability. You can rise or lower the risk. But the risk will never be zero.

A couple guys talked about using a ratty cover. My advice is to dress down the body panels of the bike also. On my trip to Latin America I covered the panels with a plastic material that is used to protect the bottom of silverware drawers. Then I duct taped over that. It didn't look the greatest, and it took a good 2-3 days to get done, but I'm sure that act saved me hundreds of dollars on the trip.

I think it helps to think like a thief. My guess is that 90% of the time the thief gets a tipoff from a friend about the location of your bike. Rather then deter the thief, maybe think about deterring the tipoff person. What causes that person to notice your bike. Emblems, parking location, brand new riding jacket, you riding around town during the day before staying there, hanging out with a lot of random locals and showing them your bike, etc, etc

At home my bike lives in a locked, alarmed garage with no external signs there are bikes in it. It's a quiet village so (fingers crossed) little threat of feral crotch goblins and people take notice of unusual goings-on.

Out on the road is the issue, of course, and whether your bike costs hundreds or thousands you're basically stuffed if somebody decides they want it badly enough. Even the cheapest bike will be of interest to somebody if they're poor enough or need transport enough, it doesn't have to be stolen for resale.

I rely on layers of security, since the best security is a really big chain. Even a cordless angle grinder or freezer spray won't defeat a top of the range Almax, but that's too heavy to carry around. So I pack a bike cover (camo design for wild camping), a 3 metre heavy gauge steel cable lock and an Oxford alarmed disc lock. None of these is an impregnable defence on its own but together hopefully enough of a deterrent. And obviously if I can get secure parking that's good.

I've also got a tracker, in the hope that if the bike does go I might be able to get it back. The two I've tried are Monimoto and Pegase, and both work on their apps linked to your phone. The first of these is a small, self contained battery powered item with low subscription (36 EUR/yr). Pros: easy to conceal. Cons: a pain to have to take a load of bodywork off when you need to renew the batteries a couple of times a year; you have to remember to take the matched fob with you when you ride or it goes to alarm mode. Pegase is a French made unit that claims to work in every country in the world and has no ongoing subscription charges (covered by the 299 EUR purchase price, the makers say). It's powered by the bike's 12v battery but stops taking power when the battery drops to 12.2V, running for a further week on its internal rechargeable batteries. Pros: no subscription; no batteries to change. Cons: if your battery isn't good you may have starting problems after a few weeks; you need to find a power lead away from the battery or it'd be too easy to find and remove the tracker unit; the Pegase app still needs development as it displays the bike position on a map image without the ability to link to Google Maps or another navigation app.

I allways put a chain through front wheel and fix to a secure place + steering lock + 2 padlocks through disc .......... and just hope they dont pinch my padlocks !!:scooter: