I have a brake disc lock and 10mm chain with armoured lock and yes, I do take both with me when I travel. As a general rule of thumb, I always park it next to a better/easier target.

A mate of mine had a Yamaha YZF750 taken from his garage. They broke through the garage door then carried the bike over the top of two cars, severely denting the roof's and bonnets of both. The bike was never seen again.

A lad I knew from school whose Dad was a self made millionaire decided to buy himself a brand new Ferrari 328 (in 1988 I think). It was garaged, with his Dad's other car, a Mercedes E300, on the driveway and his Mam's car, a Merc 190 Cosworth blocking the entrance to the driveway. The 190 was rolled down the street into a tree and they were into the process of rolling the E300 off the driveway when they were disturbed.

Basically, if someone wants what you've got bad enough, they'll have it or at least have a go, no matter what you do.

AS you can see there are mostly two kinds of theft
Opportunist.. so if you leave a camera on teh asaddle some one might be tempted to pick it up and run off with it..
Preplanned... they cart you bike off in teh bucket of a JCB.

for teh first, just dont leave anything tempting, and for many countries that will be enough.
for teh second, well if you are travelling your arrival and departure will be unexpected.

in my view just dont make it easy.... keep low key.... and dont worry.
it might happen, but then you might get struck by lightning...

A good disc lock (I use a Kryponite) with a chain or heavy wire is a good enough deterrent. But the two most important things I've found are parking it in a well traveled, well lit area with other bikes, and to use a cover. I only use a half cover, but it keeps onlookers from seeing anything of interest, thinking I am local and to cover up my NY tags (what a great souvenir that would be).

Squire do an excellent 1.8 m chain for around £120 - it can only be cut thru using a metal grinder . It got Rides best buy for several years but it weighs big time :thumbdown: Still if it means your bike is there when you get back then its worth it .
If you want to go cheap , then a padlock thru your drive chain will do the business , difficult to remove and will pull chain off if moved :thumbup1:

As I had my BMW stolen in Brazil, half way through my 1 year trip around south america...

never leave your bike out at night. Hotels etc...will normally go to great length to let you park in the lobby or help you find secure parking for your bike...
Always ALWAYS chain your bike, even inside said "safe parking". Mainly it will be little scumbags who will take the opportunity to steal your bike, despite the fact it cannot be sold, no market for spares or what ever... Dont make it easy for tem. Look after your property. Your bike is the most valuable thing you have, on a trip like that, a chain does not take too much space ...

We had our bikes parked one the side street next to the hotel in Almaty for a week. Not issues what so ever. We try to have them as close to our windows as we can because we've got the Gorilla alarms. Tie the bikes to each other, put a disk lock on and a poncho over them. As soon as they fiddle with the bikes to figure out how to remove the security the alarms start howling. I goes for 60 seconds and re-arms when finished. Annoyed people waken up by it are the fourth level of security.

Best thing is, Gorilla is dirt cheap and lasted 25k km across asia, and was about the only thing not damaged after crossing Kazakhstan.

Big chain vs big cable
 

After reading through all the posts I can find I am still not sure.

I have a 2.2 10mm cable for clothing, helmets and panniers. I can't decide between a 9 meter version of what I have, to tie up the whole lot when leaving the bike and bits. Or a Almax chain which seems to be the best, real heavy but the best. I will have a bike cover too.

Phases like: Spend 100 quid now and maybe stop the bike being stolen mid way through the trip. I also understand that bike theft is more of a problem in the UK than other European countries ?? What Countries are most likely to be a problem ??

I will be travelling through Western and Eastern Europe. Not staying anywhere for longer than a couple of days in a mix of camping (as much as possible to save cash) and hotels/motels. Will be in large cities but not much.

I guess, I am asking big chain vs big cable both with bike cover.

Cheers

I had an attempt at lifting two of my bikes. They were side by side, one end locked and chained, the other cabled, both to a ground anchor in between. The vermin scum managed to bolt-crop the chain but only squashed the 16mm cable; not quite cutting through it.

I often chuck all my gear in a kit bag and bundle it up with a long 10mm cable ( a bit like tying a parcel ) it takes me a few minutes of faffing to get it undone so I hope it would be sufficiant deterent. I lock my helmet to the bike with another cable. It's a good idea to put locks where they are difficult to get to. For instance, the bike against a wall with the locks between the bike and the wall.

I have seen a vid of someone cutting a selection of the best "Gold Rated" locks and chains with a bloody great set of bolt croppers so whatever you do, if someone wants your stuff bad enough, they'll take it. I know a gentle way to cut cable locks that wouldn't draw attention. Luckilly the bastards who went for my bikes didn't.

I know the Almax chain is pretty tough, reading reviews watching videos on their site, youtube and other places. They cut lots of other chains and try to cut the Almax immobiliser to prove it. It's more the weight and cost if I am honest. Most thieves have bolt cutters but not cable equivalent ??? maybe ??

The (my) problem is I can think of ways around most of the security measures that I can come up with. I suppose its about peace of mind because as you say if they really want it they will take it.

:(:(

A thought
 

I just had an idea.

What if I was to thread 8-10mm cable through a good chain ? It would make it a bit of a handful in terms of storage size and being quite stiff. But surely that would add an extra deterrent ??

Cheap solution, modify side or centre stand so that you can lock it in place.
Get a front brake lever lock and disk lock.

If weight is an issue go for a long cable that can lock bike and luggage.

If you want to be really safe take a good chain too.

Make your bike less desirable, lots of gaffa tape etc dust/dirt to tone down any shine.:scooter:

Thanks stuxtttr. Good advice. Good advice from everybody.

I think I am thinking about this too much...:confused1:

That's a bloody good idea

The simplest ideas are often the best!!!:clap:

I have one of these.. They weigh about 20 kilos and are total overkill for overlanding !!

AND they cost a fortune ! Good though :)