I’ve been looking for some advice on (probably some really obvious) keeping your kit safe whilst solo motorbike travelling. My question for example is really this: you ride to a town/city in your gear and it’s harry redders so you don’t want to be exploring somewhere hot, dressed in your bike gear. Being of gibbon like stature, there’s no way my jacket would fit into the pannier so what do you do with it?

How pernickety are you at locking everything up? Do you guys use those long wire locks for keeping everything safe from an opportunistic tealeaf?

Sorry to ask such a probably daft question but I’ve not been anywhere abroad on my own before!


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Hi Grumbleweed,
First off, where you park. If you can have a friendly word with shopowners, street traders or find a carpark with guardian you are good.
Long wire with numbers combination padlock for jacket, trousers and helmet.
The wire net (Pacsafe and similar) is a bit of a hassel, but it works for bags and other gear.
Locks and straps are usually pretty flimsy if the thief has tools or time.
Motion alarm could be usefull, but have a tedency to go off even if you are not being robbed, annoying everyone.
Overnight, park sensibly and throw on a cheap plastic cover. Mine have been stolen in both Oslo and Goa, but it is very effective, specially against fiddlers.
Small towns and villages usually no problem. Cities not so much, there you are wise to pay for security.
Solid locks, maybe a hidden cutout switch, not much more you can do.
Good luck on your coming travels

Peter, in Oslo

Determined thieves will have their way and there's little you can do about it. What you can do is deter the casual or opportunist thief.

Hard luggage will resist sticky fingers but not a big screwdriver. Pacsafe cables through soft luggage will make it too hard to open for most - not many people carry heavy duty wire cutters. By the same token Pacsafe mesh bags will help protect camping gear, spare riding gear etc. Obviously don't leave anything on the bike overnight, even if you're told it's safe. For bike security I have an alarmed disc lock, motion sensitive tracker that phones me if it moves, and a big bike cover.

Thanks all.
I’ll get some decent cable locks and go with that.
I’ve also got a cover which I’ll stash also! Thanks for the tip


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I secure everything but my boots with a ratty-looking cover and a lightweight cable lock (helmet, jacket, pants). I've also generally carried a Pacsafe mesh bag, but stuffing motocross boots into it is too much trouble, so I've usually just placed them underneath the bike, obscured by the cover. That's worked for me so far.

I've thought about installing some sort of hasp staple or cable loop onto each of my boots so that I could lock them to the bike, but I've never gotten around to it. The only things I've had stolen from me in 40 years of various kinds of travel have been shoes--twice. Ten years ago, my walking shoes were stolen right off my bike while I napped a couple of feet away in a park in Argentina. Replacing them was expensive and time-consuming. I'd hate to have to search in some remote backwater for motocross boots which fit my oddly-shaped feet, and I'd sure hate to have to pay for them.

I've met lots of riders who've had stuff stolen on the road--sometimes ruining trips. Mostly it's been due to leaving belongings unlocked out in the open. Sometimes it's been armed robbery away from the bike, or pilfering stuff left in a hotel room. I've also met tons of riders who've never had anything stolen, so I try to keep things in perspective.

I've tried using a motion-sensitive alarm, but no one has ever set it off except local kids looking for a bit of entertainment. Oh, and the wind. I don't even know where it is anymore--buried someplace out in the garage, I guess. One of my bikes has an alarm under the seat, but I've never bothered hooking it up.

Mileage varies, but I hope that's helpful.

Mark

All of that is good advice but the truth is that luggage on a bike is vulnerable to theft. Travel long enough and eventually something will get stolen no matter what precautions you take. I once had my left hand glove stolen from the bike seat while I was putting the right hand one on (a kid that I ran after and caught, although while I was running I did wonder whether his friends were now helping themselves). I've also had locked luggage broken into when the bike was in a compound with an all night guard.

These days I tend to prioritise what I can't afford to lose - documents, paperwork, bank cards, then expensive stuff like cameras and then items that will cause a problem if lost (like a crash helmet). The rest, to some extent, has to take its chances. I have used hidden rape alarms attached to cord / thin cable covering luggage so that if it's moved the alarm goes off but as others have said a cover keeps it out of sight and that has great psychological value.

I've seen people drill holes through the top-back part of their boots to run cable locks through them.

I've left my stuff out in the open on long trips, under the principle that: 1) no self-respecting gear thief will want to do anything with my five-year-old textiles that have been soaked through with my sweat, and 2) there is nothing left out in the open that I cannot afford to lose. I had a cable lock securing my drybag with camping gear in it, but if someone wanted to make off with it? It's two hundred euros' worth of gear that I can replace in the next shopping mall. Would I be upset? Sure. Would it completely derail my trip? Nah.

Another bit of philosophy is: if you're off on a walk around the town center, park in the open, as conspicuously as you can. Park right on the main street. Find a place to put your bike where you're not taking up the space that a car could have used, and you're not an obstacle to pedestrians or cyclists. (I like backing into the start or end of a street-parking pocket, a space too narrow for even a Smart car.) Ideally as central and busy a street as possible, right under the watchful eye of a police CCTV camera. In my experience, no parking wardens will bother with an obvious long-distance tourist's bike. And opportunist thieves will think twice about messing with a bike in plain view of the crowd when they are obviously not the biker.

The longer you travel, the more nonchalant you become about it. In rural Switzerland, I just threw my pants and jacket over the saddle, tucked the boots under the belly of the bike, put on my light hiking pants and ten-euro canvas shoes from H&M, and went for a hike in the mountains. It was probably less than wise, but at that point I had stopped caring.

Well.....I guess much depends on where you travel. I try to go places where there are no shopping malls, and no streets w/ CCTV cams either. In such places, the loss of even a minor piece of kit can cause major annoyance. Those tend to be the same places where your sweaty, rubbishy riding clothes are definitely worth stealing, and where oddly enough, thieves can be totally shameless.

I once had a pair of hiking boots stolen from right next to where my girlfriend was sitting in a crowded railway station in Tanzania. It was several weeks and couple of countries before I found a pair of woefully-inadequate substitutes for sale. And as I said, I had a pair of shoes taken from atop my bike, out in the open at a fuel station in Argentina, while I snoozed a couple of feet away. The Swiss might not want your stuff, but other people definitely do.

Mark