(motorcycle cover) theft in East Dulwich

[chillychap]

Hello new to the forum but had to join to tell you about the delightful person who stole my motorcycle cover on wednesday night.If you have a bike covered over outside your house make sure it is secured ie lock and chain.

Safe riding,

chllychap.

[Peter Northall Photo]

Hi Chllychap, lucky you! They left my cover but stole the bike ( a lovely Triumph Tiger), abandoned half a mile away with a blown up engine. :(

Peter

www.peternorthall.com

[PeckhamRose]

Happened to MrPR too a few years ago, they nicked the bike and left the cover. Be careful out there!

[BQC]

Keep off the road if poss. I've been having my petrol drained from the tank overnight - twice in Jan ... v.annoying (6)

[adey]

hey

also new to the forum and ED. i share your pain - i got my first bike in october last year (brand new) and had it nicked 10 days later after clocking up a monumental 100 miles on the clock. quite distressing. luckily new one is now off the road and secured by a chain that weighs nearly as much as the bike.

surprised they'd bother nicking petrol? they're only small tanks? i thought that only happened on farms/during oil crises? little f8ckers.

adey

[Brian Denham]

I've just bought a Vespa ET4 model so the gaps between the wheels are pretty small. Anyone got any tips on what the best Security devices are, ie personal experience rather than the ratings you get on the websites. I've got an immobeliser, it's an older model, so has the built in handlebar lock, and have bought a chain and lock which i put through the back wheel overnight.

I guess if someone really wants it they'll take it, but any tips would be much appreciated.

B.

[ruffers]

I could lift a Vespa up on my own and put it in the back of a van if I wanted. Chain it to something; lampost, grid, drain, maybe invest in a ground anchor. Put a cover on it, and make it a tatty cover. Lock the cover to the bike also.

Essentially have just a bit more security than the next one, then they nick his instead of yours.

You're right to query the sold secure etc ratings by the way

[Brian Denham]

Cheers Ruffers, much appreciated, How do the ground anchors work?? do you need tools to "plant them" etc? Trouble with the wheel size on the ET4 is that you have to get a small chain really otherwise it won't fit through the wheels. The chain i do have is too short for the lamp posts etc, so i'll get a longer one so that i can tie it to a lamp post etc.

Are disc locks worth the money or a waste of cash. The bloke at the shop told me that most people forget and destroy their brakes by driving off with them still attached. Assuming i don't do that, any good?

[ruffers]

Experience tells me that the main worry about disc locks is forgetting them and riding off with them on. No brakes destroyed but a very embarrassing low speed crash! A mate once managed it at the Kent Custom Show on a Z1000 Eliminator, completely loaded with tents etc and panniers and pillion, then rode 6 inches with the disc lock on then keeled over. My how we laughed.

I refer you to my answer before. If one's got a disc lock on and one hasn't they'll take the second one.

 

[PeckhamRose]

I would recommend disc locks.

I'd also recommend you read the Road magazine (the magazine of the Motorcycle Action Group). You can access them on line. They often do tests of things like locks and the pros and cons.

I also would recommend DATATAG and Datatagging your bike means if it is nicked, when found it can be identified as yours (like 'chipping the dog). It also means cheaper insurance in some quotes.

PeckhamRose (who will ride in any weather except SNOW).

[Brian Denham]

Thanks a lot to both of you!! Much appreciated, especially the story of Ruffers's mate who nearly ploughed through a row of tents, hahahahaha. Thanks for the tip on datatagging too and insurance benefits, i think i've spent almost as much on Insurance, personal safety gear, ie helmets etc, chain, cover etc etc as i did buying the bike. That said, what a difference it makes to public transport. London is literally a completely different place without having to rely on public transport. I bloody love it!!

Once again, thanks for the tips.

[Jimmy Mac]

Would recommend you get a disc lock. I have an Oxford disc lock and it comes with (I expect most of them do) a luminous telephone-wire type cord that you loop from the lock over your handlebar to remind you that the lock is on. At worst the disc lock means kids can't easily wheel your scooter round a corner out of sight then attack it (yes I am talking from experience sadly!). Depending on what type of ground you are fixing an anchor to, you might have to cement it in. I have a wall anchor and had to buy a heavy duty drill bit to fix it to the wall, but it was pretty straightforward. Good luck!JM