Motorcycle security

[Arcane1729]

Hi everyone I am new here. My name's Arcane.

I made an account on this forum not for my love of dogs so much as my love for motorcyles. I've had some nicked before and I want to keep the one I have- I've got all the best mechanical security heavy duty chains, padlocks, sensors, disc locks, diy gps tracker (for peace of mind), top end gps tracker etc.

I want to also get a dog for my house- I was hoping please could someone help me with these enquiries I have:

1)What is the best security dog to have?

2) I live alone and I work long hours many days a week often 10,12+ sometimes so will not have time to take care of it- is there a solution to this? Perhaps someone to feed and walk it at the required intervals during the day- am obviously not gonna pay a dog sitter for the whole time I'm away at work. Perhaps if it needs feeding and walking and playing with formaybe 3-4 hours (I have no clue haha) a day (spaced out obviously) in total maybe I could do that.

3) Where is the best place to buy one already trained and full grown?

 

[JoanneF]

I'm not sure but don't you need a license to keep a properly trained guard dog? In any case, such a highly trained, intelligent animal would really not be suitable for an inexperienced owner, who also isn't going to be around for long periods to continue with his training. Buy more chains for your bike instead.

 

[gypsysmum2]

Dogs are sentient beings and, as such, need love and companionship in order to live a happy and fulfilled life. Your lifestyle, from the way you describe it, is not conducive to the needs of a dog.

A dog kept in the way that you describe would quickly start to display behaviour problems such as house soiling, destructive behaviour, hyperactivity.

If you think a dog is the best deterrent then why not invest in an alarm that barks when activated?

 

[arealhuman]

Another motorcycle lover! Sorry to hear about your bike woes. I'm a new dog owner myself, so can't rally offer any meaningful advice, however a friend of friend of a friend has a couple of Dobermans which guard his property and bikes. I don't know the guy but I get the impression his dogs aren't left alone for extended periods of time and the advice offered by the two ladies above is spot on, in my humble opinion. I'm not sure what else you can do to protect your bikes that you haven't already tried, but how about:

CCTV.

Alarms - not on the bike, but on your garage/house (possible home insurance discount too). You used to be able to get alarms that you put a blank shotgun cartridge in that would go off when disturbed, guaranteed to shock thieving scum, although these might not be around or legal anymore.

Ground anchors.

Security etching on everything on the bike

You're bound to get more advice on a bike forum. The dogs seem a reasonable idea on paper but unless you have the time commitment to engage with, exercise, feed and train your dog, you might find they guard your property from you, as well as all the unwanted behaviours above!

I really hope you find a good solution - certainly I'll be interested in what you come up with.

 

[Arcane1729]

Yeah this was a very far fetched ask- i have three bikes now- ground anchor, almax chains, disc locks and biketrac have all sufficed for the past 2 years

 

[Flobo]

I have scooters, all locked up, and I would be devastated if anyone nicked my daily hack as my husband built it to fit me and I use it for my work and yes people don't realise the impact having one stolen has, but don't get a guard dog! For the reasons people have already said. It would be cheaper to get a secure lock up or put signs around your property saying you have a guard dog, cctv etc. Pay a mate a fiver to wander round your property at random times, anything, but not a dog

 

[Arcane1729]

5 motorbikes now I'm obsessed I know- I really think I've got this security thing mastered now- I don't think I will ever have another motorbike stolen ever again. Even bought a cheap cheap cheap car that I don't really drive (unless to tow a non roadworthy project bike back home to work on) and left it outside house so passers buy will be unsure if someone is at home or not. Usually someone is anyway... so no matter
It's sad but the general rule for taking the motorbike out is: If at any point the bike must be left unattended for more than two minutes, the bike cannot come. Can't take it to the shops. Can't stop for a maccies after a ride unless visible through the window, can't take it to the gym etc. . Instead I use an electric bicycle / petrol bicycle I have for such occasions.

 

[arealhuman]

5 bikes! And I thought I was addicted!

 

[Mad Murphy]

Just an add to this ..My neighbours have just bought new cycles and have insured them. The insurence man has made it quite plain that only approved locks and storing the cycles inside at night validates the policy. He said other forms of security 'big fence , guard dog, cctv' would not be accepted..

 

[leashedForLife]

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my older BiL *was* a motorcycle freak -
he belonged to a club [yeah, yeah... "Iss not a gangg, mon, issa CLUB, ya dig?..." ], the Golden Wheels, based on Little Creek Naval base; he rode a 750-cc Honda with a king & queen padded seat, full fairing, radio, dual speakers, yadda-yadda.
I rode with the club a few times; when all the bikes hit the road, there were 36 bikes, most carrying double, some solo; they were paired alternating - meaning 18 pairs in ONE lane of the road, with one bike riding just behind the rear-wheel of their buddy for the ride; the group moved as a unit, everyone changing lanes at a signal; all slowing, swerving, turning, accelerating together, like a flock of starlings.
There were 2 vans following behind, driven by wives of riders, to carry the kids, food, water & bevs, repair gear, spares, etc.

18-mos after I moved back to Pennsy after my year in Norfolk, Jerry's bike was stolen - it was chained to the apt-bldg "balcony" of their downstairs, ground-floor neighbor, with a hardened-steel padlock & a chain almost as thick as my wrist.
The thieves cut the steel BALCONY RAIL - which wasn't "hardened steel" - & loaded the bike, padlock & all, into the back of a pick-up truck. // Jerry was beside himself - however, his insurance came thru with the value of his bike plus its add-on accessories, all of them inventoried with receipts.
He went out & bought a limited-edition 1100-cc Gold Wing Interstate.

QUOTE, Wiki:
GL1100 Interstate
Honda went beyond the mechanical makeover of the naked Gold Wing in March 1980 by releasing the first Japanese turn-key tourer, the Interstate model, GL1100I, with a factory-installed full fairing, saddlebags and a removable trunk, plus a long list of optional extras, including a stereo system. [73]
This bike was called the De Luxe model, GL1100DX, in some markets. [70] The fairing was designed to protect both the rider & a passenger from the wind. Likewise, the saddlebags & trunk were intended to carry the baggage of two people. [26] This made the Interstate significantly heavier than the standard model, with a dry weight of 672 pounds (305 kg).[14] An almost-identical Interstate model was made for 1981. [67]

The GL1100I '82 model offered more options, such as a new stereo, a 40-channel CB transceiver, & an on-board compressor to adjust the suspension air pressure. [54] Dry weight was 679 pounds (308 kg). [38] [67]
_________________________________-

A few years later, still riding his bike almost year-round, with a massive insulated boiler-suit for winter riding, Jerry got his EMT [Emergency Med-Tech]. // That spring, on a warm lovely day, he was in heavy traffic in the family car when he saw a huge SUV cut-off a motorcyclist in the intersection ahead, forcing the bike's driver to run off the road into a wide grassy median, with a row of trees down the center.
The bike almost made it past a big old tree-trunk, but the driver's knee did not; the bike was wrenched violently sideways by the impact, smashed into the trunk, the fairing splintered to sword-like shards, & the driver was flung about 15 or 20-ft, luckily landing still in the median, on the grass, coming to rest on his back.
Jerry pulled onto the grass, honking continuously to get thru the traffic, with his emergency signals flashing, got out of the still-running car, & ran toward the man, yelling, DON'T TOUCH IT - DON'T TOUCH IT!... One of the shards of fairing had skewered the man's neck, & in his dazed, shocked state, he probly didn't even hear Jerry's screams.
He reached up, put his hand on the strange plastic blade, over a foot long, & pulled it out of his neck.
He bled-out, despite the efforts of Jerry & 2 police patrolmen who stopped to help. By the time an ambulance arrived, he was already gone.

Jerry never rode his bike again; he sold it within the month, & rode only with the club, doubling up behind a driver for the ride. He said the accident convinced him that there's no such thing as safe solo riding; only in experienced, organized groups do bikes get the road-respect they need.
Bikes are 2 wheels, not 4; they are more liable to skid, flip, roll, fall over, & be unseen by other drivers. They can't stop as fast as a car, safely, nor turn as radically without falling or skidding.

If U ride a bike, please wear a proper helmet; as a healthcare worker, we have a classification for folks who ride bareheaded - we call them organ donors.
New Hampshire's "Live free or die!" state-motto & their helmet-optional laws are, IMO, insane.

Please drive safely.
- terry

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[Biker John]

Terry, yes bikes are more dangerous than cars, well to the driver that is. But having been a biker most of my life their is nothing like the feeling you get riding. Unfortunately due to a shoulder injury, (not bike related), I am now unable to ride but I still feel myself to be a biker.

 

[arealhuman]

Helmets are compulsory in the UK @leashedForLife. I know of several people (some friends) who have died as a result of motorcycle accidents. Here, everyone is quick to blame the biker, but it's not always the motorcyclists fault. We don't have a motorcycle friendly society such as Spain for example. There are some lunatics (I was one in my younger years) but also a lot of sensible people who just enjoy the freedom motorcycling brings. I often do 500 miles/day rides just for the fun of it!

 

[leashedForLife]

.

oh, i know it's not always the motorcyclist! - Auto drivers frequently look right past them, which is why riding paired or in a group, & moving as a unit, makes it safer. // At night, 2 motorcycles approaching off-set in the same lane look like a car, head-on or tail-on, b/c of the perception of 2 headlights; similarly, in daylight, 2 bikers in one lane are harder to "overlook" & pull out in front of.

I'm glad the UK requires helmets - brains are not yet replaceable.
- terry

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[Mad Murphy]

OH has always been a biker but helmet and good leathers have always been a must.
When my boys got their licences they were told summer or winter helmet and leathers were non negotable.

OH has survived several accidents , the last was a drunk who hit him changing (swerving ) across lanes at 70mph. OH had a bruised shoulder and a scrape on his ankle..Bike was a write off. He no longer rides but still dreams of bikes he would have owned given the chance!