motorbike security!!!where to start?

Question

im getting my first motor bike and will keep it in a garage at end of my garden.what security should i get first??alarm and imobiliser or a ground anchor?i can only get one for the first month or two any ideas

Answer 1

ground anchors are great, My ex had one here for his and it was a complete shite to get up after I had kicked him out....

Answer 2

I have both a bike and a bicycle which I use for commuting.
They are great as I can park almost anywhere, lock it up and walk 2mins. on to a train.
Trouble is they are the easiest things to steal.
My bicycle, I make sure is old and grotty (although very fast), don't want the same for my bike though.
I generally utilise public carpark booths or doormen when I park. If there is a security booth within eyesight, it deters thieves. Not saying I ever pay for parking though. It limits the convience of parking, but not as much as a car.
Couple this with covering the bike, and leaving it in an area not known for bike parking also lowers the risk.
Irrespective, they need to be firmly secured (not by chain) to an immovable object.
Learnt these methods through about 15 years of trial and error - 3 bicycles and and a 250cc stolen. Haven't had even a scratch for the last 5 years since I learnt.
Sometimes, I only pick up the bike a few days later - it's that safe. You know, when you get pissed and get a taxi home.

At home - covered and locked to a concrete column round the back, with good relations to neighbours ( they know who should and shouldn't be on my property - I do the same for them).

Don't know what bike parking laws are like in UK, but here as long as it's not obstructing anything the cops are happy. Hope it's the same for you there - otherwise I'm not much help.
Almost all bikes in designated bike parking get vandalised at some stage (in my opinion). Unless they are in the centre of town with plenty of 24hr activity.
I have never used any electronic security methods - as an Engineer I have a love of a good solid bit of tempered steel.

Edit :-
When I mean not by chain, locked to concrete column and tempered steel - I mean a proper bike lock ( long U shape steel bar with locking bar at the open end), the only thing that will get through it in time for theft is a gas-axe (Oxy-Acetylene torch).
Making the point after reading the other answers.

Answer 3

Alarm if you are in earshot of your garage and are easily woken and feel like fighting the thiefs

Ground anchor of reputable quality is probably your best bet

Imobiliser will not stop it being stolen as most bikes are put in the back of a van by a serious thief,

imobilisers just inconvenience the kids who steal them and they will most likely torch the bike if it wont start after they took all the effort to push it round the corner

Best thing to do is keep it in your bedroom !!

Answer 4

If an anchor and chain and optional do that- an alarm just makes noise. The vast majority of motorcycles are stolen by a few guys jumping out the back of a van and physically picking the bike up and throwing it in the back of the van. Then they take it to their shop and part it out and sell the parts- an alarm won't do anything it that situation. An anchor and chain is the best.

Answer 5

Make it as difficult as possible for the thieves. Fit a disk brake lock, a garage alarm, a bike alarm, a ground anchor, SmartWater or AlphaDot. Sleep with your bike. But get used to the idea that, if a thief wants it, a thief will get it.

Answer 6

See if your local wrought iron fence makers can sell you just a sturdy bar about three feet long with a hole on the end, kind of like a big needle.

Dig a hole, place the bar in, and concrete all but the top nine inches in the ground, and run a chain through your bike frame, the eyelet and into a big bad boy padlock. Use a plastic-wrapped or taped-up chain to stop it chipping all the paint off your bike.

Answer 7

Alarms and immobilisers are useless, they use an insulated van like an old freezer delivery van and they just pick it up and bung it in the back. As soon as the door's shut no one can hear it. A mate had his ZZR1100 nicked that way and the police reckoned it was stolen to order, and he must have been folowwed home. All the parts were chipped but he never got it back.
A ground anchor is only as good as the locks and chains you use to padlock it up.

Answer 8

A chain to the floor is the first option and always chain it up even if you're just leaving it for an hour check your insurance and you will probably find that it's not covered for theft if it's stolen from outside your house unless it was locked away ( outside your house means within 500 yards radius of you house ) so if it's nicked from your neighbours house while your in there having a brew it's probably not covered and you won't get paid out . I'm unfortunate enough to live within 500 yards of my local store so i have to lock the bike away before going shop on the way home . Bonkers !

Answer 9

Ground anchor and chain but go for ones made by oxford as they are the best ground anchors and chains you can buy and have kept all of my 6 bikes from being stolen.

Answer 10

i have a motorbike myself and I use a ground anchor with chain and lock and I also have an alarm. I have had 2 attempted break ins they tried to take the bike but unsuccessful.

Answer 11

Too much is never enough. Start by making it bloody difficult for an opportunist thief, genuine professional scumbags will have it whatever you do. Ground anchor, ideally concreted in, and a proper chain and lock - recommend Almax, http://www.almax-security-chains.co.uk/ for serious protection. Once that's done then you can think about electronics.