Protecting Your Motorcycle With Extra Security Features
According to the most recent Home Office statistics covering up to the end of 2017 a predicted 30,000 motorcycles were expected to have been reported as stolen in one year. Many of these machines will never be recovered, leaving owners to count the emotional and financial costs, including the inevitable rise in insurance premiums.
Trackershop has found that any two-wheeler is at risk of theft whether a 50cc scooter right up to the latest high-powered sports bikes and massive-engined cruisers and regardless of the value of the machine. Most modern machines are fitted with standard security features such as alarms/immobilisers or SmartWater technology and whilst these are excellent features to have they are often not enough to prevent a thief riding off with your pride and joy.
The main problem lies in the fact that the ease at which motorcycles can be stolen despite the fact that they may be locked and chained and despite any standard security features makes them a prime target for opportunist thieves as well as organised bike theft gangs. This is why they need heightened security measures to complement those fitted as standard.
How Can Fitting a Tracker Help?
Many vehicle owners are already enjoying the benefits of having their vehicle fitted with a GPS tracking system. A tracker is relatively simple to fit in an unobtrusive place on your machine and hidden from sight. An optional windscreen sticker is available should you decide you want people to know that your bike is protected by a tracker. Advertising that your bike is fitted with a tracker can help to deter an opportunist thief and make them think twice about trying to steal your machine.
A tracker system is easy to operate from your smartphone which means you can monitor your machine and receive an alert if there is unauthorised movement of the machine. Should the worst happen and your bike does get stolen, a real-time tracking service allows you to pinpoint your bike’s exact location at all times, meaning you can recover it very quickly. In many cases a thief will take a bike and park it some distance away, in a lay-by or car park for instance, and leave it there for a few days to see if anyone comes to recover it; in this way, they can ascertain whether a tracking device is fitted or not.
Aside from the obvious deterrence for thieves, having a tracker fitted can be advantageous from an insurance point of view. Most insurance companies offer discounts for security features so the more steps you can take to protect your bike the more likely it is that your insurer will look favourably on this and offer a reduction in your premium. To compare the best insurance for your bike, check out motorcycle insurance quotes comparisons from The Bike Insurer.
Keep Your Bike Safer
Whether your machine is a trusty ride-to-work winter hack, a summer tourer or a gleaming custom show bike, a thief will have no hesitation in taking it if it looks easy. Imagine the sick feeling you would get when you arrive at the place you parked your bike to find it gone, followed by the sheer inconvenience, not to mention the expense, in having to buy a replacement.
All this can be avoided by simply beefing up the security on the bike. Standard manufacturer-fitted anti-theft systems are good but often not enough to thwart a determined thief. Alarms are often ignored, immobilisers can be bypassed and locks can be broken. Motorcycles are sometimes carted away in a van to allow the thief to dismantle locks at his leisure. A tracking system is the best way to ensure that your bike is located as soon as possible and returned to you.