Let's talk about security...

[Frankencelery]

After reading 88 Turbo Coupe's story, and some of the others I've read on here over the years, I thought we might have a thread about securing our trikes. (Maybe there's one already, but me and the search function here don't seem to get along anymore) I'd like to hear what some other people are doing to secure their trikes.

I lock my garage, of course, but I'm way out in the country, and when my wife and I are both working, someone could come and bulldoze the garage down and nobody would hear it.

Some of you are chaining machines to the ground, which seems like a good idea. I'm trying to find that balance between being ripe for being cleaned out and being so "secure" that I have to spend 10 minutes to get my trikes out.

Being a technology geek, I really like the idea of video cameras, but the bad guys have to see them and BELIEVE that they're not fake, or that just bashing them with a rock won't eliminate their deterrance factor.

What do you guys think?

[cox]

i have been thinking of ways to stop would be thieves. I have no security at all where my machines are. Other than them being in the middle of nowhere. but thats just as good as it is bad. chaining them works i guess, but a pair of bolt cutters are cheap. I like the idea of taking the drive chain off. on my 125 i leave the front end jacked up and let the air out of the tire so its flat. that way they really gotta work to get it, unless they have a silent air compressor, lol. Ill be watching this thread to see what others are doing. Im not to concerned about the cash i paid for the machines, i care about my time and effort i put into getting them going. Only for some punk kid to come take it for a destruction derby run in the rivervalley....

[WIkid500]

This summer I'm going to be keeping a cable lock on my x for when I stop for lunch at a bar or somewhere along the way for the day. I have way to much $$ in the engine and the rest of the project to just let someone ride it off. Doesn't take much to throw the cable through the frame and around a tree.

[oldskool83]

i use to keep my stuff in a locked garage you couldnt see in what i had.

[rickybudz]

These, http://www.atvoklahoma.com/facebook/m/photos/view/5-Months-old, and cable locks, no trespassing signs, and my bedroom window is right along my driveway, the only exit!

[NotStock]

I have mine chained to my deck. 3/8" transport chain. no seat.

[Mondexbrute]

Mine is locked up in my Grandpa's wearhouse, the windows are covered so no one can see in, I always turn off the gas, put it in gear, hide the key & park my lawnmower behind it...but sometimes I still think thats not enough! I use to pull the spark plug cap off, but I forgot I pulled it off & could not figure out why it would start up, LOL!

[Aka_am]

I unplug the sparkplug boot, turn gas off of course, drain the gas, remove gas line and tank breather line. Then I normally take the plastics off and the tank (two bolts). My kicker lever holder bolt is bad, so I can remove my kicker. No decompression lever so this thing aint starting by a pull start. I've tried it, it just bounces around and tries flipping over.

Next is the only real security I have, a bell? bike lock, and a "Disc Brake Alarm Ebay" (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BRAKE-DISC-ALARM-LOCK-SECURITY-MOTORCYCLE-MOVIE-DEMO_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem58867f32caQQitemZ3 80213605066QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories) I personally would sleep though it, but the 2 small dogs, and the 2 big dogs would flip out.

If I had more money, I'd get a trackable GPS box for I think 200. If someone wants my machine there taking it. At least if there dumb and don't inspect the entire thing, I know where my bike is.

[Rawlins350x]

Just being the geek/tech lover I also am. If you have an alarm panel at your house You could wire in a mechanical contact to a zone on your panel and place your front tire onto the contact. Then whenever the bike is moved from the contact (which wouldn't take much movement at all) It would trip your alarm. An alarm can do all kinds of stuff, set off a siren, trigger lights(or anything electrical for that matter), dial a monitoring service, voice dial your phone, sms text your phone, etc. Just a thought from a fellow geek =)

[jays200x]

I like the brake alarm. I think Im gonna try one of those.

[JohnR.]

A lot of you are mistakenly thinking that someone is going to ride off on your trike. IMHO removing the chain, spark plug wire, remove gas line, etc. isn't very effective. I'd bet that at least 90% of the time the thief doesn't want to attract attention by starting the machine up anyway, he or she probably just pushes it to a waiting truck or van and loads it up. The flat tire idea will slow them down and probably be a good deterrent but its a pain in the trailprotrailprotrailprotrailprotrailpro to fill the tire every time you need to move the trike. I'm keeping my set up under wraps, no need to give them a heads up on what to prepare for once they get into the shed.

John

[rickybudz]

A lot of you are mistakenly thinking that someone is going to ride off on your trike. IMHO removing the chain, spark plug wire, remove gas line, etc. isn't very effective. I'd bet that at least 90% of the time the thief doesn't want to attract attention by starting the machine up anyway, he or she probably just pushes it to a waiting truck or van and loads it up. The flat tire idea will slow them down and probably be a good deterrent but its a pain in the trailprotrailprotrailprotrailprotrailpro to fill the tire every time you need to move the trike. I'm keeping my set up under wraps, no need to give them a heads up on what to prepare for once they get into the shed.

John

Does have a good point. Someone pushing your bike out of your spot, doesn't make much noise! I still think my dogs are the best deterrent. Who wants to go into a yard with two Bull Mastiff/Rottie mix dogs and one mean yelping Chiwawa! You would never even make it to my bikes!

[JohnR.]

I agree and I have a less than friendly pit bull but that won't help me when the wife and I are at work and the dog is in the house. I'm sure its too cold in Illinois in the winter to leave them outside all the time. The bottom line is, a determined thief will usually get by whatever the average guy does to secure his stuff. I think that the majority of ATV thefts are committed because the owner made it "convenient" to steal the machine. Leaving it on the trailer in the driveway or in the back of your truck or in front of the bar while you're inside having a beer is a sure fire way to have your stuff get got.

John

[atc350xer]

Just being the geek/tech lover I also am. If you have an alarm panel at your house You could wire in a mechanical contact to a zone on your panel and place your front tire onto the contact. Then whenever the bike is moved from the contact (which wouldn't take much movement at all) It would trip your alarm. An alarm can do all kinds of stuff, set off a siren, trigger lights(or anything electrical for that matter), dial a monitoring service, voice dial your phone, sms text your phone, etc. Just a thought from a fellow geek =)

^THAT^ is a good idea

[3wheelmecca]

mine are kept in a barn, but it is locked and in full view of my room. 4 dogs and a high powered rifle keep it there. I was thinking of just adding double doors to my whole house and just parking them in my room, they will fit.

[steakneggs]

For the best theft prevention. "SHUT UP!!!!" Don't talk about what you have, ride, except to people you can trust. DO A DECOY!!! If you have a trike COVER IT UP.

I had a CRAZY system in an RX7 hidden under a tarp where I glued garbage to the tarp. Never stolen!!. I guess old coffee cups and fast food bags have a place........

Finally the old saying goes " NEVER PUT ALL YOUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET" Yeah! if you have several trikes that are really valuable, don't store them in all the same place. Use trusted family/friends to help you.

Keep close the trike you ride most.

Hide the ones you don't, that are very desireable!!

Being brutally honest... If you really want to protect your trike.. YOU CAN'T. There are really great thieves out there now. $50 42" bolt cutters @ harbor freight??? Yeah good luck with a chain!!!

For your homestash...
Chip away a 2X2' hole in the cement, re-pour the hole imbedding a 1.5" loop bent like this " _|^|_.

Buy a COBRALINKS armored lock. It's a 1" thick armored steel cable that's about 6 feet long. Round key lock.. HARD to pick!!... Infinately adjustable!

Park the trike over the metal loop, running the lock through the swingarm and the frame.

Most simple thieves will say F this and walk away... For additional security add a night-vision camera system and DVR (about 300 an ebay)



Finally, here on 3WW people always post what machines they have as a signiture.... I think that's dumb. if someone can figure you out. YOURE OUT!

Just being on here means you're an enthusiast. Beware a snake in the dunes!!!

[trikes4life]

If someone wants it, they are going to steal it. steaknegg has the best idea i ever used. My buddy had his 86 250r stolen out of his yard a year or so back. He always stored it in his garage, chained it to the floor for years. Washed it in front of his house where the hose was located. Went in changed his cloths, grab a drink, walked out the front door GONE. just like that matter of mins. never to be found. i have always had a dog chained up near my garage best investment.

[black02ktm]

I don't think anyone is more paranoid about getting their precious metal stolen than me. Here is my security profile:

-The entry door has the handle locked, a deadbolt and a pad lock
-I don't leave the keys in my bikes
-I disconnect the plug wires and possibly something harder to figure out
-I put a small pad lock through the disc brake so they can't be rolled
-I run a 30ft cable through all the frames
-I run another separately secured 30ft cable through all the swingarms or rear wheels
-I put a chain and lock on both sides of the garage door on the track
-I have an old "Glade light show" air freshener that I set to red and leave on to simulate an alarm system
-I park my truck in front of the garage door
-When out of town, I cut the circuit breaker to the garage
-I don't show them off by riding around the neighborhood
-I load and unload them quickly so as to not let too many eyes land on them
-I have 2 large dogs, which I DO show off

My key ring looks like a janitor's but I don't plan on letting anyone steal all my toys and I can get any one of them out in about 5 minutes. Criminals aren't idiots, if they see you rolling in and out with lots of different bikes, they will start to get ideas and you are now a target.

[DixiePlowboy]

Back in '85, my 350X was rolled out of my garage(no doors to lock) and down the road 1/8 of a mile to a truck.....followed the footprints/tire tracks on the dusty gravel road.

Since then, when I don't have a way of shutting them up under lock and key, I try to make it as time consuming and difficult as possible to steal my wheelers.

I have the car pulled in at an angle where it would slow down the process of getting them out....maybe even requiring a bit of lifting to get past. On a drilled-brake-rotor, I put small locks(front and rear disc) through the drilled holes in the rotor so they cant be rolled past the calipers....and a thief isn't going to tote a whole machine down my driveway. I leave the carport light on so that they can clearly be seen by my neighbor.

Anything that can hinder the smooth removal of your machine is going to be a deterrent. I'd rather spend 10 minutes getting my ride out and unlocked than wake up (again) to an empty carport.

Of course, everyone that knows me knows me as a gun nut. So far.....no takers since 1985.....and nobody shot since 1984.

[Aka_am]

It sucks that with insurance I only get back 2, or was it 300 for my X

[mopar_man]

and nobody shot since 1984.

:D Care to share the story and the outcome?

[p26575r16]

I personally carry insurance on my '86 350x and my '05 polaris sportsman. Insurance for the x is really cheap, under $3 a month, the polaris is a little more ($20), but it's well worth it. My insurance also covers other things, like if I am out riding and destroy one of them, it will cover that. My insurance also covers personal injury for me or whoever is riding my machines. Other than that they sit unchained out in my back yard under a cover. I also remove the tank and fenders/seat when parked. I think the key to all of this is not to make yourself a target. I also think making your stuff look like it's being repaired (by removing the tank, fenders, wheels, etc) makes it less of a target. When I go riding I do chain them up to my truck when I am not going to be looking at them for a while (sleeping, bathroom, whatever). Just a couple of weeks ago I know a guy that was camping out at the dunes with a very large group of people, I think they had about 20 atv's with them. They did not chain them up because they parked their campers in a circle and parked the atv's inside of that. They figured no one would mess with them because someone would notice. When they got up the next morning the newest 450 they had was gone. It still amazes me that some people cannot leave other peoples stuff alone.

[tri again]

I walked out one day and saw one of mine walking across the field all by itself.

Had a secret kill switch on it. so I guess 'they' were gonna hide it and come back for it later or something,

heck, these idiots might even come back to help me LOOK for it.

How many people been busted for "returning to the scene of the crime?"
There's even a term for it!

..or in suspected arson cases, they look carefully at the people standing around watching.
hinthint

Anyway, I usually carry a (something) for gophers that make those holes in the ground that break legs on horses and cows?

..so anyway, a couple pops in the ground, my trike picked up speed and then rolled itself into the creek.


hmmmm so now I have them all laced ttogether under the br window in the sun and locked with a long cable.

That cable is a b(*^*)% to cut without a torch.

critter cams? avail almost everywhere!!!!!!

A motion sensor camera that's used to see if deer are eating your apples?

Thieves would ever know you got their picture, that'll be my next purchase. $100

I had a strobe light hooked to my motion sensor lights so it looks like camera flashes when you sneak around my barn about 1 flash every 10 seconds or so.

Who's gonna stick around and throw rocks at it 20 feet in the air.
They'd be seeing spots for hours.

RUN!!!

[tri again]

Ya know how to keep a brand new garden hose or expensive extension cord from being stolen??

Ducttape the crap out of it in a few places

[Frankencelery]

Some of your descriptions remind me of an old Steve Martin skit about what to do to avoid getting mugged:

"Whenever I have twenty dollars and I want to walk down the street with it,
first, I wet my pants. Then I take a baby carriage and push it down the street and put garbage in it.
Now if you don't want to get that involved...a much simpler thing is the moment you're aware you're
being robbed.....throw up on your money!"

[Frankencelery]

Gee, way to kill a thread, I said to myself. I was just trying to be funny about some of the elaborate ways people protect their stuff. I like some of them. Ricky's dogs, for example. That's a real deterrent that will work in 90% of situation. We have two dogs as well, and they indeed make a racket if they see or hear someone outside, but they bark when they see deer and other wildlife too, so we tend to tell them to be quiet and go back to sleep. I knew a guy when I was a kid who had a German shepherd who he kept in a kennel attached to the garage. The doggie door from his kennel led into the garage, so he could go in there at will. That was cool in a way, but again, you couldn't get into your own garage without letting the dog out.

I have a trail cam that I use for patterning deer, and that could be useful too, especially with the flash enabled. What I really want it deterrent factor. I want to have something that when they come up the driveway, they say "oh crap" and run for the hills.

I really need to put motion sensor lights around the property too. I like the strobe light idea too. That's a neat trick.

[cattle-dog]

they make a chain that bolt cutters wont cut and locks also . i like the chaining it down to the floor idea and hooking multiple bikes or toys together maybe hook them to the riding lawnmower i am a firm believer in the whole dog theroy we have a pit and let me tell you no strangers or anyone without me can enter my garage and come back out. i have insurance on my 85 250sx full coverage theft, fire, collison,and liability if my bike is totaled i get $3,500 now i had it appraised and it is powder coated all in all a very nice trike. i will do the same for my 250r. then if the are stolen at least i can get another. its $185 a bike a year which i think is good.