Motorcycle locks and chains

Motorcycle theft
is big business. There's plenty of money in it for the thieves. There's plenty of money in it for the insurance firms. And there's plenty of money it in for the companies that design and manufacture the security products. However, biking as a whole is the poorer for theft.

That's because plenty of riders have their wheels stolen and promptly leave biking for good. Other folk simply won't get into biking in the first place largely because they see only the dangers rather than the rewards.

We're lucky in that we've never had a bike stolen, but some of our friends have, and it's a bitch.

Trouble is, there is no ULTIMATE motorcycle security. The toughest lock in the world can be by-passed by hacking through a wheel or the frame. Alarms are good only when people are both listening and prepared to respond. And really determined crooks will quite probably get their way and remove your wheels.

Datatagging & SmartWater

But you can tip the odds dramatically in your favour by thinking about TOTAL MOTORCYCLE SECURITY. That means fitting good locks, using solid ground anchors, installing quality alarms, Datatagging your bike, splashing around some SmartWater, parking your bike wisely, using a motorcycle cover, blocking your bike at home with your car, putting your bike in the garage, locking the garage, changing your security routine, wiring in a CCTV system, and fitting security lights.

And of course, you need to mark your motorcycle as Datatagged or SmartWatered or whatever.

How far you take motorcycle security is your own business, but we'd suggest that you don't get too carried away or it will kill the fun of ownership and will fill your head with what the hippies would have called "negative energy". Instead, you just have to do what you can reasonably do, check your insurance is up to date, and hope.

The locks we've got on offer here aren't the world's most expensive or the highest quality (you can pay many hundreds of pounds for those). And like any other lock, they can all be defeated. But we think they're great products at a fair price that will help form part of your security arsenal—and we're certainly happy to use these devices to protect our own bikes.

Multiple locks

Alternately, you can buy huge locks and chains, but you won't want to cart them around for long. Here at Sump, our feeling is that you're generally better advised to fit two or three smaller (but still serious) locks/chains and, when out and about, secure your bike to an item of heavyweight street furniture or similar—or link to another motorcyclist's bike chain (when you've been invited to).

And yes, multiple locks/chains, in absolute terms, aren't generally as secure as one HUGE device. But multiple locks/chains create a serious nuisance-delay for both opportunistic crooks and professional thieves. What you really need to do when securing your bike is to BUY TIME. A few minutes delay represents a long time to a thief who wants to be done and gone in seconds.

Meanwhile, when at home you should also consider fitting multiple locks/chains. Keep them snug against the bike and ground anchor, make them awkward to get at, put other obstacles in the way, and avoid letting strangers (and, sorry to say, maybe even your friends) see your security arrangements.

Finally, check our security products on the left and decide what's best for you. We'll despatch as quickly as possible, usually by next day, and will help you keep your wheels exactly where they belong.

IT'S GOTTA BE RIGHT

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