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Anyone worried about leaving your bike at work?


motocr

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I am curious if anyone here worries about leaving their bike outside at their place of business if they ride to work. I am a college student and I am working in hell (Walmart), and today the thought hit me, if I buy my bike as I plan to in a month or so, I would be leaving my bike outside for 8 hrs a day in a Walmart parking lot and I am not too keen on that idea. I could of course use a chain and locks, buy a alarm system and what not but if my bike is at work everyday people will take note if they really want to they will take it. 
 
So I was curious if those of you that ride your bike to work worry about it being stolen and how do you deal with it? Any advice for locking it up safely would be appreciated! 

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Personally ive never really worried about it. while i'm in school(in a rather ghetto area) my bike is outside for upwards of 6hrs at night.
Im forced to pay for full coverage insurance due to the loan on my bike, so i sprung for the extra 15 a month for full theft insurance.
I would recommend it, gives a small piece of mind for that just in case moment. Theres that small issue of losing your ride. But she is replaceable, and chains, disc locks and alarms have drawbacks of their own. Main kne being thieves probably expect them to be present

ATGATT... ATTATT, two acronyms I live by.
 

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This is something I tell everyone I encounter who is worried about their bike being stolen, if someone wants your bike, it doesn't matter what chain locks, alarms, disc locks and steering lock are on your bike, if someone wants it, they will get it. An experienced thief who wants to take your bike will know how to get around all of that stuff and take it. This is why I don't worry about this problem too much. Insurance and/or a GPS tracker is your best bet on making sure you are protected. I would just park your bike in an area that is in clear view of a camera and under a light post at Walmart. I too am a student and all I do when I leave my bike on campus or at work is make sure the steering lock is on and take the keys with me. That's about all you can do. All those other safety measures just add weight and bulk when you're trying to ride. Just my opinion. Take it for what you will.
 
My friend who has a KTM Duke 390 is so paranoid about leaving his bike anywhere that he feels is "unsafe" (Even though a lot of the places he deems as "unsafe" really are perfectly safe and I've left my bike in those same places multiple times without any problem) and he ends up not taking it a lot of places, including his place of work, because he doesn't want to leave it outside and he ends up missing a lot of riding time because of it. I told him the same thing I told you, but he is convinced that buying a $150 Kryptonite chain lock will make his bike safer. Honestly, if you lock your bike up and have all of these visual cues that show you are trying to lock your bike up, like chain and disc locks, the thief might even try to get your bike even more because, if you took all the time locking it up, it must be worth quite a bit of money, right? Even if your bike isn't worth all that much, like my friends Duke, a thief might think of it as a more tantalizing grab as opposed to someone who just kind of leaves it under a well lit area. You can spend the money and lug around a giant chain with you everywhere you go, or you can do the basics and just make sure you are covered.
 
Like I said, just my opinion on this subject. GPS tracker is about the only thing I could see spending a lot of money on this bike security wise. If you hide the tracker, they won't know it is there and you and track them down. Anything else, they will see or hear and disable it and make it useless. Hope this helps.  :)

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Check out his guy's AMA:

 
It is just one guy's perspective but he has some pretty good advice IMO.
 
He talks a lot about GPS trackers and Lojack. Pretty much says it can sometimes work for recovering (not as a deterrent) a stolen motorcycle from a rookie thief, but the serious guys assume that the bike has one and will either rip it apart to find it or use buildings that have coatings that prevent the tracking signal from escaping.
 
He seems to preach this for the best deterrent to theft: "basically you want it to appear to take a long time to steal. $100 disc lock on rear wheel, $150 chain/lock combo through hard parts not chain and not wheels, if it has to be a wheel put it through the rear one, lockable bike cover, and keep your steering locked"
 
 
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You already know that there's a way around almost any device so the only thing that seems logical to me (damned the prices) is the GPS or insurance with theft protection. Or, don't ride it to work if you don't have to.

Beemer

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During the day my place of employment is alright, but evenings and nights...
 
It's more seedy than an everything bagel. I have good insurance. Also, go to home depot and get some plastic sleeved cable and 2 crimp connectors. I run one end through the frame, then around a tree, post, sign etc and clip the 2 ends together with a lock. Cost me about $20.
 
It could be cut, but it will take a while and won't be easy. Beats $150 for a different version of the same thing.
 

Everything went braap.

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Thankfully I park my bike in the garage. I don't have to worry about anybody stealing my bike at work. Working on a secure government facility makes it a little bit harder to steal.

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hippiebikerchick

Are there fellow employees that ride to work? I believe in safety in numbers; if there is a pack of bikes parked together with the owners coming and going (eyes watching) there is less likely to be problems. When I've taken my bike downtown and left it I park at the University with all the other bikes. No one has messed with it. Maybe you could talk the manager into setting up a motorcycle parking area near the front? I agree the risk increases with length of time the bike is parked in one place. I would check on it as often as I could. A full cover also reduces temptation.

Illegitimi non carborundum

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snowdriftless

I feel safe leaving my motorcycle places but I live in a small Mid-Western town. Here is what I would say in regards to your question:
 
Yes, I agree that if a thieve really wants your bike they will take it, BUT you need to factor in other things that the thief may be thinking. Thieves don't go after every bike they see, they won't take a chance on an old RD350, they have a specific type of motorcycle. Many thieves are looking for a motorcycle that has a big market for replacement parts and lots of parts on the bike itself (Read: Super-sports). It's a lot easier to part out a bike than to try and sell it whole. This is why thieves tend to nab certain types of bikes. When a motorcycle theft crime rings are broken up 90% of the motorcycles that are still being torn down are liter class superbikes. Again they can profit of all the extra plastic bits that a supersport has vs a standard/naked like the FZ-07.
 
Second:
Time is not an unlimited quantity for motorcycle thieves. They want to get the motorcycle and get out. Adding a few minutes onto the process with a locks can make a potential thief look for easier targets else where.
 
r/motorcycles and RideApart have some good articles about the topic. If you are paranoid about your motorycle getting stolen than get theft insurance. I would imagine your bike is pretty safe if you have a disk lock, cable/chain lock, and a place to tie your bike to the ground. It's up to you how much security you use.
 

P1: Vice? I have no vice, I'm as pure as the driven snow!
P2: Yeah but you've been drifting
 
All the gear all the time!

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i have a question about riding gear, what do you guys do when you go to the mall or walmart with your helmets and jackets?

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I don't go to the mall, but if I did I would put it in a friend's car.
 
Otherwise, I'd use the cable lock for the helmet, and my aforementioned cable device ran thru the sleeves of my jacket, which would then sit on the seat or tank area.

Everything went braap.

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i have a question about riding gear, what do you guys do when you go to the mall or walmart with your helmets and jackets?
The helmet stays with the bike. A lot easier to shop. 
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I feel safe leaving my motorcycle places but I live in a small Mid-Western town. Here is what I would say in regards to your question: 
Yes, I agree that if a thieve really wants your bike they will take it, BUT you need to factor in other things that the thief may be thinking. Thieves don't go after every bike they see, they won't take a chance on an old RD350, they have a specific type of motorcycle. Many thieves are looking for a motorcycle that has a big market for replacement parts and lots of parts on the bike itself (Read: Super-sports). It's a lot easier to part out a bike than to try and sell it whole. This is why thieves tend to nab certain types of bikes. When a motorcycle theft crime rings are broken up 90% of the motorcycles that are still being torn down are liter class superbikes. Again they can profit of all the extra plastic bits that a supersport has vs a standard/naked like the FZ-07.
 
Second:
Time is not an unlimited quantity for motorcycle thieves. They want to get the motorcycle and get out. Adding a few minutes onto the process with a locks can make a potential thief look for easier targets else where.
 
r/motorcycles and RideApart have some good articles about the topic. If you are paranoid about your motorycle getting stolen than get theft insurance. I would imagine your bike is pretty safe if you have a disk lock, cable/chain lock, and a place to tie your bike to the ground. It's up to you how much security you use.

You nailed it. Time does matter. Use a combination of locks (chain, disk lock), with the chain attached to something permanent. Add an alarm to the bike and the thief will move on. 
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My helmet always stays with me. If an arm gets tired I switch. If I need a cart for shopping I put it in the cart.

Beemer

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i have a question about riding gear, what do you guys do when you go to the mall or walmart with your helmets and jackets?
To expand on what @hobbs has already mentioned. I usually don't ride if I go shopping. I don't trust to leave my gear, even chained up, to my bike. So lugging all my gear around is a pain. If I meet others up at a restaurant/store, I usually will leave my stuff in their car as well.  
I've ridden in some moto groups and all the gear in a restaurant can take up a good amount of space. Usually, we go to bike-friendly places or places with lots of room. Otherwise, you'll have trouble. I've been asked to take my stuff out before, because it was taking up a seat that could fit another person to eat in a different group. 
 
 
 
 

Instagram: @meekmade | You don't need to flat foot a bike to ride it.

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Ya know, the bad guys are always looking for the easiest targets, but the pros aren't riding away on you bike, they're throwing in onto a pickup or tow truck and wheel locks don't mean much to those guys. The more obstacles you can throw at them though, the more likely they are to go for the easier pickin's. Get a bike cover. It's a simple, cheap, great deterrent, because the thieves want to know what they are getting before they start stealing it. If you can park in different spots, do it. The pros will scout out a place, and if your bike is always parked in the same place, at same time, a blindingly fast swipe can be planned. But in the end, like others have pointed out, if they want it, it can happen. Insurance is good!

Why can't left turners see us?

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I generally will put a standard cable lock through my jacket sleeve and leave it with my bike, but I take my helmet with me. If the rest of my gear gets stolen, I can still ride home if I have my helmet. If I don't have my helmet I'm stuck.

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  • 4 weeks later...
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I am curious if anyone here worries about leaving their bike outside at their place of business if they ride to work. I am a college student and I am working in hell (Walmart), and today the thought hit me, if I buy my bike as I plan to in a month or so, I would be leaving my bike outside for 8 hrs a day in a Walmart parking lot and I am not too keen on that idea. I could of course use a chain and locks, buy a alarm system and what not but if my bike is at work everyday people will take note if they really want to they will take it.  
So I was curious if those of you that ride your bike to work worry about it being stolen and how do you deal with it? Any advice for locking it up safely would be appreciated! 
 
Do yourself a favor and get a good cover. I got the Nelson Riggs generic cover for sportbikes. It cuts down on the lookin loos while you'really not there and also hides your bikes newness, any gloves jackets etc you stow on board. I'm lucky in that my work is in a private lot with cameras (Walmart lots have cams too. Talk to security to find a good spot). But even so, I still bag the bike every day, every time. You get used to it and it takes less and less time. Sometimes if running late I clock in first and cover as possible. Out of sight out of mind. You might also park it by the auto center where the mechs and other employees are around more. I see people doing that at Walmart, Sears, and other stores, and I assume they are employees. Databyter
 

Databyter

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