In today’s market, new motorcycles pose as much a pop of beauty as they do a potential target for burglaries; with the inflation of not-so-nice numbers on motorcycle theft, the bike market is more vulnerable than ever to quiet fingers looking for a scoot to steal.
It’s such a problem, in fact, that the KOG Institute for Marketing and Communication Sciences brought out a new survey, asking 600 people about how they protect their bikes from theft.
According to the relevant press release, “only half of owners took proactive steps to protect their motorcycle from theft…[and] the top two actions that respondents identified when asked how they protect their motorcycle were to have insurance and to remove the key from the ignition.”
Bruno Rimkunas, an employee of safety brand Monimoto and the head of business development/a motorcycle security expert, has a few tips on effective ways to keep your bike where you put it – and surprisingly, insurance isn’t top of the list.
“Insurance is far from the best bet to keep a rider on the road. Sure, it will help reimburse your loss, but, obviously, it won’t get your bike back or prevent it from being stolen,” Rimkunas explains.
“We all know that insurance can’t replace a vintage motorcycle or a one-of-a-kind custom bike. In many cases today, a local dealer doesn’t have replacement bikes in the showroom to get you back on the road…and there WILL be police reports, claim forms and sometimes a significant wait to recover from a motorcycle theft.”
So what does Rimkunas recommend, in addition to having your insurance up-to-date?
Apparently, bike locks are a priority on the docket, with GPS trackers (such as Monimoto) being an increasingly critical addition, along with parking in a garage ‘whenever possible.’
Here’s the full list of tips to prevent motorcycle theft:
- Park in a garage
- Remove the key from ignition
- Add a GPS tracker
- Covering the bike
- Marking the motorcycle parts
- Make use of multiple locks (including steering locks/brake disc/grip units)
What are your thoughts?
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