(Contributed article)
You may have heard about vehicle tracking systems and wondered whether the investment is worth it. With bike theft on the rise and insurance costs shooting up they certainly are.
Whether you’re an individual motorbike aficionado, or a business owner who needs to track a fleet of motorbikes, here are three main arguments for setting up a motorcycle tracking system”
1. Security
Motorbikes are prime targets for thieves. After all, motorbikes are valuable assets, and they’re much easier to hop on and drive away than cars. According to reports from the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council, between 8000 and 9000 motorbikes are stolen every year in Australia – with one in six of the country’s vehicle thefts typically involving a motorbike.
More than half of these stolen bikes are never recovered. While vehicle tracking systems can’t prevent your bike from being stolen, they can boost your chances of recovering a stolen bike.
There are two key ways in which vehicle tracking can help you to recover a stolen motorbike:
Alerting
Using your vehicle tracking app or software program, you may be able to set up geofences. Essentially, these are virtual boundaries that you can set up around the areas that you expect your bike to traverse, such as your home or your daily commuting route.
If your motorcycle is ridden beyond one of these boundaries, you’ll receive a real-time alert – usually taking the form of an app notification, email, or text message – to let you know immediately. If you’re riding your bike beyond one of your geofence boundaries at the time, you can, of course, ignore it. But if you’re sitting in your office and your bike’s meant to be parked outside, you know something fishy’s going on and you can leap into action straight away.
Live mapping
But what action can you take? Well, here’s where vehicle tracking really comes into its own. With a GPS tracking device installed on your bike, you’ll be able to pinpoint its location immediately on a live map. If your tracking system comes with a mobile app, this is simply a case of whipping out your phone and checking the map in a matter of seconds.
With your eye on where your motorbike is being taken, you’ll be able to help the police find and apprehend the thief and, of course, get your bike back much more quickly than if it had vanished without a trace.
Equally as important as the speedy theft recovery is the peace of mind that vehicle tracking affords. Your motorbike is your pride and joy Knowing you’re able to check in on its location at any time will be a huge weight off your mind!
2. Mileage, maintenance, and fuel tracking
The more advanced vehicle tracking systems don’t just monitor your motorbike’s location – they can also collect and keep track of useful data such as fuel usage, maintenance services, and the number of miles you’ve covered in a journey.
Keeping a closer eye on your fuel consumption will help you to better identify ways in which you can save fuel, especially when paired with mileage tracking. Similarly, keeping a digital schedule of all your motorbike maintenance services will help you to keep it in top condition, avoiding costly repair jobs further down the line. Some systems can even pull diagnostics info directly from the engine, and alert you when a mechanical issue is detected.
If you’re a fleet manager who’s overseeing a fleet of motorbikes, having all of this information automatically collected and presented to you can be useful. Many vehicle tracking systems also track driver/rider behaviour, notifying you when an employee performs a dangerous manoeuvre, breaks the speed limit, or wastes fuel. This will empower you to coach employees in safe, cost-effective driving/riding.
3. Cheaper insurance
Given how popular bikes are among opportunistic thieves, motorbike insurance can be pricey. Average premiums in Australia range from over $300 to upwards of $4000, depending on your age, state, and the power or capacity of your bike’s engine.
However, having a vehicle tracking system in place significantly reduces the risk of your bike being stolen and never returning. So, if you can prove to your insurance provider that you have a tracking system in place, they’re likely to offer you a cheaper insurance premium – because the chances of you making a claim with them are smaller.
What’s next?
You need to decide which system is for you. Look for a system that comes with all of the software capabilities you want. For example, live tracking, geofence alerts, mileage recording, and fuel management features that can be accessed quickly on your smartphone or tablet.
Make sure that the tracking device itself is optimised for motorbikes, too. It should be compact and portable, ideally with a durable, waterproof casing that’ll be able to withstand the elements.
You should also be sure to fit the tracker to a part of the motorbike that isn’t obviously visible – you don’t want thieves to recognise and disable it before making off with your bike. Some devices need to be hardwired to the bike’s engine to work, while others are battery-powered. Hardwired devices are more difficult to remove, but battery-powered trackers are much easier to set up – so that decision will depend on what your priorities are.
Deciding to set up a motorbike tracking system may be the best decision that you make for your two-wheeled companion. Pick one that can provide you with all the benefits we’ve shared, and you’ll be golden!