Undesirable bikes for cretins?

[milkround]

Gutted. Annoyed. Frustrated. But wanting to find something positive from it... I've had another bike stolen tonight. The first one was 30 days old when it was taken. This was a direct replacement brand new and lasted over a year. I spent the best part of £500 on locks - but they cut the chain and put it in a van. I wasn't quick enough to get outside - but in a way, I'm glad I wasn't. I'd have thrown punches and potentially been stabbed or hurt - 3 (that I saw) on 1 odds are not good - especially when you are a fat soft southerner.

So I either have to accept not owning a bike. Or I need to find something not desirable to the underclass. I am not fancy and don't need a top bike. I actually like the c90 adventures youtube channel. The bikes stolen were both PCX's - so were glorified mopeds. But I liked them and enjoyed riding them. Have a full A licence so anything goes.

TBH just looking for ideas of something that doesn't get robbed all the time. I'll still disk lock, U-lock and chain it. Cheers.

[Drezza]

I'm a Northerner so no idea what London rules are, are you limited by ULEZ bks?

I love my £1000 FZS600, doubt that would get chucked in a van, scum may knick it for a joyride though...

Scum love the PCX for snatch and grabs, probably the most favoured bike for them.

Edited by Drezza on Saturday 21st November 23:26

[the cueball]

Another FSZ600 rider here.

Mine has only been stolen once, but I got it back sharpish.

Great, underrated bikes.

[Tribal Chestnut]

What chain was on it?

In five years, much in London, no one has ever shown any interest in my FZ1 that I’m aware of.

It looks like a bit of a turd and has no markings, so that helps I think.

[poo at Paul's]

OP sorry to hear, trouble is, presuming this is in London, anything you would want to ride day in day out, lots of scrotes will want to too!
How about an older TDM850, £1200 should get you one, they are pretty decent things to ride, cheap and sit up and beg style, but have no trick bits on to nick, (avoid the 900 with R6 brakes for that reason).
Sadly, if you get anything too decent, it will inevitably go the same way.

[CoolHands]

Cg125

No one wants them, even owners

[_Neal_]

Sorry to hear that OP, rubbish thing to happen.

Perhaps move away from scooters and into a 600 class commuter bike - thinking Honda NC750, Yamaha Diversion 600 etc - cheap to buy, run and insure, anonymous and "quiet" when parked up, and by all accounts decent to ride. Also ULEZ compliant. You could even let insurance prices be your guide as to risk of theft, if you aren't too fussed about what you ride.

[Pebbles167]

I'll agree with the FZS600. A strange and old looking bike, but great to ride with impressive performance. After all, it had around 100bhp.

I had one as a stop gap, and was genuinely sad to see it go.

[milkround]

Cheers guys.

Not London for either bike nabbing. Hampshire for the first one (and a fairly posh part in Winchester as well) and Cardiff for the second.

I'll look into the bikes mentioned.

The chain was a Oxford Monster - don't think it was angle grindered as I didn't hear that, strangely they took it with them. Also had an ABUS 20/20 U-lock and an Abus disk alarm lock. Alarm lock went off - but it didn't stop them.

[Esceptico]

Makes grim reading. What is worse is that the scum that do the stealing know that there is almost no chance they are going to be caught (or if caught punished in a meaningful way). Just so frustrating.

[bongtom]

CoolHands said:

Cg125

No one wants them, even owners

Hah. Not true, they are great bikes, well pre OHV anyway.

[BobSaunders]

I get the feeling that with the economic woes in the pipeline things are only going to get worse. Sticky plaster is going to get ripped off soon.

Sorry to hear about your bike OP.

[Stuart Fordyce]

The PCX is actually a very desirable bike for cretins. I used to instruct in a very undesirable part of London and we had a fair few neds in. We had a PCX and they loved it. Automatic, so you don't need to be able to use the clutch, linked brakes so if you have the usual ned belief that you don't use the front you still get stopped, and fast for a 125.

Ideally you want a manual, non-sportsbike, above a 125 that's not so easy to steal (has an immobilizer preferably). But a better strategy is to move house...

[Lukas239]

fking grim reading sorry to hear it OP.

Simplistic though it may sound, I'm a firm believer of 'out of sight, out of mind'. Was this easily visible? Sounds like you have chains and locks sorted so just another element to think about.

[milkround]

Lukas239 said:

fking grim reading sorry to hear it OP.

Simplistic though it may sound, I'm a firm believer of 'out of sight, out of mind'. Was this easily visible? Sounds like you have chains and locks sorted so just another element to think about.

Nope. I don't have a garage at this place. Got it during lockdown mk1 and couldn't view the house. I assumed I'd have access to the garden - but my assumptions were wrong. 95% of the time the bike is left in another place in a garden but I'd chosen to leave it out locked up here for a couple of days.

So it was left on the street. I take a view that if you make something hard enough people will give up. Which is why I paid £150 for this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Abus-Granit-Extreme-59-D-... to go along with the alarmed dick lock and the chain.

I have all the keys for the locks - but picking it up and throwing it in a van meant that they did nothing to help. I'm not sure how they cut the chain. But I don't think it was an angle grinder. I'd have heard that.

[A500leroy]

ER500 or ER6F.

[Tribal Chestnut]

IIRC when I bought my 16mm chain a number of years back, it was based on a grinder being needed to cut it, whereas anything below that size is apparently snippable with the right chopper and appropriate force.

[Zarco]

I've always thought the cretins weapon of choice was a road going quad bike.

[Drezza]

Zarco said:

I've always thought the cretins weapon of choice was a road going quad bike.

I've never seen a quad used for a crime other than general menacing 'byk lyf" style. PCX are specifically targeted as they're easilly operated by spastics and doesn't have a gear lever to dirty their Nike Air Max 97s

[Zarco]

Drezza said:

Zarco said:

I've always thought the cretins weapon of choice was a road going quad bike.

I've never seen a quad used for a crime other than general menacing 'byk lyf" style. PCX are specifically targeted as they're easilly operated by spastics and doesn't have a gear lever to dirty their Nike Air Max 97s

I wasn't referring to crime. Just cretin lifestyle.