Some c¥"*$ have tried to nick my bike

Some c¥"*$ have tried to nick my bike

Author
Discussion

abarber

1,686 posts

240 months

Monday 13th June 2016
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I'm glad there is finally a stronger padlock out there.

xjay1337

15,966 posts

117 months

Monday 13th June 2016
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The other recommendation I would have is to keep the chain as short as possible and ideally have the lock in an awkward place as they won't be able to get the grinder to it.
Also securing it around the swingarm would be better than the wheel and if you can double-loop the chain around the wheel to reduce slack that will also help!


Dog Star

16,079 posts

167 months

Monday 13th June 2016
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Pragma said:
Shackle and cylinder swapping both need the key to open the lock (Doh!) but also need the lock to be _not_ the Moto version
Right - I'll check this tonight.

crofty1984

15,830 posts

203 months

Monday 13th June 2016
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Is there any way you can cover the bike and chain in loads of petrol? Look, at some point you'll have to claim for theft. Might as well make it a claim for fire, and take some out along the way.

Not a serious suggestion!

RumpleFugly

2,377 posts

209 months

Monday 13th June 2016
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CoolHands said:
It's not like it's a 10-grand Ducati ffs, it's a 5-grand scooter.
Unfortunately, the T-Max is one of the most stolen vehicles in Europe. Thieves love the combined performance/load carrying ability for their scummy ways. Both my mates in Amsterdam have had theirs stolen (one, twice!) despite them having pink paint highlights from the Giro D'Italia. hehe

abarber

1,686 posts

240 months

Monday 13th June 2016
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How about this Abus lock with a 15mm shackle? Any good?

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.a...

dudleybloke

19,717 posts

185 months

Monday 13th June 2016
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Rotalocks are very good but not cheap.

https://www.insight-security.com/rotalok-padlocks

Edited by dudleybloke on Monday 13th June 19:45

CoolHands

Original Poster:

18,496 posts

194 months

Monday 13th June 2016
quotequote all
Thanks everyone and Steve at pragmasis I will send you an email in a few days to see if you would be able to replace the shackle in the lock? I am also a previous customer of yours and fitted a ground anchor at my house:





Not sure what I will do at the moment, keep looking for somewhere more suitable to lock it up but can't find anywhere round here.

TSCfree

1,681 posts

230 months

Monday 13th June 2016
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CH PM'd you.

Pragma

21 posts

118 months

Tuesday 14th June 2016
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CoolHands said:
Thanks everyone and Steve at pragmasis I will send you an email in a few days to see if you would be able to replace the shackle in the lock? I am also a previous customer of yours and fitted a ground anchor at my house:...
Cool. See what I said to Dog Star re the Moto version of the lock. If it's not one of them, we may be able to help. I'll look out for your e-mail in due course.

cheers,

Steve.

terry tibbs

2,188 posts

220 months

Wednesday 15th June 2016
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Pragma said:
CoolHands said:
Thanks everyone and Steve at pragmasis I will send you an email in a few days to see if you would be able to replace the shackle in the lock? I am also a previous customer of yours and fitted a ground anchor at my house:...
Cool. See what I said to Dog Star re the Moto version of the lock. If it's not one of them, we may be able to help. I'll look out for your e-mail in due course.

cheers,

Steve.
just for future reference are you better with the anchor in the wall and thus higher up to make attack harder or in the ground?

Pragma

21 posts

118 months

Wednesday 15th June 2016
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terry tibbs said:
just for future reference are you better with the anchor in the wall and thus higher up to make attack harder or in the ground?
It depends. If "in the ground" means fitted in or onto good concrete then that is generally significantly stronger than anything involving bricks, and even more so, blocks. However, that is only thinking about the solidity of the anchor and having it on the ground means it becomes quite awkward to then arrange the chain to be clear of the ground. A chain resting on a solid surface is much easier for a thief to attack in all sorts of ways (hammers, croppers, grinders), whereas if it is swinging about in mid-air, it is instantly much harder to defeat. FYI in our tests, we usually find at least a factor of 2 or more in terms of attack times, and some types of attack become nigh on impossible when the chain is not on the ground.

If you've got a bike positioned next to a house wall and standing on good concrete, we would usually say it's a good idea to put the anchor on/in the concrete but behind the bike, i.e. between the bike and the bottom of the wall, so it is difficult for a scrote to have a go at the anchor and also the bike is in the way of an attack on the chain ...providing you don't have so much slack in the chain that he can pull it out from under the bike to get at it.

If there isn't any (good) concrete available, and if you don't want to dig a hole and lay some (and fit the anchor in the wet concrete at the same time), then putting the anchor on the wall becomes the only option. Having it up in the air makes it easier for you to keep the chain off the floor and harder for the thief to attack any of it ...providing you don't have the anchor peering out above the level of the bike. You don't want a thief to get any crowbar or wrecking bar or chisels between the anchor and the brickwork. Bricks/blocks are the weak point with any half-decent anchor so you need to keep that in mind so you don't play into the hands of the thief.

Low garden walls are a waste of space and not suitable for any type of anchor, as a rule.

The other side of all this is that if you contrive something that is so awkward for you to use on a daily basis, such that you end up not using it at all, then you've ended up with something that is no good for you. The real world can involve a compromise between the level of security and the usability, and the cost of it all, as well as how desirable your bike is to a thief. If you've had a previous theft and expect them to be coming back, you may have to go up a level or even 2 levels and spend more money and live with something more awkward in order to get control back from the tts. It is sooo much better to get the deterrent right and appropriate at the outset so you are never making yourself an easy target. Playing catch-up is no fun.

Sorry that's not just a simple Yes/No, but if you understand the factors involved and are aware of the potential weaknesses, you can hopefully make the best decision for yourself.

Cheers,

Steve.

CoolHands

Original Poster:

18,496 posts

194 months

Wednesday 22nd June 2016
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Ok so I'm pissed off with not being able to use my scooter. At the moment it's locked up safe at my wife's house which is pointless, and I'm back on th old stter of my Aprilia. I thought, what if I go back to using the alley, but as well as locking wheel to the heavy railings with the 19mm almax, also buying & using a 16mm chain through the rack (see gaps between rack and body) to go round railings too. Intention being the raised chain will be very difficult to cut as its not on the ground.

Plus it would also mean two chains / locks to cut through, hence even more difficult/time consuming.

Rack area. There is reasonable space between body and rack. Of course, it would be possible to cut right through rack too, it's probably aluminium not steel.



The railing area. They really are thick and heavy so would not be easy to defeat. The reason I stopped using the alley (seriously) is because of that fking animal that kept pissing on the wheel. It would be a major pain in the arse but I could put a cover on every night too.


sjtscott

4,215 posts

230 months

Wednesday 22nd June 2016
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CoolHands said:
Ok so I'm pissed off with not being able to use my scooter. At the moment it's locked up safe at my wife's house which is pointless, and I'm back on th old stter of my Aprilia. I thought, what if I go back to using the alley, but as well as locking wheel to the heavy railings with the 19mm almax, also buying & using a 16mm chain through the rack (see gaps between rack and body) to go round railings too. Intention being the raised chain will be very difficult to cut as its not on the ground.

Plus it would also mean two chains / locks to cut through, hence even more difficult/time consuming.

Rack area. There is reasonable space between body and rack. Of course, it would be possible to cut right through rack too, it's probably aluminium not steel.



The railing area. They really are thick and heavy so would not be easy to defeat. The reason I stopped using the alley (seriously) is because of that fking animal that kept pissing on the wheel. It would be a major pain in the arse but I could put a cover on every night too.

Always cover anything outside - a visual deterent always helps too - a cover you can pass chains through font and rear also helps. Also can you chain it front and back by the wheels to the railings if parked parallel to the railings?

CoolHands

Original Poster:

18,496 posts

194 months

Wednesday 22nd June 2016
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To be honest I probably could park it parallel to lock front and rear. Or I was thinking another 19mm through back wheel and up over seat? (ie not connecting to the fence. Only have the existing one connecting wheel to fence).

sjtscott

4,215 posts

230 months

Thursday 23rd June 2016
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CoolHands said:
To be honest I probably could park it parallel to lock front and rear. Or I was thinking another 19mm through back wheel and up over seat? (ie not connecting to the fence. Only have the existing one connecting wheel to fence).
Possible yes.. my preference would be to cover it, secure the cover with a 19mm chain to the railing front and rear.
I use an oxford stormex and it has eyelets front and rear to get a chain through.. note I struggle with a 16mm almax through the eyelets which are designed for the frankly useless oxford chocolate strength chains. The eyelets will 'adapt' over time with constant use. smile
Ensure you still use the disklock too.. anything to ensure they have to go to the maximum hassle to get the thing able to be moved.

CoolHands

Original Poster:

18,496 posts

194 months

Saturday 2nd July 2016
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Well FYI if anyone's interested, I bought a pragmasis chain + lock (plus a replacement lock for the one they damaged) so 300 quid later I can now lock the front & rear of my bike to railings in the alley. I don't mind doing this as I take some satisfaction from locking it up so scrotes cant get it.





The only remaining problem was the animal pissing on it (see other thread). So I started to use a bike cover too - obviously it helps the bike look more unobtrusive, but the main benefit was going to be to stop the animal.

However!

the animal is still doing it, even with the cover. It got a little bit squirted under the back of the cover, and this morning had taken a big fking leak at the front even though the wheel was not really visible. To be honest it's really depressing me and I'm not sure what to do, where else I can park. It's not nice cos some went on the cover, and I have to carry that back to my gaff to leave during the day. And I have to wash the wheels off again; it's really disgusting. There's also loads of drunks hanging around in the alley at night which is unpleasant (see beer can on wall. What the fk is it with drunkards, always propping their empty cans and bottles on walls etc. Use a fking bin you vile people).

If I go back to locking to a lampost at only one end somewhere, then the risk goes high again (although the cover would help a bit more now I suppose). Or I could use both chains round the back wheel so it'd really be a determined effort for them to cut through both.





Condi

17,088 posts

170 months

Saturday 2nd July 2016
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How about not worrying about a bit of dog piss on a wheel?? When it rains will wash itself anyway.

TheLordJohn

5,746 posts

145 months

Saturday 2nd July 2016
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I still propose you move somewhere nicer...
Also, I'd like to think it's a cat and not a dog.
As a dog owner, I don't let my dog piss on other people's property.

Edited by TheLordJohn on Saturday 2nd July 17:58

CoolHands

Original Poster:

18,496 posts

194 months

Saturday 2nd July 2016
quotequote all
Yes but I have a disc lock on the front and some had splashed on. So then I have to wash my hands after, it's just not very nice having to touch it! One time some had gone on the almax chain cover and again it's just not nice having to handle it if it's had spray on it. Remember I have to do it envy day so it's bloody annoying!

I will leave the bike on th side stand tonight as that should mean th over reaches to the floor, so I'll see if that works (previously have always had it on main stand)