How to Protect Yourself Against Motorcycle Theft

Motorcycle theft has risen as of late.  This is no surprise when you consider how popular and expensive motorcycles have become.  So what makes a motorcycle so tempting to a thief?  Well for starters, compared to cars, motorcycles are not as well protected and lack many of the newest anti-theft technology that cars have.  Thieves have a much easier time cracking motorcycle locks as opposed to car locks. 


So you may be wondering what the most frequently stolen models are? Statistics have shown that Honda tops the list with over 25 percent of stolen bikes.  Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki take the next 3 spots with Harley-Davidson coming in at 5^th place.  From these stats you can tell that bike thieves are going after sports bike as opposed to choppers or typical road bikes.  Thieves seem to be going after powerful models with street-racing capabilities and profitable parts. 

Keep an eye out for summer months, these are prime months for motorcycle theft.  The 3 months with the highest theft rate is July, August and June where as the 3 months with the lowest theft rate is December, January and February.  Not surprising.  Bike thieves want to make sure that riding conditions are good before stealing a bike.  Plus stealing a bike in warm weather is much easier than cold weather. 

Also keep in mind that the three states with the most motorcycle thefts are states that for the most part do not ever see winter roll around.  These states are California clock in at number one, Texas at number two and Florida at number three.  

Don’t let these stats keep you away from owning a bike.  There are a few preventive measures you can do to lower your chances of having your motorcycle stolen. 

• Install a kill switch.  Put it in a hidden place to make it more difficult for a thief to start up your bike
• Try locking your bike to a stationary, immovable object
• Use the built in locks to lock the forks and disk brakes
• You can’t go wrong with installing a motorcycle alarm
• Never park your bike in an isolated area, always try to park in an area with lots of foot traffic
• Lock your ignition, this does not mean just turning off your ignition.  Turn off and lock your ignition
• Make periodical check on your bike
• Consider using a motorcycle cover.  If you have a very nice bike peoples admiration might turn into them stealing it

Most importantly if you own a bike your best bet against theft is to park it in a garage.   A garage means nothing unless it is protected by a proper garage door.  Hudson Valley Overhead Door and Operators can help protect your vehicles from theft with the use of our following services:

LaGrangeGarage Doors

GermantownGarage Doors