SECURITY: BEAT THE THIEVES WITH BIKETRAC

Use BikeTrac’s expert advice to protect your bike

BIKE THEFT IS A BIG PROBLEM.

If you’ve ever known the gut-wrenching feeling of finding an empty space where your bike should be, you’ll know how awful it is. But what can you do about it?

Quite a lot, it turns out.

RideOn has teamed up with the experts at BikeTrac to put together this guide on beating the bike thieves.

WHAT SECURITY SHOULD I USE AT HOME?

There’s no such thing as too much security. The better protected your bike, the less likely it is to become a statistic.

“A large, quality chain attached to a ground anchor gives good protection at home,” says BikeTrac’s Sales and Marketing Director, Bill Taylor. If the bike is also out of sight in a securely locked garage, so much the better.

HOW ABOUT AWAY FROM HOME?

A bulky chain may not be easy to carry around with you, but you should still lock your bike whenever you leave it unattended away from home. Chain locks, disc locks, and even a cover to make your bike less conspicuous can all play a part. Look for security devices that have been approved by Sold Secure (soldsecure.com).

HOW DO TRACKING DEVICES WORK?

At home or away, a tracking device can mean the difference between never seeing your bike again or having it returned, sometimes within hours.

“The whole idea of tracking is that if your bike is stolen, you have a greater chance of getting it back,” says Bill.

Some bikers don’t want their bike returned after it’s been pinched. Even if you feel that way, keep in mind that your insurance premium could go through the roof if the bike is taken and never recovered. You’d be better off getting the bike back thanks to a tracking system so any claim isn’t a total loss.

BikeTrac has a range of hard security products as well as its tracking system. For portable security, the BikeTrac Grab Bag & Chain includes a disc lock, a bolt-cutter resistant chain and more.

WHAT MAKES BIKETRAC DIFFERENT?

Most tracking devices work along similar lines, but they’re not all the same. BikeTrac has some important advantages over the competition.

“All tracking products generally use GPS,” Bill explains, “so they will be able to give a location to within three to five metres. A motorbike is small enough to be easily hidden, so we use RF (Radio Frequency) as well as GPS. That allows us to locate the bike down to a metre. So, if it is out of sight, we can locate it precisely enough for the police to get a search warrant.”

The police sometimes get a hard time from bikers for not doing enough to recover stolen bikes, not always fairly. But BikeTrac customers have the reassurance of being able to call upon an independent security company.

“There are occasions when the police can’t attend, so we have a partnership with Securitas. They have 400 staff nationwide who can be at a location within an hour. The police don’t necessarily have the resources they once had, so we have gone to extra lengths to support them.”

With a 94% recovery rate, you can rely on BikeTrac.

Thatcham is the insurance industry’s research body, so they know a thing or two about bike security. It’s easy to be confused by Thatcham security ratings. Category 1 must be better than Category 2, right? Wrong. The various categories are for different types of security product, so one isn’t better than the other – just different.

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

CAT 1: Alarm and immobiliser

CAT 2: Immobiliser only

CAT 2.1: A retrofit alarm upgrade meeting the requirements of Cat 1

CAT 3: No longer available

CAT 4: Locking wheelnuts

S5: Stolen vehicle recovery products with a ‘Driver ID’ fob

S7: Stolen vehicle recovery products