Hi Guys, Came into work this morning to discover that one of my colleagues had his BMW GS stolen from the company car park in rural Hertfordshire. Yesterday I left at 3:15pm and his bike was there as I rode away on my MT-10SP. Sometime within the next 15-20mins some toe-rags on a scooter rolled up, smashed the steering lock and towed it away. The company I'm doing some work for at the moment is a big organisation and they effectively own the entire industrial park and there are no through-roads or other public right-of-way through the park, so I recon they've been casing the place for a while. I'm wondering whether if I'd not left when I did, which bike would they have taken? The recent weather has allowed me to enjoy the MT10-SP and make a nice change from using my 1260 day-in-day-out. I might be under the false impression that a bike thief is more likely to steal my MT-10SP than my 1260, due to image, physically lighter and the conventional and typical woefully inadequate Yamaha steering lock. But from now on I won't be taking my MT-10SP to work. I just don't have the same attachment to my 1260 as it is used largely as a workhorse commuter and for touring, but I'm just going to keep using it unless there is a truly secure car park where I'm working. My question is - does anyone know how resistant to attack is the Multistrada steering lock is? It looks to me like it has some distinct advantages over the conventional steering locks which are effectively part of the ignition unit and are mechanically weak. I'm not suggesting that I wouldn't use additional security but just wondering how effective the Multistrada unit is? It's not a compromised part of an ignition barrel and so I would expect it to be designed with the sole purpose of performing to a certain level, but is it actually a deterrent? Can it just be hoofed like a regular steering lock?
Clearly from the reports on stolen bikes, the OE steering locks might as well be made from cheese for all the use they are. Given their location, their robustness is limited by the limited space. If the thieving little shit bags are determined, there isn't much you can do. Andy
Talking of lighter bikes - A friend recently had his bike stolen, all on CCTV in South London. 2 up on a scooter, one used his foot to kick the bar and break the steering lock then pushed it out of the parking bay and the scooter rider then pushed it along the road. Normal practice for them but the bike was a BMW 1600GT! That is one heavy bike and it was gone in about 10 seconds, these guys are well practiced and pretty fit to target something that big!
Handlebars work as the perfect levers. Lean back on the seat with a foot on each handlebar and just start pushing one way, then the other, until it goes. They’re worthless. Only a good chain and anchor will slow them down enough for someone to see this in your work yard and for you to take action.
I remember seeing a video from a few years ago made by MCN I think, which took 10 brand new bikes and tested the steering locks. Not a single one of them stood up to more than a few seconds of attack. The only use for a steering lock is so insurance companies can wangle out of paying you for theft if its not broken when its recovered.
Steering locks are a joke. I put disc locks on both wheels with a cable to a post or something if possible. I put the rear disclock between s/arm and caliper so very little movement and awkward to get angle grinder to.
I have seen 1st hand a set of scroats stealing a KTM in Pontefract West yorkshire. What i think personally is that if they had of put a good say Oxford disc lock on the bike front disc or a Nugget chain & lock through the back wheel. The bike would not have been taken.
These look pretty good to me. I assume the rats angle grind the loop off, so the disc lock falls in half. This has double loop and quite a lot of meat to cut through. 1 of these between s.arm and caliper would be very difficult to cut off.
I think the best and only option is to pepper your bike with lots of small locks, more of a time consuming annoyance than all needing to be top of the line. Front discs (2), rear disc, padlock and chain, cable lock and then steering lock. If you're commuting it's not that much to carry when you consider the size of cable and disc locks, and the padlock is something I'd expect most would recommend. These guys are based on the quick getaway, if they've got to spend 10 x the amount of time next to the bike they'll more than likely move on to one without the hassle. Ultimately if they really want it they'll bring a van or a knife and risk trying to fight off any of the public showing interest, but just don't make it easy for them is my view
Yes yes, I get that, steering locks are a joke ... but has anyone actually tested the Multistrada steering lock?
Is anyone aware of a recent Multistrada where the steering lock has actually been broken by brute force?
I never bother using the steering lock....if it gets broken and you actually get the bike back its just another thing to lower the value of the bike/frame.
Some bikes (eg, BMW R1200GS) are an insurance write-off if the steering lock is forced, due to damage to the frame. However, if your bike is recovered and found to not have had the steering lock in use then your insurance is likely to not pay out.
Bit of a hard question you are asking. Has anyone smashed there bike just to see if you could. Looking at how it is fixed to the bike i would say 2 scroats would smash it in seconds. Obviously the people who are going to steal a Ducati are pro,s with a van. Immobilizer stops the ride off.
As above, some insurance policies insist on it being locked. Which makes leaving your bike on a front paddock stand a bit tricky.
I would never rely on a steering lock for security regardless of the brand. If thieves want your bike, they will get it. Breaking and entering to get a set of keys seems to be a lot more common these days and these scrotes know that when you break into a property, it’s a totally different level of crime. If I’m away from my bike, I keep an Abus chain in a bag and strap it through the swing arm and wheel. If they are prepared to go through that, I’ll be looking for a new bike.
Err, no? Bike mags have tested various bikes steering locks in the past. That's not what I was asking .... I'm not after an opinion of it's efficacy, I'm looking for someone that's had some direct experience or is aware of a test that's been carried out. I can look at the steering lock myself and form my own opinion. With all the Euro 4 and future compliance tests set for the future it would be good if the eurocrats could ensure that the security items fitted to a motorcycle are actually fit for purpose or are able to meet a minimum level of performance - something actually useful to the owner instead strangling performance and setting pointless targets (ie, distance of rear-most point of the motorcycle from rear wheel) at every opportunity. Maybe incorporate trackers into the ECU itself and other RFID's around the bike, rendering the major parts useless.
