I'm thinking about getting a car alarm on Ebay ($30) for the purpose of trying to lower my insurance premium. Has this worked for any of  you guys or does it only apply to newer, faster bikes? Disk brake locks are also an option but I guess they wouldn't prevent a few people from throwing the bike in a back of a truck.

Is the GS500 really worth putting money in for security features?

The best security feature of a GS500:  No one wants to steal it because it's not worth it to steal.  The payout is not worth the crime.

Quote from: Elijafir on August 04, 2010, 08:54:31 PM
The best security feature of a GS500:  No one wants to steal it because it's not worth it to steal.  The payout is not worth the crime.

The bike can get stolen and sold for parts. I have $100 Xena brake-mounted 14-mm alarm. So if there is another GS500 standing beside mine and it has no alarm, mine will be harder to steal.

I have the Scorpio i500 alarm, f%$king love that thing. I keep it padlocked to a iron pipe at home as well.

Wanna bet that I can't defeat your $100 disc brake alarm with a stick of gum and a smile?
And that I can't stick it in the back of a u-haul quicker than you can replace your tank after you forget it's on there?

Hate to be an @ss.  PM box is open if you wanna yell at me. 

I use the garage...

As with any security it's a cost/benefit situation. A good solid cable lock is about the best deterrent you're gonna have. Fact of the matter is, if somebody really wants it, there is no fool-proof security.

Quote from: Homer on August 04, 2010, 10:01:58 PM
Wanna bet that I can't defeat your $100 disc brake alarm with a stick of gum and a smile?
And that I can't stick it in the back of a u-haul quicker than you can replace your tank after you forget it's on there?

+1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D96QM-lzLM8

Michael

From what I have observed with casual google searches, the only people that would steal a GS500 are joy riders. A disk lock will stop them. A pro or someone who is looking to make some cash off the bike, would always go for the the more popular bikes SS bikes...gsxr 600, cbr 600rr, or r6.

Security is worthless IMO on sport bikes. The GS any most others weight less then 400lbs. Three guys and pickup can steal anything thats not chained down in 15 seconds. 25 if they have to cut your lock  . These days they have portable plasma cutters....... If they want it, its gone.

Although if paying $30 on security will lower your insurance by >$30 then economically it makes sense.

Maybe it is just where i am located but most of the time people never even lock up their helmets on the bikes they just leave it on the handle bars, seat or sometimes on the ground next to the bike.  A bike alarm to me would seem pointless cause like everyone has said, if they want it, they will take it regardless. 

But if you will save more for having the alarm on your bike than the alarm would cost go for it.  Even if you just install it but never actually use it then you are still saving money by having it.  Just make sure you hook it up correctly so that it doesn't kill your battery so when you go to start it you have to jump it every time.

Progressive told me I could save about $15 annually if I had the tracking unit installed.
Lojack or something.  Forget which one it is. 
$500 to install it, $600/year for the required subscription. 

I bought a dog.  And used the same money to move to a better neighborhood.  Don't have to mow my yard anymore. 

It's a little tricky but when I'm taking extended trips and stay in cheap motels I would always pull the bike inside. I never did get busted because I took it in late, and out early in the morning, it's a pain in the ass but there is no way in hell it's going to get taken, knocked over, or tampered with.

Throw all the locks and security features you want on it. It wouldn't take more than a couple people to lift a bike up and stuff it in the back of a truck or trailer.

If someone wants it, they're probably going to get it. Not to be a Negative Nancy. Just sayin'.

I was looking at alarms last night and i found some that wont let the bike start when the alarm is on and have tilt sensors, maybe I'm just being too positive, but would that attract more attention that wanted by thieves?

Quote from: ragecage23 on August 05, 2010, 12:35:58 PM
I was looking at alarms last night and i found some that wont let the bike start when the alarm is on and have tilt sensors, maybe I'm just being too positive, but would that attract more attention that wanted by thieves?

To my understanding most people that steal motorcycles will just throw them into a minivan or pickup truck and drive away.  They won't actually ride the motorcycle so preventing it from starting isn't an issue cause they could very easily just cut the wires and attach them around the alarm/kill switch once they get it back to where they are taking it.

Okay so they can still start it, but would the alarm cause at least one person to look? And if i saw 2+ guys shoving a bike in a truck/trailer/van with the alarm blaring I'd figure something was up, get plates/descriptions, and call the police.

I don't know where you live.. but around here people totally ignore car alarms.  They are just annoying.  I don't imagine a bike alarm would be any different.  And, if they are picking it up and tossing it in the back of a van.. would the alarm even go off?

Well I'm talking as far as tilt sensors. And I don't know about everyone else, but when car alarms go off, sure they're annoying, but I still look to see where it's coming from. Maybe I'm just weird though haha.

My bike has been dropped on both sides making parts useless for someone wanting it for resale.    If you're looking for a cable lock with an alarm, check out this one.   Wrap it around the rear wheel and tuck the alarm device under the seat... once the cable is cut.. it will start screaming.  http://www.alarmlocks.com/motorcycle.htm

Personally, I think I would prefer a device which would call my celphone to advise me that someone is moving my motorcycle, and with a GPS device so you the police could find it afterwards.

Quote from: ojstinson on August 05, 2010, 09:16:08 AM
Sad to say a year later that same bike was stolen when I had a flat and went to call for help. I was gone for no more than 15 minutes and Pooof I was bikeless,

Thief wants your bike. Problem is, he doesn't know who the owner is. Any of the people walking around could be the owners. So he does something to the bike that will see the owner come back, see the something, then leave to go get a Fix for the something. Could be a cut helmet strap - you come back, see missing helmet and need to go away to buy another. Or he lets some air down in the tire. Even if all you do is go to buy a can of foam to fill it, he has seen you and can keep an eye on you with someone else following you, or at the least knows you'll be a few minutes. If anyone questions what they are doing as they load it into a van they can pretend to be the owners getting the bike home cause it has a flat.

In Aust we have an alarm called Ignitor http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM1doGR3t3M and they also do a version that will send an SMS to your phone. Website here http://ignitoralarms.com.au/

Guy bought bad-ass bike chain for his bike. Came down in the morning to find a small pile of metal shavings and no bike. Have also seen video of those bike chains getting the bolt cutter treatment and they ALL fail.

Bloke's Harley with alarm was in a remote controlled garage within a swipe-key-controlled underground condo carpark. The thieves (plural) managed to get into the carpark, open his garage door, silence the alarm and then push the bike up the carpark's entry slope, three hundred yards down the street and Then they started it and rode it away.

If it is specifically your bike they want, they will eventually get it.

All an alarm, disk lock, chain, etc., does is deter the opportune thief. What else deters them is the GS itself. 

Bare bones basic... get a disk lock, breakdown coverage and a cell phone. Get insurance. The opportune thief is deterred. And the coverage and cell means that when you come back to your bike to find something wrong, you can stay with it until the towtruck arrives to tow it away.

When parking at the mall, be vigilant. Is someone just loitering on foot or in car near the bike area? Then don't park there. Ride out of the carpark (so they think you're gone) and park elsewhere. Or don't park where the thieves would look - in the bike area - park in the car area  (so when they drive in looking for bikes, they won't see yours). Or park right next to the front entrance where there's lots of people.

Michael