Securing a VFR1200F

[ZesPak]

Hi,

So I'm quite in love with my VFR. It's an expensive bike, but all I needed and more.

The bike, for me, is a practical tool as well as a fun one. I take it to customers on a daily basis, putting about 2000 km/month on it.

But, it's an expensive tool as well. My previous bike was an older CBF600, one that I could leave anywhere without being worried. My bike, because of convenience and a lack of garages, is stored in front of my house. It is used daily and when I'm out with the car it's usually in the garage, so only in front of the house when I'm at home.

Right now it's secured with a decent chain (Oxford Monster), but I'm getting a bigger chain (almax or the like) in the near future. On top of that I've got the Abus Detecto 8000, of which I'm very happy, and makes more than enough noise for me to hear anywhere in the house, and wake me should it go off in the night.

The big problem for me now is that they're both secured to the front disks (opposite sides).

So removing the wheel and the disks would effectively allow them to pick up my bike without having to cut up the chain.

Therefore I'd like to attach the chain to something else, more structural but I don't know how on this bike.

I thought about this, it would be convenient and also elevate the chain from the ground and put it entirely behind the bike so much harder to reach/crop for potential thieves:

But, although I haven't seen how yet, it seems like it's removable, is it? If it isn't, would it be a good spot to attach the chain to?

With other bikes you've got the possiblitly of using something like this (anti-pinch-pin):

http://www.torc-anch...i-pinch-pin.php

But I found no good place for that on the VFR1200F.

So, long story short:

I want to improve the security on my bike, without adding too much inconvenience. I'm willing to spend about 400€ on it. The chain/lock system is attached to my house so can be as heavy as must be, doesn't need to be portable. I'm also considering some kind of tracker if anybody can point me in the right direction. Suggestions to better attach your VFR to a solid object are more than welcome.

PS: Oh, I've got a cover and use it but find it too much of a hassle most of the time. Putting it inside isn't an option, but thanks for suggesting. Belgium isn't as bad for thefts, but I'd like to make it as hard as possible for them and to deter them as much as possible.

[HispanicSlammer]

Well if a professional thief really wants it they will get it, but making it difficult and time consuming helps! I have a big cable lock and store the bike in locked lean to shed on the side of my house with a floor anchor epoxied into the concrete floor. Its not theft proof but it is a pain in the ass for sure for a thief. Other items like motion detector lights and perhaps even a dog will thwart a coward thief, but a pro NO.

[ZesPak]

Well if a professional thief really wants it they will get it, but making it difficult and time consuming helps! I have a big cable lock and store the bike in locked lean to shed on the side of my house with a floor anchor epoxied into the concrete floor. Its not theft proof but it is a pain in the ass for sure for a thief. Other items like motion detector lights and perhaps even a dog will thwart a coward thief, but a pro NO.

I know, same old same old, if they really want it they'll get it.

Like I said, mine is anchored to the wall so I got that covered. I was actually looking at specific points on the vfr, or a good (maybe DIY) GPS tracker?

[Switchblade]

The old trick of hiding a KILL SWITCH under the seat would also slow them down.

[ZesPak]

The old trick of hiding a KILL SWITCH under the seat would also slow them down.

Hmm too often I see videos of bikes just being pushed in a van to be driven off, good suggestion though. I also heard that maybe attaching it to the kickstand "kill switch" could be good, as the bike will start, but just shut down when put in gear. If anybody would know a good place or the correct wires to do something similar easily...?

[Dutchy]

^{If they want it, they will take it. Not sure if they will remove both wheels and then lift it....}

^{If htey want it that bad they will wait for you and knock you over the head.....}

^{So that leaves the opportunistic thief.....}

^{Use the cover (I have an old metal bin next to my bike where I put the cover in when out on the bike}

^{you have it chained to the wall, good!}

^{you have a noice maiking device, good!1 (although many many years ago when my Beemer got stolen, they had injected pur foam into the claxon to effectively muffle any noise.}

^{Noise making (or a proper alarm) is good, because they may be after your plastics.....}

^{get theft coverage and sleep at night.}

^{What humans fears most is the fear itself......}

[V4 Rosso]

But, although I haven't seen how yet, it seems like it's removable, is it? If it isn't, would it be a good spot to attach the chain to?

Even a smll bolt cutter will have no problem cutting through the peg hanger. I'd wrap the chain around the rear wheel.

or a good (maybe DIY) GPS tracker?

This tracker is maybe what you are looking for. Requires a SIM card and some providers offer SMS only cards with a very low monthly rate.

[ZesPak]

or a good (maybe DIY) GPS tracker?

This tracker is maybe what you are looking for. Requires a SIM card and some providers offer SMS only cards with a very low monthly rate.

Thanks, that's spot-on actually!

I'm also loving the fact that it self-activates on shutting down the engine.

I'll have a decent look at that one, no doubt!

[Guest]

Out of sight out of mind: Buy a sheetmetal utility shed, They are fairly inexspensive,& easy to move when you do, plus your bike stays out of the elements.

[Guest]

just get an old Harley cover for it, make sure the insurance is up to date.

[ZesPak]

just get an old Harley cover for it, make sure the insurance is up to date.

Out of sight out of mind: Buy a sheetmetal utility shed, They are fairly inexspensive,& easy to move when you do, plus your bike stays out of the elements.

PS: Oh, I've got a cover and use it but find it too much of a hassle most of the time. Putting it inside isn't an option, but thanks for suggesting. Belgium isn't as bad for thefts, but I'd like to make it as hard as possible for them and to deter them as much as possible.

Thanks for reading the topic before posting a worthwile contribution.

[vfrflanders]

The VFR 1200 is not the most popular bike to steal (rare, much weigh, HISS in Europe), but you never know.

- Honda protected the bike very well with HISS (although the codes from the PGM-FI unit can programmed into new blank keys)

- I think with the HISS activated, the only way to steal the bike is to put him on a trailer. So try to immobilize the bike as much as possible (disc lock, sensitive moving alarm, etc)

- Take your registration papers with you and don't leave them under the seat. Sales papers can be easy falsified, but not the registration papers.

- To prevent that the bike can be sold in parts, you can put "microdots" on your bike.

- But you can't do anything about corruption. If some countries will registrate stolen bikes, "without asking questions", your bike can be an easy target if there is a "demand" for VFR's 1200...

[Headhunter]

Let me start by saying that there is nothing worse that a F"ing thief. That being said, it's sad that you've got to lock, bolt, or chain your bike down without some asshole wanting to fuck with it. Back in the 90's one of my buddies had his CBR600 taken from right in front of his apartment in Atlanta while he had come home briefly on it. While he was taking a dump, 3 dudes in a pickup snatched it up and put it on a mattress in the back of a truck in 15 seconds. He was livid to say the least. He had obviously been targeted.

Fortunately, my baby stays in the garage secured. If someone gets in, they've got all the dogs and some .45ACP to work through if they REALLY want my VFR. As any of our Tennessee members will attest, we're armed to the teeth here and our neighbors are packing too.....Leave that stealing shit somewhere else. Nothing on my property is worth your life. I won't miss.

[Duc2V4]

You might want to check out this link...http://www.reddit.com/r/motorcycles/comments/t5shp/ex_thief_chopshop_operator_ama/

It may give you some insight on how a thief thinks and what they look for in a "target". There are also some tips and suggestions by others, even policemen, that may provide you with some ideas.

Good luck and make sure your country keeps producing those awesome beer and ales! We actually get quite a few of them here in the states now, albeit less alcohol content, but still enough to put a smile on your face. I always keep Duvel and Palm in the fridge.

Cheers!

[TiN]

Those rear peg mounts are a b*tch to take off. You cant get the bolts out without taking a lot of stuff off. they just wont back out far enough. I dont know how easy it is to cut through though. I always take my chain through the frame when leaving it out. Its a pain though. Maybe between the upper and lower triple would be a good attach spot with a hardened steel chain wrapped in duct tape with a hardened steel lock. That'd be pretty tough to get through.

[Beck]

I dunno if anyone here still uses Cobralinks locks, but I do back up my locks with one threaded to a spot on my 4th gen that will be quite hard to take off. I found out long ago that the Cobralinks (standard diameter size) actually fits very nicely through the hollow rear axle of my 4th gen. I then loop the Cobralinks lock on to a bigger Krytonite chain lock that is looped around a structural column in our garage. The thief would either have to kill the Cobralinks with power tools or disaameble the hwole rear end to get the bike, but there's no way they can just pick up the bike with locks and work on it later as a lot of thieves do.

[Guest]

I struggled with this one as well. I've now found that my Oxford U lock (Magnum is the model in the UK, I use the shorter of the two lengths available) will just fit nice and snug over the swing arm, vertically from above or below if you can imagine in the area below where the shock preload adjuster knob sits. It leaves enough room to slide a beefy chain over the U lock which is then attached to a ground anchor, I pass the chain over the seat from the other side to keep it off the ground. You would have to unbolt the rear drive housing, rear wheel, and any other gubbins in that area before you could slide the lock off, I doubt a thief will go to the trouble, it would be easier to just attack the chain with a grinder. I just had to cut a small section out of the rear hugger to allow one side of the U lock to pass through. The bonus with this method is that it's quick and easy to do so you are more likley to actually use it all the time.

If you want a photo which will clearly show it all just let me know. P.S. if you want a good alternative to Almax have a look at the torc web site, they do a Pragmasis range which is very good, I use their 13mm protector chain with the best Squire padlocks and it's about as secure as you could reasonably get for the money, they also do a clever anti pinch pin which I used on previous bikes, it won't fit anywhere decent on the VFR though. http://www.torc-anchors.com/index.php

[ZesPak]

or a good (maybe DIY) GPS tracker?

This tracker is maybe what you are looking for. Requires a SIM card and some providers offer SMS only cards with a very low monthly rate.

Thanks, that's spot-on actually!

I'm also loving the fact that it self-activates on shutting down the engine.

I'll have a decent look at that one, no doubt!

Edit: ordered one. Very curious to have a play :). costs 300 € over here.

You might want to check out this link...http://www.reddit.com/r/motorcycles/comments/t5shp/ex_thief_chopshop_operator_ama/

It may give you some insight on how a thief thinks and what they look for in a "target". There are also some tips and suggestions by others, even policemen, that may provide you with some ideas.

Good luck and make sure your country keeps producing those awesome beer and ales! We actually get quite a few of them here in the states now, albeit less alcohol content, but still enough to put a smile on your face. I always keep Duvel and Palm in the fridge.

Cheers!

Great read that thread!

From what I can gather, I'm not doing badly apparently. Only thing he mentions a lot in there (and he's quite adamant about it) is to put a disk lock on the rear wheel if possible.

Now on the VFR1200Frear wheel the ABS/TC sensors are in the way to put my Detecto 8000 on, anybody knows a decent disc lock that can fit to the rear disk?

[Dutchy]

No, but always put -any- disclock (front or rear) as close as possible to the brake calipers so that there can be no rotation of the wheel. If you place it on the other side (ie in front f the fork leg) and you forget to take it of, you push your bike of the centre stand, get half a rotation forward and BAMM you fall over.

Now how do I know this... ?

[ZesPak]

No, but always put -any- disclock (front or rear) as close as possible to the brake calipers so that there can be no rotation of the wheel. If you place it on the other side (ie in front f the fork leg) and you forget to take it of, you push your bike of the centre stand, get half a rotation forward and BAMM you fall over.

Now how do I know this... ?

Heard this a lot, thing is, like I stated I've got the Abus Detecto 8000. If you forget to take it off, the alarm will go off as soon as you start the bike :).

[Guest]

If you are going to be this worried all the time maybe you should have bought a bike from China. Around here one of the most successful bike thieves a team of three would just pick the bikes up and put them in the back of a truck it didn't matter if you had chains, disk locks or even alarms. Being from Belgium you might not get sarcasm but getting an old nasty cover would disguise your nice new bike making it less desirable to thieves.

[ZesPak]

If you are going to be this worried all the time maybe you should have bought a bike from China.

Sorry, I really don't like that statement. The reason is that there was a carjacking in the neighbourhood, an E-class iirc, and the thief was caught but with a lower sentence as it was part the Mercedes owners' fault for owning such a nice/desireable car (you can't make this shit up btw). And that's exactly the statement you're making.

Around here one of the most successful bike thieves a team of three would just pick the bikes up and put them in the back of a truck it didn't matter if you had chains, disk locks or even alarms.

I tend to disagree, chains anchor your bike to something solid, so picking it up without defeating them might prove very difficult. Disc locks would mean they have to lift both wheels as well, which, with 3 people, is near impossible (85kg pp)

Being from Belgium you might not get sarcasm

Really, how does that work? I get sarcasm but I don't get your statement.

but getting an old nasty cover would disguise your nice new bike making it less desirable to thieves.

Agreed,

I put the cover on part of the time, but as I use the bike that much it's often a little too cumbersome.

[Dutchy]

As for men "lifting" your bike, sometimes, very rarely, one gets them on camera....

thieving scum.....

[onokiyo]

I would recommend you to invest in Lojack. After I have it installed on mine, I used the key w/o the transponder and took the bike around. As soon as I parked the bike and cut off the engine, Lojack called my wife, myself, their emails came in let us know the bike was placed at an authorized location. I'm sure thefts wouldn't know the silent alarm installed on the bike.

[ZesPak]

Just a little heads up!

Had the Abus Detecto 8000 fitted and it ifts fine, albeit only on the front discs. However, I purchased the additional "loop" chain from abus and it's impossible to attach the disc lock with the chain in place!.