Most of us are living in straitened circumstances these days. The divide between the haves and the have nots, seems like a gulf and normal people on normal UK salaries are pretty much universally struggling. The price of food, utilities and rents has gone through the roof, while salaries don’t seem to match. With this background of pressure in the system, the rise in the theft of PTWs, particularly in London has increased exponentially. Presumably because they are an easy target and can bring in reasonable returns, mainly in parts resale.

Due to this it behoves motorcyclists to be much more careful and think hard about where they are parking and what security measures they are taking against theft.

The main target is lower powered machines like scooters and smaller bikes and the newer ones – under 5 years old are the favoured machines to steal, presumably because they have the best resale value when broken up into parts. In fact a shocking theft rate of 85 per 1000 is what it’s standing at currently.
If you are the owner of a motorcycle, and a newer lower powered machine in particular, be especially careful about locking your bike up properly. Ideally lock it to a fixed rail or anchor, not just to itself. A tracker is always a good idea too. The favoured method of stealing them is simply to lift them into a van, job done. Which is why chaining your bike or scooter to a fixed point or ground anchor is important if possible. Also try not to leave your machine in the same place too regularly, if it is clocked it may give the thieves the opportunity to return with a van to snatch it. If you are leaving your bike for any length of time, cover it with a motorcycle cover so that thieves can’t see what machine it is and may bypass it for a more obvious target.

This type of theft is much worse in London – half of the top ten worst theft areas are in London, with university towns taking up the next slots.
In some areas the police are doing a good job of prevention and officers have caused significant drops in bike theft. In Northern Ireland they have reduced thefts from eight to one and in North Yorkshire thefts were halved to eight in July from double in June.

Most of the thefts in London are of scooters which have been left unsecured. In fact even something as simple as a basic lock can make your bike three times less likely to be a target. So it obviously makes sense to leave your bike locked up properly as, even if the thieves do have the equipment to cut chains etc, they are much more likely to go for an unsecured bike as it’s less effort – path of least resistance.

It is a worthwhile investment getting a really good lock just to give you increased peace of mind when you park up your bike. Remember, simple methods can be very effective and really make a difference, so use the locks and be vigilant, and hopefully your machine will be just fine.

Have you been the victim of motorcycle theft? Did you get your bike back if so and did your insurance company pay up ok? Let us know your story at [email protected] or on Facebook