You do as you please, but I am comforted by the insurance peoples stats, saying the Savage is one of the least stolen, least crashed bikes out there. I am just certain the insurance stats have kept that bike up in a few turns it should have fallen down in, Seriously, you know Im serious..

I go through the front disc rotor and spokes... with a U-lock hooked to a stranded cable...
I don't really fear bike thieves, just some teen prankster...
Saves me from having to kill one....

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 07/03/09 at 06:26:06:


You don't ever lock your bike up?  I'm in NYC, pretty much gotta take precautions here, regardless of stats.  4 motorcycles stolen in my neighborhood in the past two weeks, none of 'em were locked up...

I've heard people refer to NYC as the greatest city in the world.    They must judge by different standards than I do.

No lock here either.  The only reason I even take the key out is so I don't leave it on and kill the battery.  I can't imagine someone wanting to steal my thumper.

To be helpful - if you must lock it up to deter theft - I guess you should get the most visible lock you can and put it somewhere that stops the bike from rolling.  If someone really wants it, two guys could pick it up and drop it on a trailer, lock or no lock.  There's only so much you can do.

I live in Mexico City right now and THIS is the place to fear bike thieves
...but I have a system, and it works (at least till' nao).

Listen, the theory is easy: Just make it hard and unattractive for them,
thieves are LAZY, that's why their thieves in the 1st place  


- Leave your bike in a safe, lit place.

- try to park it next to a hayabusa, R1 or something worth many times a'savage. srsly

- Use the handlebar lock

- I use a BIG lock on my front disc, the normal kind, not the bike kind,
the tougher looking the better; hey, works for me.

- I use a bike chain on the front and one on the back, the glorified
bicycle thick wire kind; tie if possible to a post or fence or something.

- Then, where the clutch starter was, now there is a kind-of-hidden
switch, you can't see it unless you look, I did this mod when the
clutch-lever-sensor failed all on it;s own, so basically nobody can
start the bike but me is switch is in the "off" position.

- Finally I use a presence alarm, meaning if the control is not 30ft from
the bike, the bike wont start,  this keychain thingie goes in your pocket,
not keychain, this is mostly in the case of a bikejacking since the electric
system will die and kill the bike 10 seconds after the bike is 30ft away from me.  


After months of daily practice, all this takes me about 10 seconds total
to take off and put in my backpack but it must look a mess to any
thieve and hopefully will focus on another, easier bike near by.

Good luck









CRASHES

Least Likely to be Crashed
# 1. Yamaha Virago Series
# 2. Honda Rebel Series
# 3. Suzuki Savage
# 4. Harley-Davidson FXR
# 5. BMW R1200C

Most Likely to be Crashed
# 1. Suzuki GSX-R Series
# 2. Kawasaki Ninja Series
# 3. Suzuki TLR
# 4. Yamaha YZF Series
# 5. Honda CBR Series

THEFTS

Least Likely to be Stolen
# 1. Suzuki Savage
# 2. BMW R1200C
# 3. Honda Rebel Series
# 4. Honda Shadow Series
# 5. Yamaha V-Star

Most Likely to be Stolen
# 1. Suzuki GSX-R Series
# 2. Yamaha YZF Series
# 3. Honda CBR Series
# 4. Suzuki Hayabusa
# 5. Kawasaki Ninja Series

Staplebox wrote on 07/03/09 at 22:07:30:


Yes, if at all possible, chaining two wheelers to an immovable object is the way to go in the city.  Of course it's not always possible.  I'm lucky to be one of the few New Yorkers who can park on my property - I have a brownstone (row house), and I pull my bike right up to my front window, and chain it to the window bars.  Window bars are probably foreign to a lot of places in the country too, but a necessity for big city dwellers, usually just at street level.

I agree with Stimpy, "Just make it hard and unattractive for them,
thieves are LAZY," and even the hard working ones want the item that is both quickest to steal and most lucrative to re-sell.

Its the same when I put my skis in the rack at the ski area...mine aren't the latest & greatest make & model (although they're just right for me).  I put them next to a pair of the most popular model and go in for lunch without a worry.  Park your Savage next to a Hayabusa or GSX-R.

In the town where I live I consider myself doing well if I remember to take the key out of the ignition switch.