Nobody wants their pride and joy taken away from them, whether that’s a push bike, a car or a motorbike. Protecting your investment is essential when there are those out there who seek to part you from your most prized possessions. Due to their smaller size, resale and reuse value, bikes remain a popular target for thieves. While no method is 100% effective, what you want to achieve is to make your bike so tough to steal that the time and effort outweighs the potential profit from stealing it. Thankfully, there are loads of ways to keep your bike safe.

• Think carefully about where you park your bike. Visibility is what draws potential thieves to your possessions so it’s best not to leave an uncovered motorbike parked outside your home. Always put it away in a shed or garage. If you’ve nowhere to store the bike, hide it from view with a loose cover, adding another cover on top to disguise the shape. Always try to park in areas with lots of passing traffic or pedestrians. If this isn’t possible, try to position your bike in front of a security camera.
• Locking your bike to an object like a streetlamp makes it harder to steal. When travelling with others, locking bikes together is another effective deterrent. Make sure any locks or security cables are nice and tight so they’re harder to cut. A combination of locks is even more effective, such as D locks, chain locks and disc locks.
• Make use of anti-theft devices. Most motorcycle manufacturers offer alarms similar to those found on cars. Whilst alarms will never be 100% effective at preventing theft, they do offer an additional line of defence and might be enough to make a thief think twice.
• GPS tracking systems can also deter thieves and even just a sticker stating that you have this, or an alarm system might be enough to make a thief pass by your bike untouched. While GPS systems are only useful after a bike has been stolen, some systems offer a movement alert so if you’re close enough you could get to your bike as soon as someone tries to take it.
• Another weapon in your anti-theft arsenal is an ignition lock or disguised kill switch. An added bonus is that such devices can qualify you for a discount on your insurance. Check out motorcycle customisation options at a specialist bike garage.
• Having a theft plan is also a good idea. Keep all your papers relating to the bike about your person and not stored anywhere on the bike. That way, if you come back to find it’s been stolen, you have all the necessary information to report it stolen immediately.
• Marking your bike is another method that can make it easier for a stolen bike to be returned to you. Ultra violet pens are a cheap and easy way to mark your tank with your postcode, name or telephone number.
• Using Alpha Dots are even better as once you’ve attached your unique identification number it’s almost impossible to remove. This is enough to deter most thieves as the police can convict purely on evidence of the Alpha Dot.