Topic: Gone in 16 seconds or less

[ElCheapo]

I am not writing this to show how easy it can be done, but rather as a PSA to let you know it can be done very easily.

It might surprise many vintage bike owners to know how fast their bike can be stolen. It horrified me how easy this was to do when I tried. Even with the steering lock engaged it still can be easily stolen. The ignition lock and steering lock take less than the most basic lock picking skills to open (around 6 seconds a lock). With these basic lock picking skills your bike can be stolen in less than 15 seconds with homemade tools.

What can we do? First we can cross drill the front rotor and use a common trailer lock through the rotor holes preventing it from turning, secondly if we don’t want to drill our front rotor for purist reasons we can use a simple large padlock on the rear sprocket and lock the chain to the sprocket. With the trailer lock it is very hard to snip the lock off with a bolt cutter unlike the rear padlock. As a matter of fact it is near impossible to remove without making a scene. Yes it can be picked also, however a thief is not liable to even try if they must pick multiple locks to obtain the prize. Barrel key style locks are best as they require different tools to open each lock. Barrel (vending machine style) locks are highly advanced and require a special expensive tool to open.

The best bet is to set up at least two locking systems besides the ignition lock. For instance either front or rear wheel locked and the steering locked.
I will show this in a video next week and steal my own bike on camera in record time. I have only opened my ignition twice before with a lock pick. SO while I have experience with this lock I can tell you it is no harder to open than a common riding lawnmower lock.  I also will not be using the steering lock as it is not functional like a great many of these locks in the wild. Either way you will see just how fast this can be done without making a scene in anyway.

Link to the video
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=67452.0

[mlinder]

I remove the starter button and the key, and put in a series of toggle switches that must be in the correct positions in order to kickstart it.

Vintage bikes are incredibly easy to start without a key.

[ElCheapo]

I remove the starter button and the key, and put in a series of toggle switches that must be in the correct positions in order to kickstart it.

Vintage bikes are incredibly easy to start without a key.

Might I mention it can still be pushed away?

[mlinder]

Yep.

[myhondas]

I used to put a heavy plastic coated chain through the rear wheel and over the frame and use the fork lock. Never had a problem. But nowadays, I pretty much don't let it out of my sight, and Dan Wesson looks after it for me also.

[Duke McDukiedook]

Look, you can lock and alarm away to your heart's content with your house, car, boat, moto.

But at the end of the day if the thief is good enough and wants your #$%* bad enough, he's going to take it- no matter what you do.

All this locking stuff sounds like a pain, but if you are forced to park on the wrong side of the street these are things to consider.

[tramp]

do what i do
always keep the bike real dirty
when you get off the bike kick it and call it dirty names' you can make up with her later on
if you plan on staying a while pour some oil under the bike

[Raul CB750K1]

Hey Tom, long time no see. Hope all is well.




From what I've heard, a leg kick in the handlebar will break any steering lock.




Then, you don't need any picking skill, but just an screwdriver. Remove the headlight. In the headlight shell, where all the wiring goes, is the block connector of the ignition key -in bikes with ignition key in the upper yoke. If you have your homework made, by then you would already know which cables to short. You may even save you some time if you have a block connector ready made. Unplug the ignition key connector, and plug the one you have made with the short in the ignition, and off you go.


I have seen U-locks removed in a matter of seconds. A car scissor-jack will break it an a matter of seconds. Cable ties are useless to, for $20 you can buy cable-cutting pliers. And chains are also cut in seconds with a rod-cutter. Just go buy a chain by the bulk and see how much does it take them to cut it: the same time will it cost to cut the chain when on the bike.

Trailer locks seem to me the best option, if only because the doesn't provide good leverage to either cut them, force them open or pick them.

[ElCheapo]

Hey Tom, long time no see. Hope all is well.




From what I've heard, a leg kick in the handlebar will break any steering lock.




Then, you don't need any picking skill, but just an screwdriver. Remove the headlight. In the headlight shell, where all the wiring goes, is the block connector of the ignition key -in bikes with ignition key in the upper yoke. If you have your homework made, by then you would already know which cables to short. You may even save you some time if you have a block connector ready made. Unplug the ignition key connector, and plug the one you have made with the short in the ignition, and off you go.


I have seen U-locks removed in a matter of seconds. A car scissor-jack will break it an a matter of seconds. Cable ties are useless to, for $20 you can buy cable-cutting pliers. And chains are also cut in seconds with a rod-cutter. Just go buy a chain by the bulk and see how much does it take them to cut it: the same time will it cost to cut the chain when on the bike.

Trailer locks seem to me the best option, if only because the doesn't provide good leverage to either cut them, force them open or pick them.

All is good or at least I can not complain, well maybe I can but it will do no good. I agree that the trailer lock with a drilled rotor is the way to go. If you get one with a barrel key you really put a wrench in the works as they will never expect that. I keep in mind that they are going after these older bikes because they are an easy target unlike the Harley's with the new barrel key sets, not that they are not stolen also. But they are not easy targets.

Back to be a sane member of this community. All done with the arguing.

[Retro Rocket]

Hey Tom, long time no see. Hope all is well.




From what I've heard, a leg kick in the handlebar will break any steering lock.




Then, you don't need any picking skill, but just an screwdriver. Remove the headlight. In the headlight shell, where all the wiring goes, is the block connector of the ignition key -in bikes with ignition key in the upper yoke. If you have your homework made, by then you would already know which cables to short. You may even save you some time if you have a block connector ready made. Unplug the ignition key connector, and plug the one you have made with the short in the ignition, and off you go.


I have seen U-locks removed in a matter of seconds. A car scissor-jack will break it an a matter of seconds. Cable ties are useless to, for $20 you can buy cable-cutting pliers. And chains are also cut in seconds with a rod-cutter. Just go buy a chain by the bulk and see how much does it take them to cut it: the same time will it cost to cut the chain when on the bike.

Trailer locks seem to me the best option, if only because the doesn't provide good leverage to either cut them, force them open or pick them.

Like Raul says,the steering lock is easily broken in less than 6 seconds and if it is a K series bike, all you need is the lining from a cigarette packet and put it over the old fuses and bingo, everything works, now this bypasses the alternator but the bike can be ridden without lights for about 20+ minutes, this all can be done in under 10 seconds.........

Mick

[Honda?]

I pulled the guts out of my ignition barrel so pretty much anything will start my bike...





It's all cool tho.

[Nikkisixx]

There was a group a few years ago that had a cube van with a hoist that stole hard to steal Harleys.  Like y'all said: if a resourceful person wants it more than the owner it is as good as gone.

I wonder what happens to most of the stolen vintage bikes?  eBay parts? Beat_the_system_titles.com to replace the "lost" title?

[ElCheapo]

There was a group a few years ago that had a cube van with a hoist that stole hard to steal Harleys.  Like y'all said: if a resourceful person wants it more than the owner it is as good as gone.

I wonder what happens to most of the stolen vintage bikes?  eBay parts? Beat_the_system_titles.com to replace the "lost" title?

Does make one wonder. My point I guess was to stop the casual thief. The hard core thieves - well nothing will stop them

[Roach Carver]

cloaking device.

[Shenanigans]

I am seriously paranoid sometimes when it comes to my bike. I think a good line of defense is not the biggest lock but to give them the unexpected. If things are not going smoothly as planned for them they are more likely to give up and get out of there.

Its a lot of work but...

Leave the easy to see stock ignition switch on and put the real key switch somewhere else. That way they will waste their time messing with that and get no where. I have always wanted to wire in a horn to a dummy ignition switch so if it ever gets turned on the horn blows.  Put a lock on it somewhere that's out of sight. If think they can just roll it away and go to try and all of a sudden it stops then all of a sudden its not going as planned and they might get spooked and leave. Sometimes when I was on road trips I would get one of those pull apart fire crackers with the strings on each end and tie one end to my spokes and the other around the brake stay arm so if the bike was rolled all of a sudden BANG. In hopes that it would wake me up. I think it is much more likely that these older bikes would be rolled or carried off than ridden.

Best way is to kick your girlfriend out and let the bike move into the house. 

[Industrial Cafe]

there's always this-

[ElCheapo]

there's always this-

I got the chain figured out, just how do you carry the clown?

[Industrial Cafe]

he's collapsible, like an umbrella.

[coldright]

Karma lock, works like a charm.

[Duke McDukiedook]

And if they unlock that do they find their Dharma?

[Terry in Australia]

You can buy crappy bike alarms with movement detection switches that also let out an ear piercing scream if someone tries to move your bike, but the trick is to wire it to a home-made dog sh1t bomb, so that when they try to either stand it up or roll it forward, that innocent looking package strapped to your pack rack, rear fender etc suddenly turns into a crapp filled claymore mine that coats anyone, in the blast radius with a nice wet coating of whatever your pooch was digesting a couple of days ago.

If anyone sets the thing off, not only will they be coated in shiite, but so will everyone around them, and those innocent bystanders will be so p1ssed off with the thief, that they'll probably beat him to death on the spot. Sure, you might get a little poop on your pride and joy, but as Stephen King would say, "Sh1t washes off".

[Retro Rocket]

You can buy crappy bike alarms with movement detection switches that also let out an ear piercing scream if someone tries to move your bike, but the trick is to wire it to a home-made dog sh1t bomb, so that when they try to either stand it up or roll it forward, that innocent looking package strapped to your pack rack, rear fender etc suddenly turns into a crapp filled claymore mine that coats anyone, in the blast radius with a nice wet coating of whatever your pooch was digesting a couple of days ago.

If anyone sets the thing off, not only will they be coated in shiite, but so will everyone around them, and those innocent bystanders will be so p1ssed off with the thief, that they'll probably beat him to death on the spot. Sure, you might get a little poop on your pride and joy, but as Stephen King would say, "Sh1t washes off".

What a load of #$%*....

I was trying to read this to the misses and couldn't do it in one go......got a good laugh out of that mate....

Mick

[paulages]

where do all these "6 seconds..," "10 seconds...," etc come from? I'd like to see a very skilled honda mechanic pull a headlight, unclip the proper connectors, reconnect, and start in under a minute even. go! youtube it! 

[medic09]

Bike cover.  Takes an extra few seconds.  Plus you can't see if what's underneath is really worth the effort.  Will deter some, not all.

[kghost]

Problem with rotor locks?

Theres only 4 nuts holding the wheel on.....even faster than a headlight bucket rewire..

Any bike with a center stand could have the front wheel replaced in under a minute.