The grey matter has been doing some worrying, plotting, scheming and has come up with a plan. You see, when you go away with the bike, and park it in front of some motel, the worry is that it will get nicked - even if locked - the thieves would really not give a fook who saw them take it, they really could not care less. The chances of them being stopped are absolutely zero, and the main concern is their obvious human rights. So - if they cannot see my bike in the first place, there is less chance of it being pinched - Google camouflaged Bike Covers and bingo this from Oxford - horray !! Now the worry is it being knocked over because so far two people who park either side of me claim not to have seen the bike at all when reversing and opening car doors. No damage, so far. But now worrying about it being bowled over by people who cannot see it ! Anyone had any experience of camo bike covers ? Probably have to be careful where it is parked, otherwise it will get knocked over !
I've got the same cover, I've had it a few years without mishap! Tho there were a couple of occasions where it was in a darkish corner of the works yard & some of lads coughed to nearly reversing into it with the vans
Thanks, good to know. Will have to be careful where it gets parked - amazed that someone could park almost right next to it and not see it. Maybe reversing sensors on cars will save the day !
So you cover a bike in a 'cammo' cover but have to put it somewhere so it can been seen so it isn't run over..... Just saying like Been all over Europe many times, never even take a lock.... Usually just plan hotels carefully or when I rock up somewhere they find you somewhere secure to park. Either that, just don't worry about it. IMHO - less likely to happen abroad then here tbh
To be honest I was never really worried that my old XT660 X, or V-Strom 650 were going to be targets for theft. But sportsbikes are different, they get stolen. I am told this is because they are used on track - used without number plates or broken down into spares - as others get crashed so there is a demand for spares. This is what I am told. What worries me is motels, hotels that are visible from the road - someone can just see that there is a CBR, without even looking for it - a phone call later and your bike is gone. Now if they drive past and they do not even see it, you stand a better chance of it being there in the morning. A few recent examples: Hotel Alfinden by 660 Mattie, on Flickr ibis by 660 Mattie, on Flickr Fasthotel by 660 Mattie, on Flickr Premiere Classe Hotel by 660 Mattie, on Flickr
Having travelled all over Europe by bike in the last 30 years I've tried most things, heavy chain and locks ( pita), disc locks, booking only hotels etc with secure parking ( even bigger pita) and for the last few years I've used an Abus alarm disc lock and a tatty 15 quid reflective cover. The cover can be rolled down into a small ball for stowage and when covering the bike totally hides what sort of bike it is. I've also owned a semi-custom made cover for years but nothing screams "expensive bike" more than fitted covers imho. Other than this I think " well, I've done what I can, the bikes insured" and don't get precious about it.
We are off next week, I always take cable locks , lock two bikes together and now we both have alarm disklocks, fingers crossed, not thought about bike covers yet
Thank you all for your comments, and I am probably getting worked up about nothing - overreacting !! However, I would reason that all motorcycle thefts have one thing in common - they are chosen by sight. People do not locate them by smell, or using the Force - they are not stolen by blind people. I would guess that sight is the single biggest enabler of motorcycle theft - it is seeing the bike that leads to theft, every single time. So it seems to me , that if you can make it "disappear" you have defeated the No 1 element of all motorcycle thefts. Granted, some bikes are taken from lockups, but sight is still the primary driver in choice of what to steal. But, as we have seen, making the bike "invisible" could lead to it being knocked over by accident - vans, or SUVs reversing - that kind of thing. So, get a visible disguise - like a cheap cover that is more visible but just says cheap bike, look elsewhere - or use a camo one, and be more careful where you park it so that it cannot be knocked over. There are probably equal argument for both kinds of cover. But, in these personal examples of parking a CBR outside motels and hotels, I will not be shaken from the idea in principle that some kind of motorcycle cover is a good idea. There are other smaller issues, like making sure it does not rub the paint off where it touches the bike, and it is something else to have to carry, but hey, on balance, probably still worth it to me.
