Motorcycle safety meeting East Sussex start 2020

Hello Everyone, my name is Michael-John.

I'm a director of bikeAngel we specialise in anti-theft technology, we are organizing a meeting in Brighton in the next few months, to bring together couriers, riders and industry professionals to talk about how we can work together to combat the current rise in motorcycle thefts locally and nationwide. The local news (argus) will be there, and were looking for riders to share stories of their bikes being stolen and the major hazards bikers faced when on the road. If your interested in attending you can e-mail me for updates, it would be great for people to share their experiences on this thread too, any help would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks and stay safe people.

MJ Roberts
mj@bikeangel.co.uk
07933239421

 

Greetings and welcome the the forum.
You might want to think about organising it to coincide with the london to brighton scooter rally if one takes place this year, then you've got a captive audience so to speak.
On a theft perspective though, plenty of past and present members here have had their scooters stolen or attempted.
But there is only so much one can do with something that is light enough to be picked up and thrown into a van in seconds.
Add into that the knife and acid culture that is prevailant in the big cities and what decision do you come to personally?
All anyone will get from the authorities is a crime number for the insurance.
Yes you can code the locks to the ecu, but, as with cars, they'll just break into your house, smack the s***e out of you and take the keys.
You fight back, You are the one who will get imprisoned.

 

Hello stevep thank you for your insight, That is a great idea about the brighton scooter rally something i had completely overlooked. And yes i completely agree I've seen first hand how quickly someone can steal a bike especially when they have the option to throw it in the back of a van, We had a long think about what can be do about that, short of giving everyone a ground anchor, we actually have an accelerometer fitted to our flagship security device StopMyEngine, setting off the alarm when it registers movement making it harder to steal. And yes you have to be damn unlucky to be attacked at knife point or with acid, the correct protective equipment is all i can think of in those areas where it happens the most, as i agree the authorities do next to nothing to help protect you. Unfortunately yes some instances of people being prosecuted for protecting themselves in their own home which is just insane, but i also think the media likes to focus on these stories misrepresenting ocations where people who deal with break-ins and end up chasing the thief off or apprehending them, are fine with nothing more than a shock to the system. But that does not change the fact the some people face these problems when they shouldnt have to.

have you ever had your bike stolen stevep? if so how?

 

Nope, never.
But then I am 6ft, broad shouldered, big handed and ex forces.
Not so tough these days as age, body damage and past youth (read into that perceived immortality) are catching me up, but I don't tend to back down from most situations. Even though I'd probably get a good kicking if it did go off
All of my bikes are alarmed, garaged, covered by multiple internal and external cctv cameras. You can't get within 100ft of my place without being caught on at least one camera.
The only exception to that is when we are touring. Then it's disc locks and chains at dawn, even in the hotel secure parking areas overnight.
Stopping at rest places during the rides, our bikes are always in view.
There is only so much you can do to secure any vehicle and the insurance will always look for a way to trip you up and deny the claim.
For instance, a friend of mine was renewing his insurance. Looking at the policy exclusions he noticed that if his bike was on his driveway, say he had just washed it, and someone came along and stole it off the drive while he was putting the washing stuff away, he wouldn't be covered.
Similarly, if he got back from a ride, went into the house to unlock the garage door from the inside and someone stole the bike while he was doing that, again, no cover.
Needless to say he cancelled that policy with great haste.

 

I won't get into to much detail. But theft is a bigger problem than alarms and immobilisers are going to solve.
I moved abroad and not had a bike stolen since.
Many times I've chased theives down the road with a machete held over my head, yet they would still be back a week later to try again.
You should advertise in the Facebook group "UK motorcycle theft protest" loads of members there.
And contact theystolemywheels on Facebook/Instagram