Look, I've talked about this before on this forum, but it's always worth reminding everyone.
Have just bought a new CCTV set-up that monitors my home and garage. I hate to recommend any firms unless I've got long experience with their product, but this one's from Swann, and it looks to be very good.
It's a two camera colour system, has pretty good daytime resolution, has VERY good infra red night vision (will see into pitch black areas, or near pitch black, with ease), and is motion sensitive (Tip: lower the sensitivity for night work. You'll be amazed at how much dust is out there and gets picked up which triggers the sensors).
The hard drive is 500gb and can last for around a month if you use the motion sensitive feature. Also, you can digitally zoom in (at lower quality), or select "hot spots" or "blind spots", and you can view it over the internet or on a smartphone (still trying to sort this feature out). That means you can be sat in a field at a bike show and watch your garage (and I think email alerts are possible - but I've got to check this out).
It does take a little head scratching, but anyone with half a brain can figure it out. Even Norton owners.
(Just kidding, of course).
The set up cost me £200 from Maplin. You can plug it into a TV with a scart adapter (not supplied - although there is another connector for the front of my TV), or it will allow most computer monitors to plug right in to the back (one of the blue multi-pin monitor thingies).
This device is a MUST for anyone with anything to lose. It sits there quietly watching and recording, and will alert me to unwanted guests.
Cleverly, it actually records BEFORE a motion-detected incident happens. The magic is that it's permanently recording a thirty second loop (or whatever) and it includes this advance footage whenever the motion detector is triggered, so it catches all the action before, during and after your bike is wheeled away (so you can enjoy every second of it).
Please take this seriously before some bastard has it away with your wheels.
Five years ago this would have cost £2000 or more. But if you wait another five years for the price to drop further, it could end up costing you more.
I am not employed by Swann, but if they want to cross my palm with silver, my fingers will happily curl around their coin.
email (option): dannydefazio@sumpmagazine.com
Sorry to disappoint Danny but this particular Norton owner doesn't have and doesn't want a smart phone, would rather sit in the garage with a cup of tea and a packet of Hobnobs than watch his bike on the internet...and has completely given up watching television now that we've gone dig-it-all and I'm expected to arse around with all that gubbins.
I've got one of those infra-red cat scarers to keep next door's shitting murderer out of my runner beans and I can't even get that set up properly and the whole street can hear its inaudible tone so what chance would I have with a camera ?
I have a fairly good alarm system on my workshops which would wake up the dead when it goes off...(that could be a problem as I live next to the village graveyard)...I also live in an area with one of the lowest crime rates in the country...
Unfortunately or maybe fortunately , I don't have either a smart phone or a TV, so this might be a non starter for me...However, if you live in a scallywag infested area of bandit territory (a city) I would think something like this would be a good investment to protect your loved ones (the bikes that is)... ..It would probably make your insurance company happier as well....Ian
email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com
It sounds just the job Danny, but does this system actually alert you to a threat or just film them pinching your stuff? If it's the latter, you've then got to rely on the Police taking things seriously and I'm not going to get drawn into that! 
Hi Bill, I've just checked, and it does ACTIVELY alert you to a threat, so you can call the coppers or a neighbour if you're away from home. But remember this, if you put a camera inside your garage pointing at the door, it will film the thieves to enable them to be identified later. Alternately, if you stick a big sign on the wall saying: CONGRATULATIONS! YOUR PICTURE IS NOW UPLOADED TO MY WEBSITE AND THE COPPERS ARE ON THE WAY they just might leave poste haste and empty handed.
Note to Rik. I'm not sure I have a smartphone either. Mine's a pretty stupid phone. But I'll upgrade sooner or later. However, you don't need to use all the features. Conceivably, you could send an email notification to this website, so when you're down the pub and your bike is getting nicked, we can all watch it live and say; "Hey, I bet he wishes he had a smart phone now."
More seriously, the CCTV simply protects your investment, and if you've got a lot of bikes (like Ron), it makes even more sense.
If your garage catches fire, by the way, the camera will probably notice it too. It will detect smoke if the sensitivity is set high enough. But you'd probably have to have the camera inside the garage where it won't be disturbed by atmospheric stuff and wind blown leaves, etc.
Or you can just admire your bike on your TV instead of watching the usual rubbish (probably not such a desirable idea for Norton owners).
Note to Ian: Actually, it's often the country bikers in remote areas who are more at risk. There are a lot of people here who can see my garage (actually, two garages). It's conceivable that at least one might notice something and alert me. But I can't rely on that, so I have to look after my own interests. It's also conceivable that one of them will try and rip me off some day, in which case I'll be ready.
email (option): dannydefazio@sumpmagazine.com
Funnily enough you are right about the risk in rural areas Danny...though it doesn't seem to happen much here.. The Tea Leaves come out from the towns because they know people in rural areas are more lax about security...
Years ago I didn't usually lock my door or shut the windows when I went out...(Having two Dobermans helped me feel good about security as well though!!)...
Now times have moved on... and I have a soppy border collie, so I'm a bit more careful now....hence the alarm system.
This problem is bound to worsen in the long term as we busily produce generations of kids with no real job prospects and the belief that it's OK to steal to get what you need....Ian
email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com
Ian, quite so. But also, it's a sad fact that it's often bikers ripping off bikers, and all too often people you know and trust.
I was privy to an incident many years ago when I helped recover a stolen Harley (on the Q.T). When we "collected" the bike, it had a numberplate on the back that we recognised; not a COPY of the numberplate, but the ACTUAL numberplate from a so-called friend's bike.
Clearly, he'd nicked his mate's Harley and had ridden it away with his numberplate on the rear, safe in the knowledge that if he was stopped by the coppers, they wouldn't know one Harley from another (even though the two models were very different). I've known of similar things. We all have, I should think.
The point is, ten or fifteen years ago, most WW2 bikes were hardly worth the effort nicking. Not so today. Why, just think how much Ron's worth?
Nowadays, people are desperate. They nick manhole covers, park gates, rare sculptures - and all for scrap. CCTV isn't the only answer, of course. It's just another string for your bow (or another cartridge for your shotgun down in Devon, no doubt).
email (option): dannydefazio@sumpmagazine.com
When I first moved here 33 years ago I was talking to someone outside my house and a chap walked past us...After he had passed the old boy I was talking to said do you know who that was?...I sad 'No, I don't'...
He replied..'That's Dave the burglar..but you needn't worry, he goes pinching elsewhere as everyone knows him round here'... ...Ian
email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com
I used to have a trip wire across my garage door, going to a shotgun cartridge. The trouble with this is it's me that goes in and out the garage most, and yes, one day quickly going out to the garage to get something and I felt the wire on my foot followed by the words "OH F**K" as the cartridge went off. Luckily I'd taken the shot out of it, but my ears were ringing for hours
Reminded me of when I was in NAM
email (option): horror@blueyonder.co.uk
There were pickpockets at Stafford last year..approx. 15 people got nailed...one for £6,000..or at least that's how many reported it. They caught the lookout man but not the thieves or the money...
Pat..Rottwielers were bred as cattle dogs..They do look the part and can be a bit scary...Next time you should try a Doberman though...Bred as a guard dog, very intelligent, no fear, a distinct dislike of strangers, very protective of the family and property and thier natural response to a threat is to attack....A Copper stopped his car one night to advise my missus it wasn't a good idea to be out alone at night...Luckily he didn't get out and was able to get away as my Doberman reappeared from running around and launched through the open car window....He took it pretty well and after the dog was removed agreed she would 'probably be alright'... ...Ian
email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com
The Australia Cattle Dog is one of the best for this caper,had a couple over the years, no one would ever come into the house yard if I was`nt home.Just rescued a Red Cattle/Dingo Cross about 14mts old from the council.turning out a great dog very smart,loyal and a great guard dog.
I've often wondered if you could effectively make your own tracker device for around £20. Or less. Not sure if I've mentioned this before, but here goes.
It works like this:
Buy a cheap mobile phone.
Get a free SIM card.
Hide the mobile phone on the bike (especially when in a high risk location).
The police can triangulate a mobile phone within a few tens of metres (if they can be bothered). The mobile phone always knows where it is. If you've got an idea of who's nicked the bike, you could even try calling the phone in the small hours and listening for it. Sounds unlikely, but it might work.
You could even try negoitiating with the thieves when they answer the phone. Sounds even more unlikely, but stranger things have happened.
Shame that we have to think like this, but c'est la vie.
Mobile phones are extremely small these days. They could fit in a few places around a bike (under the tank or mudguard). Standby time might be 3-4 days. Or more. For £20, it might be worth considering.
email (option): dannydefazio@sumpmagazine.com
I'm not so interested in getting back whatever is left after some 'waster' has had a go at it..The focus should be mainly on how to stop them getting it in the first place....Ian
email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com
Note to Horror: You don't need to worry about keeping it charged. I was thinking that you'd only use a mobile phone in high risk situations. But maybe some smart guy out there can figure out how to hide a charger on the bike too. Some of these are pretty small. Phone require less than 12-volts, don't they?
Note to Ian: Stopping the bike getting nicked is what the camera is all about. But security is, of course, always a combination of things. Ultimately, a very good lock and keeping the bike out of sight is paramount. Varying your routine helps, especially if you're regularly riding it to work or something and parking in the same spot (big mistake).
But if the bike does go missing, the jury-rigged mobile phone idea might at least help with recovery. The phone doesn't need to keep broadcasting its location. If your bike is nicked at midday, for instance, chances are that the bike would have reach its destination by the small hours. You just need to know where it is at that time. Maybe it helps if you turn down the phone's volume and simply call it. The mobile phone account provider will know where it is. give or take a few tens of metres. If it's a BSA M20, you can look for the oil stains.
Then it's down to Old Bill to go and fetch it and nick the bastards.
P.S. Maybe you can train your dog to pick up that unique smell of your favourite engine or gearbox oil.
email (option): dannydefazio@sumpmagazine.com
Hi Danny, you can get vehicle trackers that do all the things you're talking about. They send you a text with the vehicles location and you can ring the device (which doesn't ring out loud) and listen to the people who have the vehicle without them knowing. It works on a mobile phone SIM card. A quick search on ebay and I've found this one.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Realtime-Mini-Personal-GPS-Tracker-GSM-Car-Tracking-Spy-Bug-/230674079354?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item35b53f1e7a
I've noticed that some of these have an annual or monthly fee because a call centre is involved, but I can't see anything like that on this one. A message to the seller will clarify.
It can also be use as a personal tracker ie, young kids away for the day, you just put it in there pocket and know where they are at any time.
You can even track in other countries, sounds good
email (option): horror@blueyonder.co.uk
Thanks, Horror. I know about this system. I was just thinking of a cheapskate way of doing it.
email (option): dannydefazio@sumpmagazine.com
Never mind all this technology, in case of bike thieving scum, I've got a dog, a 12 bore and the farmer less than a mile away owns 500 hungry pigs and he owes me a favour!