I am a tree surgeon when not messing around with motorbikes so have a lot of the world's most nickable kit and can thoroughly recommend a huge Rottweiler. I have had two.

My Rotty scares the pants off anything in a white van. Nobody comes into the property without their running trainers on.

The trip wire and black powder cartridge is good, but I too set them off too regularly for comfort!

email (option): sacombsashtrees@hotmail.com

my shed a smallish but strong padlock on the outside as not to attract people a big padlock says there is something good in there the doors are made of two 2mm thick ply 4 heavy duty hinges per door sandwiched between the ply sheets strips of 2x1 screwed to to out side and angle iron bolted down the edges of the door chain on the door to the wall you can only open the door a small way to unlock the padlock to get the door fully open each bike is chained to ground anchours each bike is seperately chained to each other handle bars removed clamps taken indoors have you tried pushing a bike without handle bars someone i know has a i bar gate across the inside of his garage about waist height you would have to lift the bike over this gate

email (option): roger.beck@node6.com

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

While the leccy stuf is good & fun if you are into it, I run "open house" .
People come at all times of the day & night to borrow tools or parts.
Makes it hard for tea leaves to work out when to drop by.
A few stories down the pub about the "old patch wearing days " does a lot to convince the locals that you are not one to be fooled with.

A neighbour plastered his front & back door with warrants & summonses for violent offences ( mostly fake ) then added a few "blood stains" on the wall & path . Not even the God botheres were game to go inside his gate.

However it is funny about HD riders, a lot of them would happily buy a custom part that knew was from a "mates" stolen bike.

email (option): wariron@tpg.com.au

I agree with the 'not leaving anything on view' school of thought, and putting your bike away out of sight immediately. I didn't use to think that way but in recent years I think it has paid off. I have a car port at the side of my house/front of my garage and it is a good spot for working on stuff. The drawback is that any ne'er do wells going up and down the road can see what I have got. I solved this by fitting a 'false door' part way along the carport. This is basically a canvas screen that hangs from a cross bar.It is painted in such a way that from the road it looks like a garage door, so to all intents and purposes my garage is always closed. My mate over the back hedge had his pride and joy nicked from inside his locked garage while he slept. They used material found in the garage to stuff around the bike alarm and deaden it. They squirted window fitting foam inside the garage/house alarm box that cut that out. How they got up to that is still a mystery. He lives at the end of a cul de sac and no-one passing the end of it can see his property so it had to be someone who knew him or, more likely, some scrote who followed him home. But he did use to leave it out after use and when he had cleaned it etc. He can't do that now. I live on a main road/bus route so have to be doubly careful. Another mate had his bike nicked in broad daylight while he was out at work. It was across the far end of his garage blocked in by his wife's car. They had to rear it up on end and wheel it around the car and then out of the side snicket door. If they come for your bike you have to make it as difficult as possible as there are some very determined, resourceful, well prepared crooks out there. Some years back at a different address I heard thieves going in to my garage in the night. I had deliberately resisted the temptation to oil the incredibly squeaky noisey up and over door just for this reason, and I'm glad I did. They had silently entered and moved two (alarmed)cars in order to gain access to the garage. They knew what they were after (my Harley) and a couple of cars seemingly of no interest. I dont have a Doberman but I do have a machete. I reckon anything you can do to protect your investment is money well spent, if your circumstances require it. Good shout Danny.

email (option): cruiserchooser@hotmail.co.uk

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.

email (option): warbikes@gmail.com

Ten years ago bike theft around Banbury had reached unbearable levels. Until Aprillia supplied a bike for bait, Tracker supplied and fitted one of their tracking devises to it, then the local Aprillia dealer parked it outside his home for a few nights before it was stolen. The tracker guided the police to the thieves lair where they were arrested. It was a local girl feeding the thieves with information as to where bikes were owned/ parked/ garaged. She seemed a nice normal local village girl, but you never know the intensions of the people watching you which is why I say keep them hidden.
Even with all the work done for them the police were reluctant to retrieve the Aprillia and prosecute the thieves as they said it was 'entrapment'.
I do like the idea of taking handle bar clamps off though.
One guy was washing his bike outside his house, he went in to fill his bucket with clean water. When he came out the bike was gone.

email (option): Gasboy@btinternet.com

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

Good idea Danny but keeping it charged up might be a problem.

email (option): horror@blueyonder.co.uk

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

Hi all,

Here you can find GPS trackers for less than £20.
Cannot say I tried it though.
Price include international postage, but it does take its time getting there.

http://dx.com/s/gps+tracker

There is a very good CCTV application/software for PC, which is called: “Zone trigger”
Or “Webcam Zone Trigger” which is free for few weeks for test,
Then you can buy license cheap via PayPal.

It lets you to use USB web cameras, (The regular PC chat kind or better. I used a Microsoft HD),
IP cameras, coaxial attached camera or others, and connect few of them, not only 1-2.
You can chose “Triggering zones”, you can chose the sensitivity and coverage of each zone,
Chose to take photos or a short clip when triggered and so on.
Every clip and photo has Date and time stamp.
The software also lets you hook up a microphone, or in my case, I used the one imbedded in the web cam.- Worked great.

A crazy neighbor was throwing trash in to my sidecar daily, and this is how I found him.

Later, I hanged it above my door, and find out that this same maniac was nicking my newspaper from the threshold,
Opened the electricity fuse box which is outside my door and disconnect me at 04:00 am
(you can actually see him putting his hand in, and the record terminates. I wish he was shocked to coal)

Today I do not see him around much, (the neighbor) and when I do, he is led by his wife.
Apparently he did mark me as a target, but it is a kind of a mental issue or dementia.

A smart feller told me once that “Locks are against honest people”
Meaning that if a thieve sets his mind to it, anything can be stolen,
But yet- I do believe it is a very good means to delay or to make someone leave your bike all together if the bother is too high..

Noam.

email (option): noam10@gmail.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!