Tying it down

[RhinosoRoss]

I'm awaiting delivery of a Rocket (the only notable accessories being the alarm and a tall sissy bar) and I'm told by biker colleagues that I'll need to chain it to things because people will walk off with it... Sounds impressive, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to buy a chain and some kind of anchor for the garage.

The question is: If there is any point in tethering it, which chain and ground anchor should I buy? At work I'd probably have to attach it to a 12 inch diameter tree: sounds like a lot of expensive chain... I've got a list of "Thatcham approved" devices that make UK insurance cheaper, but there are literally hundreds of them!

Upon peering around the Rocket at the dealers, I couldn't actually see anywhere to thread a chain, and the dealer didn't help when I asked... I'm hoping that threading through the back wheel between the sissy bar and spring should be easy enough, though I'm guessing the exhausts will be hot... Is there a better way?

[Aussiebikerdave]

The best device that I have seen is the Australian made Taffynackles ground anchor. Taffynackles supply Harley-Davidson these days so you will find them in the Harley catalogue or at most Harley dealers.

There are now a few look-a-like products on the market some of which may be as good but the Taffynackles product has a machined "lid" that covers the dyna-bolt secured base so it is near impossible to tamper with. You attach a chain or other type of security cable to complete the set-up. Davo

[Hondax]

Not sure how a 700lb bike with steering locked is stolen. I guess you need a flatbed with ramp, a dolly for the locked front wheel and 3 buddies to push it up a ramp.

What's scary in the States is the abundance of Chinese Communist import bolt cutters, in red(what a surprise!) They are cheap, large and at every hardware, auto supply store, shopping mart, etc. I've never seen a chain that a four foot bolt cutter couldn't tackle. Sure the cutters were toast afterwords but the deed was accomplished.

The saying going; " make a thief look like a thief" A person cutting the chain off a bike is an attention getter.

Having said all of the above, it seems the alarm system would be a more than adequate deterrent.

How much does a GPS tracking system cost? That seems the ultimate is crime prevention.

Jeff

[dougl]

On 2006-02-06 07:13, Hondax wrote:
Not sure how a 700lb bike with steering locked is stolen.
Jeff

No kidding. More like 800 lbs. They'd need a freaking crane.

[RiderRocketman]

No way in hell any single thief is gonna make off with a locked Rocket without breaking his back. An alarm system with perimeter/shock alarm is usually plenty adequate to deter all but the pro-thief rings. Nothing is gonna be 100% protection, though. If they want it, they'll get it. Basically, they'll just have a handful of big burly guys lift the bike into a big van and be off in less than a minute with alarm sounding and all. A chain would only slow them down a few seconds.

Chain or disc locks are a pain to use and frankly are kinda dorky. You have to carry a heavy chain around everywhere and you can't always find a place to tether your bike to. Plus it's downright dangerous if you forget you locked up and try leaving.

A perimeter alarm though is also a good deterent against idiots that want to just "test ride" your bike while you're away - the inconsiderate dreamers I call "dry humpers". :razz:

I'm not sure if the Triumph accessory alarm has a perimeter sensor, but I'm sure it has a shock/tilt sensor and will disable ignition when triggered.

I use a full Aritronix Scorpio sr-i500 alarm system with pager and have been real happy with it the last two years. The full system has perimeter alarm, anti-hijack, shock/tilt sensors and of course the two-way pager that'll tell you whenever the alarm is triggered (if you're in signal range). The only thing I don't like about the Scorpio unit is there is no indication that your bike is armed besides the warning chirps and sirens. A flashing LED light would be nice to further deter theives. The Triumph alarm does have a warning LED in the tachometer housing.

[ This message was edited by: RiderRocketman on 2006-02-06 11:15 ]