GPS Motorcycle Tracking

Reassembler wrote:

 > Buy a big chain for $50, keep $400.

Or buy a beater for $450, leave the keys in it, and sleep better at night.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: GPS Motorcycle Tracking 

James wrote:
 >
 > I'm a month or two away from moving my Suzuki sv650s up to Northern VA
 > and I'm told that motorcycle theft is pretty common where I live.
 > Have any of you had experience with any of the GPS tracking systems
 > that are on the market? Google turned up CycleTrak
 > [http://www.cycletrak.com/] for $450. Are there any other products or
 > do these guys rule the market?
 >
 > It's an expensive investment if it turns out to be a better door stop
 > than anti-theft/recovery device. Would I be better off with a wire
 > lock or disk wheel lock? If it works, it sounds like a great idea.

Have lived in No VA all my adult life. M/C theft in this area is typically not
a problem in neighborhoods of single family homes. If you plan to live in an
apartment, or townhouse w/o a garage, here is my advice, fwiw:

1. ALWAYS keep your bike covered when it is parked. ALWAYS, from day 1. An
ugly, faded, cheap-looking (but not torn) cover is best. Lock the cover to the
bike.

2. ALWAYS keep your bike locked with a good disk lock and either a hefty
flexible steel cable or U-bolt type lock. Don't bother with a chain unless it
is one of the chains specifically made to resist bolt cutters.

3. If there is a motorcycle parking area surrounded by a wall or a steel fence,
ALWAYS park your bike in that area, and lock the bike to a post, fence rail, or
some similar stationary object.

4. If there is no specific motorcycle area, park you bike in the SAME spot with
your car, and park your car in front of the bike, blocking it in. Park the car
as close as your physically can to the bike. At night (and preferably at all
times that you are at home) secure the bike to the car.

5. A horn or siren alarm is useless unless you can hear it go off from inside
your apartment. No one else in northern Virginia will give a damn about your
alarm going off except maybe to curse you for installing the thing. They will
certainly not intervene if someone is stealing your bike!

6. A remote beeper alarm that goes off in your pocket is better, as long as the
range allows it to go off inside your apartment.

7. Your SV650 is less of a target than a Harley or a late model big bore
Japanese sportbike. Still, they are popular to thieves who disassemble and sell
the parts to club racers (the SV650 is one of the most popular L/W twin
racebikes). Don't advertise the fact that you own a bike. Try not to regularly
leave and arrive on the bike at the same time. Try not to always park it in the
same place. Try to park it where you can see it from your window.

Good luck!

Tim<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: GPS Motorcycle Tracking 

 >From: bowman bowman.RemoveThis@montana.com

 >Or buy a beater for $450, leave the keys in it, and sleep better at night.

I asked one guy why he never washed his BMW. It looked like shit...

He said that he could park it in an alley, or at the beach, or wherever, and
nobody would bother it...

Another guy I know painted his brand new Yamaha sportbike with dark grey primer
because it was attracting too much attention at night in front of his apartment
building...

After he wrecked that bike, he bought another new sport bike, a Ninja, but he
didn't have it long enough to primer it, it got stolen immediately...

One of my friends used to park his Yamaha sportbike at the airport and go up to
the viewing area to watch the jetliners land and take off. He thought his bike
was safe, parked next to the guard shack. When he came back, the bike was
gone...

It seems that the best way to keep a nice bike for a long time is to keep it in
a garage, and never let it out of your sight when you do take it for a ride...<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: GPS Motorcycle Tracking 

Kaybearjr wrote:

 > It seems that the best way to keep a nice bike for a long time is to keep
 > it in a garage, and never let it out of your sight when you do take it for
 > a ride...

A friend of mine used to live on Mt Auburn St., right off of Harvard Square.
This is a very busy pedestrian area. So, one saturday, he's working on his
Healey 3000 and goes inside for a beer; so much for that car...

When I lived back east, I avoided popular models just for that reason. Even
that doesn't always work. The same friend had a Volvo sedan stolen after he
got sick of replacing high profile rides. Like they say, some people would
steal a red hot woodstove.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: GPS Motorcycle Tracking 

"James" <jaeaton.RemoveThis@vt.edu> wrote in message
news:515866.0312131859.19fe97e1@posting.google.com...
 > I'm a month or two away from moving my Suzuki sv650s up to Northern VA
 > and I'm told that motorcycle theft is pretty common where I live.
 > Have any of you had experience with any of the GPS tracking systems
 > that are on the market?

Unlike cars, stolen bikes are often taken away in the back of a van. That
would render GPS tracking useless.

Ken Ishiguro<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: GPS Motorcycle Tracking 

bowman <bowman.TakeThisOut@montana.com> writes:

 > Like they say, some people would steal a red hot woodstove.

And of course no one has yet answered the original poster's
question. Does the GPS alarm let you put the bastard in jail? (or other
forms of revenge... like on the little nigger kid that stole a friend's
Katana?)

-gc

--
Telescopic forks survive them all because while they're basically a
god-awful engineering concept they've been refined and developed to
the point where the damn things work - a bit like a Porsche 911.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: GPS Motorcycle Tracking 

Ken Ishiguro <k.ishSPAMFREE.DeleteThis@cox.net> wrote:

 > "James" <jaeaton.DeleteThis@vt.edu> wrote in message
 > news:515866.0312131859.19fe97e1@posting.google.com...
  > > I'm a month or two away from moving my Suzuki sv650s up to Northern VA
  > > and I'm told that motorcycle theft is pretty common where I live.
  > > Have any of you had experience with any of the GPS tracking systems
  > > that are on the market?
 >
 > Unlike cars, stolen bikes are often taken away in the back of a van. That
 > would render GPS tracking useless.
 >
Erm, why? It would show you where the van began and ended its journey,
for a start.


--
Trophy 1200 750SS CB400F CD200 ST70 YTC#3
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BOF#30 WUSS#5 "Worse than Timo" - Official<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: GPS Motorcycle Tracking 

 > Unlike cars, stolen bikes are often taken away in the back of a van. That
 > would render GPS tracking useless.
 >
 > Ken Ishiguro

From the promotional material for some systems, these products will
start tracking the moment the bike is tilted beyond a certian angle
(as it might be lifting it into a van). Also, CycleTrak claims that
their transmitter is powerful enough to be hidden underneath a seat or
descrete location so it may be powerful enough to transmit through a
van.

My main concern is all of these "maybe"s. This all sounds plausible
and in theory it works, but I'd like to know if anyone has had first
hand experience with these systems or with their companies in general.

By the way, thanks Tim for the advice on securing the bike. Indeed I
do live in an apartment so that info will come in handy.

-James<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: GPS Motorcycle Tracking 

gcash <gcash DeleteThis @cfl.rr.com> wrote:

 >bowman <bowman DeleteThis @montana.com> writes:
 >
  >> Like they say, some people would steal a red hot woodstove.
 >
 >And of course no one has yet answered the original poster's
 >question. Does the GPS alarm let you put the bastard in jail? (or other
 >forms of revenge... like on the little nigger kid that stole a friend's
 >Katana?)

racist cunt.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: GPS Motorcycle Tracking 

"The Older Gentleman" <chateauSPAMKILL.murray.RemoveThis@dsl.pipex.com> wrote in
message news:1g5zzu4.1fe2bm2ke0iyaN%chateauSPAMKILL.murray@dsl.pipex.com...
 > Ken Ishiguro <k.ishSPAMFREE.RemoveThis@cox.net> wrote:
 >
  > > "James" <jaeaton.RemoveThis@vt.edu> wrote in message
  > > news:515866.0312131859.19fe97e1@posting.google.com...
   > > > I'm a month or two away from moving my Suzuki sv650s up to Northern VA
   > > > and I'm told that motorcycle theft is pretty common where I live.
   > > > Have any of you had experience with any of the GPS tracking systems
   > > > that are on the market?
  > >
  > > Unlike cars, stolen bikes are often taken away in the back of a van.
That
  > > would render GPS tracking useless.
  > >
 > Erm, why? It would show you where the van began and ended its journey,
 > for a start.
 >
I think he means because the tracking device would render useless inside a
van. The metal casing would not allow a signal.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: GPS Motorcycle Tracking 

SBH <MI_Intruder RemoveThis @softhome.net> wrote:

 > "The Older Gentleman" <chateauSPAMKILL.murray RemoveThis @dsl.pipex.com> wrote in
 > message news:1g5zzu4.1fe2bm2ke0iyaN%chateauSPAMKILL.murray@dsl.pipex.com...
  > > Ken Ishiguro <k.ishSPAMFREE RemoveThis @cox.net> wrote:
  > >
   > > > "James" <jaeaton RemoveThis @vt.edu> wrote in message
   > > > news:515866.0312131859.19fe97e1@posting.google.com...
   > > > > I'm a month or two away from moving my Suzuki sv650s up to Northern VA
   > > > > and I'm told that motorcycle theft is pretty common where I live.
   > > > > Have any of you had experience with any of the GPS tracking systems
   > > > > that are on the market?
   > > >
   > > > Unlike cars, stolen bikes are often taken away in the back of a van.
 > That
   > > > would render GPS tracking useless.
   > > >
  > > Erm, why? It would show you where the van began and ended its journey,
  > > for a start.
  > >
 > I think he means because the tracking device would render useless inside a
 > van. The metal casing would not allow a signal.

As trackers are routinely installed inside cars, I find that hard to
believe.


--
Trophy 1200 750SS CB400F CD200 ST70 YTC#3
GAGARPHOF#30 GHPOTHUF#1 IHABWTJ#1 BOTAFOT#60 ANORAK#06
BOF#30 WUSS#5 "Worse than Timo" - Official<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: GPS Motorcycle Tracking 

The Older Gentleman wrote:
 >
 > SBH <MI_Intruder RemoveThis @softhome.net> wrote:
 >
  > > "The Older Gentleman" <chateauSPAMKILL.murray RemoveThis @dsl.pipex.com> wrote in
  > > message news:1g5zzu4.1fe2bm2ke0iyaN%chateauSPAMKILL.murray@dsl.pipex.com...
   > > > Ken Ishiguro <k.ishSPAMFREE RemoveThis @cox.net> wrote:
   > > >
   > > > > "James" <jaeaton RemoveThis @vt.edu> wrote in message
   > > > > news:515866.0312131859.19fe97e1@posting.google.com...
   > > > > > I'm a month or two away from moving my Suzuki sv650s up to Northern VA
   > > > > > and I'm told that motorcycle theft is pretty common where I live.
   > > > > > Have any of you had experience with any of the GPS tracking systems
   > > > > > that are on the market?
   > > > >
   > > > > Unlike cars, stolen bikes are often taken away in the back of a van.
   > > > > That would render GPS tracking useless.
   > > > >
   > > > Erm, why? It would show you where the van began and ended its journey,
   > > > for a start.
   > > >
  > > I think he means because the tracking device would render useless inside a
  > > van. The metal casing would not allow a signal.
 >
 > As trackers are routinely installed inside cars, I find that hard to
 > believe.

ITYF the tracking devices fitted to cars do have an external antenna. The
metal body of the van makes an effective RF shield to the GPS device
mounted on the bike, which is entirely contained within the shielded van
body.

--
Mark '01 SV650S '81 CM400T '99 EX250-F13 DoD #959635 RFB #2<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: GPS Motorcycle Tracking 

On Sat, 20 Dec 2003 12:12:51 -0500, SBH wrote:

 >
 > "The Older Gentleman" <chateauSPAMKILL.murray.RemoveThis@dsl.pipex.com> wrote in
 > message news:1g5zzu4.1fe2bm2ke0iyaN%chateauSPAMKILL.murray@dsl.pipex.com...
  >> Ken Ishiguro <k.ishSPAMFREE.RemoveThis@cox.net> wrote:
  >>
   >> > "James" <jaeaton.RemoveThis@vt.edu> wrote in message
   >> > news:515866.0312131859.19fe97e1@posting.google.com...
   >> > > I'm a month or two away from moving my Suzuki sv650s up to Northern VA
   >> > > and I'm told that motorcycle theft is pretty common where I live.
   >> > > Have any of you had experience with any of the GPS tracking systems
   >> > > that are on the market?
   >> >
   >> > Unlike cars, stolen bikes are often taken away in the back of a van.
 > That
   >> > would render GPS tracking useless.
   >> >
  >> Erm, why? It would show you where the van began and ended its journey,
  >> for a start.
  >>
 > I think he means because the tracking device would render useless inside a
 > van. The metal casing would not allow a signal.

if I put a GPS tracking system in my car/van/pickemup, it wouldn't work?

--
Odinn

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 >> Stay informed about: GPS Motorcycle Tracking