Security tips and Advice

About locking up your bike

	Use common sense when locking up any vehicle.
	Always park your bike in a well lit area.
	Try avoiding taking the same route every day or park your bike in the exact same spot.
	Use a locking device appropriate for your bike. Many people practice wishful thinking and use lightweight locks designed for bicycles or scooters.
	When locking your bike, make sure the lock is difficult to reach for the thief, and never leave excess cable or chain on the floor. If you do, you actually provide the thief with a nice working surface.
	If possible, lock 2 bikes together or lock to a secure object with a good quality lock like an ABUS Magnum Chain, Steel-O-Flex cable or Lockitt Chain. Even in your garage, lock it to something. (see our LockDown products) It's common knowledge that most thieves prefer not to break locks on the spot, unless they can do it in a few seconds. It slows them down. In fact, since most bikes are not properly locked anyway, why would they bother. Keep in mind that the one asset a would be thief does not have, is plenty of time.
	When using a floor anchor system like the Taffynackles Maximum Security Boltdown, Luma Solido, Defiance or ABUS WBA100, always make sure the anchor is under your bike. If secured with a tough chain or cable and the anchor is hard to reach, you stand a better chance.
	Add a disc lock as your second line of defense (your steering lock being first). Xena Alarmed disc locks, Oxford Omega or Luma Xmart are excellent products.
	Cover your bike up. We even have a cover with a built-in alarm
	Try to build as many hurdles as possible for them to take. Two locks are better than one and a combination with an alarm works even better. Keep in mind that most alarms, by itself, will not stop the thief from dragging your bike out of sight. However, a good alarm system will place the thief under a lot more pressure while trying to defeat your locks. The new Xena Zone Alarms will add some extra security to your garage, storage or trailer.

......read more about How To Stop A Thief

About locks, Insurance, Etc

There is a huge variety of locking devices on the market. Most motorcycle locks have been manufactured and improved upon for many years. As a result, these days, we find a lot of good quality locks from a selection of manufacturers. Most are made, unfortunately enough, in China while ABUS locks are primarily made in Germany.

However, in many cases, we notice that locks being used have not been intended by the manufacturer for that specific purpose. For example, we find locks on $20.000 bikes, intended for a school locker or child's bicycle at a cost of $5 in the local hardware store. It usually takes only seconds to open such locks. A $25.00 disc lock will provide you with $25.00 worth of security.

Can locks be broken?  Sure they can. We can break any of our locks, no problem (well... some are not that easy). The issue is not whether they can be broken, the issue is the time it takes to do it. Anyone who sells locks, claiming they are unbeatable, needs a reality check. Time, on the job, is the one asset a thief does not have. However, time to think and prepare is what they actually do have. Make it hard and difficult and they will move on to an easier target.

Keep things in perspective. Certainly for sports bikes. Lightweight is really not what you are looking for here.
A good one that I run into all the time is a ' Titanium Lock'. Titanium is all about lightweight, not really a material to take a lot of abuse and hardly ever used in high security locks.

Don't rely on your insurance alone. In Europe, were theft is at a much higher level, bike theft insurance is hard to get and very expensive. By relying only on your insurance, without properly locking your bike, chances of your bike being stolen increases substantially. As a result, premiums will go up for everyone and insurance will become unaffordable for most people. IN FACT, in most cases, you will still lose money in accessories and other valuables. Replacing that bike can be a pain too, if not impossible.

About Methods and Tools