Morning all,

Some kind people stole some motorbikes from a neighbours garage last night.... to that end, what are the best methods of securing these light and highly manoeuvrable cars?? (I like the idea if heavy machine guns personally!)

Thanks

Ade

if your car is in storage most of the time, and perhaps not visited often, I would remove the battery, and dizzy cap
removing the wheels would make it pretty well impossible to move

Unfortunately if someone is 100% committed to stealing something, no amount of security will be sufficient

steve

An alarm in the garage and house, whilst won't stop them is a deterrent. Then remove something important from the car like the ecu so it cannot be started/hot wired, or a hidden battery isolation switch.

If the scum bags really really want the car and have the equipment (car transporter) then they'll take it no matter what you do any way. You can just make it awkward.

Ian

Mine has a transponder immobiliser & removable steering wheel. I also have a battery switch with a key that can be removed [mainly to stop somebody switching lights on when car is parked] and a handbrake lock so it can't easily be pushed or rolled away.

My car has removable steering wheel , cut off switch....for when I am out. In the garage what about a motorbike security ring that is rawl bolted to the floor and then has a hardened steel chain and padlock through the ring and then around the axle/driveshaft etc. Have used one on my Ducati some years ago . Anything to make things awkward and more time consuming for the thieves.....and give you a little more peace of mind! A great pity that things can't be left alone..........

It would be almost impossible to protect from a determined thief who is doing it to order and who has help and a car transporter. However, I don't think that many low cost kit cars would fall into that category. They are all unique and therefore easy to trace, so its either going to be broken for parts or stolen by a joy rider who will likely crash it just around the corner.

My protection against the opportunist is steering lock, ECU immobiliser, battery disconnected, locked garage door and (most of the time) tin top parked in front of the garage door. Probably more at risk are carry away items like tools.

Also, an exhaust that will wake the dead, so if they did manage to start it they would very quickly have to contend with me and the thick end of a snooker cue. That's the other advantage of an open top car - they wouldn't have to get out to be battered

I think there is still a significant difference between a car and a bike, no matter how light. With the exception of a handful of cruisers, most bikes can be lifted by two or three people, or even wheeled past parked cars, barriers etc. You simply can't do that with something the size of a car, no matter how light.

Parking a tintop in front of a garage probably wouldn't protect a bike, but a kit car won't get past it.

But personally I do like the movement tracking paintball guns... not quite as lethal as machine guns, but it gets rid of stray cats at the same time!!

look at some of the high end motorbike chains and ground anchors some are so substantial that realistically no one is going to bother due to the noise and work required to defeat them. Only downside is the proper stuff is quite expensive. I have a huge ground anchor and 19mm chain in the garage (which is powered down from the house when I’m not in there), the ground anchor was so much work to install and a lot more work to ever remove it. Unfortunately the chain is so heavy it can’t be taken on a bike but it’s now wrapped round my landys axle.

This is the ground anchor I fitted, through a 6 inch rebar floor, I would recommend it



[Edited on 15/10/15 by Mr Whippy]

I'm unsure that the criminals would want to take the kit car, unless, as has been said, they wish to crash it just down the road.
Of course, if it has a rare/expensive engine/wheels/whatever, then it'll be stolen for parts, to order.

Apart from motorcycles, I would say that your trailer is at more risk. If you use your trailer as a garage, I'd say the risk is a bit higher.

Nothing will stop a determined thief, all you can do is deter and slow them down a bit. A lithium angle grinder will defeat just about anything.

Turning the inspection pit in the garage into a bear trap is hazardous....

Interestingly, when my car is done i'm more worried by the idea that people will chuck rubbish into it / damage it when i'm not there - than any thought that they'll try and pinch it...

Had never really considered that it'd be targetted by 'car thieves' (i.e. they want the car or the parts), or even 'joyriders' (they want to rag it and trash it)...

I suspect i'll treat it like I do my pushbike, I won't leave it where I can't see it when i'm out and about (or i'll only be leaving it places where there is a LOT of natural surveillance...)

At home I plan to park my tintop (which rarely moves) up against the garage door most of the time...

As a bike and a Defender owner, I'm constantly paranoid about theft - especially since one of my friends had his 90 stolen less than a week ago. I always look at security from a number of perspectives; home/away from home, visual deterrent/hidden system, mechanical/electrical, insurance approved/personal addition. As has already been said, if thieves want it, they'll get it - no matter what you do to stop them.

Plenty of options including removable steering wheel, pedal lock, disk lock, pet python in the footwell etc., battery kill switch, removal of dizzy cap, ECU removal, chain through wheel/wishbone, ground anchor, immobiliser, steering lock, Thatcham approved alarm and/or immobiliser, tracker, CCTV/dash cam and so on. This list or combination thereof is pretty endless....

Needless to say, I never rely on any one aspect - usually two or three to be safe, with at least one insurance approved for worst case scenario. And the vehicle should be insured, which is pretty much the final level of security (although won't make you feel any better if it does go walkies).

Chain it to an anchor point in the ground

If you've got a big enough boot...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T0lEpdaeV4

In all seriousness I'm planning an immobilizer and a hidden battery cut off as a minimum. Steering lockremovable wheel is also a possibility.

Also having to press a series of buttons a la mad max would be cool

When its left for short term i just have an immob and and sterring wheel removal.

Long term its up on axle stands with wheels off and battery removed.

My car at home is stored in a locked compound, in a locked garage, behind two tintops. Its going nowhere.

Do people still joyride anyway?

One of these, BANG then follow the trail of brown stuff they leave as they run off!

The 'security' on my plastic car is pretty minimal. The ignition switch is just that really; a key operated switch. When I lost the key at a trackday, I put my hand up the back of the dash and touched two terminals together. This system was a result of removing the proximity sensor that I used as an ignition key. When it failed, I extended the cabling up to the dashboard /keyswitch. To prevent theft, I had a three-pronged defence system:
1. The keyswitch.
2. The starter motor was operated by the horn button. The starter button operated the horn through a latching relay.
3. The car looks w@nk. Who would want to be seen anywhere near it?!

The current security relies heavily in point 3.