Motorcycle thefts

[frodotoo]

Found this in an article via email today:

 

According to NICB statistics, the top five most stolen motorcycle brands are:

Honda (20%)

Yamaha (16%)

Suzuki (15%)

Kawasaki (11%)

Harley-Davidson (8%)

 

Occurrence of theft by manufacturer is highly correlated with each brands popularity – but a notable exception is Harley Davidson. Harley-Davidsons rank only 5th in theft rates, an only 8% share of the total, despite being the most popular brand in the U.S.

 

Any guesses as to why Harleys ranks last?

[saddlebum]

Probably because if a person is going to steal something they want it to start and be able to get away quickly.

Edited June 6, 2014 by saddlebum

[DblTrbl]

I wouldn't steal a HD either. It would be too easy to ID me since someone could get the lic plate number off the trailer...........

[kevin-vic-b.c.]

Notice no BMW either!

Is it because those 2 have been installing alarms for a number of years now?

[Freebird]

I have not done any research on this but my guess would be that a high percentage of the stolen bikes are the sport bike/crotch rocket type. Since Harley is not in that market, they would naturally be further down on the list.

 

Another thing that may play a SMALL part is the perception of the Harley rider. Though we all know that it is not true and I think that much of the image is now dispelled, there is still a bit of a perception that the Harley is tied to the 1% type of biker. Some in the general public that are not so knowledgable about motorcycles and the riders may harbor a certain amount of fear of crossing one of those 1% type bikers. I doubt that this as much to do with it though because I would assume that most people who would steal a motorcycle knows something about the motorcycle culture and realize that most Harley riders today are just normal people.

[BratmanXj]

I have not done any research on this but my guess would be that a high percentage of the stolen bikes are the sport bike/crotch rocket type. Since Harley is not in that market, they would naturally be further down on the list.

 

What's easiest to have two big guys toss into the back of a truck:

400-500 lb "sport" bike or 900 lb cruiser.

 

Seen video of a van pulling to the side of the road and two guys tossing a sport bike into the side door.

[jakester]

Notice the thefts are noted in percent. I agree on the above comments, however if Harley out sells everything 4 to 1 or whatever ratio it is then the 8 percent shown is not a representative of the actual number of bikes stolen. if 10 metric bikes are sold for every 100 Harleys(or whatever ratio) then Honda would loose 2 bikes and Harley would loose 8 bikes, or something like that.

Bill

[ediddy]

Crotch rockets are the bikes most stolen. Effective 4/15/14 Dairyland Insurance Co will not insure a crotch rocket. I asked why and their rep said "theft claims are going out of the roof." Effective 4/1/14 Foremost will not insure a crotch rocket. As someone said it's easy to steal a 400 pound bike. I talked to a sales rep about this at our local honda, yamaha dealer and he said he went to Orlando and was told if you are on a crotch rocket and you stop to fill up with gas, pay at the pump. Do not go inside to pay. While you're inside the thieves will pull up in a pickup truck and throw the bike in the back and take off. Someone pulled up to the local honda, yamaha dealer and busted the plate glass window and got a crotch rocket and threw in the back of a truck and drove off before the police could get there. The owner of a local motel next door saw the thieves drive away and gave the police a description. Two days later the police called the dealer and told them where the bike was and that it had been repainted green. We all have to pay for what dishonest people do.

[Freebird]

Notice the thefts are noted in percent. I agree on the above comments, however if Harley out sells everything 4 to 1 or whatever ratio it is then the 8 percent shown is not a representative of the actual number of bikes stolen. if 10 metric bikes are sold for every 100 Harleys(or whatever ratio) then Honda would loose 2 bikes and Harley would loose 8 bikes, or something like that.

Bill

 

I don't think that is relevant. The report is stating what percentage of the stolen bikes are from each brand. It is not a percentage of the number of bikes sold.

[WildBill1]

All your Harleys these days have anti-thief key fobs that lock-out the ignition system in the absence of the key fob. Just another way Harley stays up with the times.

[speakerfritz]

Harleys leak oil and to catch a theif all you would have to do is follwo the oil trail.

[MiCarl]

My thoughts:

 

1) Too much trouble to unstrap them from the trailer.

 

2) When they are stolen the owners are afraid that if they report the theft the police will bring it back.

[Stache]

My thoughts:

 

1) Too much trouble to unstrap them from the trailer.

 

2) When they are stolen the owners are afraid that if they report the theft the police will bring it back.

 

3) If you steal a Harley you have to steal all the owner's branded clothes, his HD themed truck, his garage full of parts, his subscription to "Oil Of The Month" club.... the list goes on and on

[ditchdoctor]

I have one question. When they are stealing all the other bikes are they leaving a Harley in it's place.

[frodotoo]

Found this in an article via email today:

 

According to NICB statistics, the top five most stolen motorcycle brands are:

Honda (20%)

Yamaha (16%)

Suzuki (15%)

Kawasaki (11%)

Harley-Davidson (8%)

 

Occurrence of theft by manufacturer is highly correlated with each brands popularity – but a notable exception is Harley Davidson. Harley-Davidsons rank only 5th in theft rates, an only 8% share of the total, despite being the most popular brand in the U.S.

 

Any guesses as to why Harleys ranks last?

 

More from the article:

 

By make and model, the NICB shows the top 5 most-stolen models are:

Honda CBR600RR

Yamaha R6

Suzuki G-SXR 600

Harley Davidson FLH Series

Kawasaki ZX-6R

Note that, of the Japanese brands, the most frequently stolen bikes are all 600cc sport bikes.

 

According to statistics published by the National Insurance Crime Bureau, 56% of all motorcycle theft occurs in only 10 states. In order, they are:

California

Texas

Florida

North Carolina

Indiana

South Carolina

Georgia

New York

Pennsylvania

Maryland

 

By city, NYC had the most motorcycle theft, followed by Las Vegas, San Diego, Indianapolis, Miami, and Los Angeles.

 

The preferred method of motorcycle thieves nowadays is loading an unsecured bike into a minivan as fast as possible and driving away, even in broad daylight. However, low-tech methods as propping a motorcycle onto a couple of skateboards and simply rolling it away are reported!

[djh3]

My guess on this would be the 600cc sport bikes are the ones these guys do all this stunting crap on. They crash them and need bodywork for them and we know how expensive the plastic work is. Plus if they steal a bike and crash it, no biggie it didnt cost them much probably. And they dont register them for these stunt shows so.....

[uncledj]

Harley engineering