How much $$$ for lo-jack?

[eynlai]

Now that Lo-Jack is offered for bikes, I'm considering getting one. I went to their website and it's all marketing selling material, all except for HOW MUCH. It wants you to go to a dealer. I guess it's up to the dealer.

But the question is this:

#1. How much to buy and get the unit install (site said consumers are NOT allow to install themselves).

#2. How much is the monthly subscription fee? (if any?)

As anyone inquired at their dealer?

 

[MoosesBusa]

LOJack is a waste of money for several reasons
1. Despite what they tell you it does NOT work everywhere.
It operates on a high FM frequency tracked by two officers in two cars that have to triangulate the signal and guess it's location.
2. To initiate LoJack you have to file a police report then call them with the case number and department information. They will then "turn the unit on" here are the minor flaws with that ... YOU have to notice your vehicle is missing which means when you come back to the place you left it you have to see it's gone. If you leave for work and the thief takes your vehicle while you are gone it will be hours before your return. You must then call the police and wait for them to respond ( 1 hr typically for non life threatening calls) THEN you can get the search process STARTED. The thief takes your vehicle to a chop shop,port,different county etc and you'll never see it again. How long does it take to strip a vehicle?
3. LoJack Transmitters have an 8' antenna. Kinds hard to stuff that away on a bike without it easily being found.
Getting tired of typing and there are tons more negative things to say about LoJack but instead I'll offer you this... Phantom Tracking Link REAL TIME GPS TRACKING with Crash Detection. Retails for $799 + Dealer Installation and $ 13.95 ( I think ) a month Maintenance. When your Bike moves the distance of its own length the monitiring center CALLS YOU! If you tell them it's not you moving your bike the police are called and told where it is which direction its moving and how fast its moving.
When you call the home offfice in Cali to find a dealer in your area, tell 'em "Moose" sent ya
They make an install kit specifically for Busa's. I know, Mine was the Test Vehicle

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[crunch320]

Man that phantom is a sweet looking setup,the monthly fee might get old after awhile but really cool services offered.Wish I would have seen this before I got my scorpio.

 

[MoosesBusa]

Your reduction in Ins. premium will greatly defray the monthly charge

 

[Justyntym]

Very sweet...the site said ALL electronic system in the bike goes dead....what happens to my onboard clock display?
Does it reset everytime or is the time kept by a backup power funciton?

 

[eynlai]

$799.99 + dealer installation fee + $14 / month... That's pretty STEEEEEP. Knowing what "Stealerships" typically charge it will be likely over $1000 out the door. $14/month = $168 a year. Figure with that steeep step-up cost, Phantom should at least throw in 2 years of subscription with that initial cost.

No thanks. I think I'll just reconsider a Scoripo paging system. Never heard of Phantom till now. I don't see Lo-Jack being bought off the shelf, and they're well-known. Unless Phantom come up with a more reasonable price, I don't see them lasting too long. Unless, they got plenty of Hadley crowds supporting them.

Sounds like a sweet concept, but the cost is far out there. Don't recommend pre-paying for a year for anyone considering it. Already bad enough any potential customers will be out of pocket for $1000+ if this company folds, but would suck even more for a customer to pay for like 1 or 2 years in advance and be out of pocket even more $$$.

Oh well, just like DVD players. Wait for it to be around long enough for the price to come down.

 

[MoosesBusa]

Very sweet...the site said ALL electronic system in the bike goes dead....what happens to my onboard clock display?
Does it reset everytime or is the time kept by a backup power funciton?

The electrical system they are referring to is the Phantom Tracking Device shuts down saving on energy draw. The only thing the device disables is your bike's ability to start. After the bike sits still for 3 hours or more it "shuts itself down". When the bike is touched, bumped, uprighted etc It comes back to life and takes whatever actions are necessary.
Oh and if your vehicle's battery dies there is a built in backup battery. I hook mine up to a trickle charger when I park it. That way if I don't have the chance to ride for a couple or three weeks I don't have a dead battery.
As for the price/monthly charges ... I don't make 'em, Just passing along the info. The price tag is a reletive mattter. If you have $20K+ Wrapped up in a motorcycle ( No matter the brand) $170 a year is CHEAP for the security of knowing if somebody takes your stuff you WILL get it back! I like the safety and security of knowing if I get into a fight with a possum, deer, racoon, Hog etc. going down a back road and lose the battle, I will have help on the way when I can't make the call. What's THAT Worth?!?

 

[Tango1300]

The Phantom sounds like a good idea. However, your info on the LoJack is a bit incorrect. As a Pilot, I have many times flown with the Texas DPS and we constantly are getting LoJack signals while flying around Houston. In fact.. the aviation division of HPD flies all day monitoring the signals. It does not require two officers to locate a signal... it simply becomes much stronger. Pinpointing it from the air is far easier and I understand that not all areas utilize this advantage.

However... I have asked Geico and they offer NO discounts for any GPS or LoJack tracking device. The Geico rep flatout just said... "Why spend another $1000 for an alarm or LoJack when you can spend just a little bit more on your premium and pay a lower deductible when you have a loss?" WTF?!?!

And we wonder why our insurances are so high!! Hell, I moved from Houston to Annapolis and my premium dropped from $2200 a year with a $1000 deductible to $950 a year with a $500 deductible. Both policies were full comp/collision with uninsured motorist and full medical.

 

[eynlai]

...I like the safety and security of knowing if I get into a fight with a possum, deer, racoon, Hog etc. going down a back road and lose the battle, I will have help on the way when I can't make the call. What's THAT Worth?!?

for that matter, then one can say that even if they charge $500 / month it'll be worth it.  I don't mean to be combative, and I can understand that since they gave you the honor of being their test subject that you maybe compelled to speak up on their behalf.  But I live in L.A., unless I take a ride up to to Santa Barbara, or up in the canyons, it'll take seemingly just as much time for a bypasser to call it in his/her cellphone to the cops (in the event I go down) than it would take for Phantom to see I went down, attempt to call me on my cellphone, and call the cops.

I'm no fan of Lo-Jack neither.  I went to their site and read through their FAQ and am not the least impressed.  Unit is not transferrable to another bike in the event of a sale?  Not even the owner is told where the unit is install for "security" purposes?  Dealer installed only?  How hard is it to mount the unit and connect the 2 leads to the battery?  Not consumer friendly at all.  I guess that's why Lo-Jack never really took off dispite their good marketing campaigns.

I guess in both cases with Lo-Jack & Phantom... It reminds me of the old Italian and Chinese mob/mafia extortion racket... "pay a thief to keep other thieves away".  No offense to neither Italian nor Chinese intended.  

I guess my second feeling of going with the old pager alarm like Scorpio might be the best bet if I decide to take this up.



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[Revolution]

no monthly fee for lowjack. got that and the scorpio alarm

 

[MoosesBusa]

I guess not everybody is going to see the value I do in the Phantom system. It works for me and it works well. The scorpio may be a deterrent for your next door neighbor wanting a joy ride and the LoJack may not have a monthly fee. Neither one even comes close to performing like the Pahntom does. I don't live in a major metropolis area and I can't rely on motorists calling assistance for me. I ride uninhabited back roads late at night. I'm also out of town quite often so if somebody decides they want my scoot more than they think I do and decide to load it in their Van, Guess what, They go to jail on a FELONY charge and I ride her when i get back home. Its not already disassembled and parted out or shipped to Puerto Rico by the time I get home and notice it's gone and file a police report to get LoJack to START looking for it. Its all about MY peace of mind knowing I am protected while riding and my Busa is while I'm not. If $14 month is too rich for you then by all means go with what you know. Ask the board members that have had their bikes stolen if they'd pay $168 a year to have it back and know the guy that took it is gettin ram rodded nightly...
Then again with the new zx14 on the streets nobody's gonna want our slow Busa's anymore anyway