Just how safe is the steering lock

[Jonny Hotnuts]

After reading thread:


I was just wondering how safe the stock steering lock is. I would say that every bike stolen had the lock on.

I always garage my bike at home but Portland as with any larger city has been known to have a few criminals.
I know the steering lock would be difficult if not imposable to break. I also know that in my work I will occasionally be asked to drill out a lock that there is a lost key or core and the only way to get into it is to grab my 18 volt DeWalt and plunge a bit into it ripping the guts out of a commercial grade lock. This usually takes just a few seconds. I worry that Suzy does not put a lock as remotely as stout for their ignition.

So should I do something more than just trust the stock steering lock?

 

[fstbusa]

wheel lock, alarm, hoist it in the air

 

[NearDeath]

Its... NOT.

sorry man, I wouldn't even call it a lock to be honest... You want to protect your stuff, watch where you park it. Your alarm systems, GPS tracking systems, etc... are really crap to if you ask me... Any good thief will take that stuff out and check for it as soon as they leave the scene...

Most of the good thieves know your alarm system twice as good as you do... Alarm systems truly have to be designed, not just bought and installed...

You need to analyze all the security risks and try to knock them off one at a time. With a car, this can easily be done, but a bike is just too hard to secure with electronics... they aren't hot wiring the bike you know... usually they just pick it up with their hands and put in the back of truck and worry about the alarm stuff later.... (generally they work in teams; this isn't a one man show usually and they have the bike in seconds, NOT minutes...)