Securing motorcycle riding gear while leaving Our motorcycles in public places.

[red2002]

I've seen this type of metal cargo web. Might slow the bad guy down a little...

https://www.ebags.com/hproduct/pacsafe/pacsafe-55/99926?productid=1263915&cat=luggage-accessories&country=US&currency=USD&sourceid=ADWPRODUCTB&adtype=pla&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI29b9ycKo2wIV1LjACh3igwW1EAQYASABEgLsp_D_BwE

[Seventy One]

This is Minnesota and virtually no one wears helmets so I just hang my lid from a foot peg. Been doing that for years.

I'm certain the fact that it's white also helps prevent theft. When I went to buy my Neotec I literally couldn't find a solid white helmet in stock at any of the local cycle shops. I asked a clerk why and he told me it's because they can't sell 'em.

Since no one here knows what a Darien is (or what it's worth) I just lay it across my handle bars. I suspect most non-motorcyclists think it's an ugly gray windbreaker or some sort of home-made winter coat.

I suspect a H-D leather jacket would be at a much greater risk for theft than anything I'll ever buy.

I did buy a Pac Safe a few years ago but returned it immediately. I wanted it for my 47l Wolfman duffle bag but it didn't fit even though it was sized for a much larger bag. It was also incredibly heavy and a real pain to use. My suggestion? Save your pennies and buy a hard case instead of the Pac Safe.

[Toecutter]

All of my gear is, I guess, what would be termed "street wear". It all looks, for the most part... not like riding gear. So, I just wear it.

I don't use tank bags or saddle bags for day to day gettin' around, I save those for trips. I take my back pack, bungee it to the bike, and use that. When I get off the bike, I use a carabiner to hook the helmet to the pack, and wear the pack.

[Numbercruncher]

Overnight at a motel I take everything off the bike I can.  Sometimes even the panniers but certainly a tank bag and any bungie attached dry bags.  Better safe than sorry even though it is a huge hassle.

For meals I will only eat where I can keep the bike in sight.  I always have pepper spray with me on a bike ride and if I ever catch someone acting suspicious around my bike I'll gas them.  They can call the cops and I'll say the guy had his hands around the ignition and I thought he was trying to steal the bike.  I don't know how a cop could cite or arrest me.  The punk person will have to directly lie to the cop or say something like, " I was just checking the bike out, I wasn't trying to steal it."  He then acknowledges close quarters to the bike and it is still his word against mine.  So many people just want to get a reaction out of the bike owner as they know how we feel about our bikes.  Well I have a zero tolerance policy on that.

I also have some very small combination locks from SW Motech.  They have a three foot cable that is only about 1/8" thick but as others have mentioned, most of these gear thefts are opportunity based and nobody is going to try to get through that cable.

https://sw-motech.com/en/products/luggage/tail+bags/4052572000847.htm

NC

[Huzo]

I do the same as others have mentioned. I use the coated braided coil cable, run it through my jacket and helmet and lock them to the bike. I take my GPS with me if its on the bike.

'Swot I do too.

[rider33]

my touring bike has locking hard bags which simplifies things but even then,  I don’t park just anywhere and I don’t leave anything that is not locked down.  On lighter bikes like the V7 I try to minimize the stuff I carry.  If needed I’ll have a magnetic tank bag (which comes right off & goes with me) and If I need to leave a jacket or helmet I’ll use a small, retractable cable lock, conspicuously positioned so they know it’s secured.

http://www.aerostich.com/retractable-cable-lock.html

A good thief can steal anything in about 5 minutes or less.  The idea is to make it higher risk for them by parking in higher visibility locations and requiring them to have cutting tools & use them which slows them down.  For the opportunist, usually just seeing the lock will encourage them to move on.  The easier it looks to pinch,  the more likely someone will be tempted.

[rider33]

PS- the value of the item has very little to do with it, odds are very good they will not know the difference between a $100 helmet and a $700 helmet until they go to sell it (if then). These are not studied crimes but crimes of opportunity which is why making it more challenging decreases your exposure.

[HDGoose]

point well taken lannis. my sig. other and i  have gone back and forth over this for some years now. this is not the forum or the post for me to spell this all out and i won't burden the list with it any further than to say the following; rents and home prices keep going up (absurdly!) around here. the safest neighborhoods within a commute of s.f. are priced up first and then it cascades down to all of the other areas within a reasonable commute to the city.  so, the choice essentially becomes: 1) stay in the bad neighborhood in your somewhat rent controlled apartment and put up with all of the urban woes of an inner city....or 2) move to a safer area with more room (but not much lower rents) and add 2-3 hours per day to your commute.  this is the struggle in a nutshell and it is one that anyone with economic ties to the bay area has to grapple with unless they were smart enough, many years back, to buy a nice house in the near 'burbs or xurbs. its going to continue to get worse before it gets better.

Why I did not permanently relocate to LA, or any CA city. Crime and housing costs!

[Sasquatch Jim]

 Ride with a sidecar and a mean possessive dog in it.

[Sheepdog]

Crime can take place anywhere, but avoiding those parts of a road map that are depicted in yellow reduces risk a great deal...

[kirb]

http://stelviontx.blogspot.com/2013/05/other-items-that-i-use-not-really-mods.html

Helmet is easy- put over mirror stalk, run cable gun lock through full-face and/or D-ring. Not always easy if you don't have bar mirrors.
Some bikes allow locking helmet to other areas of the bike (under seat hook, etc)

Anything else and I run a bike with bags and/or trunk.

[v7john]

I have a big U lock to secure the bike through the front forks plus a heavy cable to lash it to something solid. The U of the lock is a bit long which I'm told makes it vulnerable to attack. Including the helmet solves that problem as well as where to leave my lid. I also have a thin retractable cable lock which can be used to secure a jacket or helmet. It wouldn't prevent a determined thief but would make life difficult. The only soft luggage would be a tail or tank bag usually containing waterproofs and not much else. Sometimes I'll leave it on the bike. You can only do so much and when it's hot I'm not going to wear all my kit and lug stuff about.

Many years ago I left an open face helmet hanging in the lock provided for the purpose on a Yamaha. I returned to find it had been turned over and used as a urinal! It was 1am, helmets are compulsory here and I had 40 miles to get home.

[Lannis]

Many years ago I left an open face helmet hanging in the lock provided for the purpose on a Yamaha. I returned to find it had been turned over and used as a urinal! It was 1am, helmets are compulsory here and I had 40 miles to get home.

In my case, "compulsory" would have become a relative term that night ... 

Lannis

[Sasquatch Jim]

 If you catch the guy, tie him down and jamb his mouth open and use him as he used your helmet.