Is a tracker worth it?

[superstacker]

Hi guys,

Just bought a brand new Z750 from Kawasaki. I pick it up next week from the dealer. Having a brand new bike, the security of it worries me.

My first phone call was to Almax and I've ordered the 2m Series 3 chain with squire padlock.

However I've been looking into Trackers, and Tracker seem to be the better of the bunch on the market, being heavily linked to the police and actually informing me if the bike is being moved.

The question I ask is, is it really worth it? We've had a few bike thefts in the family recently, so I'm happy to spend the money to prevent it happening to me. It seems though, that with the chain and a datatag kit, insurance don't really care much about the tracker?

[nowhere.elysium]

Judging by the general tone of your post, I'm guessing that (Peace of mind)>(What your insurers think), so if it makes you feel more secure, then go for it. Provided the service works as advertised, I can only see it being a good thing.
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'10 SV650SF, '83 GS650GT (it lives!), Questionable DIY dash project, 3D Printer project, Lasercutter project

[Skudd]

I have loads of forms of security on my bike but the insurance only go for three of them. Garage, alarm and chain. the rest are for me and my peace of mind.
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Petty Anarchists look at "1984".............. The Visionary looks at "Animal Farm".

[JP7]

Trackers are good. I've had a demonstration of finding a vehicle fitted with one, and it works well. It gives you a much better chance of getting your bike back if someone takes it, especially if they don't expect it to have a Tracker on it. A lot of police vehicles are fitted with the Tracker hardware so they should be able to track it down.

You often find that the signal will lead to a place where other stolen vehicles are held too.

[kenjh]

is it really that bad there ?? I left my Harley on the curb all weekend with my helmet sittin' on the seat ..it has no ignition switch ,just a off/on switch ..never worry about it being there in the morning..so ..really .is it that bad??
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If I don't know I ask..an' there is a lot I don't know. I am and old biker , not a bold rider there are no old bold riders ...

[olionel]

tracker can only be a good thing. You can maybe get it done a bit more cheaper i.e. other gps tracking devices what you can track yourself etc...
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1989 CG125 - Childhood Sweetheart (she got kidnapped by baddies)
1998 ZXR400 - Teenage Love (lasted three years, then she turned lesbian and left me)
2001 XRV750 - Wife Material (still getting to know her but head over heels in love)

[0ddball]

Not really worth it on a newish bike imo. The tea leaves usually do a fair bit of damage, remove random bits and generally leave the bike looking very 2nd hand. From the state some people get their recovered bikes back in i wouldn't want it back, just the pay out.


Might be worth it on a classic or something rare.
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ZXR750L

[Jayy]

I've been in the vehicle tracking business before, spent two years tracking commercial vehicle fleets with various solutions. You can fit them to bikes and they work just as well as cars but there's obviously less places to hide one on a bike.

Depending on the type of tracker installed and how frequently it updates, depends on how you can track it. To my knowledge, Tracker the company, used to offer asset tracking where it would send you a text message if the vehicle was being moved whilst the ignition was turned off and it would be activated only if it had been stolen and tracked by them.

We used to deal with the trackers that updated every 60 seconds and you could log into an interface online and track all your vehicles every minute.

Insurance wise, they used to give some of our client big discounts. I remember one firm had about 10 articulated lorries in their fleet and their commercial insurance was about £70,000 a year. Once they had the trackers fitted, it brought it down to £55,000 a year, a significant saving.

That said, they're generally deemed as high value vehicles and even higher value loads being carried so it's in their interest to recover the goods/vehicle. Some insurers just point blank refused to offer any discounts with a tracker on the vehicle, why? I don't know? Just not an area they will/can discount in but it doesn't make sense for them not to does it?

[DrDonnyBrago]

[MarJay]

[superstacker]

Does anyone have any experience with using Tracker? (the company).

I'm not too fussed about being able to log onto a pc and find out where I have been. I can do that using my mobile phone anyway.

But to be alerted when some scrote is trying to move it would be a huge benefit. But then again it's one of those things that you buy hoping that you never have to use it.

[GeneralXcepti...]

[Jayy]

The one on your car will almost 100% be behind the glove compartment under the dash. It's the only place you can hide it out of site and it still get a signal through the glass window.

[Villers]

I'm covered fully comp and Ive always said if my bike was to be nicked I wouldnt particularly want it back and I would much rather have the cash from the vampires than a potentially damaged/repaired bike with a really poor history when I come to sell it. Thats just me though, I know others are in different positions and ould want theirs back but for me its just not worth it.

Im actually not a huge fan of a lot of types of security, immobilisers for example. Not really a fantastic deterrent since they are hidden and on an obkect that can be picked up and carried away. If its the local scrotes having a go its already going to be damaged before they find out its there. Alarms are similar but they can be useful, however its only to yourself and not to anyone else as many people don't bat an eyelid when they hear an alarm go off. Both of these devices eat your battery and if its something like a datatool it'll probably cut out and leave you a hundred miles from home.

I'd rather just have a sticker somewhere on the bike from a reputable firm that says 'TRACKER FITTED' blah blah than pay for the huge cost only for it to be stolen and recovered in a right mess and worth nothing.

Thats just me though
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RS125 > CBR6 > SV650S > ZX636R > GSX1300RZ Hayabusa > 06 RSVR Mille > SV1000S > Street Triple 765 RS

[CarlosCBR]

I've had my bike stolen twice and can honestly say that although i was gutted it was stolen, a part of me wished i had never got it back. First time wasnt too damaged but second time they really went to town on it (literally and metaphorically).

Would of much preferred to never of seen it again and just got the insurance payout.
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[NicWilson]

I'd put a tracker on it if me and my friend Mr. Lead Pipe had the device to track it ourselves.

[waffles]

I have a BikeTrac from Road Angel, its been great so far. If I push my bike out of the garage without putting the key in the ignition I get a text to say that my bike has been moved along with the road name, once when I took the bike to get a service I got a phone call from Road Angel to say that it has been moved around a lot and was I aware?

I can log on online and see exactly where my bike is and go through logs of rides in the last 30 days to see where I went, my speed and where I stopped. I get a text to say if the battery in the gps box is running low and im pretty sure I can set it up so that my next of kin get a text if the bike leans over too far and stops.

Initially it was pretty expensive but yearly subscriptions are reasonable considering the piece of mind it gives me. Plus its registered to me and not the bike so I can take it off one and put it on another should I sell one.
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Theory test - 19/8/09, CBT - 11/10/09, MOD 1 - 16/8/10, MOD 2 - 27/10/10
Past rides Yamaha XT125X, Triumph TT600, Honda XR250
Current rides Suzuki GSXR 600, Honda MSX125

[Pedd]

if its for your own piece of mind then just get a personal gps traker and fit yourself, minimal outlay and can be called anytime to find out location of bike, on some you can even set up a geo fence so if the bike moves out of this area you get a text, you can even call up the gps unit and either talk out of it (lol) or listen in to it for any chat etc.

These can be put on a payg sim card (get one with unlimited texts) and then there is no cost for it to text you as many times as needed. They have come down in price a hell of alot now usually around £50
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Current modes of transport = 125 superdream (in bits atm), 1978 GS750 chop, bandit 600(main one), 1982 bmw r100rs,
cx500 trike (hey its fun) oh and the car to ferry the missus and dogs around

[CarlosCBR]

Just buy a cheap GPS enabled mobile phone. They can easily be tracked by location if set up to do so. Can be had for as little as £20. Just remember to keep the battery charged and secure it somewhere out of sight (obviously).
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