Parking in the city - covered or uncovered?

[Vracktal]

So, discussion with my housemate on parking bikes int the city, on whether its better to leave a bike parked with a cover on it, or leave it naked (in terms of likelyhood for bike to get pinched)?

My thoughts - cover means less noticeable, easier to tell if someone has meddled with it, plus keeps it dry as a bonus.

His thoughts - cover means scrotes will imply something valuable is underneath and are more likely to investigate it. Cover also obscures things like chains and discklock making it look like an easier target on first glance.

Or, maybe we're both wrong and it makes literally no difference either way. Thoughts?
____________________
2007 BMW R1200R: On road
2009 BMW G650X Challenge: On road
1975 Norton Commando 850: Off road, awaiting recommissioning

[linuxyeti]

Really, if it's blindingly hot, put a cover on it, may just keep it a little cooler, if it's gonna rain, and you don't want a wet arse, put a cover on it, if it's dry and not overly hot, what's the advantage ?!!
____________________
Beware what photos you upload, or link to on here, especially if you have family members on them

[Tierbirdy]

My thoughts are that I'm thoroughly enjoying winding you up about your brand shiny new bike gonna be stolen by the end of the week in central London

I don't think it actually makes much difference ether way. There's plenty of stories on here about people getting paranoid over their covers being fiddled with so out of sight doesn't necessarily mean out of mind.

Plus Commuter John generally doesn't care enough to go through the hassle of covering and uncovering he ragged out CBF600. And fair weather posing commuter Bob with his R1 doesn't have space to carry a cover. So you're right in the juicy middle spot of "OwO wats dis???"

[SuperMike]

I cover my bike at night but don't cover it for the day at work. I'm not sure it matters. Maybe makes them more identifiable in daylight going around lifting up covers, but plenty of videos about showing how little of a toss they give about being inconspicuous.

As a side note, last week I had the fourth Oxford rain cover since January stolen from my bike in the middle of the night. There seems to be a market in bike covers - guess you'll get a tenner on eBay? Doing my head in. I'm going to be buying a fifth and I'll also be securing it to the bike with a lock.

Long and short of it. In London budget a grand a year to replace / repair things - a chav tax if you will.

[arry]

They're going to go and scope what's in the bay; if yours is the easiest of the high value / more desirable bikes to take, cover or no cover, it's off.

Most covers don't take a lot of lifting to discover what's underneath (if any, if your Brembo monoblocks and gold USD's are showing under your frock madam) and at any rate, tickling a cover up in the middle of the day isn't the most brazen act they'll undertake in their lives, is it?

In short, don't think it makes a difference.

[Rogerborg]

I'd imagine it might still make a small difference in keeping the most casual ride-by eyes off of your bike. But it's $CURRENT_YEAR in London and a negligible amount of fvcks will be given about checking under it.

Is it worth the daily hassle? I'm all about minimising the faffing about time.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[linuxyeti]