Modern Buddy

Is anyone using ground anchors to secure their ride at home? My scoot will be coming out of hibernaiton sometime next week (I hope). I ordered the Kriptonite Forgetaboutit chain, have Xena disk lock (wich already saved my scoot once) and a generic wire type with lock that can go through back or front wheel and secure the stearing column in addition to what is built in to Buddy. This maybe an overkill but after the last time...well I know the favorite theft method is to carry the scooter vs try to dismantle security on the spot. I do not want to spend too much on top of everything else I've already spent but I think anchor will be vital part of keeping my ride mine.

Any experiences with anchors, brands, where to install?

If you own your house/yard (or make sure it's OK with your landlord first) you can make your own for about $15 and a little work.

Buy a 4' section of rebar and bend it into a U shape. Also buy 2 bags of quickset concrete (the stuff in a red bag that requires no mixing)

Dig a hole big enough to go 3" out from the rabar and deep enough so that it sticks 3-4" our of the ground. Once you've got that, fill the hole with the quick mix concrete according to the directions (2/3 full, I think it was?), then add the amount of water that it specifies. Make sure the rebar doesn't shift when you pour the mix in, that stuff sets FAST!

If there's any chance of someone coming along and tripping on it (while the bike is out for example) paint it a high vis color like orange or yellow. My solution was to have two (or three) bikes, that way one's always there and there's not a tripping hazard out in the open. The paint would of course be cheaper. That's your call.

I did this on the edge of my concrete patio slab where I park my bikes so that the center stand or sidestand has a solid place to park on.

Not counting the cost of second and third bikes (you know, to avoid the tripping hazard) it set me back about $15 and an hour.

Lost,
Clever idea! How resistant is rebar to a hacksaw blade?

From personal experience (when I was 13) it is going to be difficult to bend a short piece of rebar. Might I throw in the suggestion that when it's purchased to ask to have it bent for you.

They sell pretty big eye bolts also. Put a nut, washer, nut configuration at the end going in the cement. But a thief willing to hacksaw into something is hard to stop. Rebar is soft steel but a loop just big enough for a chain to go through would be a beast to hack with a saw. LMC has the cheapest and easiest route.

I have a Kryptonite ground anchor.

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/ ... &zmap=2785

I park my Buddy in the driveway b/c I don't have a garage and installed the ground anchor for peace of mind. It came with all the hardware needed, including drill bits. It works great and the nice thing about it is that the anchor recesses into the housing so it's not too much of an eye sore when it's not in use.

As much as I like it though it was a huge pain in the ass to install. I started drilling the holes with a 19v wireless drill which quickly turned out to be way too underpowered. Luckily I found a more high powered corded drill in the basement that was left by the previous owners, which did the trick. However, it still took me more than an hour to get the holes drilled in the concrete and the anchor installed. Once you get the holes drilled though, it's all smooth sailing from there.

Thank you !!! Lostmycage, I was hoping for a solution like the one you suggested. I need something inexpensive. I liked the Kryptonite above the ground anchor but I already spent so much on Xena, chain, wire and assorted tools that anything that is homemade and can do the job protecting the scooter is a very welcome idea. I will be pulling some dead bushes out right next to the concrete steps to my house. I can just deepen the holes and pour.

the thicker the rebar you can get the better

but a true theif would be running around with a greman saw (this is the loud option 2 stroke powered gas saw) or a battery operated sawzall

another option would be a huge hardened steel ubolt like they use to hold leaf springs to large trucks make sure to leave nuts on the threaded ends in teh concrete


with any of the quick cretes i recomend that you get some 3/4 inch fractured clear stone (normaly you can get large landscaping stone you will only need a few handfulls)to thorw in the mix as the bag mixes normaly only have pea gravel in them and the concerte gets its strength thru the agrrgate in it

It's worked for me for the past year and a half. If a thief is determined to take something, they will. The thought process was to make it more difficult for them to do so. I'm sure a hacksaw would go through it but I don't know how long it'd take; longer than I'd ever spend trying to steal something, lol. It's a little softer than the OnGuard chain that I'm using, but they're the same thickness.

Bending rebar isn't easy to bend by hand. They usually have tools at the hardware stores that make bending it easier. By all means, ask for help. If you can, get it bent into an Omega shape for extra holding power. The little bumps on the surface of the rebar is made for holding firmly into concrete once it sets, so I wouldn't worry too much about any special shapes.

I agree with relying on deterrents to thwart theft attempts. It worked with just Xena alone squealing. The steel cable lock was useless because they were carrying the scooter.
Anchoring Buddy next to the house puts it on my property vs public street and if they want it bad they will have to trespass.

I agree about deterrents. Making it known that this is going to be a pain in the ass helps a lot. After all, if thieves were willing to work fro something, they wouldn't be thieves. That's a secondary effect of painting a ground anchor a high vis color.

Now, I need to work out a good friend or foe identification system for an automated miniturret (which of course would need a ground anchor for both stability as well as theft a deterrent). That would certainly keep them out, lol.

I keep thinking if the buggers come after my scoot again and I catch them in action the leftover concrete will be good for something else besides anchoring the scoot

Reading Squash1978's post about him/her having the Kryptonite ground anchor made me think of something.Looking at the U-shaped shackle that flips up from the base,one could replicate that shackle by purchasing a heavy duty padlock.Using quick set high strength concrete you would simply push the padlock base down into the concrete and leave the shackle exposed above the concrete.Wala,(Make sure the padlock is locked before setting in concrete,he he) a cheap alternative!

BuddyLicious wrote:Reading Squash1978's post about him/her having the Kryptonite ground anchor made me think of something.Looking at the U-shaped shackle that flips up from the base,one could replicate that shackle by purchasing a heavy duty padlock.Using quick set high strength concrete you would simply push the padlock base down into the concrete and leave the shackle exposed above the concrete.Wala,(Make sure the padlock is locked before setting in concrete,he he) a cheap alternative!

the problem is you will not be anchored into the contceret very well one quick hit with a hammer and it would come out
you need to get more then a couple inches into the crete to acnhor down