Locking up your buddy

AlleyOops · Post by **AlleyOops** » Tue May 01, 2012 5:47 pm

All these stolen scooter posts make me nervous... I have a chain type lock for my scooter, but where is the best place to loop it through/around on the scooter? If that makes sense?

ed85379 · Post by **ed85379** » Tue May 01, 2012 6:26 pm

AlleyOops wrote:All these stolen scooter posts make me nervous... I have a chain type lock for my scooter, but where is the best place to loop it through/around on the scooter? If that makes sense?

Some people fit it through the front tire, but the front tire can be removed. When I am at work, I loop it around the rear suspension, but that can also be removed.

At home, I have multiple chains, so I have the length to wrap one around the entire base of the scooter. No way to get that off without cutting the chain.

jmazza · Post by **jmazza** » Tue May 01, 2012 6:56 pm

AlleyOops wrote:All these stolen scooter posts make me nervous... I have a chain type lock for my scooter, but where is the best place to loop it through/around on the scooter? If that makes sense?

I have a chain that fits around the floorboard. It's got to be tight enough that it can't be slipped over the headset but that's probably your most secure point.

JHScoot · Post by **JHScoot** » Tue May 01, 2012 7:17 pm

Must say I do find the Buddy to be frustratingly tight fitted with its plastics. I would like to find a length of frame to loop a chain or "cuff' around, but I can't find an open spot. And the solid wheels are useless.

I use the front forks. Can be removed, but w/e.

Guys, I know the center stand can be removed, but is this acceptable, too? To chain through? Is it easier removed then forks? I chain / cuff two scoots together.

ed85379 · Post by **ed85379** » Tue May 01, 2012 7:32 pm

JHScoot wrote: Guys, I know the center stand can be removed, but is this acceptable, too? To chain through? Is it easier removed then forks? I chain / cuff two scoots together.

With the center stand, I wouldn't worry about it being removable so much as it being a probably easier to cut through with good bolt cutters than a good secure chain. As always, your security is only as strong as its weakest point.

un_designer · Post by **un_designer** » Tue May 01, 2012 8:19 pm

JHScoot wrote:Must say I do find the Buddy to be frustratingly tight fitted with its plastics. I would like to find a length of frame to loop a chain or "cuff' around, but I can't find an open spot. And the solid wheels are useless.

I use the front forks. Can be removed, but w/e.

Guys, I know the center stand can be removed, but is this acceptable, too? To chain through? Is it easier removed then forks? I chain / cuff two scoots together.

So I'm not the only one who sometimes think the whole lock-it-through-the-front-fork is kinda iffy LOL.

What I sometimes try to do is to park at an angle, with the front wheel touching the thing i'm locking the scooter to, then put it on the center stand, so that I'm as close as possible. Then I can lock the scooter by roping the lock around the floorboard.

Scooterboi · Post by **Scooterboi** » Wed May 02, 2012 8:39 pm

If you reach a little higher you can loop a chain through the frame as opposed to the center stand. Surrounded by welds. The only downside is it is damn close to the muffler. <ouch>

ed85379 · Post by **ed85379** » Wed May 02, 2012 8:41 pm

Scooterboi wrote:If you reach a little higher you can loop a chain through the frame as opposed to the center stand. Surrounded by welds. The only downside is it is damn close to the muffler. <ouch>

I still have a scar from touching the exhaust for a split-second. <Yeouch> is more like it.

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Wed May 02, 2012 10:26 pm

I think the conclusion for most of these threads is layers.

overnight: steering lock, kryptonite chain to metal fence, cover.

When out and about, disc lock (and maybe some landmines, JIC...).

I really hope I never get mine stolen but I keep the good insurance just in case...

Mutt the Hoople · Post by **Mutt the Hoople** » Wed May 02, 2012 10:37 pm

I lock mine through the forks to the iron support on the fire escape and cover it... And going to invest in a disc lock ASAP as well. During the storm last weekend my cover blew away!!! Getting a new one, an more bungees. And I have it fully insured. Even so, I would hate it if my Buddy got stolen. What I fear is someone trying to steal it, getting frustrated becaus I have not made it easy, and just wrecking it out of spite.

Southerner · Post by **Southerner** » Wed May 02, 2012 10:49 pm

You really can't stop a thief if he's smart or stupid enough to try. Since my new office is right next to the police station, I felt pretty good about where I park my vehicles during the day. Yesterday my co-workers told me a former employee had his throw-over saddlebags stolen off his bike a few years ago. You could literally spit on the nearest parked police cars.

I'm not saying this to indict the cops but rather to illustrate how stupid and/or clever a thief can be. I mean, who'da thunk it?

The problem with scooters is similar to the problems bicyclists face, namely their bikes are relatively small and light.

michelle_7728 · Post by **michelle_7728** » Thu May 03, 2012 1:53 pm

Yeah, some may say it seems like overkill, but if I leave my saddlebags on my scooter while I'm in a store, I run my cable through the handles and lock them to my scooter.

Sure, someone could cut the handles off and take them, but that's not as convenient, and most thieves are all about convenience.

un_designer · Post by **un_designer** » Thu May 03, 2012 3:46 pm

i'm curious if and how much time is a factor in these incidents. the majority of my scooter parking away from home are short ones, and when they are a bit longer they tend to be of the kind where the scooter is visible to me. it probably doesn't take that long for someone to come along with a truck and just plop the scooter on there and drive away, but i still wonder... those of you who've had your scooter stolen: what were the circumstances like, timewise and location-wise?

Marly1312 · Post by **Marly1312** » Fri May 04, 2012 4:38 am

mine was an overnight theft ... so they had plenty of time, and these condos dont have windows on the "street-side", so even if somebody would have been awake at 3 o clock in the morning, nobody saw anything
location - was not even 10 feet from my front door, only residents drive through here but you never know about landscaping people, mail-man, garbage truck, visitors ... etc who might have seen it, being parked there and have friends, brothers, cousins or whatever, being involved in such a thing ... in my case im pretty sure it was one of the landscaping guys (i know they touched/ moved my scooter, since i always parked it straight, when i checked my mail, it was still straight, after those guys walked by to cut some bushes, it was crooked... so i think they lifted it to see how heavy it was/ how many people they need to come back and pick it up) who called somebody to go get it at night, so there is no evidence linking him to anything

Beamster · Post by **Beamster** » Sat May 05, 2012 1:37 am

speaking from experience, you are only thwarting the teenagers and amateurs. A serious thief will be equipped with the tools necessary to take it.
Keep your insurance up to date and fingers crossed.

JHScoot · Post by **JHScoot** » Wed May 09, 2012 3:10 am

Was a bigger security thread around but haven't time to search. This will do

I was looking for a helmet lock and came across this item. It's attractive for scooters because of it's flexibility, lighter weight, and extension options imo. And it's flat profile compared to a bulky chain which doesn't loop easily around the scooter in places. This item would wrap around just about any places with a little wriggle room on the scooter, and larger poles, trees, etc.

Don't be fooled by its "cut it through" look they say. And I am sure some of you who transport your scoots / bikes are familiar. If so, what do you think of this as a theft prevention tool?

I ordered the lock without the strap to hang from my rear rack as a helmet lock. They have a short strap version they sell as a helmet lock, too.

Modern Buddy

Locking up your buddy

Locking up your buddy

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