July 13, 2025
Protect Your Motorcycle: Tips to Prevent Theft at Home and Away
In this episode of the Throttle & Roast podcast, host Niels Meersschaert discusses the alarming risk of motorcycle theft and the personal connection riders have with their bikes. He explains why motorcycles are particularly vulnerable and shares practical tips to protect your motorcycle and reduce the likelihood of theft, both at home and while on the road. The emphasis is on layering security measures, from using bike covers or quick-open canopies to chains & GPS trackers, helping riders feel more secure about their prized possessions. While no method is foolproof, these strategies can make it harder for thieves and offer better chances for recovery.
- Out of sight
- Tethers and chains
- Tether
- New York Fahgettaboudit Chain
- Litelok Core moto
- Litelok One Moto
- Abus Chains & locks
- Oxford chains & locks
- Disc locks
- Smart garage door opener
- Cameras
- Bike Tracker
Thanks for listening! Follow us on Instagram, FaceBook, and X (Twitter). Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or your favorite podcast app.
Click the "Send us a Text Message" link above to send us your questions, comments, and feedback on the show! Please make sure you leave the podcast title. Or if you prefer to leave an audio message, leave us a voicemail on our website!
Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date on the latest from the show.
We sometimes use affiliate links in our content. This won’t cost you anything extra, but if you purchase something from one of the links, we may earn some money for coffee. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Looking to start a podcast of your own? Get a $20 credit on any paid plan with Buzzsprout.
We host our podcast website https://www.throttleandroast.com with PodPage. Sign up with them to host your ...
00:00 - Introduction
01:08 - Why are bikes so prone to theft?
02:39 - Level setting
03:31 - Security at home
12:17 - Security on the road
23:40 - GPS Bike Trackers
34:44 - Wrap up
WEBVTT
00:00:00.497 --> 00:00:09.128
As Emo Phillips said, I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.
00:00:29.035 --> 00:01:04.394
Welcome to the Throttle & Roast podcast. I'm your host, Niels Meersschaert. In today's episode, we'll cover one of the worst fears for motorcyclists, having their ride stolen. Now, motorcyclists have a more personal connection with their bikes than most people have with a car. So it's not just that a bike was stolen, but that my bike was stolen. And the anxiety about this potential ripping of our bike from our possession can be overwhelming. However, the good news is that there are ways to reduce the risk of your bike being stolen, whether from your home or while you're on the road.
00:01:00.954 --> 00:01:07.834
And I'll cover several options that may encourage thieves to move on to an easier target.
00:01:08.930 --> 00:01:20.706
So let's start with why bikes are so prone to theft. And if we think of it, there's a few different factors that make a lot of sense for why this occurs.
00:01:16.807 --> 00:01:58.325
Well, the first thing is that motorcycles are much smaller and lighter than cars. this allows them to be moved into a truck or a van for transport away from where the bike was stolen and away from anyone seeing that the bike was stolen. The other thing is that it's pretty easy to just roll the bike away from where it was parked. And so even if you don't have a van right there, you can just move the bike and get it into an area where then you can work on it a little bit more easily away from prying eyes. So this size does tend to make it a little bit more prone.
00:01:54.608 --> 00:02:08.454
and just like cars, parts, especially for popular models can be sold And this creates a market anyone to steal a popular bike because they're going to turn the parts into being used.
00:02:05.114 --> 00:02:38.811
And of course, this compact nature does make it easier to transport the motorcycles to other countries for black market sales. finally, if you follow the YouTuber, itchy boots, she had another Tenere stolen while she was in the UK. Now she had another, her old Frankie bike stolen when she was in the Middle East. But now in the UK, she's had her brand new Tenere 700 stolen. many people are having this experience where this is happening to them. And so it is a bit of a fear that many of us will have.
00:02:39.371 --> 00:02:59.483
Now I do want to level set. And the key thing is, while I'm going to cover some areas of how we can minimize your chance of theft, nothing will completely protect your bike from theft. And like anything, a thief with enough time will find a way to take your pride and joy.
00:02:55.165 --> 00:03:15.893
but while nothing is foolproof, there are steps you can take to make it more time intensive, less appealing, and potentially even recover your bike that has already been stolen. So I'm going to divide the countermeasures that we can use into ones that we do at home and ones that we use on the road.
00:03:12.752 --> 00:03:30.669
And this is because you can have a more robust tools at home than you'd have on the road for protecting your bike. And since you have limited space to carry any of these gadgets any sort of countermeasures on the road, there's some limitations there.
00:03:31.139 --> 00:03:47.530
So let's start with at home. Now, one advantage of being at home is that you can have multiple layers of security, and each layer adds more time for a thief to bypass and may encourage them to find easier pickings instead of your bike.
00:03:47.689 --> 00:04:49.581
The simplest sort of way to protect your motorcycle, and this is actually something that works in your home, as well as on the road. And that's thinking about keeping your bike out of sight. Now, if you don't have a garage and you need to store the bike outside, consider one of those soft bike covers. And these will help protect your bike from the elements, as well as prying eyes. And they can take more time to put on and remove than some of the other options that we'll cover. And of course, you need to store them when they're not in use. And a good one to protect against the elements outdoors can be had for usually less than $200 and often closer to $100. Don't confuse, though, the covers that are meant for indoor use that are really a dust cover from the ones that are for outdoor use that'll actually protect from the elements. So you do need to find the right cover Now, the other option that you can look at is you can get one of these almost like a quick open and close fabric cover. And it's sort of almost looks like a tent.
00:04:50.281 --> 00:05:48.113
And since you're at home, you have the option to install this almost tent along your driveway or in your parking lot, whatever you have. And basically, it swings open like a canopy to get your bike and just as easily closes. And many of them have locks as well The advantage over a soft bike cover is that you can leave them in one spot. And when you leave home, they're very quick to get to your bike or to hide it away. Like soft covers, they provide protection from the elements. since there is a frame holding the cover around the bike, it might also protect from some falling branches. And being soft, a thief could easily cut through the material to gain access to your bike, just like any other cover. So think of these as easier for your use rather than being more secure. Now, these are pricier than the soft covers due to that frame mechanism, and usually will run more than $200.
00:05:42.836 --> 00:07:10.096
Now, if you want to step up to a more substantial sort of protection that you would have when you're looking at home, imagine that same folding mechanism of the fabric cover, but with a hard shell. And you'll see things like the moto cabin. Now, these will provide more security from the elements as well as thieves than a fabric cover options. And they even have a wheel chock so you can ride your bike right in, leave it in a vertical position, and then just move the hard shell over basically close your bike in. However, these do not come cheap. They're typically around$3, 000 to $4, 000. They're right for you if you don't have a garage, or if your garage doesn't have space for your bike or another bike, if this is a second or third or fourth or even more bikes than that. And finally, I'll get to probably the most common option, which is your garage. Now, especially if you live in a house, a garage door will provide another layer of protection since most of them can be locked. And of course, because it's out of sight, this is avoiding anyone being able to discover that your bike is there unless they're monitoring your house. And look, you're not going to protect everything, but at the very least, you're going to remove some of the opportunistic type of approaches.
00:07:05.329 --> 00:07:40.983
Now, when you are in your garage, you may also want to start to add in an additional layer of protection for your bike. And this is where a few other options, and you could do this outdoors with a bike cover one of fabric covers, let's say. But this would be installing an anchor to the ground to give you a hard point to attach chains or cables to your bike. And typically, these use anchor bolts that will bolt directly into cement or concrete to provide a hard point with a loop where you can attach a chain.
00:07:41.471 --> 00:08:09.098
They run about $100, and they do require a cement or concrete floor. So if you are looking at putting this into your driveway, which is made of asphalt, that's not going to provide enough holding power. So that's not really a viable option. But if you're going into your garage and you want to add another layer of holding onto your bike, an anchor is a good option. Now, the anchor is not used by itself.
00:08:04.598 --> 00:08:13.509
You're going to pair this and tether your bike with a cable or a chain to something immovable.
00:08:13.588 --> 00:08:28.338
And this could be that tether that we just spoke about, or it could be something else that's already in your home. Some garages will have a vertical support beam, let's say, to support part of the ceiling.
00:08:24.038 --> 00:08:39.078
Others will have other hard points that you could attach a chain onto. And this can provide another layer of resistance so that someone can't just break through the garage door and then just wheel your bike out.
00:08:39.408 --> 00:09:59.503
They've now got to break through the garage door and then go through this second layer of security. Now, heavy-duty chains provide a lot of resistance to grinders. They don't prevent it completely. But what you're trying to do is you're trying to make the time that it takes be significant. And if you look at something like Kryptonite's New York, forget about it, chain, it's one of the best with an oversized 14 millimeter chain links made of hardened manganese steel. It's really, really heavy though. So it's better for home use. And... The reason why it's actually named after New York is this is a pretty common one that you'll see amongst people in New York City because it does provide a huge amount of security, and it takes a long time to be able to cut through that chain relative to other chains or cables. Now another thing that you might look at as another layer that you could add in for keeping your bike protected would be one of these smart garage door openers. And what this allows you to do typically is they will actually provide alerts when a door has either opened or closed and even remind you if you left a garage door open when you left home.
00:10:00.642 --> 00:10:16.011
And you can even, in many cases, remotely close the door. So if you have already gone out, maybe you were in your car or maybe you're with your family, whatever you're doing, and you're not on the bike, but the bike is in the garage and you left the garage door open, you can still remotely close that.
00:10:16.022 --> 00:10:31.229
So this is another layer that can just give a little bit more peace of mind of did I forget to close the garage door? Well, you can now look at it and even close it on the go. And you may not prevent all theft, but if you can ID the thieves, it could help with recovery.
00:10:33.499 --> 00:10:41.009
So cameras that are focused on where you park your bike can provide that extra assurance.
00:10:37.168 --> 00:11:11.229
And several can also save recordings based on movement and into the cloud to avoid that single copy at home from being lost if someone was to go in and try to steal that local recording. So a camera would be a good option. And if you're pairing that with let's say that garage door opener. Now you can actually both visually see that the garage door is open. You can then request that the doors closed. You can actually monitor and keep an eye on your bikes and see what's going on in that garage a little bit more easily.
00:11:12.408 --> 00:12:17.553
So cameras are a really good option just to help minimize this and be aware of the sight lines think about where gives you the best visibility for the bike, but also the visibility of the person who may be trying to steal it. So ideally don't have a single camera angle have a couple of camera And the last element that I'll say that you might consider for at home use would be an alarm. Now an alarm on your bike or a bike chain can give an audible notice that someone is doing something that they shouldn't be doing. And this may bring awareness. It may get some neighbors to look. They may then call the And remember, if you put in some of these multiple layers, you're already extending the time that this is taking. So the more time that you delay that thief and then are able to call in for the police or the authorities, they may be able to actually then catch the thief. So these are really some of the elements that you want to think of for when you're at home of how do you mitigate against theft? So here's the first thing that I can't take on the road.
00:12:17.979 --> 00:12:29.801
Now on the road we have fewer options for multiple layers of security. Due to quite frankly, the storage limitations that we have on motorcycles, mean that you can't do something.
00:12:30.551 --> 00:12:42.910
And for many riders, it's a matter of balancing that security with practical concerns of how easy it is to transport all of these security measures.
00:12:38.770 --> 00:13:04.315
Now, what I would say is the most basic security level and you can even do this at home, but I did want to sort of focus on it in the on the road is a steering lock. Nearly every bike made in the past 30 to 40 years has a steering lock and some work with the ignition key and are easy to engage when you shut off the bike and others. There's a separate location for the key.
00:13:01.663 --> 00:15:16.565
And what this really fundamentally does is it prevents the bike from being rolled away as the wheel is always turned to one side. So all they could do is just turn the bike in a circle over and over and over again. And while it's maybe, you know, a fairly simplistic type of a security measure. You already have it on your bike, so why not take advantage of it and just use it anyway? It's a layer that you get and it's built into the bike, so there's no transport worry with it. Just take advantage of it. But understand that it can be broken to defeat that and some thieves may feel that the damage they'll do to the bike may be worth the rest of the value of the bike. So they'll just break the steering lock and then cart the bike away. So don't think of it as your only one, but certainly it's a very convenient one. And if you're just stopping for a minute to go into a shop, that may be the more realistic one for you to use. So again, think about your pragmatism of what are you actually going to do and use versus what is going to be the most secure, especially on the road. Now, just like we talked about at home, a bike cover is another great option for keeping your bike out of sight. And it's often one of the easiest and oftentimes the cheapest ways to add some security. In fact, if you have a really old ratty looking bike cover, it can make it seem as though the bike isn't even worth stealing because you see this outward appearance of this ugly, crappy looking bike cover. No one's gonna want to do it. So maybe don't get the one that is emblazoned with Harley Davidson or BMW or Ducati across it. Maybe get one of the more generic ones and weather it a little bit so it kinda looks a little more ratty. It's going to be good. Now, you're not going to put on a bike cover when you're just running quickly into a shop for two minutes. But if you're gonna be leaving your bike unattended for multiple hours, let's say for at work or on an overnight trip at a hotel, a cover is a very lightweight option to provide a layer of security or at least obscurity.
00:15:12.028 --> 00:16:26.222
Plus, it has the added benefit of providing some protection from the elements. So bird droppings, treesap, sun fade, or even rain can be prevented from touching your bike. So you might want this just as a normal protective measure, not even just for theft. So therefore its doing almost two jobs at the same time. So bike covers are a really good option I always bring one of these when I'm doing an overnight trip. I don't bring them when I'm doing day trips for the most part. But on an overnight trip, I'm always bringing a bike cover. Now, another option that you can use for your motorcycle that's still fairly compact is a disc lock And like the steering lock, these make it harder to roll the bike away. And typically what they're done is that you add this to the front wheel disc and it locks onto it. And now the lock is going to basically interfere with the caliper, and so the bike can't really go a full wheel rotation from where you've parked it. That's pretty much the restriction. And if you've combined that with the steering lock, well, now you can only do on a turn and only up to maximum of one wheel rotation.
00:16:26.942 --> 00:16:39.162
So it does really restrict how easily the bike can be moved. Of course you can still pick up the bike, but we're looking at how opportunistic a thief can be.
00:16:35.712 --> 00:16:52.991
And many of these are also available to have a movement alarm on them. So if you don't have an alarm built into your motorcycle, this is a way to effectively add it after the fact. So if someone bumps into the bike or they start to try to move it, the alarm will sound.
00:16:53.201 --> 00:17:13.174
It's really, really loud and can help. if you look at the range of some of these disc locks, they can go from something that's fairly affordable. Like a basic lock, like the Kryptonite keeper disc lock. It's going to run for less than $50 and fairly compact, easy to throw into a tank bag or jacket pocket.
00:17:13.734 --> 00:17:29.404
Although it is a little bit heavy for a jacket pocket, but it's definitely a possibility for you to use. If you want to step up and get that style that has the alarm, you could look at something like the Kryptonite Xena XX-6. And this is about $90.
00:17:30.474 --> 00:17:41.295
And it has a six millimeter locking pin with a motion sensing alarm. And it's small enough to fit still in that tank bag, so it's easy to bring along.
00:17:37.795 --> 00:17:59.119
And this is what I use for trips because it's really about, for me, that balance of security with size. And this is very, very compact. if you feel that that six millimeter pin is going to just be too easy for a grinder to cut through, then maybe you might want to look at something like the Kryptonite Xena XX-14.
00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:05.267
This one is about $130, so about$40 more than six millimeter one.
00:18:06.007 --> 00:18:28.688
but it has that 14 millimeter pin plus the alarm. The downside of this. And this is why I don't personally use this specific lock on the road, is it's much physically bigger and heavier. And so it does make it a little bit more of a pain. It takes up more space in the tank bag. It's really heavy. If it's bouncing around in there, maybe it's going to damage your tank.
00:18:28.748 --> 00:19:30.608
So you're trying to balance a little bit of this. But if you want the ultimate in protection, the Xena XX-14 is going to be it for a disk lock. Now, of Kryptonite is not the only brand that disc locks. There's other brands that are out there that do make very good locks. Abus is one that's a very, very high quality lock. Light Lock makes a couple of the U style, disc locks. And of course, Oxford makes many, many locks and some fairly low cost options. So if you're trying to find the budget version, Oxford is definitely a good option. They may not have the, grinder protection that you'll find in like an Abus or a Kryptonite, But you might be able to get those a little bit cheaper. So use your judgment of where you think the expenditure versus the protection makes sense. Now we did talk a little bit about some of the cables and chains for in your house, but of course when you're parked on the go, this really becomes a really
00:19:30.608 --> 00:20:36.679
And you can use a cable or chain, not just to lock your bike to a pole, you can also lock multiple bikes together. And by doing so, it kind of makes it harder to load them into a van or into a truck because they kind of have to all be picked up simultaneously, or they have to get through that chain in order to be able to get to one or both of the bikes. Now one thing some people might think of is saying,"Well, I'll just get a U-lock as opposed to a disc lock, and be able to use that to connect my bike and attach it to a pole." And while this is true, and you see this very commonly with bicycles, a bicycle is light enough that you can pick it up and move it to get it a little bit closer and manipulate it to that pole. Moving motorcycle around is just a lot harder, so negotiating it with one of those U-locks to get it perfectly aligned and close enough to that pole may be challenging: So having a little bit more length that you'd get from a chain or from a cable does give you a little bit of leeway in
00:20:36.679 --> 00:20:51.136
Now, of course, the problem with this and the challenge is that that leeway does mean that you've made the ease of attachment and the flex of the cable a way in which thieves can gain access to begin trying to
00:20:51.136 --> 00:21:03.311
But again, the cable and chain are meant to slow down the thief, not stop the thief And that's how you really have to have in your mind where this is is not
00:21:03.311 --> 00:21:15.327
It's to resist theft, but I will talk on a couple of the different options that are out there: I did mention it in passing before, but kryptonites New York forget
00:21:15.327 --> 00:21:19.667
Chain is pretty much the ultimate chain to keep your
00:21:19.667 --> 00:21:46.176
And you'll see if you ever see some footage of New York City bike messengers They oftentimes will have a chain looped around their chest almost like a bandolier: And many times it is this New York forget about it But weighing 15 pounds or nearly seven kilos of weight this New York forget about it chain might not be the one that you want to
00:21:46.176 --> 00:21:48.846
You may want something a little bit lighter to bring with
00:21:48.846 --> 00:22:46.904
And at about $250 including a lock it's not a very cheap option. There are other ones that you can do where you do trade off a little bit of the absolute security that you're going to get with that chain for something that's maybe a little bit more portable. And the first one I'll talk about is the Light Lock Core Moto. And this one is nearly a third the weight of the New York chain. The Light Lock Core Moto gives a little bit of a better balance of that weight to security. It's still not going to be super cheap. It's a little over $200. And 6.4 pounds or nearly three kilos is certainly lighter than what you had with the other chain, but it's not something that you would be like, "Oh, yeah, I'm never going to notice that I have that with me." But certainly comparatively, this is going to be a lighter option.
00:22:42.782 --> 00:23:11.381
Now, if you want to go another layer simpler in terms of weight and thickness of the cable, you might look at the Light Lock One Moto. Now, this is nearly, know, half the weight of the Core Moto, and this gives some security, but without all the heft. And it weighs a little over three pounds or about one and a half kilos. And this is both a cheaper and a lighter option than the Core Moto.
00:23:14.500 --> 00:23:19.759
Now, ABUS, of course, makes some phenomenal, phenomenal chains.
00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:22.680
They're very popular in Europe.
00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:30.210
So if you are in Europe and you're looking for a good quality chain, ABUS is probably going to be up there just as well as you'll find with, like, Kryptonite. Light Lock, of course, is very common, both in Europe and in North America. And if you're looking for that economy option, still, I would say, look at Oxford. They have a lot of different value options.
00:23:41.355 --> 00:24:34.509
Next, I want to talk about a bike tracker and these are really the newest category of anti-theft options for motorcyclists. And essentially, these are a GPS device with connectivity and often motion sensors. If your bike is tampered with, you can get an alert to your phone and if thieves take your bike, you can still track its location. Now, these are probably a little bit more in the pricier end of the spectrum of a lot of these other tools and are really aimed less at avoiding the theft and more of an awareness the theft has occurred. And then an ability to recover. So their purpose is a little different, Now, I was actually sent one of these type of GPS trackers from a company called SizzApp, just to be able to do a bit of a review on this.
00:24:31.349 --> 00:24:34.509
So thank you to SizzApp for that.
00:24:35.529 --> 00:24:57.403
The device itself is small enough to fit under your seat, so it is discreet and ties into your bike's battery, both for power to monitor if the bike is running, though it does have its own battery backup. And the app that is available from SizzApp has some really cool features.
00:24:54.143 --> 00:25:01.252
So the first thing is you can look at the app and see the location of your bike at any time.
00:25:04.373 --> 00:25:12.597
You can even setup a geofence like at home or at work so you can get an alert when the bike moves from or enters into any of those geofences. You can get alerts for unauthorized movement.
00:25:12.597 --> 00:25:19.897
So if there was movement with the ignition not being on, it's going to give you that alert.
00:25:16.698 --> 00:26:01.809
And you can also monitor your battery's state of charge remotely. The other cool thing that it does is it'll give you some stats on your ride. So it'll say, hey, you've ridden this far or you're, on a trend where you've been able to ride, you know, four, five, six, you know, 37 days in a row, whatever these are, you can get a little bit more stats about what your rides have been, as well as some reminders for maintenance based on mileage or time. So since it's basically always recording, whenever the bike is moving, it knows the mileage that you've encountered and it can give you, for example, for chain maintenance, a reminder, hey, you've got to go and re-clean and lube your chain because a few hundred miles have passed.
00:25:56.582 --> 00:27:53.282
The last feature that has is really about a group riding option, and this is where you can effectively almost have a competition with other people who have SizzApp devices on their bikes and be able to say like, oh, we'll see you and we'll see you soon as we've got it, you know, let's see what's going on here and we'll see who's riding the most and have almost like a leaderboard of who's who's up there as what you're doing. So kind of cool to curate a little bit of a gamification and a community aspect into this. I will note, though, the device is about $365, so it's not a cheap option. And aside from maybe that hard shell, Cover that we talked about early on, this is gonna be pretty much the most expensive option of some of the security options that we've looked at here. But I will note, and this is really critical because I'm gonna talk about another competitor to this in a moment, but this includes a lifetime data plan. So all of your alerts run over a cell network, and in order for that to work, there is a data plan that's necessary. Well, the thing is when you buy the device, you effectively have a lifetime data plan, so there's no additional cost for you. So that cost for the data plan is effectively baked into the purchase price of the device, and that's where that $365 range of price comes in. Now I did mention I want to talk about one of the competitors to SizzApp, and really when you look at bike trackers, certainly in the market here in the United States, pretty much it's SizzApp and Monimoto are gonna be the two main brands that you're gonna become aware for these bike tracker GPS devices. Now the Monimoto, it doesn't tie into your bike's battery. And it requires a key fob to register the movement is unauthorized. So it's, it's not really tying in in as elegant of a manner as what you get with the SysApp.
00:27:53.893 --> 00:28:22.573
And additionally then you get no battery status tracking. And this is probably the one that's the more, I'll say, inconvenient in a lot of ways is you have to remember to recharge the device Now they do claim that this will last for up to a year before you need to recharge it, so it's not something you're gonna be doing every week. But still, you've gotta put something into your reminders once a year to recharge the battery on that device to make it still be actually providing some security.
00:28:23.160 --> 00:28:33.869
Now, unlike the SizzApp and this is where I think the differentiation comes in, connectivity, in order for it to actually basically function, you have to pay $49 per year.
00:28:36.720 --> 00:30:30.180
Now the device is cheaper to purchase than the SizzApp at about $170. So your first year cost, if you wanted to have the device and the service to actually be able to use it, it's about $220. So it's going to take a couple of years to effectively break even if you were to look at the SizzApp versus the Monimoto from an acquisition cost Now I do want to share my thoughts on why I think that you might choose one versus the other of these two GPS tracker options. And I today and especially for a lot of places like in the UK, for example, has rampant motorcycle theft. So having a GPS tracker is almost a must have nowadays. So I would say this SizzApp isn't the cheapest option, but it could be the cheapest in the long run as there are no additional connectivity fees. So if after you if you keep this device for three, four or five years or longer, you basically have no additional connectivity charges, whereas with the Monimoto you would. So keep that in the back of your head as you're comparing these two different devices. The other element is that the Monimoto uses a key fob and basically it's proximity to the device itself that recognizes, oh, this is authorized movement because you have the key fob with you. So don't leave the key fob mounted on the bike, otherwise you defeat the whole purpose. But now this is maybe something you have to add onto your key for the motorcycle and carry with you, at least with the SizzApp, you don't have to carry another thing. It ties in and recognizes when the ignition has been turned on and that just makes it a little bit easier and you don't need to bring along this key fob. So it's a, it's a type of a solution with that SizzApp. The other thing is that being tied into the bike's battery eliminates the need to remember to charge the tracker.
00:30:31.349 --> 00:32:48.334
Now it does have its own battery in the SizzApp, so you will still have if the bike's battery dies or it gets disconnected, it will still have its own power for a period of time. but I do find that tying it into the bike battery does make it a little bit easier. Now, if you just want a super cheap GPS tracker, the Moni Moto might be the better option for you as in the first year, it's going to be about $140 cheaper than the SizzApp. But the SizzApp also gives you all of these extra features like tracking your rides and some gamification if you have friends with SizzApps, and of course that remote battery monitoring. Now, I normally use Rever for tracking my rides, but I have to always remember to hit record. With this, it will automatically always record. So you kind of get that functionality that you would get in Rever, again, for free. And this set it and forget it kind of an approach can be really beneficial if you don't already use it in any other tool and now you're looking at this as being another reason to get this over, let's say the Moni Moto, because the Moni Moto doesn't have all these extra features. It is just a GPS tracker. None of the ride monitoring is part of it. Now, I'm using the SizzApp on my new F900GS, and this is where I'd say if I was to have purchased the SizzApp myself for that feature of recording a ride, it might not be as interesting to me because the BMW automatically has, you know, there's a connected ride app that ties into your bike. Whenever you go on a ride, it automatically records that ride already. So I kind of get the ride recording automatically built in. Again, benefit versus what we had with Rever where I was manually doing that in the past. I kind of get that for free and built into the bike. But if your bike doesn't have that built into it, and if you don't have maybe one of the BMWs with the TFT, you probably are going to have none of this recording anyway. So just keep that in mind is, you know, maybe for a couple of brands of bikes and specific models of bike where they already have the recording, the SizzApp feature is not a add on, but I think it's really cool that it exists.
00:32:44.513 --> 00:34:40.862
And to me, the one that I actually love the most is the battery tracking feature. And this is really nice because I can then see and just I'm sitting upstairs in my house. I can pull up the app. I can look and I can say, wait, the battery's actually been discharging. Oh, maybe I forgot to put it onto the tender. And then I go back to the garage and I put it onto the tender. So just having that visibility to be able to see what's going on with your battery makes this a lot easier. And it also can then give you some indications of, you know, what was your minimum, what was your maximum and your average charge over each day. So you get a lot of metrics and stats that are really helpful, I think, in just knowing about what your bike's batteries state of charge is. And that's just to me a really, really helpful feature. And then the last one is if you have a chain on your motorcycle like I do on this F900, remembering to do chain maintenance is kind of a pain at times. And it's it's one of the things I think is a frustration of a chain bike as opposed to a bike with a shaft drive or even one with a belt drive is the need to constantly maintain it every few hundred miles. So having this reminder of things like chain maintenance based on the miles ridden can make the SizzApp a little bit more capable than a GPS tracker like the Moni Moto where that's all it does. So, yes, the SizzApp is more expensive. You do have more capabilities and it will be cheaper in the long run because you don't have to pay for connectivity. So this is, I think, where the decision making for you of deciding which GPS tracker is right for you really comes down to is which one is going to give you the most bang for buck. looking at the features and everything that you already have on your current bike as well as your purchase price and your ongoing price as you're looking to add this in is another layer of security.
00:34:44.889 --> 00:35:30.548
Okay, so we're going to wrap up now. We discussed why theft is more of an issue for motorcycles being the really small easy to throw into a van or into a truck. And we also looked at some ways in that you could reduce your risk of theft at home with options like keeping that bike out of sight or behind locked doors. And we looked at how you could lock your bike via a tether to the floor or via chain to something else in your garage. And we discussed smart garage door openers, how they can give that extra peace of mind where you can see that your garage door is actually closed. And if not, then close it remotely. And we also discussed how cameras and alarms, especially ones that are remotely accessible, can really help just give that visibility into what's going on with your bike, wherever you have left it.
00:35:27.389 --> 00:35:57.746
And then we looked at some options for when you're on the road, like disc locks and some more portable chain options. And then finally, we looked at this newest option of a GPS tracker for your bike and how it compares of a couple of different popular options that are on the market today. So my question for you this week is, what do you do to keep your bike safe, both at home and on the road? Share your thoughts through the text to show link in the show notes or leave us a voicemail at throttleandroast.
00:35:57.746 --> 00:36:01.030
com/voicemail. Thanks for listening. I'll talk to you next week.
00:00:00.497 --> 00:00:09.128
00:00:29.035 --> 00:01:04.394
00:01:00.954 --> 00:01:07.834
00:01:08.930 --> 00:01:20.706
00:01:16.807 --> 00:01:58.325
00:01:54.608 --> 00:02:08.454
00:02:05.114 --> 00:02:38.811
00:02:39.371 --> 00:02:59.483
00:02:55.165 --> 00:03:15.893
00:03:12.752 --> 00:03:30.669
00:03:31.139 --> 00:03:47.530
00:03:47.689 --> 00:04:49.581
00:04:50.281 --> 00:05:48.113
00:05:42.836 --> 00:07:10.096
00:07:05.329 --> 00:07:40.983
00:07:41.471 --> 00:08:09.098
00:08:04.598 --> 00:08:13.509
00:08:13.588 --> 00:08:28.338
00:08:24.038 --> 00:08:39.078
00:08:39.408 --> 00:09:59.503
00:10:00.642 --> 00:10:16.011
00:10:16.022 --> 00:10:31.229
00:10:33.499 --> 00:10:41.009
00:10:37.168 --> 00:11:11.229
00:11:12.408 --> 00:12:17.553
00:12:17.979 --> 00:12:29.801
00:12:30.551 --> 00:12:42.910
00:12:38.770 --> 00:13:04.315
00:13:01.663 --> 00:15:16.565
00:15:12.028 --> 00:16:26.222
00:16:26.942 --> 00:16:39.162
00:16:35.712 --> 00:16:52.991
00:16:53.201 --> 00:17:13.174
00:17:13.734 --> 00:17:29.404
00:17:30.474 --> 00:17:41.295
00:17:37.795 --> 00:17:59.119
00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:05.267
00:18:06.007 --> 00:18:28.688
00:18:28.748 --> 00:19:30.608
00:19:30.608 --> 00:20:36.679
00:20:36.679 --> 00:20:51.136
00:20:51.136 --> 00:21:03.311
00:21:03.311 --> 00:21:15.327
00:21:15.327 --> 00:21:19.667
00:21:19.667 --> 00:21:46.176
00:21:46.176 --> 00:21:48.846
00:21:48.846 --> 00:22:46.904
00:22:42.782 --> 00:23:11.381
00:23:14.500 --> 00:23:19.759
00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:22.680
00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:30.210
00:23:41.355 --> 00:24:34.509
00:24:31.349 --> 00:24:34.509
00:24:35.529 --> 00:24:57.403
00:24:54.143 --> 00:25:01.252
00:25:04.373 --> 00:25:12.597
00:25:12.597 --> 00:25:19.897
00:25:16.698 --> 00:26:01.809
00:25:56.582 --> 00:27:53.282
00:27:53.893 --> 00:28:22.573
00:28:23.160 --> 00:28:33.869
00:28:36.720 --> 00:30:30.180
00:30:31.349 --> 00:32:48.334
00:32:44.513 --> 00:34:40.862
00:34:44.889 --> 00:35:30.548
00:35:27.389 --> 00:35:57.746
00:35:57.746 --> 00:36:01.030
