New pukka anti-theft scheme by MCIA and Datatag

Off-topic
1

Get a load of this.

http://londonbikers.com/news/25536/motorcycle-industry-pulls-together-to-fight-bike-theft

We went to the launch yesterday afternoon, well Rixxy did, and boy was he stoked.

We’re still unsure just how this is going to affect the average biker, and for sure there’s kinks to be worked out and more questions to be asked (and we’ll ask them, for sure) but isn’t it great that this disparate industry is actually realising what we all know?

That it’s far too easy to nick a bike and/or flog on dodgy ones and parts.

Now before you all start ranting like mad dogs about this and that, please just bear in mind that MCIA will be looking at this thread because we are determined that Londonbikers and it’s members should be playing as big a role in this succeeding as we can.

So don’t go gobbing off without thinking. Genuine concerns and questions are welcomed and will be collated.

Cheers all

A&7

2

It sounds really interesting, is it basically Datatag but pre-installed by the manufacturer?

3

After a quick read , Im unsure how it differs from the existing Datatag system ? have I missed something ?

4

That’s what I was going to say what is the scheme, and will this run for only new bikes that have been bough in store?

5

A good initiative, but how will this make any difference to the eastern european gangs sending stolen bikes in containers to eastern europe?

6

It’ll mean that the local police forces in the UK or other countries will be able to prove that a bike or part is stolen & use that evidence to help in convictions, if a bike thief is in prison in Eastern Europe, he’s not going to be able to nick bikes in the UK, or pay some other scrote over here to do so.

Makes it trickier to dispose of stuff on ebay too.

7

So all the other countries in europe are in on this scheme too then? My bike that was stolen in March and/or the parts that made up that bike haven’t showed up on any ebay/gumtree in any european country (I have been religiously checking). Generally these thieves aren’t stupid enough to do that.

8

It’s really interesting and finally glad the industry is doing something about it. A shame that none of the insurers have come on board to support this (at least that we can see) because ultimately this is for their benefit as much as ours.

Really interested to see how it actually works but it’s very very encouraging, especially given that the big players in the market seem to be on board.

No KTM mention there but that’s probably because if they fitted it, it would fall out after 2 weeks… :smiley:

9

It’s really encouraging to see the MCIA starting to take some action against motorcycles theft.
However. I have had two bikes stolen and both were tagged - one with Datatag and the other with Smartwater.
Neither bike nor parts were recovered.
I am genuinely curious to know why the MCIA think this new scheme might have prevented the two thefts I have experienced to date.

On my current motorcycle I have spent about £1200 on security, the insurance premiums for me purely due to theft risk or theft claims are almost enough to put me off riding now, and I am not a high risk rider.

10

The problem with bikes is that no matter how much security you put on it, unless it’s almaxed to a decent ground anchor someone can quickly and easily pick it up and put it in a van.

IMHO by far the biggest problem that we face is the apparent apathy from the police, which in turn almost offers an incentive to the thieves. There is no deterrent, they pretty much know won’t get caught and that the police will do nothing about it.

11

Ok from what Rixxy told me last night:

Yes it means that new 2013 bikes from the listed manufacturers will come with datatag as standard at no extra charge (but watch the RRP mysteriously rise by £50…)

Most stolen bikes don’t leave the country according to the task force.

There is a huge problem with legal frames being bought from salvage, kitted out with stolen engines and parts, then part ex’ed at dealers. The purchased bike is then flogged.

Then there’s the huge stolen parts collection on the den of thieves which is eBay.

What is new is that

a) New datatag tech will be employed inluding minute UV sensitive etchings to give a much harder to find installation. And they’ll be virtually everywhere on your bike - wiring loom, fairings, engine parts etc. Not the usual “drop inside the wheel” idea of the current kits.
b) UV lights being distributed amongst the police (at a far cheaper cost than the Tracker systems as you might imagine)
c) a database of datatag information being readily available to the guys on the ground to readily identify suspect parts/bikes.

We’re keen to understand how it works if you swap out an exhaust from new, or fairings for example. If you are then pulled over and the 5-0 UV your bike, then come up missing some etching on your replacement exhaust - are you in trouble?

But these are things which will be examined in closer detail soon.

Tehswerver - your last point was specifically addressed yesterday. This apparent apathy is because it is so hard to prove a bike is stolen and sadly there comes a point where they police cannot throw loads of resources at a couple of grands’ worth of stolen bike.

What this aims to change, and the task force seemed confident it will, is the amount of investment needed - a UV light costs buttons so it is easy, quick and cheap to establish the ID of the bike and parts, then check to the database. One man could do that in minutes for a tenner’s worth of light and their std radio.

They talked about going into warehouses stocked full of stolen bikes but not having the manpower to scrutinise each machine - then the place is empty when they do have it. Also, a scrap dealer was raided and they knew alll the bikes there were stolen but couldn’t prove it so all were returned and promptly disappeared. If they could UV check just one it would be enough to bust them and close it down.

It sounds like they’ve concentrated on as low-tech an option as possible yet one which should prove initially secure. Of course it’ll be worked around by the thieves but if it makes their life hard for a year or two, then it’s worth it.

If you are in the habit of modifying your brand new bike then there may be some hoops to jump through re tagging the replacement parts, we don’t exactly know at this stage, but we’ll be asking.

finally, this isn’t a proposal. It’s happening. 100% certain. As of some time in 2013 your new bikes will come with a datatag and an entry into a pretty good club.

12

Thanks for the further info andrew, I do welcome any initiative like this, lets hope it will make a difference!

Would be even better if this was something that could be applied to existing bikes too.

13

While it’s nice to be asked to be involved, we’re only human after all, it’s really exciting that the actual proper Motorcycle Industry is coming up with proper sensible solutions to what is an epidemic.

Behind all of this, we think (not officially stated at all), is the fact that bike sales are being badly hit as a result of thefts - people are chosing not to replace stolen bikes or can’t afford to. We’ve seen things like the Think! campaign close down because, again we think, dwindling numbers and possibly interest.

The industry appears to have taken a good, hard look at itself and realised that it’ll die unless someone stands up and sorts this out.

Also, given that half the bikes stolen in the country are stolen from London (some 70 a day today and yesterday the task force guys reckoned) WE need to be involved.

Seriously, once Rixxy’s piece comes out I think we’ll all be horrified and hopefully galvanised to get behind this.

We are also mulling over some serious pro-active anti theft activities in liason with the task force so watch this space for further developments.

14

The cynical part of me says the focus is on new bikes, in order to encourage folk to start buying new bikes. That’s where the manufacturers are interested.

Whether the thieving scum will then avoid brand new bikes until they figure out what to do about this. This may actually put more threat on non-brand new bikes. So I feel its imperative we can get our existing bikes tagged and registered as an option.

It makes sense that if the police cannot identify stolen bikes, that’s a major problem. If this solves that problem, really solves it, then that is a major step forward. It won’t help individual cases, but should help with catching the buyers/movers of stolen bikes. No point focusing on the kids that do the stealing as we know. Get the organisers.

So this is a good move. I hope it does solve the problems the police have in helping us recover our bikes.

It’s still sinking in.

Thanks for the news!

B.

15

Thanks Anderw for the clarification.
I really do hope this is the start of something positive finally regarding M/C theft and that it does start to have an effect on the theft rates.
Fingers crossed.

16

This is what happened when car manufactures started taking car theft seriously but also meant carjacking and theft of keys from houses to steal cars went up as well, cause you need the key fob to avoid the alarm/immobiliser.

17

Sounds like a good initiative.
It would be really good if they could get all trackday/race organisers to sign up to check all bikes during scrutoneering. i beat that would bring up some interesting results.

18

Are the movers & shakers in the MCI shoving this initiative under the noses of their counterparts in the insurance industry? We hope so.

19

Good idea.

Another idea, though not likely to happen due to the cost implications, would be if parking bays had something to chain your bike too, not necessarily individual ground anchors, but perhaps a bar across the whole bay. I bet that would have a massive impact on reducing thefts from on-road parking bays.

20

Anything is better than what we have now but there won’t be a real solution until there is some form of physical prevention of theft or more Police resources poured into motorcycle theft.