With 1950's bikes without ignition keys, how do members secure their machines from theft?
Hi,
Not a problem as nobody out to casually steal a bike will know about kick starts and spend ages looking for the starter button.
Seriously though, use the steering lock if there is one or a chain and lock. It is possible to put an earth switch on a mag but if the thief knows about classics this may not work and almost nothing will stop 4 blokes lifting your bike in to a van. We try to keep ours in view or under CCTV cameras.
Dave.
Out and about - chain and always in view. As above - 4 blokes and a van and it gone in seconds. Steering locks are a double edged sword, they may deter someone but they may just force the bars, bend and jam the lock which can be a pig of a repair.
never leave it out of sight .
Many thanks for your help. Probably no more questions before Christmas!! So Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!!
Quote from: ducati2242 on 20 Dec, 2025, 10:50 never leave it out of sight .
Indeed. If it's not four blokes and a Transit it'll be two drunks sitting on it making brum brum noises, or a bunch of idle teenagers pulling, prodding and poking.
In the early 1970s I had a 1948 Norton ES2. I fondly imagined that leaving it with the ignition fully advanced would break the ankle of anyone who tried to start it. I was wrong. I'd left it near my place of work one day but came out to find it gone, later to turn up at a local dodgy bike dealer with the barrel and head fins all smashed off and various other bits missing.
My latest theft was 2 bikes stolen from my garage 2 years ago. It seems the thieves managed to get into the back garden, probably by climbing the fence. It was then easy for them to work undisturbed and the next morning there was just an empty space where the bikes had been. Fortunately they left my Norton (a different ES2) and didn't do any damage.
Re steering locks - someone tried to steal a Honda Dominator I hasd 20 years or so ago. It was securely chained up but the thieves had broken the steering lock - all that's needed is a sharp tug on the bars. I hadn't realised this and went to ride off to work only to fall off straight away as the broken lock jammed the steering when I tried to turn. I've never used steering locks since.
The sad thing is that some of the worst places for old bikes to get stolen are places where people with old bikes go. You only need on "trader" with a van and your bikes gone in an instant and they have the networks to shift stuff on.
A mate had a Daimler Century Conquest, there were only 2 or 3 left on the road, not a valuable car and it had a pre-selector box so you had to know how to drive it. It got stolen, never turned up and neither did any of the parts.
I'm pretty sure that someone knew I had the bikes in the garage. We'd had various bits of building work done, and while the builders were OK - I think - it just needs one to mention in the pub that he'd seen some nice bikes locally.
Don't up load your journeys! I mate had a fancy journey tracker app that he used on his bicycle and he'd up load it to a cycling forum. He got a new bike (£1000s) and within the week it was stolen in a carefully planned raid, they cut their way into his shed. He had left the tracker on all the way to the shed so it showed where his bike was kept.
My sump plate drain plug on my A10 has no washer. What would anyone advise to use and from where could I source one. I was consider using a sealant.
Someone pinched it?
Quote from: V500 on 14 Apr, 2026, 18:56 Someone pinched it?
Bought it and I found it's missing when draining the sump
A kit of assorted fibre washers is very handy
Or a Dowty washer.