Ground Anchor. To the left, or right?

[ooger]

OK, so the garage now has lights in it akin to Blackpool, tomorrow I'll get the anchor in.....(also put a sneaky fan heater in there too) but:

The stand on the bike will be on the left (I want the security done first so the bikes not here yet), meaning, the bike leans to the left when garaged. So does the ground anchor go between the bike and the wall on the LHS or RHS of the garage?

Or - does it go on the outside of the bike, to the left, or the right? (this seems like a silly idea actually)

I've got all the choices available, and obviously you put it where its hardest to attack it, so I'm guessing on the LHS, between bike and wall.

Of course, it all depends on whether you ride the bike in forwards, or push it in backwards....I'm assuming the first ....

I've seen photos and if I recall they were all between bike and wall, i.e next to the stand, I think

That makes sense? I'd like to be sure because the words "liquid mortar" and "working time" kind of imply you can't go moving this thing around every weekend :D

--Also B&Q's prices for 22mm masonry drill bits are extortionate. :smt076 Thankfully they were out of stock.


Cheers

[hovis]

i would put the anchor close to the RHS wall & put the bike in fowards


but, i dont think it matters that much

[tigersaw]

My ground anchor is in the wall, in the thick butressy bit. Keeps the chain in the air and avoids having a total health and safety whilst I'm carrying knives and hot coffee trip hazard bad day.

[yorkie_chris]

--Also B&Q's prices for 22mm masonry drill bits are extortionate. :smt076 Thankfully they were out of stock.


Cheers

Don't be a plank, go to a proper shop

[Sideshow#36]

Try screwfix direct for drill bits, far cheaper!

*Edit, Yorkie Beat me to it!*

[ooger]

Don't be a plank, go to a proper shop

Hmm, yes, I know :rolleyes:

I despise B&Q but sometimes when you're in a hurry or need it ASAP for a job you get no choice. Anyways - I was only browsing thankfully :-D

I've been enjoying the discounts to be had on the DIY stuff at Wilkinsons of late, actually. At my local one anything without a barcode on it is free on a busy day! - If you go the "I'm training" till......I'm sure it wont last :mrgreen:


Anyway - answer the question!

[Alpinestarhero]

Tough one. Really, it dosnt matter. On one hand, if you have the bike leaning away from the wall, if some clever bugger pushes it off the sidestand it'll just prop against the wall and not clash to the floor. On the other hand, you are right in thinking its probably better for security. But use a good chain, like an almax, then it really dosnt matter which way the bike goes round relative to the anchor, because Mr Theif will have a hard time trying to nab your bike anyway.

Matt

[ooger]

Thanks Matt, sounds advice again.

I've got the Almax III beast but as I've not got the bike yet I don't know where it'll end up going.

I'm pretty certain of going on the LHS purely cos it makes getting to it awkward when wheeled in forwards. I'm also tempted to put the chain through the anchor so its in the middleish before fastening the anchor down - that way the chain becomes fastened hard to the wall and the anchor.

Actually, that could be a bad idea cos the chain might not be able to be unthreaded or moved if needed it to be.

Should the anchor be hardfast against the wall, or about 5-10cm off it?

The instructions just say how to glue it in....not where to put it (which quite frankly I thought would have been a good idea)

[Ceri JC]

When I fit mine, I intend to do as hovis said. Having the bike the wrong way round just makes it that little bit harder for them to get it out.

[Ceri JC]

Anyone know of a suitable ground anchor like this (cement in, thatcham approved and collapsible so you don't trip over it):
http://www.busters-accessories.co.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=PJB508
Ideally under ?100, but with a max budget of ?150.

But unlike the above, big enough to fit one of these:
http://www.almax-security-chains.co.uk/product.asp?s=Y97wYs58184&strPageHistory=category&numSearchStartRecord=0&strParents=70&CAT_ID=70&P_ID=128&btnProduct=More+Details
19mm chains?

[muffles]

Are you set on one that comes up out of the ground, or would you settle for a concrete in one that is flush with the ground?

I had a hard time finding one, but I did previously use a concrete-in one with an Almax Series III (but it would have fitted the IV too). It was something like £50, maybe a little less actually.

I'm not sure whether it was Thatcham approved though - is that essential? I was pretty happy with the robustness of it.

I can dig up the link if you're interested.

[Tomis]

Don't do anything before you have the bike. From my experience you just can't see all
the problems and which location is best until you do it for real. Bit like the reason for a dress rehearsal.
The length of the Almax chain you have can be a factor too.

[yorkie_chris]

Don't lock the middle of the chain to the anchor either, that'll mean the lock will have to go away from the anchor, right in the middle of your frame!

[Ceri JC]

Are you set on one that comes up out of the ground, or would you settle for a concrete in one that is flush with the ground?

I had a hard time finding one, but I did previously use a concrete-in one with an Almax Series III (but it would have fitted the IV too). It was something like ?50, maybe a little less actually.

I'm not sure whether it was Thatcham approved though - is that essential? I was pretty happy with the robustness of it.

I can dig up the link if you're interested.

Yes, I suppose a concrete flush one would be just as good. I'd rather it was Thatcham approved, not because I believe that means anything in security terms (just watch the almax vid ;)), but just for the insurance discount. Thatcham approved ground anchors only seem to cost ?20-25 more than similair non-approved ones and I'll probably be in this house long enough to recoup this costs difference several times over (particularly if I add another bike at some point).

The one you mention sounds good, if you could dig up a link to it that'd be grand- annoyingly a lot online don't seem to mention the size chain they can support, which is annoying when so many cannot fit the almax chains.

[yorkie_chris]

The best ground anchors are the Y shaped ones that basically give a tunnel under concrete.

I built one of these for my mate, about 18" long which he then cast into the base of his garage with a load of scrap iron.

Last I saw he'd used it to straighten the back beam on a landy his missus backed into a wall

[muffles]

Yes, I suppose a concrete flush one would be just as good. I'd rather it was Thatcham approved, not because I believe that means anything in security terms (just watch the almax vid ;)), but just for the insurance discount. Thatcham approved ground anchors only seem to cost ?20-25 more than similair non-approved ones and I'll probably be in this house long enough to recoup this costs difference several times over (particularly if I add another bike at some point).

The one you mention sounds good, if you could dig up a link to it that'd be grand- annoyingly a lot online don't seem to mention the size chain they can support, which is annoying when so many cannot fit the almax chains.

OK - I couldn't find a link to the exact one, it might have been discontinued/replaced as I can only find a picture of it:
http://www.saundersonsecurity.co.uk/acatalog/pjb_500_s.jpg

On this page http://www.saundersonsecurity.co.uk/acatalog/Ground_Anchors.html

However I've seen this ground anchor http://www.elitesecuritysupplies.com/ground_motorcycle_anchors_built_in.html (the Colussus) which is similar to the one I had (it looks slightly shorter but I think it's actually been made bigger overall). It fits the Almax chains according to the info next to it. It's also Thatcham Sold Secure Gold & £50 :)

I think the Y-shaped anchor YC refers to is this one http://www.yanchor.com/ - I saw this when I was looking, but I think I had reservations about whether it would fit the Almax chains. I notice they do a max version as well though - presumably for that kind of chain.

I think with either of these the chain is gonna be the weak link. I've actually gone for bolt in ground anchors now, and the (Almax) chains are still the weak link. There's no way those are coming out of the ground with less effort than it would take to break an Almax chain! And they are (way) thicker than an Almax so would take a lot longer to cut through.

[Ceri JC]

Ta very much Muffles, those look promising. The big Y-anchor is a bit more pricey and whilst no doubt a bit more secure, I agree with you that I think it's overkill given that even with the Colossus, the Almax becomes the (admittedly very strong) "weak link" in the security. As an aside, the only real reason I want a cement in one is so it is flush fitting and as part of the floor is going to be coming up anyway, it's actually probably less work for me to cement it in than fit a drill in one (not to mention the extra £20 for a decent masonry bit of the necessary size!)

[muffles]

The flush ones definitely look nicer - I'd have gone for one myself if I owned the place I was in, rather than renting.

And I agree drilling concrete is a pain ;) we tried using a standard drill with the correct drill bits (expensive!) however the bits tended to overheat (even drilling in water!) and it took hours to drill 4 holes (for 1 anchor).

Doing the 2nd one we got an SDS drill - it absolutely flies through concrete - but even then I still favour flush fit!

[lukemillar]

When I fit mine, I intend to do as hovis said. Having the bike the wrong way round just makes it that little bit harder for them to get it out.

Yep - I fitted mine close to the LHS wall and then always backed the bike in