Daft question: How do you use a chain? :)

I just lock mine on the key and whatever alarms they have in the very secure garage and if they get nicked they get nicked - they're all very well insured. Whoever can get my bikes past the gates, house/garage alarms, cars, dogs and other obstructions in the way deserves them.

Originally Posted by Lozzo

Whoever can get my bikes past the gates, house/garage alarms, cars, dogs and other obstructions in the way deserves them.

Challenge accepted.

Originally Posted by Lozzo

I just lock mine on the key and whatever alarms they have in the very secure garage and if they get nicked they get nicked - they're all very well insured. Whoever can get my bikes past the gates, house/garage alarms, cars, dogs and other obstructions in the way deserves them.

I hope your not insured with Bennetts. NO CHANCE !

Originally Posted by Tomis

I hope your not insured with Bennetts. NO CHANCE !

I won't insure with Bennetts ever again. Not only were they more costly, but they told me I was insured to ride other bikes when I phoned to check beofre borrowing a bike. So I rode a friends ER-5 all over the south of France when my eldest and I went there for christmas one year. It was only when my eldest daughter stupidly hit a car on her hired CB500 in Nice (doing a burn-out at traffic lights and the front wheelied/lurched forward)** that I thought I'd better be absolutely sure I was insured to ride, and another phone call revealed that I wasn't. I'd asked for other bike cover when I took the policy out, and it was on their records but they'd neglected to add it to my policy.

They told me that if I had been involved in an accident then I would not have been covered and would be liable for prosecution by the French police. I cancelled the policy as soon as I got home and reinsured with Auntie Carole, who has never let me down or got a thing wrong.

** My eldest daughter has a long history of doing stupid and very out of character things that go awfully wrong for her.

[northwind]

Originally Posted by Lozzo

I just lock mine on the key and whatever alarms they have in the very secure garage and if they get nicked they get nicked - they're all very well insured. Whoever can get my bikes past the gates, house/garage alarms, cars, dogs and other obstructions in the way deserves them.

I'm the exact same... And my garage isn't even very secure, the front door's cable tied on But then again, if anyone tried to get through it without knowing htat, it'd probably fall on them and squash them. I reckon, and this is rough, but I reckon it takes about 5 minutes to secure and unsecure a bike using a proper chain and a ground anchor. 5 minutes a day, 340 days a year, for the last 5 years, that's 145 hours, I could do that much overtime and buy another SV And of course, £150 for any chain worth bothering with, another £50 or so for the anchor plus labour.

When I'm away, I use my terrible £10 Oxford, it's no worse than most £150 chains and gives me the minimum deterrant which makes the difference between an invitation to steal and merely being easy to steal. A 16mm chain's massive, so I can live without carrying one around.

Thanks everyone once again - I'm pretty sure I know what I'm going for now. Time to get the old DIY skills out and get drillin....

In terms of taking a bike if a thief wants it, yes, you can spend more money than the bike is worth trying to keep your hands on it, but at the end of the day, it depends on what your priorities are - as has already been said - I for one don't enjoy dealing with insurance companies (regardless of whether your trying to give or get money) so I'll be investing in something Almax-y to do the job with a bit of reassurance.

Ultimately, I suppose a change in bike is inevitable in years to come for everyone, but you're seldom going to replace a fully working chain / lock are you? For that reason I guess "the best you can afford" still applies.

In other news - I got myself one of those full licenses now! (as of last week - 2nd test etc...) and I'm off to buy something blue....

Watch this space

Originally Posted by northwind

I'm the exact same... And my garage isn't even very secure, the front door's cable tied on But then again, if anyone tried to get through it without knowing htat, it'd probably fall on them and squash them. I reckon, and this is rough, but I reckon it takes about 5 minutes to secure and unsecure a bike using a proper chain and a ground anchor. 5 minutes a day, 340 days a year, for the last 5 years, that's 145 hours, I could do that much overtime and buy another SV And of course, £150 for any chain worth bothering with, another £50 or so for the anchor plus labour.

When I'm away, I use my terrible £10 Oxford, it's no worse than most £150 chains and gives me the minimum deterrant which makes the difference between an invitation to steal and merely being easy to steal. A 16mm chain's massive, so I can live without carrying one around.

This is my POV entirely. I will fit a ground anchor in the not too distant future, but I imagine it will only get used when I am away overnight/on holiday. If I get a weekend toy I will chain that up as it'd be more nickable than my tatty SV and also as it's used less, it won't be such a drain on my time to chain and unchain it all the time. Currently, if I'm away, the SV is away with me and if it's not, it gets chained up with 2 chains, to a very long and cumbersome ladder. Not ideal, but it prevents just chucking it into the back of a van parked in the lane/riding it away and cutting through the ladder would be loud enough to get the attention of the neighbour's dogs.