Bike security

[davidpdx]

Hello All,
     I bought a 1984 R65 back in April of 2011 and have been learning a lot reading this forum. Thanks to Montmil's nice photos I was able to recover my nasty old seat and thanks to the folks that wrote up the right way to do a compression test, I was able to find out I have good compression. Today I got a pannier that I bought off e-bay for my bike. I was happy that it had a key with it but less happy when I discovered it fit my ignition. This make me wonder if this bike is like the old Datsun I had years ago that only had a few different keys for all of them. I am wondering what folks think about added security when we are not sitting on our bikes. If there is already a thread going maybe someone can point me in right direction. I have been riding a 1946 Speed Twin for the last 20 years which I figured most people would not be able to get started (you have to tickle it just so) but with an electric starter anyone could just ride it away with the right key. Thanks for any help, Davidpdx    

[Barry]

Nice looking R65 and I love the speed twin. I always thought tickling carbs was a nice simple method of cold start enrichment on the later bonnie that I had.

I've never heard that BMW keys were as you described. Old Ford cars used to be like that back in the 70's. If you do a search there is thread somewhere that describes how to figure out the key code from an examination of the key profile. Basically measuring the height of each part of the key will tell you the code.

Here's one link to some info on keys and how to read the code.

http://w6rec.com/duane/bmw/keys/index.htm

There is a diagram somewhere that explains it better. I think here

http://www.stephenbottcher.net/BMW/keys.htm

I can't access the site from work or maybe it's another site that's shut down in protest against the idiot politicians in the US who are trying to implement the Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (Pipa). Good things in principle perhaps trouble is they haven't a clue what the practical implications are going to be.

[montmil]

Nice Speed Twin, David. Is that an early spring hub or an entirely different rear hub? Guessing it's not the old 'sprung" one as the fender is mighty close to the tire. Chrome oil tank... woo hoo!

In the early-60's, the moms of two high school buddies drove General Motors products as did my mother: Chevy Impala, Oldsmobile convertible, and a Buick Wilcat. The ignition keys of all three cars were interchangeable! What were the odds? Yes, we did occasionally "borrow" a mom's car for a spin.

One of my R65s is "hot" all the time -just a semi-hidden toggle switch gets Blackie lit up. The other R65 still has the factory ignition switch... if you want to try my '83 some time.

There are locks that attach to the front brake disc; just remember to remove it before motoring away. Or you could add a hidden toggle switch to disable the ignition. Or you could simply ignore the high odds that some other BMW Airhead wants your lovely R65.

Where's home for you? And welcome to the best little w'house around. Nice job, BTW, on the seat [smiley=thumbup.gif]

Monte

[nhmaf]

Some people used to pay extra to get the BMW luggage keyed to their ignition so that they wouldn't need to carry extra keys!

In my opinion, a key is a useful, but relatively low level means of theft deterrence anyhow with a motorcycle.  With some bikes, just 1 strong man is sufficient to just lift the thing into the back of a van and they are off in under 30 seconds.   With our R65 bikes, it would take 2-3 strong men, but still could be accomplished in the same time frame.   Some folks have alot of faith in steering locks (which are fairly easily broken by simply snapping the handlebars very hard) or wheel/rotor locks (which are not too hard to defeat as long as the thief uses a strong skateboard and simply places it under the wheel).   Short of actually chaining the bike to a stationary object, either permanently fixed to the ground or much more massive than the bike itself, not much you can do will even slow down a semi-skilled thief.

I think the best investment (and it isn't cheap) if you are really concerned about theft is to use a very visible, thick cable and hardened lock for visual deterrence, and install one of those motorcycle alarms with a pager unit that can alert you if someone is messing with your bike.

That is an absolutely lovely Speed Twin, by the way!

Welcome to our forum!


-Mike

[Barry]

A friend down the road has a couple of valuable Ducati's in the garage with immobiliser alarms fitted. He has no choice as the insurance company insists.  I don't think a valuable bike would suit me as I would resent the need to carry a heavy chain around and generally fuss about security. An old airhead unless perhaps an R90S is hardly in the same league when it come to being sought after by thieves and if someone did want one as Mike points out they just need a van and they can lift it in.

The only precautions I take are to mostly ride and park in sensible places. There's a cafe popular with old bikers out in the countryside and when I've been there with a mate we happily throw our helmets and jackets on the grass next to the bikes and wander off for a walk. It never occurs to us that they won't be there when we get back and that's a nice feeling.

[k_enn]

For security, I use two items, each with a different purpose.

I use a six foot (approx 2 meter) hardened steel chain and padlock.  For low theft situations, I just run the chain through the front wheel and up over the handlebar and lock it.  (Going over the handlebar makes sure I see it is there before I try to rid off without removing the chain).  For higher theft situations, I will use the chain to chain the frame to something like a lamppost, telephone pole, etc.  Yes, the chain can be cut, but it will take a good bit of time and hard work to do so.

The second item I have is an old Cobra brand alarm.  It has two motion sensors (one in the unit itself, the other on a separate cable that I can put into my soft luggage on the top side).  Movement of the bike will trigger an audible alarm.  Will that stop theft of the bike -- not around here.  But the alarm also come with a pager, which will beep to alert me that someone is messing with the bike.  (e.g., getting into the luggage, or perhaps trying to cut the chain).

Nothing is sure to prevent professional theft, but at least you can make it difficult for amateurs.

k_enn

[Justin B.]

I have noticed that on a few, if not all, old Airheads I can put in an un-cut key and turn the ignition switch to the "parking" position but it has to have the correctly cut key to continue to the run position.  A lot of bikes are re-wired to run in the parking position so as to be able to run without the headlight on.  Maybe this is what you are noticing?

[davidpdx]

     Thank you for all the responses. It sounds like I will need to buy some chain and a big lock if I want real bike security. I live in Portland Oregon so this is a good time to plan summer trips as it is cold and wet here now. I love my old Speed Twin but anything over about 50 miles or 50 mph and you fillings begin to shake loose. It does have a sprung rear hub but it only has a few inches of travel so it doesn't do much to dampen the road vibrations. I think the guys that raced these bikes after the war must have been a lot tougher than we are now.  I bought the R65 so I could do some longer trips. It would be nice to go for a hike in the woods and not have to worry if my bike will be there when I get back. Great to have a spot to discuss this kind of thing. David  

[k_enn]

    <snip> It sounds like I will need to buy some chain and a big lock if I want real bike security. <snip>

If you do go the lock-and-chain route, a good trick is to cover the chain so it does not scratch the bike.  I used an old bicycle inner tube, cut off the section with the valve stem, and put the chain through the inner tube.  So now the chain is effectively "rubber coated" and won't damage the bike.

k_enn

[montmil]

    <snip> It sounds like I will need to buy some chain and a big lock if I want real bike security. <snip>

If you do go the lock-and-chain route, a good trick is to cover the chain so it does not scratch the bike.  I used an old bicycle inner tube, cut off the section with the valve stem, and put the chain through the inner tube.  So now the chain is effectively "rubber coated" and won't damage the bike.

k_enn

Hey kenn, was the poor kid's now flat-tired bicycle chained to the school's flag pole?  [smiley=whistling.gif]

[Dizerens5]

The best protection against theft is to have a bike none of the sticky-fingers guys want. Like an R65, fortunately or unfortunately -- or most airheads later than /2 type. I don't know why they are so unpopular in this country as they are lovely to ride, spares are available and they are good looking. but here a really good R65 or similar can be picked up for a third of the price of a 70s UK or Italian rig. I'd love to have a Vincent 1000 or a Square Four or a Gold Star or a Velo Thruxton or a Ducati 850 GT or an early T110 but a) could not find the cash and b) if I used it day-to-day and parked it all over it would soon get nicked, as we say. A  couple of strong lads, a good pair of bolt-cutters and a Ford Transit and off they go, with alarm screaming in the back, who cares?  

[tvrla]

And there you have it! Not much I can add to this discussion!

But I will emphasize the view that these bikes just aren't desirable enough for thieves to bother with. There's a section of the ibmwr (internet bmw riders) ads for stolen bikes - in twenty years I think I've seen two listed.

I used to lament not being into Harleys because you could make some decent money buying and selling them, but you didn't dare let those things out of your sight!

And, what are the odds of getting a matching key for your bike??? I've gone to tech days having everyone try their keys in a lock, and none worked. I worked for a BMW MC wrecker for four years and he had tons of keys, and quite often none of them would operate a keyless lock. You certainly don't have to worry about any old key working in your bike. I think it's absolutely amazing that key worked for you.

[Barry]

For anyone who wants to figure out the code for an existing BMW key Stephen Bottcher's excellent web page is back up again.

http://www.stephenbottcher.net/BMW/keys.htm