When you live in an urban area there isn't much you can do to fully prevent your scoot from being stolen. All you can do is make it such a pain in the butt for the thief that he passes it up and moves on to the next scoot.
I have seen people rely on their steering column locks. I have also see guys, at shops, that are 5'2 wheel barrow the scooter by lifting the front tire and rolling it into their garage when in neutral, because the owner forgot to leave his/her keys.
P-Series (Vespa, Stella, Bajaj) style scooters weigh approximately 250 lbs. With a pick-up truck and another guy in an alley you could quickly wheel barrow the scoot into the shadows and then the two of you could pick the bike up into the back of the pick-up. Will that ever happen? Probably not, but it could. And for under $150 you could probably avoid that.
A good lock for the P-Series scoot is made by On Guard called the "Beast" 5017LPT (costs $98). It is pictured above. You run the hammer arm between the front shock and fork. As the bike rolls forward or backwards the chain will wrap around the wheel and lock it up -- unless of course you are lucky enough to lock it to something. It fits the Bajaj like a glove when installed the way it is in the photos below (any other way it won't fit) and I am $1400 theft guarantee the Beast offered for scooters. I also tested the 5' Kyrptonite New York Fahgettaboudit (costs $150, but only offers $1000 for theft for scooters) in the hopes that it was long enough to wrap around the legshield and lock at the fork; unfortunately it wasn't. In my opinion either lock is a heck of a deterant.
My research shows that On Guard is as good quality as Kryptonite and is a little less expensive.
Here's one closer. In order for it to fit, the lock must be facing upward towards the fender. From the looks of it it will be a major pain in the butt to bust up the lock without totally damaging the scooter, which I think thieves would want to avoid.
Below are pictures of how the lock looks installed on a Chetak. Remember a Vespa P or Stella would accept this lock as well.
My research shows that On Guard is as good quality as Kryptonite and is a little less expensive.
Here's one closer. In order for it to fit, the lock must be facing upward towards the fender. From the looks of it it will be a major pain in the butt to bust up the lock without totally damaging the scooter, which I think thieves would want to avoid.
Below are pictures of how the lock looks installed on a Chetak. Remember a Vespa P or Stella would accept this lock as well.
Additionally -- as a second lock only -- it would be wise to get a long cable clock and run it tight around your legshield and lock that to the Beast lock as well so that the headset could not be turned freely without removing the cable.
2 comments:
I just got this lock, based on the suggestions / discussions here and on various forums, and I was able to get the lock through like in your pic, but I found that it took some wiggling, and my hands were quite dirty afterwards. Maybe after I get more used to it, I can get it on and off with less dirty hands...but I do find it a bit cumbersome to use. It is definitely a heavy duty lock and chain and I am confident that it will be quite the deterrent.
Thanks for the info!
I agree it is a bit hard to get on and stay clean, but if you roll the tire while installing it that helps.
I can do it and keep clean now.
Also, with the excess, you can compress and lock the rear brake add as added measure.
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