Someone went in my unlocked car and stole about $3 worth of coins and my headphones. We called the cops and when they arrived they told me that they have been in 7 other houses today alone reporting the same thing and 5 houses yesterday.

I keep my scoot in the garage. Sometimes I lock it and sometimes I don't. I am glad now that my 48 came with the security system.

How effective is the HD security system? All I know is that it won't start without having the fob within 10 feet or something. Can it be bypassed easily by run-of-the-mill thieves?

 

It is effective if you try to move it and it has a (optional!) siren and somebody who is willing to act is close enough to hear it.
OTOH, if the bike is successfully stolen then AFAIK all they have to do is to replace the security module with regular turn light module and the bike will run.
I live in low crime area, even the doors are often not locked. However, I have a few IP cameras around my house, just in case. They start uploading pictures over FTP into a remote server when motion is detected. Methinks it's better to be ready than sorry.

 

Here in the UK thefts of expensive cars, with that type of 'security' system, are being targetted by thieves and are seldom recovered, as they are shipped off around the World.

So it seems likely that our Harley systems can also be bypassed, however the sort of thieves you describe are unlikely to be bright enough, I suspect! Any criminals targetting Harleys will be far more sophisticated than that.

The thief's solution to stealing a bike with a howling alarm is to lift it into a refrigeration truck, which is insulated enough for it not to be audible, while they drive off.

 

My dad always taught me, it doesn't matter if a bike has an alarm, or locked forks.....all it takes to steal a bike is a skateboard on one or both ends. Just one shitty part of owning one I guess :/

 

If someone wants something bad enough - they'll figure out how to get it. Skilled thieves can disarm, take and activate pretty much any vehicle...alarmed, or not.

 

You called the cops over 3$ worth of change and some headphones? Lol

Cops usually don't care if you get 50k$ + worth of stuff stolen. That's what insurance is for.

Maybe invest in a dog (who will bark if strangers comes on ur property) And a decent firearm for home defence.

If a thief enters my house while I'm home, the only thing that will protect him is God himself.

 

I'm not one to be overly concerned about these things. I don't even lock my cars that are outside. My Sporty doesn't have Security, but my Ultra does. They do work. Somebody tried to mess with my bike outside a hotel somewhere in Kansas. The bike was fine, and those a'holes were arrested.

 

Yes, I called the cops for $3 worth of change and a set of headphones. I wanted to let local LEO know what is going on in the neighborhood. The cop told me that I was the 7th house he responded to that day for the same thing and there were 5 incident like mine the day before.

I am not putting an insurance claim for $3, but it is good practice to inform your local LEO on criminal activities in your town for any patterns, time frames, or basic data that the cops can use against the bad guys.

We own a pit bull. He sleeps with us in the bedroom. He did not hear the thieves get into my car at zero-dark-thirty. I don't blame him, we tend to leave the TV on while we sleep. I am pretty sure though that my dog would have been alarmed if they tried to get in the house.

I own plenty firearms (.308, .223, 12ga, .45acp, .40s&w, 9mm). But, short of setting claymore mines around my property, there is not really anything I can do to keep people off my yard. I live in Maryland and we don't have a "castle law" in this state. We do have motion detection lights in our driveway as a deterrent, but it did not work.

Living in a small town gives you a false sense of security. But the lessons I learned is to lock everything every time. Lock garage, lock cars, lock forks, lock windows, and lock doors. Lock everything.

OK, tough guy, you have seen too many movies. In reality, they will rob you when you are not home or while you are sleeping. It is very rare to encounter perps in your home.

 

Do a forum search for "alarm siren Radio Shack". Guys are putting sirens on their bikes for about 10 bucks. The caveat is that it ties to your ECM. There are some reports of buying a new ECM after using the Radio Shack unit.

 

Unless he nicked a gun in the house he has done over before paying you a visit. Some are desperate and feel they have nothing to lose.