It's worth taking photo's of your bikes at home?

[guybe]

After seeing Jones post about his bikes got stolen this morning, I often wondered it's worth taking photo's of all your bikes and what you have in your shed/garage, that's a prime easy target for would be theives especially if they have your home address.

I personally think if you want to take photo's of your bike is take a photo away from your home, like at some cycle track or field, etc.

The worst mistake I think from retrobike members is to take photo's of your bikes together and in your garage/shed especially if there is parts including in the photo.

Another mistake is to put all your bike's collection on your post forum, some of you have more than 5 bikes and when theives see your post of how many bikes you have, that will be a magnet for thieves.

Finally, there is another forum called 'Reader's Kit' where some of you collect rare bits and pieces, I think that's risky to show too much aswell.

This have got me thinking and made me nervous aswell, my Kona Cindercone is finished now and going to take pics of it to put on retrobike, I think I will take a pic away from home to be on the safe side.

Jones, I hope you get your stolen stuff back and think you should delete what bikes you have in your collection on your post forum if they come back safety to you.

 

[madhatter]

anything of value you wish to include in your home and contents insurance policy should generally be documented. We keep photographs of said items including any formal identication such as serial numbers, etc.

Taking photos of your bikes at home isnt a problem, nor is it an issue posting parts and collections worth a great deal of money, ive done it with cars and no problems. The problem lies when people give too much information away which allows an anon person to discover their location and track them down. You have to be pretty stupid to do this over the internet, its just plain common sense not to give out your location or details which could see practically anyone turn up at your door step. So photos easily identifying your home would be a no no, however non descript photos, i cant see what the problem is.

From experience, if you have something of value in your garage/shed, people who first hand experience are more likely to have ripped you off. They dont say its probably someone you know or knows of you for no reason.

So yeah, pics at your place are fine. Pics of all your stuff are fine, id hate to have a situation like this push away many fine posters because they are scared. Posting details of your location or details that could lead to your location are probably asking for trouble.

I just dont deal with people on the internet full stop. If I/they want to meet, its first off in a public place, i have to get to know someone before they will get my address or location.

 

[andy.l]

I agree with you to a certain extent,and wouldnt take pics with my flat/house number in the shot,but where do you stop?
If theiving scumbags want your bike enough then whats to stop them following you home when youre out riding,we had a lot of this in Bristol with riders being tailed from club rides,i always make my journeys home 'interesting' as to shake any followers,but i think it will be a shame to have to stop showing collections of kit or bikes because of scum.

 

[parodius]

Yes is very sad news that . Hope he gets them back. Ill keep my eye out.

To be honest i think he has good chance, would be difficult to shift that number of quality rare bikes and getting away with it.
Keep an eye on gumtree seen few bikes for sale on there in the past which im sure must be stolen to be for sale at ridiculously cheap prices.

On the bright side I think he said they werent at his house so doubt offenders are using this site.

Its got me thinking though i remember many years ago at school they used to say you could go to local police station and they would stamp it with postcode or some type of traceable id for free. Anyone know if can still do this?.

Another thing ive thought about doing is putting my details on piece of paper and putting it in the tyre and seat tube. In the hope if happened to me and was sold to a kind hearted person perhaps theyd get in touch. Such is life though one of those things never get round to doing :roll:

 

[andy.l]

For what good it does all of my bikes get datatagged but that doesnt stop them being stripped i suppose,if people want my parents Dobermann biting their balls off to get to my bike thats up to them,i certainly wouldnt stop him mauling them lol

 

[madhatter]

you can get UV pens pretty easily if you dont want to make it obvious or blemish anything, could write your entire address on the frame if you wanted, just make sure you reapply it overtime.
Otherwise use a carbide bit and place a serial on the underside, otherwise you can get other permanent kits.

http://www.selectadna.co.uk/uv-products.html

 

[Thorpie]

Most police stations can provide you with a UV marking kit and being a police officer I would highly recommend this as you can apply some sort of identifiable mark on the bike and in a place only known to you. Most of our 'customers' do not look for such descreet markings. Also, having dealt with stolen bikes in the past, make a note of anything distinguishable like scratches/dents and obviously frame numbers and components. All these will help if the bikes are recovered.

Trevor.

 

[FSR-Si]

If you get paranoid about thieves then the thieves are winning, best thing to do is secure them as best you can then not worry about it otherwise it will take the pleasure of owning them away.
3 of mine are in a locked and alarmed garage, and the Bravado is in the spare bedroom. There really isn't much more i can do about protecting them so if they go missing they go missing there's no point worrying about it.

A little "what happened to me" tale for you.

Way back in 1992 when i had left the forces and jacked my job in i owned my first Bravado i didn't bother getting another job for a while and used to just go riding everyday, Well when i came out of my mum's house i used to pick up the trail to my usual riding spot and that would take me round the outskirts of a big housing estate nice fast trail with good sweeping bends on it and i was off..... Fast forward to the year 1994 i was in the DSS office one day trying to sort out a training course when i got a tap on the shoulder, So i turned round and there's this scrawny little crackhead dosser who asked me if i once owned a Yellow GT, Yes i replied, He then broke it to me that a few years ago he kept laying in wait for me on this trail and was going to jump me for the bike but could never catch me. Now i thought this was a pretty stupid thing to say to someone. When i had finished in the office i sat outside with the wife having a smoke when this f***wit came out so i went and had a few quiet words with him over what he told me. Needless to say whenever he sees me he now puts his head down and walks on by.