Stolen exhaust - prevent it happening again

[GeorgeCole]

Well I came back last night to find someone had stolen the exhaust right off my fz6. I'm pretty gutted obviously, but more so as I couldn't ride it this summer and was just getting back into it with a good dash up the Wye valley yesterday afternoon. They were scorpion stainless steel cans that were on it when I bought it and it looks like they go for around £200 on the internet, the same as my insurance excess.
What I'm wondering is how easy is it for someone to do this? It was parked in the street so they must have been pretty quick. I don't have a garage and there aren't any to rent nearby so is this just going to happen again if I replace them? I imagine there's no way of securing them?
I'm pretty broke after putting myself through a course and was looking forward to some cheap excursions on the bike. I certainly don't want to finance the same thieves to come back and do it again.
Any thoughts?
George

 

[Nelly]

Well I came back last night to find someone had stolen the exhaust right off my fz6. I'm pretty gutted obviously, but more so as I couldn't ride it this summer and was just getting back into it with a good dash up the Wye valley yesterday afternoon. They were scorpion stainless steel cans that were on it when I bought it and it looks like they go for around £200 on the internet, the same as my insurance excess.
What I'm wondering is how easy is it for someone to do this? It was parked in the street so they must have been pretty quick. I don't have a garage and there aren't any to rent nearby so is this just going to happen again if I replace them? I imagine there's no way of securing them?
I'm pretty broke after putting myself through a course and was looking forward to some cheap excursions on the bike. I certainly don't want to finance the same thieves to come back and do it again.
Any thoughts?
George

Gutted for you George,
Is there any CCT cameras in the area? Have you asked the neighbors if they saw anything.
I don't have Scorpions myself so can't advise on how to keep them on.
A second hand stock exhaust is about £40.00 on flee bay. Has the person you got the bike from still got the stock exhaust?
Good luck mate.
H
Nelly

 

[TripNip]

Geez, I have no idea how someone could have done this quickly...

Did they leave your bike in bits?

Sorry to hear it mate.

 

[fazil]

I've seen many bicycle wheels that were chain locked to a pillar without the bicycle it self when i was in London. It looks like no chain is enough for thieves in streets.

Have they just stolen the cans ?
They can't take out the connection pipes i think.

 

[GeorgeCole]

Thanks for the support. No CCTV, its a narrow residential street near the city centre. Good idea to ask the previous owner for the stock exhaust though. I guess that will be less desirable to steal in the future as well. They seem to know what they were doing, there's just a few bits of rubber about that presumably sat the cans in the cage.
It was one of the rare times I leave the house in a car as a friend was driving me somewhere. I've had my house robbed years ago (different place) and we all left in taxis, the police think the burglars were watching the house and took it to be a good opportunity that no-one would be in for a good while.
I guess watch out everyone, it had never occurred to me someone would steal *part* of my motorcycle but I guess after market parts are worth a fair bit and are easy to grab.

 

[ChevyFazer]

If you buy another set have every joint.welded, the only way it would come.off then is after cutting the welds (time consuming/loud) and if someone had the nads to.try it again surely they would be caught with all the noise they would make trying to remove them

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[wolfe1down]

Wow... bold theft! I'm trying to figure out how they would have removed the cans w/o removing the tail section...

I have a givi toprack on my bike with Leo Vince cans. I just gotlooking at it, and I think the top rack hugging the cans the way they do would make it much harder to rip my cans out... That being said, if somebody really wanted them, they'd probably get them out anyways.

Maybe try investing in a motorcycle cover/tarp that locks under your bike. If the thieves don't know what's under it, they'll be less likely to bother. Another idea is to invest in a motorcycle disc lock/alarm. I have one ($80 on amazon) and it will go off when it is rotated (ie. rolling the bike away), when it is removed w/o the key, and when it is tilted (ie. standing the bike up off it's side stand). I think they would have had to manipulate your bike enough that the alarm would have sounded...

Just my $0.02

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

That really sucks, at least they didn't take the whole bike...


I have Scorps as well.

For each individual muffler, there's the main clamp that wraps around the muffler (if you force the body work plastic away, its easy to get to the clamp bolt head) and of course the one clamp to the "Y" pipe.

To take the "Y" pipe its one more clamp. Very easy to steal as long as your tearing up the rear plastic...

Putting a good tack weld in an obvious area would probably deter another theft. A second nut on each of the clamps with loctite would certainly slow them down as well...

Also, when you can afford it, a good alarm with a perimeter sensor would, especially in yor case, be well worth the investment...

My old Scorpio SR 1500 alarm (on my FJR) has adjustability for the perimeter, can be set to beep when someone is to close (or not) when activated, flashes all lights (not the headlight) and the horn (a Stebal so its really loud). It also transmitts to your FOB and alerts you of the activation. It also has a built in battery back up. I put in the plug and play wire kit so no hacking of that wiring harness as well. It has a pretty good range but I suspect the newer versions are even better.. Mounted under the seat, it should keep the theives away..

 

[Susan]

Geeeez. That's such a jerky thing to do.

My dh got me a caliper lock with a motion sensor, and until reading your post I wasn't convinced it was necessary. I guess now I am.

 

[benjbong]

deleteddeleted

 

[ChevyFazer]

keep an eye out on ebay or any of the popular online selling sites in your area for your pipes showing up in the next couple days. Couldn't hurt to put out an ad yourself saying you just had your slipons stolen, might even get them back if somebody finds the seller

Noy a bad idea at all but imo if they stole just the pipes they are probably going to use them themselves, or did it because they were pissed about the sound, or pissed at him in general

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[GeorgeCole]

Haha, if they were just pissed about the sound they went about removing the cans very methodically. Not sure that many people could do it so efficiently. I still suspect a professional thief with an eye for an opportunity.
An alarm might be good but my street is so densely parked a proximity sensor would go off all the time.

Now, excuse my ignorance here, can I start it up and move it infront of my house (30m) with no exhaust or will I be damaging the engine? I could push it up the hill if it came to it.

 

[ChevyFazer]

Yea you can start it up and run it just try to limit the rpm and time it runs, and a alarm i dont think would have helped much for the exhaust especialy a disc lock. imo welding however would be your best bet if you get another set

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[TownsendsFJR1300]

Re the alarm I mentioned earlier. You can disable the motion nearby and adjust how much the bike has to be moved before it will activate..

If you live nearby, you can set it to activate your key fob ONLY and keep the bike quiet. You could literally walk up to them in the act... Or have it activate audible with lights flashing once its moved the amount YOU SET IT AT...

It would have already paid for itself in your case... Just a thought/option.I've seen the same alarm used for under $100 when the newer models come out.....

My bikes are garaged so I only really use the alarm on road trips to prevent any problems...

 

[Hillbilly2]

Crooks are lazy so here's a couple of ideas that will make taking your cans more work:

1. Put high-temp epoxy on all the bolt heads that hold the cans and short pipe section in place and any other stock parts that have to be removed to get to the cans. You'll be able to scratch or drill away the epoxy when you need to (maybe never). Be sure to put enough on to make removing the stuff likely to take a long time; test how hard it is to remove the epoxy you are going to use on a bolt that is not on your bike.

2. Use a Genuine Hillbilly2 Can Lock (No patent pending). Now available where ever quality rigged up items are fabricated (your work shop). Here's my sketch of an easy to fabricate crook discouraging H2CL:



Basically, use two steel bars that are long enough to go all the way to a bend in the exhaust system; drill a hole in one end of each bar; insert the bars into the exhaust; run a cable lock through the hole in the end of the bars and run the cable through the rear wheel such that there is no slack in the cable when you are done wrapping it around a spoke or something. Presto! Much work is now required to remove the exhaust by someone other than you with the key to the lock. Slipping the exhaust cans backwards to release slip joints may be impossible; slipping the system out as a unit will take a lot of work if it is even possible. Just a back yard rigged up device, but it ought to do some good and is not very big or expensive. What do you think?

Hillbilly2

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Crooks are lazy so here's a couple of ideas that will make taking your cans more work:

1. Put high-temp epoxy on all the bolt heads that hold the cans and short pipe section in place and any other stock parts that have to be removed to get to the cans. You'll be able to scratch or drill away the epoxy when you need to (maybe never). Be sure to put enough on to make removing the stuff likely to take a long time; test how hard it is to remove the epoxy you are going to use on a bolt that is not on your bike.

2. Use a Genuine Hillbilly2 Can Lock (No patent pending). Now available where ever quality rigged up items are fabricated (your work shop). Here's my sketch of an easy to fabricate crook discouraging H2CL:



Basically, use two steel bars that are long enough to go all the way to a bend in the exhaust system; drill a hole in one end of each bar; insert the bars into the exhaust; run a cable lock through the hole in the end of the bars and run the cable through the rear wheel such that there is no slack in the cable when you are done wrapping it around a spoke or something. Presto! Much work is now required to remove the exhaust by someone other than you with the key to the lock. Slipping the exhaust cans backwards to release slip joints may be impossible; slipping the system out as a unit will take a lot of work if it is even possible. Just a back yard rigged up device, but it ought to do some good and is not very big or expensive. What do you think?

Hillbilly2

IMHO, once the two clamps that hold the mufflers in place are removed, loosen one clamp from the "Y" pipe to the stock header and everything is gone, including the added on pipes. I wouldn't recommend jambing any pipes down the exhaust as they'll rattle, possibly come loose/out while underway too...

If an alarm isn't an option, some Mig welding (as previously mentioned) at a local muffler shop will keep them in place permanently...

 

[Hillbilly2]

Hillbilly2 says: "Good point. I should have added 'Remove before riding'." Also, depending on the actual bend of the pipes, one side of the Y-pipe may be aligned such that a steel bar may penetrate a long way into the system. The Two Brothers installation instructions show a system that will let you put a really long bar down one side.

Looks like a field test is needed to see if this rig job will actually work. Hillbilly2 R&D has some work ahead of them unless someone else builds a prototype....

Hillbilly2

 

[Kazza]

OMG! I've never heard of that happening in Aus before! I know there is a lot of thefts in the UK - just ask member Doorag

Stealing the cans off your bike? Wow.....