Need a 2.5M security chain, 14mm+..Help? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Need a 2.5M security chain, 14mm+..Help?

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Woomba

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Soooo, I live in a condo. Which I'm sure you all know is a brilliant place to shop for motorcycles to steal. I have a disc lock *applause* but, that's it. I want a chain, but the only thing I can secure it to is a massive support beam. I've estimated that I need a 2.5M chain to make this work. Ground anchors are out of the question since it is asphalt, and securing a ground anchor to a concrete support beam...well, that's just a dumb idea I briefly thought about.

In the UK, you have several brands to choose from including Almax, and Squire. I tried e-mailing Almax to get a quote, but they ignored me it seems. All my searching in North America so far has come up with nothing. The Kryptonite New York 1590 does come close (15mm), but only sells at 1.5M. Any of you guys have luck finding something like this in Canada?
 
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You could probably get extremely thick chains at the hardware store. It won't be cheap, but neither would a lock. The only downfall there is you'd use a regular padlock (as good as you can afford) and it won't have the nylon or cotton sleeve on the chain, but you can always add that.
 
I've been looking at hardware stores too. It's possible to get a good lock meant for high security purposes, but the chain seems very elusive thus far. I remember finding a 14mm towing chain at one point. But the problem is, it says "towing" for a reason. The metal needs to be treated to harden it against crop attacks with bolt cutters. Towing chains are only designed to have high tensile strength. Compared to security chains, they are soft and easily defeated.

This is one of the big reasons security chains for motorcycles cost so much (the other being a niche market with high markup potential). The hardening process can be expensive, and needs to be done correctly to avoid the metal getting too brittle. The best chains heat treated in several stages to have a hard shell and a soft core, but you'll only see that in 15mm+ chains.

But yea, if anyone has seen a 14ish mm security chain at a hardware store, I'd be interested.
 
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chains and shackles will only slow down the determined thieves.
NOcageRus said:
right in front of where you park your car is there not a concrete half or full wall?
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I second this idea. park your bike in front of your car against the wall.
When I used to be away for work purposes i used to park one of my cars next to the bike inside the garage in angle and park the other car outside the garage so close to the garage door that you could barely fit through it.
 
I'd stop by Brofasco or Fastenal and see what they got. I'm sure they would have some pretty strong chain for industrial applications.
 
Recce said:
chains and shackles will only slow down the determined thieves.

I second this idea. park your bike in front of your car against the wall.
When I used to be away for work purposes i used to park one of my cars next to the bike inside the garage in angle and park the other car outside the garage so close to the garage door that you could barely fit through it.
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Ya you can do that too. But if you only have one car and your out in your car then your bike is exposed. What I was suggesting with the concrete wall is attach your anchor mount to it and secure your bike with chain to that. Plus this way you can also block with your car when possible.

If none of the above options work for you cut a 12x12 inch square out of the asphalt, mix some cement and pour in the square. Now you have a concrete square to support your anchor point. Just paint the concrete black and no one will notice the difference. It sounds crazy or you might think its a big job but really it can be done pretty easy. Do it at a time when its not very busy under there. Or just wear a construction vest and nobody will ask questions lol.

Or when all else fails go with your chain and beam lol
 
Bye bye bike.


cordless-angle-grinder-25769-3592683.jpg
 
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Any chain or other theft deterrent can be defeated. My strategy would be to merely make my bike harder to steal than the other bikes in the garage. The towing chain, or even a steel cable should suffice. It would only add a minute to the time necessary to throw your bike in the back of a van, but that should be enough to get the thieves to move on to your neighbour's unlocked bike.
 
NOcageRus said:
right in front of where you park your car is there not a concrete half or full wall?
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Nope, I'm in the middle of the garage. There is another car that parks in front of me. Currently the bike is between the 2 cars most of the time, but there is lots of space to maneouver the bike around.

NOcageRus said:
If none of the above options work for you cut a 12x12 inch square out of the asphalt, mix some cement and pour in the square. Now you have a concrete square to support your anchor point. Just paint the concrete black and no one will notice the difference. It sounds crazy or you might think its a big job but really it can be done pretty easy. Do it at a time when its not very busy under there. Or just wear a construction vest and nobody will ask questions lol.
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Lol, this I have thought about as well. Ground anchors for asphalt do exist, but they require you to bury a good chunk of the anchor in the ground, which means cutting out a hole and refilling with concrete. Crazy? Maybe, but maybe doable. I miiight be able to swing that idea by the superintendent...market it as an improvement to the property ;)

cleaver said:
Any chain or other theft deterrent can be defeated. My strategy would be to merely make my bike harder to steal than the other bikes in the garage. The towing chain, or even a steel cable should suffice. It would only add a minute to the time necessary to throw your bike in the back of a van, but that should be enough to get the thieves to move on to your neighbour's unlocked bike.
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Yup, this is the strategy. I know there is normally 2 other bikes in my garage, but currently I'm the only one. Also, I'm aware angle grinders are pretty good at chewing through most chains. However, from my research, I've seen several reviews from people with 15mm or larger chains that have survived angle grinder attacks. The chains were indeed damaged, but the attacker ran out of cutting discs before getting through. So I figure I might as well try to mess with cutting discs to make life difficult. Also, imagine the noise that would make in a condo parking garage. My end goal is to at least make it resistant to silent attacks.
 
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woot said:
I'd stop by Brofasco or Fastenal and see what they got. I'm sure they would have some pretty strong chain for industrial applications.
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Found a 9.5mm security chain so far at Brofasco. Their site is difficult to search though...lot of PDFs :(
Will post back if I find something.
 
BRAMPTON - Map
HD SUPPLY BRAFASCO
105 Heart Lake Rd. S.
Brampton, Ontario. L6W 3K1
T 905.451.7774
F 905.451.1103
Email this branch

Give them a call instead of trying to find something on their site, call the source for best results.

hahaha I like that you like to get your hands dirty good on you and let me know if you go that route and how it turns out.
 
Moto Stig said:
I just bought Onguard beast chain 6ft*12 mm with a lock. To be honest if they can cut through 12 mm, 14mm isn't a bigger challenge, I really recommend it to you. I got it off ebay for new for $75+shipping. It truly is a BEAST (weighs around 7.5 kgs!)
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There is a reason why I'm aiming for at least 15mm. You need some of the largest bolt cutters money can buy to even fit a 15mm+ link into the jaws of the bolt cutter.

I've determined that beyond the UK, there just isn't a big enough market in North America to warrant chains bigger than 15mm built specifically for security. BUT, I started researching the different grades chains are sold in, and it looks like there is some promise:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/hom...an-you-buy-a-bolt-cutter-proof-chain-11416068

After some more searching, I'm not the first motorcycle owner to zero in on the chains with high grade values. These chains may not contain some of the more exotic alloys found in the Almax chains, but it should be enough to beat the hell out of 14mm security chains.

My current candidate is something like this: http://www.fastenal.com/web/product... Chain"|~ ~|sattr01:^5/8"$|~ ~|sattr03:^70$|~
With 9 ft/ 2.74 M, it will cost $166.14. Which sounds about right...But now I need to secure a suitable lock to take a 15.88mm diameter chain link, and some kind of shroud for the chain....Hmmmm

Edit: Bonus feature - Grade 70 chain is often used in harsh environments so it almost always comes with a rust resistant coating. Yay!
 
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Daakuryu said:
This brings up a question, are there tracking devices and alarm systems available for bikes?
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Yep, though I think the consensus is that it's better to avoid having it picked as a target in the first place (lots of nuisance locks like disc and chain). An ex thief on Reddit said they'd often put the bike in a faraday cage and strip it of those recovery devices.
 
There are, but their availability in Canada is pretty crappy, or overpriced since it is not meant for theft recovery.

Yes I looked into that too. Generally, they have cellphone tower systems, and GPS tracking. Some have both. But either way you look at it, there are ways to defeat it. Generally, the good thief's will open up the bike (some almost immediately after they find a safe place), look at the wiring harness and disable anything that doesn't look like OEM. You can defend against this by trying to hide the device within the OEM wiring harness to make it harder to find. But then again, if it is a pro thief, some have built Faraday cages to block RF signals. On top of that, if someone has stolen my bike, it's probably been ripped into by the time I get to it. So I wouldn't want it back anyways. I figure it's better to avoid the theft part altogether.

Edit: drumstyx types faster than me....
 
Woomba said:
You can defend against this by trying to hide the device within the OEM wiring harness to make it harder to find.
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Every theif, even the non-pro ones, have a $20 GPS/cell blocker plugged into their vans cigarette lighter socket. As soon as they pull up beside your bike it disables the GPS/cell tracking system. Because GPS/cell doesn't work in the basement of your parking garage, you'll never know when they block it and take it. They run those blockers until they get the bike disassembled so they'd discover the system before it ever had a chance to "call out".

Best anti theft device ever? Hyosung bike cover ;)

-Jamie M.
 
Fastenal can order you 16mm chain, cost me $140 for 5' of the stuff... they even have it in stainless if you have the scratch.
 
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