Bike security at motels

[Tomck]

Just wonder what you guys do about your bikes (if anything) when you travel overnight and stay at a motel. One of the reasons that I ask is because in a recent edition of the Great Lakes Trail Rider, there was a note that a trailer full of bikes was stolen at a motel (can't remember the city, but I am pretty sure it was in the lower peninsula). It was probably just an isolated incident. Do you sneak your bike in to your room, ask the management if they have a lockable garage, or have a few beverages of your choice and not even think about the issue? Thanks.

Tom

p.s. Terrific U.P. trail report, Terry.

 

[bbarel]

Back the trailer up to the hotel or other vehicle, so you cannot back the bikes off.
If you can get sandwitched in between 2 other vehicles also then that helps too.
Park near your room so maybe you can hear them theives.
Lock the trailer to the ball. Lock the bikes to the trailer.
The more difficult/risky they'll probably go looking elsewhere.

 

[ScottS]

I try to get a ground floor- hotels with exterior room doors are good- and roll 'em in. Discreetly. And don't leak anything on the carpet or you will ruin it for the rest of us.

I now have an enclosed trailer so I don't do this anymore, but I have had my bikes in the room at a motel in Big Rapids- too many college kids wandering the lots.

 

[woodsy]

I like to lock the trailer on the ball and then run a HEAVY tow chain thru the bike wheels over the swing arm (cover the arm with a rag). Something else that REALLY helps is parking directly under a parking lot light - THIEVES HATE LIGHTS!!
Believe it or not, I have found that the best protection is hauling inside a Van, they cant steal it when they dont know its there!! Besides that, Conversion Vans (full size) are CHEAP - remove the rear seat and it easy to haul two bikes and be able to camp in the van at trailside!! Not as nice as Mweissens new "playground on wheels" but still VERY functional :)
Woodsy

 

[trout]

I wonder if any local 'self-storage' places near the hotel would let you rent a storage room overnight if you explained your situation to them. I would think it would be easy $ for them.

 

[Enduro_Nut]

I try to get a ground floor- hotels with exterior room doors are good- and roll 'em in. Discreetly. And don't leak anything on the carpet or you will ruin it for the rest of us.

I now have an enclosed trailer so I don't do this anymore, but I have had my bikes in the room at a motel in Big Rapids- too many college kids wandering the lots.

I agree, roll them in - BUT be discreet.

 

[ScottS]

Of course it is possible to get a KTM 250 in an elevator- but it takes two people unless you can run the motor,

 

[Tomck]

Thanks for the insights, everyone. I have a pickup, but I was thinking along the same lines as Woodsy (i.e., full size van that you could sleep in), but just do not not know how a full size van would be for everyday driving in S.E. Michigan. For right now, I will probably sneak my bike into the motel.

 

[YZMAN400]

Bring a tarp with you to put on the hotel room floor before you roll your bike inside.

I have a 5x8 enclosed trailer now so that aint a problem for me anymore.

 

[woodsy]

YZMAN - So you dont put a tarp down now because you bring the trailer inside and the bikes leak on your trailer.....? Just wanted some clarification. :)

 

[Nestrick]

Hey Tom

Been gone for the past few days so I didn't get to respond until now. Neal & I did discuss bike security for our UP trip and in fact had decided to bring along one of those Kyptonite ropes that can be passed through the frame and around the trailer, then locked securely. However ... after all the prelim troubles we experienced with flat tires on the truck and malfunctioning tail lights on the trailer, we managed to leave without the rope and locks ... amazingly, I think that is the only thing we really forgot to take. Note that we did have the trailer and hitch locked with appropriate trailer pin locks.

As a result, we just parked the vehicle as close to the room as possible and kept our fingers crossed. In Cedarville they were in a very large, open and well lit parking lot along a main drive through town. In Trout Lake, they were directly outside our room. However, in both cases, after the first day's ride, I will tell you that someone attempting to remove our bikes using anything up to, and including: two full cases of dynamite, a pair of D-9 bulldozers and 200 feet of det cord likely would have gone unnoticed by either Neal or I. Can't believe how tired we both were after each days riding!

I do believe that the situation of security is probably a bit better in the UP than in most LP locations ... the folks up there, what of them there are, seemed to be very friendly and interested in our well being ... they need the money and want our return business ... a good combination for us as tourists and riders. In either of these cases, taking the bikes inside the motel would have been essentially impossible ... the rooms were too small, and in the Cedarville case, the room was on the second floor with access through the office area.

As the son of a fireman, and a retired chemist, I really can't recommend anyone taking a fueled, dirt bike into their motel room ... man, this is just way too dangerous a tactic ... and remember, you are not only putting yourself at risk, but potentially others which could include innocent children. The potential for both liquid and vapors to leak from a bike in the confines of a small motel room are simple too risky ... there are way too many ignition sources in such environs and the combination described is a serious disaster just waiting to happen. Don't forget, simple light switches, a TV, clockradio, or a window air conditioner are not spark protected devices ... and in the closed confines of a small room represent the perfect ignition source for gasolene vapors ... man, I've experienced several organic liquid/vapor fires in my laboratory days as a research chemist, they are not something to be under estimated! They happen quickly, get out of control in seconds and can kill or severely burn you and others before anyone can help!

Chain the bikes up outside the room, put'em in a locked and closed trailer, stay up and watch them all night, handcuff yourself to the bike and sleep there ... just don't take them in the room with you! Please ... from my personal perspective, taking a dirt bike into a motel room is criminal ... and committing a crime to prevent another crime is not sufficiently justified behavior when it entails risking yours, and potentially other folks, lives. Maybe I'm getting a bit too serious here, but this subject touches a nerve with me! I certainly don't want to see anyone lose their bike ... but if it is a choice between your life and your bike ... the bike can be replaced, you can't!

terry nestrick :ugg:

 

[woodsy]

You know what Terry, that EXACT thought crossed my mind when reading this thread only I didnt have the BRAINS to speak up!
When I was working at Baker College several years ago we had an incident where some outside contractors were using a flammable floor stripper while cleaning in the cafeteria. No one even gave thought about combustability and ignition sources like you are talking about. The resulting explosion resulted in 3 deaths! Had the cafeteria been full of students....
Oh yea guys, I am with Terry on this one!!
THANKS FOR THE REMINDER TERRY :thumb:
Live long and prosper!
Woodsy

 

[Nestrick]

Amen Woodsy ... thanks for the support on this issue.

By the way ... that was some poem you with which you responded to Neal & my trail post ... don't think I didn't read and enjoy it immensely. Funny combination here ... poetry and dirt biking ... not exactly what one might expect of such ruffians as us! However, watching good riders such as yourself and the likes of Neal O'Brien or KTM Mike certainly bids comparison to ballet ... you guys gracefully dance through the woods on a rolling bike while ballet artists do the same on foot but on a stage devoid of obstacles ... guess which one I find more interesting?

Sorry if I got the details of your previous riding experiences in the UP wrong ... I failed to take proper notes on our telephone conversation and was working from my rather defective memory banks. In my younger years I also suffered some of the mental maladies defined by Neal ...

Hope you are feeling better every day and are getting stronger by the minute ...

terry nestrick :cool:

 

[70 marlin]

I prefer the tried and true method. I bought an insurance policy, and locked it to the trailer. and truck If they want it they can have it!

 

[woodsy]

Nothing wrong with the RIGHT path there Mar!! Let the insurance companys do the worrying while we have all the fun!!!

Terry, you DID NOT missunderstand my first hand knowledge of the UP. I have NEVER ridden any of the trails up there, the only dirtbike experience I have of it is riding my dirtbike across the Mac (I did ride a wheelie from span to span - old habits die hard :) ) and then back down the highway to Indian River (where we started from) and back onto the MCCCT with a friend of mine. My experiences of the UP are back packing with the Fam and Street Riding. You and Neal REALLY filled a void for me and I GREATLY appreciate the it!!
Oh and about the poetry, I am not sure where/how/why that comes from, there sure are lots of creative folks on here... :yikes:

Getting BETTER ever day, THANKS to all of you!!
Woodsy

 

[Smit-Dog]

... I have NEVER ridden any of the trails up there, the only dirtbike experience I have of it is riding my dirtbike across the Mac (I did ride a wheelie from span to span - old habits die hard :) ) and then back down the highway to Indian River (where we started from) and back onto the MCCCT with a friend of mine.

... And by some weird dirt bike twist of fate, I happened to be filling some gas cans at a station in Mackinaw City just before crossing the bridge. Saw 2 dirt bikes parked outside, one a plated KX. A couple of yahoos' walk out, jump on their bikes, and rip off into the sunset heading for the bridge.

And this was some 7 months before I had ever heard of another yahoo I know named "Woodsy". ;)

 

[woodsy]

Yea Smitter, THAT was an awesome coincedent - talk about a small world!! That was at the station where some folks that I didnt even know loaned my buddy and I a couple jackets (it was getting late in the day and REAL COLD) for our journey!! Wouldn't have been able to cross the bridge without them!
Woodsy

 

[Tomck]

Terry,

Thanks for your response. I have not yet had my bike up north, but I admit that I have grappled with the idea of in-motel storage thing for a number of reasons (including the valid points that you made in your post). Woodsy's original post really got me thinking again about a full size van (just do not have the space to store an enclosed trailer), although I suppose that some of the same safety concerns would apply to sleeping in a van next to a motorcycle . . .

In the meantime, I guess that I will resort to the good lock, cables, etc.

I am glad that you had a safe, fun trip in the UP. I enjoyed your account of your adventures--really starting to think that you should have your own show on Speed Channel, "Ride With Terry Nestrick"!

Tom

 

[zookieman]

Just buy your dirtbike from wonder woman. Then it will be invisible and nearly impossible for would be theives to see let alone steal your bike. :laugh:

 

[ScottS]

I thought she just sold airplanes ?

 

[2big4akdx]

Know what I do??? Take along a sweet CRF450 to divert attention from a dirty,clapped out, paint rubbed off KDX with well worn chain, sprockets and tires then lock neither to the trailer. Guess what one will get stolen???

 

[woodsy]

You know Neal, you and I have some of the same tendencys. When I first started Bass fishing I always noticed that if I had a freind with me he ALWAYS caught the fish! So I started carring a "dummy" with me and placing a pole under his arm while fishing. This attempt at fooling "Murphy's Law" proved disastorus though as my "dummy" still caught all the fish and he was WAY less fun then the nieghbor! Kinda makes you wonder who REALLY was the "dummy"!

Hope your idea works better and you dont run into some "dummy" who takes both bikes! :yikes:

 

[Nice Guy Eddie]

heres some food for thought.... I have a bolt cutter that will go through just about any regular chain out there in less than 12 seconds... NO ONE has ever confronted me when using it (about 4-5 times a year in public places)... I have removed a Kryptonite lock from a bicycle parked on Hennepin Av. in downtown Minneapolis in less than 5 minutes (in and out) with an angle grinder (my mini torch would have been quicker and quieter)... with heavy foot traffic going by.... it was my friends bike and the lock had failed, but NO ONE even asked what was going on, they just stepped around the spray of sparks (we even plugged in at a local restaurant it was locked in front of... THEY didn't even ask... jsut pointed us to an outlet)...

My point is that locks only keep the honest people honest.... anyone looking to steal has the right things to do the job and NO ONE except YOU is going to stand in thier way... the best way to keep what you have from being stolen is to keep what you have from being seen!!!

IF I were forced to park my bike in the back of a truck I would not only do everything in my power to keep it from being easily accesable (i.e. park with the back up AGAINST a wall) but I would also do all I could to keep it from being seen!!! (a well tied down tarp over the bike would be a great help)

I've had a lot of things jacked from me by petty thieves.... EVERYONE of them was casually visual to the thief (thereby inspiring his thieving little brain)

 

[ScottS]

I agree the gas should be drained- but really it should be drained if it is in your van too- same issues - enclosed space and gasoline.
Keep the bikes out of sight of theives and all should be well.

 

[Nice Guy Eddie]

I also noticed, while changing my handlebars for the umteenth time this month, that the bike is REALLY hard to maneuver when the bars are just dangling there.... this would be a big deterrent to a would be 'roll away' thief, and not very hard to do...