A long time ago most motorcycle theft fell into two categories; teenage joyriders on trail bikes, or popular sportbikes being pinched for spare parts on club racing 250-600-1000cc class machines. But times change and now there is demand from organised gangs basically exporting container loads of prestige motorbikes (plus spares) around the world, plus drug dealers who require small bikes to transport drugs and weapons around various `hoods. Not to mention the various food delivery collectives who take a dim view of road legal motorcycles, as tax and insurance eats into their thin profit margins.
Here’s some data from Go Compare, who have been crunching theft stats. It’s important to note this data only looks at the top 10 most registered motorcycles in the UK, not the entire vehicle parc, so it is a bit skewed as regards findings. For example the best selling scooter the Honda PCX 125 is not something that people in Dyfed Powys would buy, it’s an urban commuter or food delivery vehicle. These are often targeted by rival food delivery operatives, regardless of the location.
In fact out of the top 10 four models are scooters, which doesn’t really help when it comes to analysing motorcycle theft – scooters are not motorcycles. They’re much easier to steal too with cheaper steering and ignition locks, plus one person can lift a 125 scooter into a van, it requires two people to load up a BMW R1250GS, maybe three.
On spares, it can be difficult obtaining parts for some motorcycles, especially parts that are known to fail such as rectifiers or camchains on some older Honda models, or expensive bodywork, catalysers or TFT dashboards on modern tourers, so a handy solution is to steal something and then `chop shop’ the parts to meet global demand. Understanding the market niche, plus parts value, not just collating raw data is probably the key to combatting motorcycle theft.
LET’S GET INTO IT
Greater London has been named as the biggest hotspot for motorbike thefts in the UK, with a ratio of approximately 8.5 thefts for every 1,000 registered bikes in 2022. This suggests that the capital is one of the least safe places to own a bike.
Nottinghamshire and the West Midlands complete the top three biggest hotspots, with ratios of 5.42 and 4.95 thefts for every 1,000 registered bikes, respectively. Yorkshire also seems to be a large hotspot overall, with the West and the South appearing in the top five, indicating that bike owners should remain vigilant in these areas.
POLICE DATA
The study, conducted by Go.Compare Bike Insurance, used data from a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to find out which UK police forces report the highest number of bike thefts, helping riders identify the riskiest locations.
The top 10 bike theft hotspots, and the number of thefts per thousand registered bikes in each area, are below:
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Greater London – 8.5
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Nottinghamshire – 5.42
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West Midlands – 4.95
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West Yorkshire – 3.95
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South Yorkshire – 3.53
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Bedfordshire – 3.28
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Lancashire – 2.83
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Hertfordshire – 2.57
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Northumbria – 2.02
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Essex – 1.99
SAFE RURAL SPACES VS BIG CITIES
Meanwhile, the police forces with the lowest number of bike thefts were Dyfed-Powys, in Wales, and Gloucestershire. Both reported no bike thefts in 2022 (of the models included in the study). Other locations with a bike theft ratio below one included Suffolk, North Wales, and Norfolk. The insurance comparison site also found that bike theft numbers increased for over half (54%) of police forces across the UK between 2019 and 2022. Greater London, the biggest hotspot in both years, saw a worrying 32% increase in bike thefts, indicating that the problem is only worsening.
Other areas that experienced a rise in thefts include the West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the North West. In fact, all police forces in these locations saw an increase in reported bike thefts.
Wales, on the other hand, enjoyed a decrease in thefts across all its police forces. The remaining regions in the study had a mix of increasing and decreasing theft numbers across its forces.
Tom Banks, motoring expert at Go.Compare, said: “Motorbikes are often a more vulnerable target for thieves due to the ease with which they can be carried away, meaning riders need to be particularly wary of theft. Taking the right precautions and ensuring they have the correct insurance coverage is essential.
“Learning about which locations see the most thefts is also valuable for taking further safety measures, and our insights can hopefully help bike riders avoid an unfortunate situation. It’s astounding to see how high the theft ratio is in London compared to other areas of the UK, especially given that it has increased over the years.
“In the worst-case scenario of having your bike stolen, it’s important to contact the police without delay and file a report. Once you have full details of the situation and a crime reference number, you should check your policy coverage and contact your insurance provider to start the claim process.”
A complete list of the bike theft ratios across the UK and more information on the study can be found on Go.Compare’s website.
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