Tracker

[LoneWally]

Has anyone got a tracker on their bike and if so what are you using. I have toured around with the idea of one the ones where you put your own sim in and keep it topped up but if I'm being honest it sounds like a bit of a ball ache to keep credit on it etc etc.

I had an ad appear for one by Possio thats only £89.99 then either £5, £7 or £9 a month depending how often you want it to auto update and have one or two extra features.

Possio website - https://possio.com/

Anyone used them or used one similar?

 

[Theodor]

Cheapest and most customizable way to have a tracker, is old phone, with gps and internet capabilities. Hide it in the bodywork. Better to use contract, instead of prepaid sim. Because with prepaid sim, you most likely will need to take the sim out every now and then, to top it up again.
Dedicated trackers do some things better, among other, they stay online longer, when you don't ride your bike for a long time, but many will not allow you to connect to the device directly, and you will need to pay to some "middleman" (read service provider), to see the location in real time.
Also, thieves know how to use signal jammers, so it's still a 50-50 chance, if it will be of any use.
If you want to go with the dedicated device option, I would recommend you also check out the trackers meant for bicycles, as they will not rely on your bikes battery.

 

[dandoolittle]

Biketrac- used for three years and simply works.

Absolute awesome bit of kit that can work without a gps signal etc

 

[Undead MV]

I currently use this one

http://www.dx.com/p/magnetic-gps-tr...-battery-gsm-gprs-locator-421564#.WlfbS67ibIU

It was the cheapest solution i could find, i use a prepaid sim, it´s simple and easy to use, you can track using cellphone app or web page without any extra fee, is powered by a 12V-3.7V standard converter both are hid in the body of my bike

 

[LoneWally]

Cheapest and most customizable way to have a tracker, is old phone, with gps and internet capabilities. Hide it in the bodywork. Better to use contract, instead of prepaid sim. Because with prepaid sim, you most likely will need to take the sim out every now and then, to top it up again.
Dedicated trackers do some things better, among other, they stay online longer, when you don't ride your bike for a long time, but many will not allow you to connect to the device directly, and you will need to pay to some "middleman" (read service provider), to see the location in real time.
Also, thieves know how to use signal jammers, so it's still a 50-50 chance, if it will be of any use.
If you want to go with the dedicated device option, I would recommend you also check out the trackers meant for bicycles, as they will not rely on your bikes battery.

Yh I have thought about that using a spare phone. Problem is battery life would proberly be an issue. As for the jammers thats a good point. I'm out the bike 6 days a week at least.

Biketrac- used for three years and simply works.

Absolute awesome bit of kit that can work without a gps signal etc

I have seen somthing similar in the past. The use of RF from what I have seen have certainly helped in the past.

I currently use this one

http://www.dx.com/p/magnetic-gps-tr...-battery-gsm-gprs-locator-421564#.WlfbS67ibIU

It was the cheapest solution i could find, i use a prepaid sim, it´s simple and easy to use, you can track using cellphone app or web page without any extra fee, is powered by a 12V-3.7V standard converter both are hid in the body of my bike

Do this rely on sms messages or internet.

 

[Reize]

Everybody talking about how to get tracking, but food for thought. Is tracking really worth the hassle of setting up, maintaining, and paying for, when you can just put that money into a good insurance covering theft?

I know we're all sentimental about our bikes, it's not the same even if you get the same model again, but seriously, sometimes after recovering the bikes, you wish you'd just let it go, claim the money from insurance and get another machine.

The recovery is sometimes a huge ass headache, you have to deal with so much paperwork and law enforcement procedures, it takes forever, and when you get it back it's often damaged beyond recognition.

 

[dandoolittle]

Everybody talking about how to get tracking, but food for thought. Is tracking really worth the hassle of setting up, maintaining, and paying for, when you can just put that money into a good insurance covering theft?

I know we're all sentimental about our bikes, it's not the same even if you get the same model again, but seriously, sometimes after recovering the bikes, you wish you'd just let it go, claim the money from insurance and get another machine.

The recovery is sometimes a huge ass headache, you have to deal with so much paperwork and law enforcement procedures, it takes forever, and when you get it back it's often damaged beyond recognition.

I’ll use my example -

Bikers are rarely recovered aka insurance rates will go way way up for a full lose, rather than fixing a steering lock and cosmetics.

Trackers - in my case saves around £50 a year on insurance - my bike was stolen 4 years ago... first year the tracker saved £150 yet the tracker is £80 per year...

A good tracker isn’t just a tracker. You can see where you’ve been, battery levels, ‘watch your bike at the garage’ even have crash alerts if you want to turn it on.

Proper tracking companies provide recovery, they’ll go get the bike with the police

Hassle??? There isn’t any -

You need to read about proper tracking

 

[WingManGT]

A friend of mine used this. Even though it is not live tracking (requires you to request location) so no viewing on the map while moving or sth, but on the other hand it is a cheap budget solution. Also it is not pinpoint accurate, but it will get you within a 15m radius, which should be enough. https://www.amazon.de/TKSTAR-Diebst...F8&qid=1516013619&sr=8-3&keywords=gps+tracker

 

[Theodor]

....

Insurances must be cheap, in Singapore. Here you can expect to pay about 1/4 to 1/3 of bikes price (new), for casco insurance. Also, if the bike is older than 5 years, almost no insurance compant is willing to insure it anyway. With my semi-cheap, and 20 year old bike, even if possible, it would be pointless. Definitely, compared to some 50-100 EUR chinese tracker.
Sure, The police might hold it for a day or two, for processing and taking fingerprints.Sure there may be scratches on it. But is the couple of days and few hundred, for paint, really worse, than putting few thousand, under a new bike?

 

[dandoolittle]

oh - my tracker also has speed tracking that I can disable - SOME insurance companies will give a massive cash back IF you stay within the law in something like 85% of all situations.

Like a blackbox

I don't know how to turn my speed tracking back on else I'd be jumping all over it, such a shame I can't find that option. such such a shame

 

[Reize]

Insurances must be cheap, in Singapore. Here you can expect to pay about 1/4 to 1/3 of bikes price (new), for casco insurance. Also, if the bike is older than 5 years, almost no insurance compant is willing to insure it anyway. With my semi-cheap, and 20 year old bike, even if possible, it would be pointless. Definitely, compared to some 50-100 EUR chinese tracker.
Sure, The police might hold it for a day or two, for processing and taking fingerprints.Sure there may be scratches on it. But is the couple of days and few hundred, for paint, really worse, than putting few thousand, under a new bike?

The price depends on the age of the rider, bike, and if any claim has been made recently (pretty much like anywhere the way they price stuff).

But in general for example, my policy for my 2005 ZX6R costs SGD 650 per year. I'm 29, with no claims for the past 3 years. I am covered for liability, fire and theft for that.

The kicker is that, insurance companies here MOSTLY don't have any sort of discounts whether you have any form of security or not, or if you use a dash cam. So there isn't really any incentive to use them other than the dash cams for legal purposes if someone hits you.

So yes, the benefits of using a tracker is probably region specific. Not to mention while thefts do happen from time to time here, it's pretty rare compared to even the safest cities in the US.

 

[dandoolittle]

So yes, the benefits of using a tracker is probably region specific. Not to mention while thefts do happen from time to time here, it's pretty rare compared to even the safest cities in the US.

Valid point - in London you’ll often pay more for bike insurance than a car

 

[HippoDrone]

Valid point - in London you’ll often pay more for bike insurance than a car

you'll often pay more for insurance than the cost of a car thanks to all the theft claims!

 

[LoneWally]

I'm after somthing that I can just pull up on my phone and check it is. Whilst the bike doesn't owe me anything. Only when I'm on college am I'm not in ears shot of it. Even when I run into town on luch its parked within in sight of the windows

 

[Lurch]

What’s your annual BikeTrac subscription Dan?

 

[dandoolittle]

What’s your annual BikeTrac subscription Dan?

£80 and worth it

 

[dandoolittle]

I'm after somthing that I can just pull up on my phone and check it is. Whilst the bike doesn't owe me anything. Only when I'm on college am I'm not in ears shot of it. Even when I run into town on luch its parked within in sight of the windows

Biketrak now offer an APP which is really good. Only thing I don't like is that its not fingerprinted to use blah blah but thats probs me being OTT - Still need to unlock phone to see it blah

 

[dandoolittle]

og - Biketrac will acually go with the police if the bikes out of GPS, they'll come with some otehr equipment that WILL get your bike if its hidden in a private cave lol

They will also recover your bike if it comes down to it - Noone else offers that