Keeping a Moto in the City

Hey everybody. I got myself a bike for the first time in a city. When I rode dirtbikes as a kid we just threw em in the barn 8) This is my first street bike and I'm wondering how people handle parking and storage in the city. I'm in Philly and I live in a typical brick rowhouse like you'd see in a lot of east coast cities. I have good room in front of the house, with a coveted extra wide sidewalk. I bought a cover for the bike and I have a long U-lock that I'll put through the rear wheel.

I realize there are a lot of variables and personal preferences, but do other folks like to take extra precautions? Is it worth installing a ring on the front of the house to chain the bike? (I own the house) Any other secret methods out there?

I'm lucky enough to have a pal with a garage so I'll be able to keep her in there over the winter.

PS - I did a search and couldn't find any topic about this, but if you know of one I'd love to check it out.

Bikes are easy to steal. The "out of sight, out of mind" idiom is one to live by. If your bike is covered or behind a gate, it's less likely to grab someone's attention. Chaining the bike to something stationary would be well worth the effort, too. I lived in Philly in the late 80's/early 90's and my bike was messed with about once a year.

I'd go with the anchor idea, then connect an electric fencer. The buzz will get around

Yeah get it up close to the house, cover it and make it discrete and a pain to steal.

No access to the back yard through a laneway I assume?

My approach is to have bikes that nobody would bother taking

Cool thanks for the advice. I like the electric fence idea haha. Tim, there is an electric alley behind me, but the neighbor at the end of the block keeps it gated and locked (fine with me) and keeps the only key, so that's not really an option. Time to borrow the hammer drill and put a hook in the house. I might just do two while I'm at it so friends have a place to lock bicycles.

You could buy/build something like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-o3cdClkOXw

JustinLonghorn said:

You could buy/build something like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-o3cdClkOXw

Click to expand...

That would sell like hotcakes in the parking garages of many big cities and in high density "row house" areas... Nice! would love to license the design in the US if the numbers work.

Every thing you can do, big or little, to make it harder to steal, will make thieves look for an easier target. The anchor is a great idea, as is the cover, but keep using the U-lock too. I'd also keep a light on it at night and maybe a security camera (or just a fake one) as an additional deterrent.
Whatever you do, stay vigilant! Always lock it up when you're not on it. Don't think "Oh, I'll just be a minute while I grab something from inside". Bikes are easy to roll away, and they disappear quickly

12 years in Philly, and I've never had an issue. I still own a house there in Tacony/Mayfair. It's nothing like the 80's/90's city it used to be. You can get good U-Locks or cables. I worked at Temple and most of the bikes there use the U-Locks or cables. Temple provides lots of motorcycle parking right in front of buildings to encourage their use. I tended to stick to up front parking and motorcycle only parking when available. I never parked in back alleys when I went to Center City, Fishtown, Northern Liberties, etc. I know everyone on my street. If anyone fucked with the bike, someone was saying something or kicking their ass. As you know, common sense is king.

LOL Justin that thing is amazing!! It probably costs more than my bike though haha

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll certainly employ common sense and vigilance.

What's wrong with in the house?

This is a different answer, if you have a dude where's my bike moment. There are also some simple GPS systems for bicycles that are easy to hide and inexpensive to use and can be tracked online or on a phone app. Here in SLC bicycles get stolen a lot and they are very effective for finding them later on.

J-Rod10 said:

What's wrong with in the house?

Click to expand...

Ha! My wife wouldn't have it dude. Plus I'd have to build a ramp. Or a sweet jump.

Josh, that's a great tip. I'll look into that, thanks.

If anyone is interested, I ended up making these rings for the front of the house. I work at a metal shop so I stayed after a couple nights and put these together. It's hard to tell in the pics, but I used a ball peen to round over the edges of the bolts to prevent the nuts from just turning off. I'll probably go out there tomorrow with a cardboard mask and spraypaint the bolts black.