Alternative alarm ?

[utopia]

I'm not a fan of onboard bike alarms.
To be honest, I have no personal experience as I have never actually owned one but it seems to me that they are of dubious value in the first place, often hyped up by never ending modes and features to tempt the punters and they are prone to battery draining issues and other electrical gremlins.
If I use one at all, it is a Xena alarmed disc-lock, which I like because it is totally independant of the bike's electrics.
I seldom use that but there are some occasions when the bike will be parked out of sight but within earshot, and under those circumstances it saves me constantly checking that the bike is still there.
Then today, while idly googling around during a tea break, I came across this battery powered bicycle alarm.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bicycle-Bike-Anti-Theft-Security-Alarm-Warning-Annunciator-Lock-with-Remote-UK/132466496131?hash=item1ed79e5283:g:eRAAAOSwxOFaV5v e
Ok, it looks like a cheap device but when you think about it, maybe that's all you need. After all, everyone knows that alarms just get ignored by the general passers by, so why have a fancy one ?
But for under a fiver, I might just be able to see a role for these cheap, low-spec units.

Discuss.

[350TSS]

Convinced me - all the alarmed bikes I have had have been a regular PITA and the alarm has always been discarded, I bought one but some say I am easily lead

[Dukedesmo]

Always felt alarms/immobilisers a waste of time on a bike, a determined thief will take it regardless and I don't think many bother hotwiring/riding away.

The only thing that may be of use is something that alerts you when it's being tampered with but only if you are within a few seconds of the bike so could get there and catch them in the act. In which case a battery powered alarm is probably good enough especially if hidden in the bike.

[Nottsbiker]

TBH I've had Laserline and Datatool on multiple bikes and they've all gone wrong and drained the batteries on all bikes.

Best alarm I've ever had was one I fitted onto a 50cc NRG I was buzzing to n from work on for about 20 quid off ebay. Wire to battery n indicators with no silly cutting into loom with super loud alarm siren which for me was what I needed as my two wheelers are within ear shot of where I work all day

[Darren69]

Same as immobilisers really they're a liability and when they go wrong your stuffed! I think a GPS tracker would be better and one of those cycle alarms, seem alright for £4

[ChrisC2925]

I had a Datatool on mine, spiked it one day and it never worked reliably after that so I took it off. There's a good video on Youtube showing how to deal with them once they go wrong, it's a bloke with a lump hammer.

[Nottsbiker]

I had a Datatool on mine, spiked it one day and it never worked reliably after that so I took it off. There's a good video on Youtube showing how to deal with them once they go wrong, it's a bloke with a lump hammer.

Yup and its a pain when they die at 4.00am! Weedy sirens are suddenly very LOUD!!

[utopia]

No crys of "cheapskate" then.
Goodo.

I've never been even slightly tempted to fit a normal integrated alarm.
No matter what brand, they all seem to be unreliable in the long term, as well as adding an extra level of complication if you get an electrical glitch on the bike.
They also all seem to have endless little gizmos which are heralded as very whizz-bang, but merely make a bad system more complicated.
The lumphammer mod sounds good though.

My normal short-stay security is a cheap, scooter disclock with reminder cable .. it just makes the bike "look secure" to the casual scrote.
I tend to leave the steering lock off as all it does is give you something else to fix when they kick it.
The Xena is more bulky and awkward to carry around so I seldom actually use it but I do like the idea of an alarmed disclock.
However, I do have an issue with disc locks in general I suppose. I don't really want my caliper and mudguard smashing.
I now realise that what I really need is a little independent battery-powered alarm, stashed out of sight somewhere .. under the tank maybe.
Just something to save me going to the window every half-hour to check that the bike is still there when I'm down the pub, at a mate's etc.
Its not going to prevent a theft but at least it gives me the option to intervene.

The batteries must last quite a while as they don't do much unless its activated.
You probably wouldn't even switch it on very often.
And anyway, the cost and hassle of fitting a new one say once a year would be negligible.
And not even the remotest chance of draining the bike's battery.

I (very) might fit one on the Dommie too.
Not only is it the runabout which gets parked outside shops etc all the time, but it is also the "fishing bike".
There is always a sense of unease when you walk the half-mile back upstream to the road bridge where the bike "should" still be parked at the end of the day.
But I'd hear the alarm from way downstream .. after all its in the quiet countryside.
It, incidentally, has had its steering lock smashed twice, both times when it was out of sight but only 20yds away.

But for the monster ....
I have a nice, leetle, leethium battery in the std battery box.
This leaves a handy spare space next to it, which used to house my puncture plugging kit before I hit upon the more compact, Dynaplug system which is small enough to fit under the seat.
So we have a concealed space for the alarm right in the heart of the beast .. and no need for any wiring either.
Virtually impossible for a thief to disarm there, I would have thought .... well, manually anyway.
And well out of the rain too, in case its not as waterproof as they claim.
Could even be as simple as a 5 minute, cable-tie job.

I've just ordered one.

[Pedro]

Personally I think a tracker is a better idea, lots of options on eBay if you don’t want to spend mega bucks

[Stevedesmo]

A damning indictment of alarms etc by a bloke who has never owned one and has no experience of them, hmmmm?
Your logic might stack up if all the people who have no problems with them were posting on forums to say how happy they are because they’ve run up another day without an alarm failure, but do you think that’s gonna happen?

I’ll stick with my alarm immobiliser thanks, good luck with your £4.19 eBay buzzer, don’t forget to tell your insurer!

[Mr Gazza]

Yeah... Looks like a good find Jeff. It's all an alarm needs to be and won't drain the bike's battery, which is a very good thing.

Just curious as to whether the remote would work it if the alarm was under the tank?

Considering getting a handful at that price. Could hang one on a bit of sting on the back of the workshop door, provided the remote will work it through the door.

I could also attach one to some scrap metal and leave it out.. ;)

[Darkness]

I’ll stick with my alarm immobiliser thanks, good luck with your £4.19 eBay buzzer, don’t forget to tell your insurer!

Isn't that just a damning "indictment" of life on the Wirral?

[Stevedesmo]

Yes, it’s proper ghetto up here, a cross between the Boston combat zone, a Brazilian favela and Bournemouth.

[Nickj]

I’ll stick with my alarm immobiliser thanks, good luck with your £4.19 eBay buzzer, don’t forget to tell your insurer!

My 748R has a Datatool S4 red, I suspect it's doing what it does as it needs disarming before you even breath near the bike.
I told my insurer about that and the data tagging ... didn't seem to make a whole lot of difference.

[BLUNT]

Considering getting a handful at that price.

Good idea.....as replacements.

How long do you guys expect that Chinese tat to last?

[popelli]

alarm on my ducati was removed when it malfunctioned

I find a disc lock far more effective as nobody even looks when an alarm goes off anyway

Many years ago I lost the keys to a bike, so I hotwired it, not a single passer by asked any questions

[Darren69]

I think its fair to be sceptical of the quality of some so called Chinese tat, some of it is actually ok. Evailuation is necessary first and for £4 its no big loss. Remember how the Brits wrote off Japanese bikes like the CB750 in the 70's and considered them to be no threat at the time?

It won't take the Chinese that long to be producing kit that will rival Japan and the rest of the world. There are already some electronics companys making hi end hi fi and consumer electroics gear that is comparable with the Japanese stuff for a fraction of the price.

[Darkness]

Yes, it’s proper ghetto up here, a cross between the Boston combat zone, a Brazilian favela and Bournemouth.

Bournemouth eh? I didn't know it had gotten that bad! :D

[Darren69]

Bournemouth eh? I didn't know it had gotten that bad! :D

Yea, what's with Bournemouth? I thought that would be full of old godgers. Or are they the problem? Where I live near Mansfield its like the Bronx, full of wanna be gangsta chavs who are probably getting whatever hand outs from the state that they can in order to maintain their lifestyle and they still want to steal if they see something that they want and can't afford.

[Moco1961]

Yea, what's with Bournemouth? I thought that would be full of old godgers. Or are they the problem? Where I live near Mansfield its like the Bronx, full of wanna be gangsta chavs who are probably getting whatever hand outs from the state that they can in order to maintain their lifestyle and they still want to steal if they see something that they want and can't afford.

......it's the demographic, these retired folk walk along the beach front at West Kirby, casting a sly glance at what's parked then before you know it. They are on the mobile texting a runner to go fetch......nightmare!:D:D:D

....anyway back to the focus of the thread....immobiliser is more effective imo, although I had an car fitted with one a good few years back that some scroats wanted, didn't get it but having silenced the alarm they messed up the boot lid,bonnet and drivers door looking for the immobiliser , actually wished they had taken it.

Having seen the thread last year about the bike in London been snatched while the owner watched, which is horrific enough, I think getting a good insurer is top priority.....if the scroats want your bike sadly they will get it !:thumbsdown:

[Darren69]

......it's the demographic, these retired folk walk along the beach front at West Kirby, casting a sly glance at what's parked then before you know it. They are on the mobile texting a runner to go fetch......nightmare!:D:D:D

....anyway back to the focus of the thread....immobiliser is more effective imo, although I had an car fitted with one a good few years back that some scroats wanted, didn't get it but having silenced the alarm they messed up the boot lid,bonnet and drivers door looking for the immobiliser , actually wished they had taken it.

Having seen the thread last year about the bike in London been snatched while the owner watched, which is horrific enough, I think getting a good insurer is top priority.....if the scroats want your bike sadly they will get it !:thumbsdown:

Yea, them crumblies don't have any cash 'cos there pensions have gone south and the fat cats took all the money, you gotta watch them old b******s 'cos they'll nick owt they can get their hands on. Who can blame them for that?

Chavs on the other hand are scum and will take anything they can, even though they are unemployed and yet still somehow manage to take home more money than you do and never did a days work in their life.

Two recently started checking out my bike as some people do when they walk past, that's ok fair enough its a nice bike. They then jumped my gate and started rocking it. I went out to confront them and they ran off. 2 days later my windows are put through with an air rifle or slingshot.

[utopia]

Your logic might stack up if all the people who have no problems with them were posting on forums to say how happy they are because they’ve run up another day without an alarm failure, but do you think that’s gonna happen?


MY logic ...........:scratch:

[Moco1961]

Yea, them crumblies don't have any cash 'cos there pensions have gone south and the fat cats took all the money, you gotta watch them old b******s 'cos they'll nick owt they can get their hands on. Who can blame them for that?

Chavs on the other hand are scum and will take anything they can, even though they are unemployed and yet still somehow manage to take home more money than you do and never did a days work in their life.

Two recently started checking out my bike as some people do when they walk past, that's ok fair enough its a nice bike. They then jumped my gate and started rocking it. I went out to confront them and they ran off. 2 days later my windows are put through with an air rifle or slingshot.

......I assume Darren they were rocking it to set the alarm of just for fun!....so we have gone full circle, damned if you do, damned if you don't ! Plus if you **** them off they come back and do more damage.:Furious:

[utopia]

I am not suggesting in the slightest that this is the best security device out there.
That would be ridiculous.
And even if it was, it still wouldn't be anything like adequate against the determined thief ... nothing is.

What I do like though is its simple and basic yet effective design ... much like the monster itself I guess.
And I see no reason why China's ability to make simple electronic devices should be questioned .. this isn't the 70s.
In any case, for a fiver, and zero installation hassle, and zero interference with the bike's electrics, it will alert me to the tampering scrote.
What's not to like ?

Gazza .. I dunno if the tank would interfere with the remote signal but it should be easy enough to reach down and "flash" it from a better angle.

Pedro .. Yep, I may well fit a tracker as well.
If you know of a good one which doesn't require subscriptions, I would be interested to hear.
But if I'm using a tracker, the bike has already been nicked .. and I'll be walking home from the river.

Moco .. if you xxxx them off when you're at the pub (or the river) they don't know where you live.

[Pedro]

Pedro .. Yep, I may well fit a tracker as well.
If you know of a good one which doesn't require subscriptions, I would be interested to hear.
But if I'm using a tracker, the bike has already been nicked .. and I'll be walking home from the river

This uses a pay as you go sim and alerts for any movement etc to your phone(s)

https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_prod/246089?r=GS&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIw5ehk8Pm2AIVT77tCh0uLwm5EAQYASAB EgJlEvD_BwE

[Moco1961]

Moco .. if you xxxx them off when you're at the pub (or the river) they don't know where you live.


.....that's a good point well made......although when I go to the pub I am not usually in a fit state to ride my bike....i'm an " all or nothing" bloke..:D:D:D

[Mr Gazza]

Thanks again for flagging up a harmless cheapie... Anything has got to better than no alarm.
It never occurred to me to just point the remote under the tank. That's a nice simple solution to an already nice simple idea... The logic is just stacking up in it's favour. (Can you actually "stack" logic? Or is it the name of a new type of play brick, like Lego, from China?)

[Nickj]

It won't take the Chinese that long to be producing kit that will rival Japan and the rest of the world. There are already some electronics companys making hi end hi fi and consumer electroics gear that is comparable with the Japanese stuff for a fraction of the price.

They already produce a huge volume of 'Japanese' bikes, the electronics for them and lots more. Quite a few models are all chinese built
Electronics again they are big producers for other companies, lots of things these days are using micro components so are all automated production
Given their muscle they will be stealing the production market from a big swathe of indo-china over the next few years

[JayJosephS4RS]

After some chavvy little c*** sat on my 9T last year in a pub car park and scratched absolute f*** out of my tank while I was (just) out of sight, which ended up costing me £75 for paint correction... I think I’ll keep the Datatool on my Monster. The warning bleeps are sensitive enough to deter people from even standing near your prized possession and the alarm at full wail is loud enough that I would have heard it had my 9T had one installed which would’ve saved me having to pay for the damage caused...

Having it on my Monster reduced my insurance premium by £20 too... which is better than a kick in the gonads any day of the week. It’s been on the bike 10 years and touch-wood, still works fine. No problems with it.

The screamer disc alarm I had on the 9T did absolutely nothing.

[utopia]

That's exactly the type of scenario that I'm talking about.
An alarm of some kind, even a cheap one, will cover such circumstances by alerting you to the chav activity before any damage is done.

Well, my alarm arrived and ...... it didn't work at all.
Also, communications with the supplier were rubbish and so I eventually gave up and "bad feedback'd" them.
I'm not totally deterred though ... I have stripped out the gubbins from the alarm and will investigate further (once I've replaced my faulty multimeter).
Apart from the alarm "speaker" and the battery, its just a single circuit board, which I may be able to install separately without the alarm casing.
Anyhow, so far-so bad, but we shall see how things progress.
Either way, I certainly would not recommend the particular supplier that I got mine from.

[BLUNT]

Well, my alarm arrived and ...... it didn't work at all.



How long do you guys expect that Chinese tat to last?

I do apologise - I did expect it to work for 5 mins.

[utopia]

Yes, me too.
Though I'm not giving up just yet.
I don't really see why the electronics should be tat .. as stated earlier the chinese seem to produce lots of similar stuff to proper standards.
I'm hoping that its just a dodgy input wire or something.

...but I'm not holding my breath.

Either way, its only cost me a fiver to investigate its, er ..... potential.


ps.
So, I didn't want to spend much time on it but I've just connected the battery direct to the circuit board ... no joy.
Then I connected the battery direct to the alarm "speaker" ... still no joy.
I might give up there.
I'm still interested to try a "working" one though.
I suspect that many of the electronic components are identical to those used in more expensive alarms .. after all most of that stuff is dirt cheap once you have got the production process set up, so no need to make "cheapo" versions.