5 Cities to Visit if You Want to Get Your Motorcycle Stolen

In L.A., thieves have a particular affinity for Suzukis, such as this 2007 Suzuki GSR400. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Miami, FloridaNo. 5 on the NICB’s list of the most dangerous

places to leave a motorcycle

unattended, Miami reported 535

motorcycle thefts in 2012.

Put another way, for every 774 inhabitants

of the Magic City –one bike went “poof!”

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Indianapolis, IndianaArriving in fourth place in this race, the Circle City

“boasted” 584 bike thefts in 2012.

On the one hand, that’s certainly more than

Miami. On the other hand, it works out to only one

theft per 1,445 inhabitants. From that perspective, Indy looks twice as safe as Miami.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

San Diego, CaliforniaThieves from the City

in Motion moved a lot of hot metal in 2012 – 633 stolen

bikes in all.

But given its greater population, that worked out to an

even safer proportion of residents to bike

thieves: 2,113.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Las Vegas, NevadaThe runner-up in this

contest, No. 2 “stealin’ city” Las Vegas

experienced 757 motorcycle thefts in

2012.

But while many people visit Las Vegas, not so many live there. Per

person, that’s one theft per 788 inhabitants. Sin

City indeed.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

New York, New YorkThe city so nice they named

it twice only needed one chance to win this contest.

With 8.3 million inhabitants playing, it could

hardly lose.

But perversely, with so many residents, and only 903 reported bike thefts, NYC turns out to be both

No. 1 in thefts, and close to No. 1 in the certainty your bike will never be stolen:

Just one theft reported, per 9,232 residents.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

And so you see, in motorcycling as elsewhere in life, there’s lies, dam*ed lies, and statistics.

New York City, it turns out, is both “No. 1” in the absolute number of motorcycle thefts reported in 2012 -- and

simultaneously one of the safest places in the country to leave your bike out in the open, unlocked, and unattended.

Similarly, the fact that NICB places Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki ahead of Harley-Davidson in likelihood-to-be-stolen ...

may speak less to the Japanese brands’ popularity, and to Harley’s “unpopularity,” than you might think.

Maybe ...

The reason so few Harleys are stolen is because there’s no demand for the chop-shops’ output. Maybe Harley owners are such fine, upstanding

citizens, that they’d never think of buying possibly stolen motorcycle parts?

Maybe ...

Thieves just know better than to mess with someone who owns a Harley – so they go and

pick on the Suzuki owners instead?

Or maybe ...

A 700-lb. Harley-Davidson is just too big to pick up and toss in the back of a pickup?

One thing’s for sure.

With Harley-Davidson bikes accounting for more than half the motorcycles sold in America every

year, this company’s bikes are much more popular – among law-abiding citizens, at least –

than NICB’s crime statistics suggest.

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