Basic alarms

[Lord Stig]

Can anyone tell me if they know of a company that still makes bike alarms that are just alarms and not immobilisers? I want a warning someone is tampering with the bike, but not a potential breakdown from a unit with a malfunctioning immobiliser/anti-hijack/remote engine starter I don't need. I don't want an alarmed lock either - I already have enough of those to fit every night....

[StumpyFingers]

Do you mean something like THIS

[Zenarchy]

Motorbikealarm.co.uk. - are worth a look too. Very low cost for their basic models but seem to be good, and although even their basic models come with imobalisers etc. on them, you don't need to wire those functions up if you don't want them (and this makes fitting much easier - probably a 5 minute job). Guys who run that business seem very helpful and knowledgeable and can supply wiring diagrams for most bikes.

The keyfobs on their basic alarms are nice metal ones too and pretty sturdy and no big buttons to get pressed accidentally when you've got them in your pocket.

I think some of their more advanced ones even have a cloaking mechanism so the alarm goes off before anyone even touches the bike just by getting too close to it or something (not quite sure exactly how that works but would be fun to play with !).

P.S. That's not spam - looks like the forum turned my simple link into that advertising message somehow (probably picking up the page titles automatically or something).

[Lord Stig]

Thanks StumpyFingers, that's the sort of thing! So Meta still make them, that's good to know. I had a look at the Cyclone alarms on eBay - under £20 is pretty good, but I was concerned by all the extras. If they don't actually need to be wired up that makes a very different proposition. For that price it would be worthwhile giving it a try! Thanks for your help, but appreciated!!

[Zenarchy]

I'm not sure about the more advanced alarms from them, but the basic cyclone ones it's just a case of positive and negative wire to the battery, then a couple of cables to connect up to the lights wires so they flash when the alarm goes off and as a visual indicator when you turn the alarm on and off (not even sure if you need those as it blips too - apart from as an indicator for setting the sensitivity etc. when you first set it up).

It will leave behind quite a few wires that are unused, but they're only thin and bunch up and can be easily tucked away using a couple of cable ties if you don't need them, then they're there if you decide to wire in the imobiliser etc. later.

I'm not sure about the more advanced ones, but it might be worth dropping them a line and seeing how those work too. If you can wire those in without the imobiliser too they might fit the bill and still provide some nice extra features that you might find useful such as a pager if the alarm goes off and you're away from the bike, and that cloaking device thing looks really cool if it works.

If you drop them a line they should be able to advise you and seem very helpful and knowledgeable.

If you're looking at the ones on ebay it's worth checking the keyfobs as some of the older ones came with these nasty looking plastic fobs (the new ones are much nicer).

Also worth bearing in mind that it probably won't give you any advantage with the insurance people as they won't be professionally fitted or on the insurance lists (though I think the same company do offer one of their more advanced ones that's been certified for insurance or something - best to ask if this is important).

[Lord Stig]

Thanks Zenarchy, those are some really useful tips. I think the basic Cyclone model advertised will do the job just fine. It sounds like I should be able to tune it to just what I want. I like the sound of the metal key fobs, though I'd keep them separate from the keys - I made that mistake with a Solalarm a while back; keys lead a hard life!

This question started because two 'young men' who live on the estate I've recently moved to started a conversation about the AT while I was tracing an oil leak at the weekend. One of them seemed to be pretty innocent, but the second was asking questions like "What is it worth?" and "Does it have an alarm?", which certainly set up an alarm with me! I can see it being nicked to ride around the hills on and then torch, rather than resell or break for parts. As it is it's probably only worth maybe £1000 (if I'm lucky, but you have to be positive...), so the insurance pay out might be useful for once. However, I can't replace it in the short term, so I'd prefer to hang on to it if I can....

[Zenarchy]

No worries

It's probably a good idea to still use a chain and disc lock as it seems to detect vibration/shock better than gentle movement (though this may be only mine as it's not mounted exactly upright the way I think it should be due to lack of space).

If you've got an older africa twin or transalp, it might be worth looking at where you're going to fit it too. I needed to take out an air box turbulance creator thing to fit it in (though bike seems to run fine without it). Ideally you want to wire it in somewhere where it can't easily be got to without going off ofcourse.

You also get a flashy LED with them that might help to deter anyone touching it (just plugs straight into the alarm so no wiring-in needed for that). I doubt these cheap alarms are going to be a major deterrent for a determined or professional bike thief, but they seem to do the trick to scare kids off (or just people being curious and touching it when it's parked up somewhere). For the price it seems better to have one than not to me even if it's only a deterrent for the opportunist. Hopefully this will help with the people who were asking you about the bike (if it doesn't you know where to look first at least).

Or you could try my approach of wandering around the garden bleary eyed in your underpants at 3am carrying an axe while investigating any noises you hear around your bike. If you're new to the area and the local charvers don't already know you, you'll quickly gain a reputation as being someone who isn't worth the risk of stealing things from (has worked for me so far - though I'm not sure what's more scary - the risk of a violent confrontation or the sight of me in my underpants at 3am - probably the latter if I'm honest!).

[Lord Stig]

That's the kind of thing - it just needs to wake me up so I can dive out there with one of my collection of broad swords! I probably wouldn't bother with the underpants...

Should be enough to scare most sluffers off!

I thought I'd worry about where to put it when I get it - it's for a 2001 RD07a, so it could go in the gap under the seat, though I would rather not loose any of that valuable tool space. I'm sure I can locate it somewhere suitable though.

[Zenarchy]

Under the seat seems the best place to me (though on the rd04 there's no room there unless you make some). Good luck with it anyway. Would be good to hear how you get on with it as it looks like they might have updated the design again a bit since last time.

[uncle nick]

Don't mean to thread hijack (sorry) but do any of you know of an alarm that works on 6Volt?