Front disc lock - FAIL

marke14

marke14

running on empty
Elite Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2007
Messages
592
Reaction score
31
Points
28
Location
Los Angeles
Visit site
No pictures, thank God, please don't ask.

After riding up to a friend's place in the Mt. Washington part of Los Angeles from the LAX area on Friday for dinner - a long, nice, relaxing dinner (NOT drinking/etc., just regular relaxing) I totally dumped the bike leaving the curb in front of their place.

Yeah. FAIL.

I can't tell you what exactly happened except that:

* I obviously forgot to remove my disc lock

* I goosed the throttle on the way down (because I heard the engine rev up)

* I hopped off the port (left), previously-low-sided side of the bike uninjured

and

* The auto-ignition kill worked

The only positive side is I don't THINK our friends saw me (my wife had met me up there in her car and had thankfully just previously departed for home), due to the nature of their window coverings.

Anyway.

Thank you, that is all. :rolleyes:
 
i did it once too but thankfully i did not fall down, i was moving the bike backwards from the parking slot when it refused to budge. i checked if it was in neutral and couldn t figure out what was wrong, until i saw the bright yellow disc lock kissing the front fork!
 
I don't need a disc lock to lay my bike down. Twice I slipped in wet grass and got saved by it sinking in the ground.
 
Been there, done that! :(

When my front wheel stopped, it was left balancing on the edge of the curb, not quite down on the ground but too far down to get back up again.

When I got the front wheel down on the ground and with the rear wheel on the curb, I could not get the side stand out because the curb made the center part of the bike too low for the side stand to swing out. I had to keep the bike upright and at the same time maneuvering around it to unlock the disc lock with one hand.

Probably not a very impressive sight, but hopefully all my neighbours were at work as I was running quite late.

Not one of my proudest moments. :spank: :shakehead:

Now I have bought one of those spiral plastic key chains that I hook between the disc lock and handle bar so I can easily see if the lock is on or not.
 
Never dumped it because I always roll it from my parking space first and that's when I got a surprise one day. Luckily it just stopped and I didn't dump it.
Now I have one of those coiled, bright orange reminder cords.
31QEw9N-E4L._SL500_AA300_.jpg
 
Last edited:
Ouch.

What exactly is a disc lock? I assume it is just an extra means of preventing theft above the standard steering head lock?

Glad I don't live in an area that necessitates that kind of security just to eat and relax with friends.
 
FIZZER6 said:
Ouch.

What exactly is a disc lock? I assume it is just an extra means of preventing theft above the standard steering head lock?

Glad I don't live in an area that necessitates that kind of security just to eat and relax with friends.
Click to expand...

It is a specific kind of lock that attaches to your front disk rotors... Much like those parking boots for cars... Anyway, they cause more problems than they solve (case in point)... If someone was going to steal your bike a couple of guys in a panel van would just chuck your bike in the back... If you want more security... a cable or U-bolt lock to a bike stand or something similar would work substantially better... In my opinion disk locks are no more protective than the stock steering lock...
 
Some sort of a reminder on the handlebars is a good idea. I also had my lock stop my bike when rolling out of a parking space, but figured it out fairly quickly, and no damage was done since I wasn't using throttle. Now I just use a length of yellow rope that I had laying around. I loop it around the throttle as a reminder.

My father-in-law wasn't so lucky, he was a couple of days away from home and backed into a parking spot at the hotel. Got on his Goldwing in the morning and hit the throttle with a disc lock on and completely destroyed his brake. Had to get it towed to the the Honda shop where he was at for them to fix it.
 
CanadianFZ6 said:
It is a specific kind of lock that attaches to your front disk rotors... Much like those parking boots for cars... Anyway, they cause more problems than they solve (case in point)... If someone was going to steal your bike a couple of guys in a panel van would just chuck your bike in the back... If you want more security... a cable or U-bolt lock to a bike stand or something similar would work substantially better... In my opinion disk locks are no more protective than the stock steering lock...
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly. No one is going to ride off on your bike in Neutral with the steering head locked so disc brake lock is a bit redundant. Locking the frame to a fixed object is best but who is going to go through the trouble/risk of stealing an FZ6 in a panel van? It's like going after pennies when there are plenty of quarters out there.
 
That totally sucks! I hope that never happens to me.

Cali_Rider taught me to fold my mirrors in as a reminder. When you hop on your bike and see your mirrors are out of place it should jog your memory.
 
CHEMIKER said:
That totally sucks! I hope that never happens to me.

Cali_Rider taught me to fold my mirrors in as a reminder. When you hop on your bike and see your mirrors are out of place it should jog your memory.
Click to expand...

You know, I actually had folded my mirrors in but not as a reminder! That is a good idea and I will do that from now on.

I always check, it was just late after a long day at work and splitting for 35 miles on the 105 and 110 freeways.

Also, to those who say that disc locks are worthless, I would say only that some thieves will look for bikes to hot-wire, and this kind of device is a deterrent for that kind of crime. Also if someone had a ramp and a truck, and/or was otherwise unable to lift a 400lb+ bike off the ground and into a truck or van, it helps to deter this kind of theft as well.

Obviously you can't guard against all kinds of theft, and that is not what a disc lock is for. It's a small, lightweight, low-cost device to stop the hot-wire or push-up-a-ramp thefts. Also, that is what insurance is for. :)
 
I use a disk lock as a deterrent, let's face it if they want it they'll take it.

I still havent managed to forget it was on the bike, I only use it when I park my bike in public and the bike is out of sight.

It's the same reason I lock my helment to the bike, as a deterrent. Friends will ask me why I'm locking my helment and I tell them so they will steal yours and not mine:D

I'm always afraid some turd is gona mistake my fz for an r6 and try to steel it. There is surveillance video out there of a guy breaking a steering lock by sitting on a bike and applying pressure with his foot on the handle bar. Made it look real easy.

Sent from my Droid via Tapatalk.
 
Did this once after leaving a jack in the box. A guy thought my bike was cool so we chatted and i forgot to take it off after talking with him....... No damage or fall though. Just started to take off and had an abrupt halt :BLAA:

I like the disc brake security since it fits under my seat. I actually only put mine on the rear disc now to prevent someone from propping up the bike on its rear and rolling it away to a secluded spot to continue stealing it.
 
I always carry a roll of black electrician's tape in my tank bag. Whenever I put the disc lock on I tear off a tiny piece and put it across the ignition.

Tape doesn't come off before the disc lock does. I've reached over with the key many times to find the tape there and slapped myself in the forehead.


If you use disc locks, you shouldn't rely on your memory to avoid destroying your brakes.
 
I use my disc lock whenever I'm on an over night trip or take my bike to work.

I recommend a Kryptonite. They're small and inexpensive, I stow mine under the seat next to the tool pouch (it fits nicely).

Place the lock on the rear wheel for 2 reasons.

The rear wheel is harder to remove then the front and chances are you'll back up first and hit the lock within a foot at the most before it stops the bike from rolling.
 
I almost did this while taking my bike of the center stand. Luckily, the Xena lock I use is also a squealer, and hearing it go off quickly got me to remove it. :D

Sent from my SAMSUNG GALAXY S2 INFUSE using Tapatalk 2
 
Motogiro said:
Never dumped it because I always roll it from my parking space first and that's when I got a surprise one day. Luckily it just stopped and I didn't dump it.
Now I have one of those coiled, bright orange reminder cords.
31QEw9N-E4L._SL500_AA300_.jpg
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about this Mark. :(
I kind of suffer from "senioritis" so the first thing I did when I got a new disc lock was to get one of these bright orange reminder's for my failing memory...
:spank:
 
chomorro said:
Did this once after leaving a jack in the box. A guy thought my bike was cool so we chatted and i forgot to take it off after talking with him....... No damage or fall though. Just started to take off and had an abrupt halt :BLAA:

I like the disc brake security since it fits under my seat. I actually only put mine on the rear disc now to prevent someone from propping up the bike on its rear and rolling it away to a secluded spot to continue stealing it.
Click to expand...

What would stop them from propping it up on the front wheel?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

belton
California Superbike School/FAST rain riding
Replies
0
Views
2K
belton
belton
lonesoldier84
How to lay your bike down....
Replies
13
Views
6K
SovietRobot
SovietRobot
Back
Top