Car/motorcycle Trackers?

[Paece]

My BMW R1200RT motorcycle got nicked last month so I'm taking delivery of another bike next week (K1300GT).

My insurance has consequently more than doubled unfortunately so I am thinking of fitting a GPS tracker, one to hopefully reduce the insurance premium and two to make the new bike less nickable - if that gets nicked as well I'll be practically uninsurable and the thieves know where I live now!

This seems the best deal out there -

http://www.swiftrak.co.uk/tracking_solutions/motorcycle/

Any thoughts much appreciated.

[Rare Bear]

I've got anS1 Exige which has had a tracker fitted since new. So that's a year 2000 Exige and a year 2000 tracker.

Now an Exige is a car you don'y jump into three or four times a day to pop a mile or two down the road, it might sit in the driveway for a week at a time. The result is that the batteries kept suffering a gradual discharge and I have had to replace them evrey eighteen months ar so. I eventualy came to the conclusion that the problem was the tracker so I fitted a master switch. Problem solved.

So I said to myself, old tracker so who really cares, my problem solved and really another level of theft protection added and the newer ones won't have the problem.

Not quite. I was talking to a British Gas engineer about it one day and he said that his nice new British Gas van had a tracker. It also has a gizmo to disconnect the battery when it drops below a certain level as the tracker will drain it if left for long enough.

So, if I were having a tracker fitted, I would insist that it is wired so that it is only connected to the battery when the ignition is on.

[happy_renting]

I've got anS1 Exige which has had a tracker fitted since new. So that's a year 2000 Exige and a year 2000 tracker.

Now an Exige is a car you don'y jump into three or four times a day to pop a mile or two down the road, it might sit in the driveway for a week at a time. The result is that the batteries kept suffering a gradual discharge and I have had to replace them evrey eighteen months ar so. I eventualy came to the conclusion that the problem was the tracker so I fitted a master switch. Problem solved.

So I said to myself, old tracker so who really cares, my problem solved and really another level of theft protection added and the newer ones won't have the problem.

Not quite. I was talking to a British Gas engineer about it one day and he said that his nice new British Gas van had a tracker. It also has a gizmo to disconnect the battery when it drops below a certain level as the tracker will drain it if left for long enough.

So, if I were having a tracker fitted, I would insist that it is wired so that it is only connected to the battery when the ignition is on.

Not much good as a tracker if the car is towed away then, and then put in a container or dismantled.

Perhaps running the engine every so often, or recharging the battery before it goes too flat, is a better option.

[Rare Bear]

Not much good as a tracker if the car is towed away then, and then put in a container or dismantled.

Perhaps running the engine every so often, or recharging the battery before it goes too flat, is a better option.

If the car is stolen and put in a container or dismantle the tracker isn't going to be of much use wheter active or not.

Given that a cheapo mobile can go a couple of weeks awaiting calls on it's little internal battery I see no reason why a tracking system cannot do so. After all, it does not have to fire up its GPS chips until told to.

[onlyme2]

I've got anS1 Exige which has had a tracker fitted since new. So that's a year 2000 Exige and a year 2000 tracker.

Now an Exige is a car you don'y jump into three or four times a day to pop a mile or two down the road, it might sit in the driveway for a week at a time. The result is that the batteries kept suffering a gradual discharge and I have had to replace them evrey eighteen months ar so. I eventualy came to the conclusion that the problem was the tracker so I fitted a master switch. Problem solved.

So I said to myself, old tracker so who really cares, my problem solved and really another level of theft protection added and the newer ones won't have the problem.

Not quite. I was talking to a British Gas engineer about it one day and he said that his nice new British Gas van had a tracker. It also has a gizmo to disconnect the battery when it drops below a certain level as the tracker will drain it if left for long enough.

So, if I were having a tracker fitted, I would insist that it is wired so that it is only connected to the battery when the ignition is on.

A top up charger / battery conditioner is the best bet. One of the Optimates or clones.

[Welshasylumseeker]

Not so useful for the bike, although it can still do well if you park it up near a window or in the open , is a solar panel trickle charger, they are around a tenner and you just pop it on the dashboard, plugging it into the cigar socket. My camper sits up for a month at a time with the immobiliser and some other charge killers running and it never misses a beat

[Jason]

Not quite. I was talking to a British Gas engineer about it one day and he said that his nice new British Gas van had a tracker. It also has a gizmo to disconnect the battery when it drops below a certain level as the tracker will drain it if left for long enough.

So, if I were having a tracker fitted, I would insist that it is wired so that it is only connected to the battery when the ignition is on.

Power Magic Pro - that's the device. Also, use a solar trickle charger or just put your car on charge every now and again - that's what I do with my motorbike if we have weeks of rain!

[Rare Bear]

A top up charger / battery conditioner is the best bet. One of the Optimates or clones.

Parke outside though so some prat is going to interfere with the lead.

[ChumpusRex]

So, if I were having a tracker fitted, I would insist that it is wired so that it is only connected to the battery when the ignition is on.

The modern ones are better with lower power consumption. However, you can get widgets usually used with incar cctv cameras that keep a gadget powered for 24 or 48 hours after the car was last turned on, or until the battery reaches a predefined level if charge.

[Paece]

I've got anS1 Exige which has had a tracker fitted since new. So that's a year 2000 Exige and a year 2000 tracker.

Now an Exige is a car you don'y jump into three or four times a day to pop a mile or two down the road, it might sit in the driveway for a week at a time. The result is that the batteries kept suffering a gradual discharge and I have had to replace them evrey eighteen months ar so. I eventualy came to the conclusion that the problem was the tracker so I fitted a master switch. Problem solved.

So I said to myself, old tracker so who really cares, my problem solved and really another level of theft protection added and the newer ones won't have the problem.

Not quite. I was talking to a British Gas engineer about it one day and he said that his nice new British Gas van had a tracker. It also has a gizmo to disconnect the battery when it drops below a certain level as the tracker will drain it if left for long enough.

So, if I were having a tracker fitted, I would insist that it is wired so that it is only connected to the battery when the ignition is on.

From what I've read modern trackers will email/text you when the battery level gets too low so you can go out for a spin to top it up.

Re draining the vehicle battery, as you say some of the better trackers are wired up to the ignition so are only charged when the engine is running.

Apparently then if the vehicle moves or travels without the ignition turned on it will inform the monitoring company.

Bit moot tbh, none of the insurance companys seem to offer a discount as far as I could see so I'm going for a low tech giant fukc off chain through the back wheel and attached to the nearest lamp post plus a Datatag marking system plus an alarm, that should do it!

[sleepwello'nights]

From what I've read modern trackers will email/text you when the battery level gets too low so you can go out for a spin to top it up.

Re draining the vehicle battery, as you say some of the better trackers are wired up to the ignition so are only charged when the engine is running.

Apparently then if the vehicle moves or travels without the ignition turned on it will inform the monitoring company.

Bit moot tbh, none of the insurance companys seem to offer a discount as far as I could see so I'm going for a low tech giant fukc off chain through the back wheel and attached to the nearest lamp post plus a Datatag marking system plus an alarm, that should do it!

I got GAP insurance. If my car gets stolen I think I'd prefer the insurance pay out than a trashed car back.

[Paece]

I got GAP insurance. If my car gets stolen I think I'd prefer the insurance pay out than a trashed car back.

GAP insurance?

I had fully comp.

I thought like you as well, rather not get back a bike that's been driven round the local common, however I have now lost my NCB and the quotes I've been getting for the new bike are horrific, the two cheapest were double what I paid last year and the rest were a lot more.

[sleepwello'nights]

GAP insurance?

I had fully comp.

I thought like you as well, rather not get back a bike that's been driven round the local common, however I have now lost my NCB and the quotes I've been getting for the new bike are horrific, the two cheapest were double what I paid last year and the rest were a lot more.

The GAP insurance I've got covers the difference between the insurance companies pay out and the cost to replace my vehicle with the current equivalent new vehicle if it is the subject of a total loss claim. Cover lasts for four years. My previous vehicle was totalled by a stoned idiot one night, for the couple of hundred pounds the GAP insurance costs I won't have to endure being dicked about so much by a motor insurer.

The difference in pay out will more than cover any increase in premium for a few years. Having said that I'll be pleased if I don't have to claim on it.

[Rave]

I've got a couple of cheap old android phones lying around here and I had been thinking about setting one up as a tracker using 'Where's My Droid' or a similar app. However I've just been checking out Aliexpress:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Miniest-GPS-GPRS-GSM-Tracker-car-Vehicle-SMS-Real-Time-Network-Monitor-tracking-Devices-Free-Shipping/1219923684.html

...for under a tenner I reckon that could well be worth a go. I've probably even got a few SIMS with 10 quid credit on lying around....

[Rare Bear]

From what I've read modern trackers will email/text you when the battery level gets too low so you can go out for a spin to top it up.

Re draining the vehicle battery, as you say some of the better trackers are wired up to the ignition so are only charged when the engine is running.

Apparently then if the vehicle moves or travels without the ignition turned on it will inform the monitoring company.

Bit moot tbh, none of the insurance companys seem to offer a discount as far as I could see so I'm going for a low tech giant fukc off chain through the back wheel and attached to the nearest lamp post plus a Datatag marking system plus an alarm, that should do it!

I did read somewhere a while back that Tracker had been bought by an insurance company or some outfit linked to the insurance industry, hence the insistence on the on highish value cars.

Anyway, I'm happy now with the master switch, just wish that I had done it earlier. My mistake was asking a couple of people who sold Trackers if a Tracker could cause a drain!