The best motorcycle GPS trackers to help find stolen bikes

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With all the different motorcycle GPS trackers on the market, it can be difficult to find the right one for your needs. To help you decide, we at MCN have come up with this list of motorcycle security tracking devices that will easily and securely fit to your bike.

Built to protect and track your bike in the unfortunate event of a theft, these durable, waterproof devices offer alerts and full location tracking and could even save you money on your motorcycle insurance.

The best motorcycle GPS trackers at a glance:

It’s worth bearing in mind that if you leave your bike laid up for extended periods and you have a tracker fitted, you’ll need to use a trickle charger to avoid depleting the battery.

The best motorcycle GPS trackers

Best value for money motorcycle tracker

Price: £34.99

This is one of Rewire Security's budget but effective motorcycle GPS trackers. You hardwire this unit yourself and pay a £5 monthly subscription that gives you real-time location, speed, and 12 month route history, among other things via the GPSLive app. The unit comes ready to use from the box, having already been configured for you. It's simple to install, simply connect the tracker to the battery terminals.
The device then monitors the voltage levels and will notify you if your vehicle has moved without starting the engine . Using the app you can set up chosen geofence zones around areas such as your home or workplace, which will trigger an alert if the bike is moved out of this zone. The device provides real time location updates of the vehicle giving you visibility of where your bike is at all times.
The DB2-4G also comes with a SIM that will automatically connect to the strongest available signal in 120 countries and is accurate to roughly two metres with no roaming fees.

Pros

  • Works in 120 countries
  • Accurate to two metres

Cons

  • Requires a subcription
Installation Two wires to battery connection
Access PC, Laptop, Smartphone or Tablet with an internet connection
Alert types Ignition, Movement, Battery Voltage Reading, TOW alerts, Power Loss
  • 365 day history

Best coverage motorcycle tracker

The Stealth S5 is an installed product with Europe-wide coverage – and professional installation at a location of your choice is included in the price tag. The system comes with rider ID tags that mean once you’ve stopped riding and walked away, the S5 throws up a geofence around your bike and monitors it 24/7. If it’s disturbed, or moves at all, you’ll get a message to your device. If it moves outside the geofence, you’ll be called to verify the bike’s status and tracking with police liaison will begin.

The system will also alert you if there is an attempt to disconnect the battery or the ignition is started without the tag. There’s also clever emergency assist functionality, too.

Subscriptions cost £9.99 per month, £109.00 per year, £279 for three years or £599.00 for lifetime ownership.

Pros

  • European coverage
  • Professionally installed

Cons

  • More expensive subscription than others on this list
Alert types unexpected movement, attempted battery disconnection or ignition start
Monitoring 24/7/365 Theft Monitoring
  • Insurance approved
  • Manufactured in the UK

Best easy to use motorcycle tracker

Trackers are increasingly useful items, not least because smartphone connectivity and global mobile data networks mean it's harder than ever to hide from Big Brother. And if you want pure simple useability, this MoniMoto unit is great.

Buy the unit and you’ll get three months of SIM coverage as part of the deal. Then you’re looking at a £3 per month SIM subscription thereafter. Setting it up is as easy as deploying the batteries and syncing it to your smartphone via the App, through which you can see unit status, battery life, connection and location of your bike when tracking.

Just keep the little key fob safe and sound and take it with you while you’re riding. If the unit senses that it’s on the move, but can’t contact the fob, then you’ll get a call on your connected device and live tracking will begin.

It’s a doddle to fit, set-up and use – and you get a reassuring notification each day that the system is running fine. For pure simplicity and relatively low cost, it’s a great option.You also get a key fob that communicates to the tracker – arming and disarming it if the fob is nearby.

If the tracker detects movement and while armed it sends an alert to the owner and updates the location via GPS. This is a subscription-based service and the internal battery of the tracker should last about a year.

Pros

  • Ease of use
  • Easy to install

Cons

  • Needs to be in range of key fob
Coverage Globally
Alert types Movement with fob not present
  • No wiring

Best multi-function motorcycle tracker

Price: £378.41 (449.00 EUR)
A relatively new choice on the marketplace. Primarily an e-call system in the event of an accident, the tracking element of the device syncs to your mobile phone through an app. MCN's Dan Sutherland tested the first dguard system in the UK on his own Kawasaki ZX-6R (read our full review).
An emergency call is triggered in the event of an accident, this is determined by several factors. Lean angle, direction of travel, speed, GPS location and motion are all considered by the device before making the call.

This can then be configured to your preferences for such things as sensitivity. The theft warning device is activated once your ignition is switched off and is signified by six flashes of the external dguard button. As soon as your motorcycle has not been moved for at least 10 seconds, the monitoring is armed.

If your bike moves without the ignition switched on, the system will then relay a message to your phone with the bike's location. The frequency of text alerts depends on the sensitivity you have selected.

Dguard has a feature called the 'touring roadbook' which records the routes that you have ridden using the GPS connected to the dguard app.

Pros

  • Includes e-call system
  • Automatic arming

Cons

  • Obvious mounting point

BikeTrac

If you want a serious hardwired tracker, this is great place to start. Your authorised dealer will fit it in the most thief-beating covert location possible, and once it’s up and running you’ll have a 24/7 monitoring and tracking service looking after your bike.

Backed up with a 30-day internal power source, it’ll also text you if your bike battery is getting low on juice. Thatcham S7 rated, it’s a GPS/GSM/ RF tracker that’ll read inside buildings, underground, in vans or shipping containers.

The unit is £299 + install, then it’s £9.99pm or £99pa – and they now offer 0% finance to help you spread the cost more easily.Features include stealth installation and a self-maintaining battery, with all authorised BikeTrac dealers being trained to ensure that a unit is installed in the most covert location possible.

Why consider a motorcycle GPS tracker?

There’s no trick answers here. Effective motorcycle GPS trackers simply act as a means of finding your bike, should it be stolen.

At one end of the market are the cheap units from companies you’ve never heard of – we strongly advise avoiding these and spend your money on something else instead. A step up from these are self-monitored systems from reputable companies that you install yourself.

These units send you alerts if something is awry and you can track movements via updates sent to an app on your phone.

At the other end of the scale are the managed systems where a team monitor vehicles fitted with the company’s trackers 24/7. These people will contact you immediately, should your bike be stolen, and they will then liase with authorities to find the bike.

These are Thatcham approved units and have stronger tracking signals that continue to work even if a bike is taken to an underground carpark or inside a shipping container, for example. Here are some of our favourite motorcycle trackers.

About the author: After qualifying as a mechanical engineer, Jim Blackstock began working on magazines in the early 1990s. He remains passionate about product testing to ensure readers know what products offer good value and why. He relishes torrential rain to see if riding kit keeps water out and an hour or two to tinker on a project bike in his workshop.

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