Lock your bike. It’s one of the most crucial lessons you learn when you get your first push-bike; lock it up wherever you leave it because if you don’t, it might not be there when you get back. However, that ‘might’ from 20 years ago has become ‘likely’ today. Motorcycle crime is rampant and we have to take security seriously if we want to keep hold of our bikes.
As a lock and chain are top of the list for cyclists, so it is for motorcyclists — just on a larger scale. The theory is simple: if your bike is locked to a solid object with a meaty lock and chain, hopefully, it will deter thieves or make them move on to the next bike with a smaller, or indeed no, chain.
We have gathered a selection of locks and chains from the big players in the market to see what sort of protection they offer, combined with their usability and portability. Clearly, the larger the chain, the greater the protection it will offer but conversely, the less easy to use it is and as for portability — well, look at some of the weights and you’ll get an idea of how that works.
The best motorcycle locks:
Kovix KS6 Alarmed Disc Lock
Tested by MCN - Quality 3/4, Value 4/5. Tiny disc lock packing a 120dB alarm, the KS6 is small
Meets the Sold Secure Gold standard. Has a 1.4 metre long, 12mm chain and 14mm U lock. It's quite
Chains tested to destruction by RiDE Magazine
The chain itself was horrible to cut, which is a good thing. The disk chattered all over the
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Certification | Sold Secure Gold (chain) |
| Link shape | Circular |
| Link size | 19mm |
| Chain length | 2.5m (various lengths available) |
| Weight | 7kg per metre |
| Material | Hardened boron steel |
| Lock | RoundLock through link |
| Keys | 3 |
| Test result | Overall score |
|---|---|
| Link cut 1: 28.8s | Protection: 14/20 |
| Link cut 2: 41.4s | Ease of use: 5/10 |
| Combined time: 1m10.2s | Portability: 6/10 |
| Lock cut: N/A | Total: 25/40 |
Oxford's 16mm chain and D-lock is a hefty product that looked like it should do well. Like its
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Certification | Sold Secure Gold |
| Link shape | Circular |
| Link size | 16mm |
| Chain length | 1.5m |
| Weight | 8kg |
| Material | Hardened Chrome-Moly steel |
| Lock | D lock |
| Keys | 3 |
| Test result | Overall score |
|---|---|
| Link cut 1: 28.6s | Protection: 12/20 |
| Link cut 2: 26.7s | Ease of use: 7/10 |
| Combined time: 55.3s | Portability: 7/10 |
| Lock cut: 54s | Total: 26/40 |
Oxford's smaller chain combination comes with a separate D-lock that can be used on its own as a
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Certification | Sold Secure Silver |
| Link shape | Square |
| Link size | 9.5mm |
| Chain length | 2m |
| Weight | 4.6kg |
| Material | Hardened steel |
| Lock | D lock |
| Keys | 3 |
| Test result | Overall score |
|---|---|
| Link cut 1: 14.2s | Protection: 7/20 |
| Link cut 2: 16.3s | Ease of use: 8/10 |
| Combined time: 30.5s | Portability: 8/10 |
| Lock cut: 28s | Total: 23/40 |
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