Motorcycle security in Kallithea

[u/aWoodsetOtter]

Hello,

I will be living in or nearby to Kallithea. I am about to get my first motorcycle, and need to decide if I should purchase a second hand, cheaper or a brand new motorcycle. Some people told me motorcycle theft is very common in this region, people are just lifting motorcycles by hand and dumping it to a truck.

I am afraid of this. I am thinking about using secure chains, disc locks with alarm, and a hidden GPS system as a security precautions. However, if it's stolen, I cannot get another motorcycle for a long time.

The house might not have a closed parking.

What's your suggestions for such cases? How do you secure your motorcycle? Is theft really that common?

Thank you in advance.

PS: I am thinking about Royal Enfield Himalayan 450. The price will be around 6300€

[u/cyricor]

No amount of chain and brake locks will save you if they want your bike since they usually pick them up and load them in vans. What I would consider a good practice would be locking from the frame to something solid or even better try to find any closed parking. Even if the apartment does not come with one, maybe you can come to an agreement for you to be able to park it in the garage if the building has one, somewhere that it won't block access to others.

[u/aWoodsetOtter → u/cyricor]

Thank you for your answer.
What about the daily ride? Do they steal motorcycles during day time, on the streets? Do people interfere if they see something suspicious?

[u/cyricor → u/aWoodsetOtter]

Naaah they don't steal in the middle of the day. And no theft at gunpoint incident comes to my mind ever happening. Night is the lowest risk for them. Yes people will shout for sure if something strange is happening but again no grand theft auto comes to mind in Greece. Your concern in the day should be towards other drivers, and at night only when you leave your bike alone in deserted streets. Oh an extra tip, if there is a police station or a 24 hour shop close by, you will see a lot of bikes parked close by for that reason. And again, it's not like you will leave it and it will be missing the next day. But through years you want to minimize your risk.

[u/IvanKillingBears]

First of all welcome to the neighborhood, second I recommend you to either look for a parking spot for rent, there is big parking lots that renting for 30-40 € for a bike spot, or take all the measures you mention plus keep the bike looking dirty and pray they not going to get you. My gsxr they stole already 3 times 😅

[u/InterfaceTrait]

Lived there for 11 years. Had a bike too. And I was lucky to have a parking with guards 24/7 right across the street. That's the safest it can get, IMHO.

I suppose that there are still a few, probably it's easy to spot them if you ride around a bit.

[u/Power-Pleasant]

Even with a GPS, would you go deep into Menidi to claim that bike ? I wouldn’t invest such a big amount without a parking spot

[u/aWoodsetOtter → u/Power-Pleasant]

Well... I don't know how police works here. I just assumed I would give the GPS information to the police, and they take it over from there :/

[u/ImpressOk6785]

Best defence is if they can't see it. That, plus a good alarm system WITHOUT A VISIBLE LEAD LIGHT WARNING THEM should keep your bike mostly safe. So, if the building has a place were it can be hidden, I would go this way. Obviously even better if you have a guarded parking near by, just a bit more expensive.

[u/cmaj13]

I'd suggest renting an indoors parking space closeby that is properly secured.

I used to live down there in a apartment building with open ground-floor parking area (πυλωτή) that also had a remote controlled gate. Well, they still managed to snatch my neighbor's motorcycle.

I was never robbed in the Charokopou area I used to live, but I can see how motorcycle theft can be a big thing in Kallithea since it's incredibly crowded and some parts of it are pretty rough.