A New Bike-Theft Threat: Pictures...

[The CyberPoet]

According to this CNet blog article, University of California/San Diego have come up with software that can take a fairly low resolution photo of your keys shot from a distance (or shot up close with a low-res camera phone) and generate the key-cut codes to cut perfect duplicates on demand. Thus, getting another set of keys for your bike for a thief would be as simple as managing to grab a picture of your keys where ever they happen to be sitting (on a table) or hanging (on a belt-loop), pushing the photo through some software and subsequently taking the results to a locksmith and having another key made.

Particularly daunting about this was the fact that examples used included off-angle photo shots taken by a camera with a telephoto lens at 195 feet out with perfect duplication.

My advice: please speak with your dealer next time you are at the shop to express a specific desire for Honda/Yamaha/Suzuki/Kawasaki to start embedding security-handshake chips in their keys for their US models, like they already do for many of the European ones... The reason they aren't common par and parcel here is because the dealers literally vote down the feature every year at the annual dealer's meeting when deciding on which products in the manufacturer's product-line up should be placed in the USA (and in which colors, with which additional features).

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

______________________
CyberPoet's KR Specials
Suzuki Stratosphere - 6 Cylinders, the new Katana?
The Best Motorcycle Metal Billet Tire Valves in the World, plus lots of motorcycle & Katana (GSX600F / GSX750F) specific help files.

[Slofuze]

Thanks for the heads up CP. Are the dealers voting it down simply because of the added costs or do they have something going on with chop-shops? Just wondering.

[Psycho1]

I seriously doubt any upstanding dealerships would have anything going on with a chop shop, but they may have increased costs in mind when it comes to the high tech coded key systems (even though the cost would probably be minumal), or they might just be worried about declining sales. Think about it like this, you go to your friedly Yamahonkazuki dealership and buy a brand new $11k bike. 3 months later it gets stolen, the mandatory full coverage insurance pays off, and you go back and buy anotother $11k bike. You haven't done anything illegal, the dealership hasn't done anything illegal but your both happy, and the insurance companies are raising rates like crazy trying to compensate for all the claims.

[The CyberPoet]

Spraguepsycho has a point about the mentality -- there is a mentality within the dealership segment of the industry that believes theft in general is good for business, because it means they get to capture more sales both on insurance-payoffs and on the concept that the used one is effectively taken off the market as a potential competitive sale in the future.

I disagree with this mindset, because the reality is that thefts generate direct hurt on the victim -- it's rare for the insurance company (even if there is full coverage) to pay out the cost or near the cost of a brand new replacement (depreciation, deductible), plus the owner gets shafted for a time-frame (until the reports are filed plus a month for potential recovery typically). Additionally, reduced premiums on key-chipped models would make them more readily insurable, allowing riders to potentially buy higher-end (higher margin) models to begin with...

The cost to implement chipped-key-sets is typically about $15-$25 a key, $10 at the ECU-level and $15 in wiring loom upgrades & labor overhead by the time the costs are marked up on the way to the dealer's floor, meaning it would raise on-floor prices by typically $150 - $200. On the other hand, dealers then become sole-source suppliers for additional keys, which ought to net them more income that way too (duh), since pricing could be quite staggering if needed (example: Kawasaki Concours 1400 -- lose both keys & codes, and you're buying not just new keys, but new ECU modules as well).

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

______________________
CyberPoet's KR Specials
Suzuki Stratosphere - 6 Cylinders, the new Katana?
The Best Motorcycle Metal Billet Tire Valves in the World, plus lots of motorcycle & Katana (GSX600F / GSX750F) specific help files.

[loudnlow7484]

I was about to post about how I don't like chipped keys in motorcycles, BUT, then I realized that it doesn't really matter to me, because I'm awful fond of oil-cooled Suzuki's... and they don't have a chip.
And if I eventually decide to move on to something newer, then it will likely be fuel injected anyway, so what's a little more added complication?

[md86]

Nobody wants to go through that much trouble to steal MY bike anyway . Maybe I'll just put off fixing the fairings and painting a couple more year .....

[squiggy]

My advice: please speak with your dealer next time you are at the shop to express a specific desire for Honda/Yamaha/Suzuki/Kawasaki to start embedding security-handshake chips in their keys for their US models

I know of one aftermarket product that's like this that can be added to a bike.

Digital Guard Dawg.

They have one that has a chip to work with your key and one that can go completely keyless.

I have no experiece with this product, however.

[TheSteve]

Ive got an extra car alarm ive been thinking of putting on the kat. Even if they had the key it wouldnt start without the remote or a total rewire.

[Zepp]

Technology is amazing, but it sure has helped criminals a bunch. There are more criminals now than ever before, due to technology and the Internet.

[katman05]

It does'nt matter what kind of device you have on your bike, if they really want it, they'll get it. The only thing you can do is make it as hard as possible so they'll move on to another one that is easier to steal.

[clint1972]

It does'nt matter what kind of device you have on your bike, if they really want it, they'll get it. The only thing you can do is make it as hard as possible so they'll move on to another one that is easier to steal.

Amen...I have seen some crazy chit stolen simply because they really wanted it...

[Alley_Kat]

I would guess that most bikes are still stolen with the old fashioned 'pick it up and toss it in a truck/van' method.

[md86]

It does'nt matter what kind of device you have on your bike, if they really want it, they'll get it. The only thing you can do is make it as hard as possible so they'll move on to another one that is easier to steal.

Which is part of why it's nice to ride a piece of crap no one in their right mind would want but ME .

[Dan Dubeau]

I have Insurance. steal it if you want. It's a material object that can be replaced.

[The CyberPoet]

I have Insurance. steal it if you want. It's a material object that can be replaced.

OK, imagine what would happen if your prank-playing co-workers go ahold of this?

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

______________________
CyberPoet's KR Specials
Suzuki Stratosphere - 6 Cylinders, the new Katana?
The Best Motorcycle Metal Billet Tire Valves in the World, plus lots of motorcycle & Katana (GSX600F / GSX750F) specific help files.