How do you travel safely???

Joined
Jan 3, 2006
Messages
973
Location
Cow Head, Newfoundland, Canada
Bike
ST1300A '05
STOC #
5967
How safe can you be? I am always reminded of a story about a man from Vancouver, who was paranoid abut living so close to the US nuclear submarine base in Puget Sound. Figured it would be one of the first things nuked in case of a war so researched for a safe, English speaking place that was far away from any danger. He moved his family to the Falkland Islands about a year before the Argentine invasion.
I don't carry a cover when traveling as I need that space for camera gear lol and I would rather anyone see the ST than go poking around under a cover. Mind you, I remember reading that the best anti-theft Harley accessory was a cover with the Honda logo on it.
My bike is a little scruffy and scratched. My gear is a little worn, scruffy and scratched. Heck, I'm a little worn, scruffy and scratched... I hope that altogether makes the bike and I look not worth bothering. I have a tendency to just trust people too although I will keep moving if I really am getting bad vibes.
 
Joined
Aug 17, 2012
Messages
548
Location
Washington
Bike
2005 ST1300
1. I use a cheap looking cover to send the message that "there is not a 40k bike sitting under here.".

2. I put the bike on the center stand with a tank full of gas...if I can barely get it off the stand maybe they can't either. Most thieves are cowards and lazy.

3. I carry good insurance. I love my bike but at the end of the day it is just a piece of machinery that can be replaced easily. I hope she did not hear me say that [emoji3]

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
 

st11ray

2006 ST1300
Joined
Jul 29, 2007
Messages
2,735
Location
charlotte, nc
Bike
'06 ST1300
STOC #
7189
Staying in expensive hotels doesn't guarantee that it's safe. Go with your senses, like others have already said and be situationally aware of your surroundings. You can't prevent all bad things from happening but you can be prepared. I know you don't want to hear it but I always have a gun with me when traveling, whether on the bike or in the car. It's like my riding gear, I'd rather have it and not need it than to need it and not have it!
 
Joined
Feb 29, 2016
Messages
195
Location
New York
After 600 miles of traffic/putting up with people out to kill me on my motorcycle, the last thing Im worried about is the slight chance of getting rolled in my motel room.

Seriously for safety I never transit city interstates during the day. I stop 100 miles short of the city, get up at 4, and drive thru all alone before traffic.

For safety I never ride in town or congested areas. I keep to the freeway away from citys or ride on deserted backroads.

OK OK once I DID have a problem in a motel room in Tupelo MS. I was in my room and someone starts POUNDING on the door and hollering "GET OUT OF MY ROOM!" over and over again.

They went away. I just sat there all quiet like.

Then at 2am they re back only this time theyre pounding on the door that goes into the room next to me! The door and the frame and the whole WALL are flexing back and forth! Its like they re going to break the door down! I got up and stood next to the door with a heavy chair over my head ready to skull the guy if he breaks in! Then I start laughing! You stupid MF Im gonna kill you man!

But he never got in and I got up early and left when no one was around.
 
Joined
Sep 4, 2013
Messages
8,110
Location
Cleveland
Bike
2010 ST1300
Good advice re using Google to drop in on the neighborhood. Many hotels take very tight shots of their building or parking lot to misrepresent themselves. Had a similar experience in LA several years ago, neighborhood was not safe and as we were leaving for the airport at 4AM for an early flight we saw a "lady of the evening" in just about the smallest dress I've ever seen getting into a cab.
While I would agree that at one time the 'Combat Zone' (Boston) and Times Square (New York City) were unsavory places that were not exactly safe at night, the presence of 'working girls' does not necessarily make an area unsafe. It has been said that the Mafia Don's neighborhood is one of the safest around - he doesn't want any disturbances that would bring the police......

This reminds me of one time when I ended up arriving in Marseilles (hitch hiking) early on the same evening that the 6th Fleet hit the shores on liberty. Sailors everywhere - every hotel I checked wanted to rent me a room by the hour, more girls on the streets than I had seen all summer long, bars overflowing, - and I was too young and naive (ok, read stupid) to realize how dangerous it was. But then, nobody wanted a scruffy kid when there were sailors all over the place with money to burn in their pockets. The next day I heard about all the fights, a shooting, and a knifing that had happened while I slept.
 

CYYJ

Michael
Joined
Jun 10, 2013
Messages
2,399
Age
69
Location
Toronto & Zürich
Bike
None any more.
STOC #
2636
This discussion perplexes me a bit, because I've never felt unsafe while touring.

I've travelled extensively with my two motorcycles (over 200,000 km on my ST1100 in Europe, and ST1300 in North America). In Europe I've toured every country west of Iran, including most of North Africa, and never felt personally unsafe, or been overly concerned about theft of the motorcycle. I don't camp, I stay at motels, inexpensive (but not bottom end) hotels, or pensions.

So far as motorcycle theft is concerned, I don't think that STs are a very attractive target for thieves. Occasionally I might be concerned about someone fooling around with the motorcycle while I am sleeping - if that is the case, I just ask if I can park it near the front office area, which is usually monitored by video. Most of the time, that results in the motel operator offering to let me put it in a garage or other enclosed area that is out of sight. If a country (or region) is dodgy overall, such as the urban parts of Romania, some large cities in northern Poland, or some rust-belt areas of the USA, most hotels and motels in such areas will have lock-up areas for vehicles.

I like to overnight in small towns. They are generally less stressful (and less expensive) than large cities, and more 'secure' in the sense that less goes on (fewer people around).

If I don't like the look of a community, I just keep riding. If worse comes to worst and I can't find a place to stay (within my normal price range) that I feel at ease with, then I just head to the most expensive hotel in town and stay there. That doesn't happen often, but when it does, I just consider the high price for that night to be, in effect, an insurance premium.

My 2?.

Michael
 
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Reginald

cyclepoke
Joined
Jan 5, 2008
Messages
727
Location
Georgetown, Tx
Bike
ST1300
STOC #
8898
Everything I do has been covered by this thread. I have observed from my travels in Africa, Europe, and North America that unsafe areas all feel the same. Dilapidated structures, surly people, trash, broken vehicles along the road, and pollution all indicate an area that doesn't feel right. It seems all travelers recognize the same signs and try to avoid them. The problem is some of the people that create these conditions travel too and occasionally are found in the nicer places. At least in the nicer areas the thieves are outnumbered by decent folks.

I would never confront alone, even armed! The police respond well to crimes in progress. I was confronted by 3 thugs in Amsterdam in my youth, nothing happened because the thugs didn't want to tangle with a group of 4 Aussies and 2 Americans that stepped up, I was lucky.
 
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