Hi just thought id ask what alrms work best with the bMWS.Or if anyones had a bad experience with one.
Don want to screw up my electrics "just in case" i dont get there first to the theiving sods.
Looking at the Hawks and sola alarms at mo.
pete

Living in the UK, do you have to install it for insurance purposes or just peace of mind? If for insurance purposes you will almost certainly have to install a Thatcham approved model with a grading dictated to you by your insurer. They possibly will not let you install it yourself either.

If you have a free hand my advice is whichever brand do not install it so it disables the running of the bike just the starter motor. Since if it goes faulty and they do often, you do not want to have just pulled onto the wrong side of the road, dropped down a couple of cogs and given the throttle a huge twist to pass a long solid line of vehicles only to have it die on you due to the alarm cutting out ignition or fuel pump.
Regards,
K-BIKE

K-bike,

You have a good point about an electronic device going wrong and shutting off the engine when riding, but just disabling the starter is not the most effective anti theft device. Thieve could push the bike to start it.

On both K bikes, I installed a 30 amps rocker switch under the side panel (The switch could be mounted under the seat and difficult to access if the seat is locked). This switch is shutting off the ground from the battery. The only problem is that each time you shut off the ground, you have to reset the clock. The easy solution would be to pull a dedicated ground from the battery to the clock.

I never use this device for anti-theft purpose even if it could be quite effective.
It's there as a safety device. If I ever get a short and start to see my wiring harness smoking, I could shut off the power in "a flick of a switch"
If you have to get your tool box out and find the 10mm wrench, you may have 1/2 of the bike burned down before disconnecting the battery.
The idea for this switch came after my starter relay burned and even with the ignition switch off, the starter continued turning until the battery didn't have anymore power.

This is a good time to remind people about the starter:
If you try starting your bike with a weak battery, you take a chance to burn your starter relay.
This is easy to understand: Amps = Watts/Volt
The starter is 700 watts, at 13 volts (battery fully charged) it will pull 54 Amps. If the battery is down to 10 volts, the same starter will pull 70 Amps and you have a good chance to burn the contacts of the relay (they will stick together).
The starter will then continue to turn until you disconnect the battery.
During this time, the starter will continue to drag your battery down, and if you get to 6 volts, the amperage will be around 115 amps. You may start to see smoke coming from you electrical tray.

Bert

My personal take on bike alarms is that they are at best a deterrent. Yes the thief could push start it but the alarm is sounding and all four flashers are flashing and they would have had to get over the steering lock and cut the hardened steel chain.

There are some superb tested chains in the UK some of which you cannot cut even with huge bolt cutters. Those chains and locks are Thatcham approved. All immobilisers do are electrically immobilise the engine, switches or alarms do not help if the thief comes with a van and just lifts it into the van. Sadly that happens a lot in the UK hence bike owners with high risk models in high crime areas have to have the bike alarmed and actually chained down to a Thatcham approved ground anchor point and sometimes in an alarmed building as well. The insurers have the whip hand as they can enforce almost any requirement.
Regards,
K-BIKE

Im happy using a Kryptonite lokc on the front disk. Luckilly I also live somewhere wher no-one would want to steal a 1986 BMW... (touch wood)
When I purchased the bike it had (as described above) a battery switch which had a removable large key. I took it off.

I suppose it really does depend on where you live, park etc etc...

Hi,
With Kryptonite locks just make sure you don't have one that can be opend with the tip of a BIC pen all of the original ones were vulnerable to that attack which was how so many expensive push bikes were going missing in London a few years back.
Regards,
K-BIKE

Or forget you have one locked onto the front disk as you (attempt) to ride away...LOL

Mal

Joking totally aside one of the bike magazine reviewers did exactly that in the magazine publishers car park. Started the bike gave it lots of revs to make it rear up so as to demonstrate his prowess at wheelies to the assembled staff.

Roared down the car park on the back wheel whilst standing on the pegs, throttled off so as to turn and do another pass and when the front wheel touched the ground did an instant somersault of bike and rider in front of several staff members.
Regards,
K-BIKE