They crunched the numbers and the answer is, drumroll here please, if you own a Honda motorcycle you’re going to need a couple of hardened steel chains.
As usual, a familiar manufacturer headed the “most stolen” list: Honda.
For the dates in question, some 12,260 Honda motorcycles were spirited away without the owner’s permission.
You have to take this all with a grain of salt, though, as the 2010 analysis of auto theft data which the NICB released earlier this year showed that thieves favorite Honda passenger vehicle to make off with was…the 1994 Honda Accord.
Who in the name of Odin would suffer the risk of stealing a 1994 Honda Accord?
The strange turns inside the human mind never cease to amaze me.
Rounding out the top five makes stolen last year were Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, and Harley-Davidson, with 9,853; 7,869; 5,470, and 3,301, respectively. Combined, these five brands (including Hondas) accounted for 38,753 thefts in 2010, or 77.8 percent of the total. For 2010, the states with the most motorcycle thefts were: California, Texas, Florida, North Carolina and Indiana with 5,662; 4,394, 4,148, 2,649, and 1,925, respectively. These five states accounted for 18,778 thefts, or 37.7 percent of the total.
While NICB noted that overall thefts are down—reflecting the continuing decline in thefts of passenger vehicles and light trucks—so, too, are motorcycle sales. According to the Motorcycle Industry Council, motorcycle sales between 2009 (520,502 units) and 2010 (439,678 units) declined 16 percent. Not surprising, in 2010, the summer months of July (5,714) and August (5,380) saw the most theft activity. The fewest thefts were recorded during the months of February (2,403) and December (2,763). Over the entire period covered by this report, 2007-2010, the most thefts occurred in (26,352), with the fewest in December (13,944).
The NICB’s findings are based on data contained in the National Crime Information Center. The complete motorcycle theft report is available here.
There is some excellent news, at least if you don’t own a Honda. The NICB released findings in April 2011 which say that motorcycle thefts declined 13 percent last year alone.
Buying Your First Bike? The Women’s Guide to Motorcycle Insurance
We’re here to help you find the right motorcycle insurance, whatever you ride…
Tips for buying your motorcycle insurance, coverage you need:
- Collision to pay for damage caused to your vehicle in an accident with another vehicle or any stationary object.
- Comprehensive to cover such things as fire, hail, wind, vandalism, hitting an animal, etc.
- Towing / Pickup
- Medical payment or personal injury protection to cover the medical bills resulting from an accident.
- Uninsured or underinsured motorist to protect us when the other driver is at-fault and does not have coverage or assets out of which your bills can be paid.