Chains with smaller diameter links are more flexible but I’d go for a 1.2m chain to comfortable fit a ground anchor. You could just about get it through a ground anchor – depending on the type of course. 1-metreĪ 100cm chain is the minimum length I’d recommend if you want to chain a single wheel. The images below give you a good idea of what different chain lengths look like when wrapped around a 180-section rear tyre. Too long and you’re paying for links you don’t need, you’re having to cart more weight around and you’re potentially making a thief’s life easier by giving them better access to attack a free section of chain. Too short and you might not even get it around your motorcycle’s wheel and it would be annoying if it just wasn’t quite long enough to go through a ground anchor. It’s important to buy a security chain that’s the right length. The 16mm Kryptonite would be a bit of a beast to carry around on a motorbike and the Almax is seriously heavy, you wouldn’t want to lug it around on a motorbike and to be honest it’s a mammoth chain to cart around on a scooter too. The two chains on the left could easily be carried in a tailpack. However on a motorbike, transport is a slightly harder proposition. All can be stashed under the seat of a scooter. There’s a huge difference in the weight, portability and security offered. On the left is a 10mm chain from Biketrac which I use when out and about on the motorbike, next to that is a 11mm Hardcore XL chain from Oxford, next to that is a New York Legend 16mm chain from Kryptonite and on the right is a 19mm Almax Series IV, which never leaves the garage. The image above shows 4 different chains that I use for different purposes. You won’t find many of these in the latest RiDE magazine motorcycle security chain test. So large and heavy are these 22mm chains that they’re almost unusable for day-to-day use but if you want the best security chains, they win, hands down. Then along came the 19mm which put an end to any bolt-cropping antics but now the specialist security chain manufacturers have launched ranges of 22mm chains, to deter the vast majority of thieves, even those with powerful angle grinders. It’s a sign of the times that 10 years ago a 16mm chain was almost unbreakable, save for a few prolonged methods of attacks. Your job is to deter them as much as possible and that means slowing them down and pitching their surroundings against them. A thief wants a weedy chain on an expensive bike that’s parked out of the way. One of the best tips is to park your bike in a reasonably busy place if you can and ensure it’s always covered. If you buy a quality hardened chain, it will be almost impossible to bolt-crop, safe from sledgehammer attacks and only susceptible to prolonged angle-grinder attacks. But they’d also rather do it with no-one looking. The reality is, they’re not operating under laboratory conditions and thieves that use angle grinders would still prefer to cut through a weedy chain. Technically speaking you need just 60-seconds to cut through a 22mm chain but that’s assuming the thief can do it in one go, that they have good purchase and access and that they’re competent at getting a groove in the link immediately. It might be possible to use a portable angle grinder to defeat a chain but it still takes time and creates a lot of noise, not to mention, sparks.
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