April 29, 2009
Des Plaines, IL - --Press Release--
A new report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) shows that motorcycle thefts are trending down following similar good news about their four-wheel cousins. In 2008, a total of 60,763 motorcycles were reported stolen in the U.S. That number is down 2.3 percent from the 62,206 reported in 2007 and down 4.8 percent from the 63,828 reported in 2006.
The report clearly shows that motorcycle theft is more seasonal than other vehicle theft activity. July and August logged the most thefts while December, January and February had the fewest.
There are 684 different makes of motorcycles identified in the report, but just five makes account for 150,183 -- 80.4 percent -- of the total thefts. The top five makes are: Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki and Harley-Davidson.
The five states with the most motorcycle theft activity are: California, Florida, Texas, North Carolina and Indiana. These states reported 72,619 thefts, or 38.9 percent of the total.
While overall thefts are down, recoveries are down as well, mirroring a trend that began in 2006 when the national recovery rate for stolen vehicles fell below 60 percent (59.0) for the first time in more than 10 years.
The top five states for recoveries of stolen motorcycles are: California, Florida, Texas, North Carolina and Maryland.
With bikes costing $20,000 and more, baby boomers and younger easy riders should take the time to learn how to protect their bikes. NICB has motorcycle theft prevention tips on our web site at www.nicb.org/cps/rde/xbcr/nicb/13734_Motorcycle_Eng.pdf.
The complete theft report is also available at www.nicb.org.
