Well, Seen as its such a hassle getting my bike round the back and into the garage (glorified shed
), Ive been leaving it round the front more and more, and so it sort of "lives" here now. I had on my insurance that it was parked on the drive anyway, but still getting nervous about one of the local scrotes either wheeling it away for a joyride or somebody nicking it properly (not that anybody would want my glorified Hoover, but hey, I need to start somewhere).
The hunt began for some decent security, and I wanted something that was thatcham/insurance approved so I can try and get a couple of quid off me insurance too (tight Scotsman in me there
). I eventually settled on a Thatcham Approved/Sold Secure "gold" approved Ground Anchor/Chain package from
Elite Security Supplies. Ordered it wednesday night, and It came on Friday.
Off I set to fit it, I decided to fit it to the (neighbours
) Wall, in the corner where i like to slot the bike out the way, I have loaned out my "good" drill, so had to fit it with a Black and Decker number that must be 30 years old!:
I pre drilled some 12mm Holes in the correct spacing, and then opened them out to the required M16 holes with a bigger masonry drill bit (always better to drill big holes in stages rather than try to do it all at once with the big drill bit I find).
This kit came with all the steel bolts and fixings, all you do is insert the steel "rawlplug" into the wall, and then screw the bolts in with an allenkey. Once you have the bolts tightened up to the required tension, the kit has some hardened ball bearings which you hammer into the head of the screw to stop would-be theives drilling out the fixings.
This is easier said than done when you are trying to hammer them into an anchor on the wall, as they keep falling out. a bit of blu-tac to hold them in place and a good rap with a hammer all round, and jobs a goodun:
then the chain fed through, that should at least help deter the thieves (and will certainly stop the little local scrotes):
I then phoned my insurer Carole Nash up to ask if this "thatcham" approved gear entitled me to a discount (thinking safer security=less risk=cheaper insurance?) I was told that I wasnt entitled to any discount as my insurance was "pretty cheap" already
I then informed the fella I had been shopping around (a white lie, shall we say?), and found that other insurers would be willing to offer a reduced premium based on this security improvement, of course I was promptly put on hold, and then endured the usual amount of "speaking to a manager". Low and behold, a £20 reduction in my insurance
(Im just over £200 FC, so £20 is a good amount). So that makes the price of this upgrade very reasonable IMO :thumb:
So, aye, theres my useless story for the day, figured I would post some pics in case anyone is considering an anchor, nice bits of kit these red alert ones, really solid .
