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DIY alarms/immobiliser

Posted: Jul 14th, '08, 21:12
by Tom L
Having just bought a new bike (pics to come :) ) i want to make sure this one stays mine, is it worth buying a second hand fleabayed alarm and fitting it myself or is it the sort of job you want done by someone whos knows what their doing? And what sort of price range should i expect for a decent/reasonable alarm system?

Re: DIY alarms/immobiliser

Posted: Jul 14th, '08, 21:17
by billinom8s
you can always mix and match, i got a CAT1 datatool alarm that should have been £400 off fleabay for £34 than paid a recognised company to install it, that cost £88 so saved a packet,

some people dont believe in alarms but i sure do. if i had to do it again i would but if the bargain wasn't there i would have got someone like sp motorcycles to :D :D install as we get discount there

Re: DIY alarms/immobiliser

Posted: Jul 14th, '08, 21:38
by Tom L
there's loads of alarms going for £30-50 on ebay, if they work its very tempting as im moving to shitty area of bristol and cant afford another bike to get nicked :wink:

Whats the downside to having alarms/immobiliser? can it drain the battery or something if done wrong?

Re: DIY alarms/immobiliser

Posted: Jul 15th, '08, 08:10
by webster
an alarm will drain the battery, installed properly or not, so it's best to have it hooked up to an optimate or somesuch overnight. My bike came with an alarm but i ripped it out because all it did was piss me right off, it was like living with a schizophrenic with tourettes, look at it wrong and it beeped at you. Plus i don't have a power outlet in my garage so it gradually killed my battery dead.

Re: DIY alarms/immobiliser

Posted: Jul 15th, '08, 10:47
by Tom L
surely you wouldnt want it running off mains as all someone who have to do is cut the power cable and problem solved?

Re: DIY alarms/immobiliser

Posted: Jul 15th, '08, 11:47
by Jonny
Not trying to be too negative, just interested. Has anyone here been in a situation where their bike wasn't stolen becuase they had an alarm?

Re: DIY alarms/immobiliser

Posted: Jul 15th, '08, 13:26
by Tom L
i figured the immobiliser is the more important bit, just deters joy riders.

Re: DIY alarms/immobiliser

Posted: Jul 15th, '08, 19:47
by webster
Tom L wrote:surely you wouldnt want it running off mains as all someone who have to do is cut the power cable and problem solved?
the alarm doesn't run off the mains, it runs off the bike battery so slowly drains it. an optimate is a battery charger/conditioner which will prevent the alarm from draining the battery, so disconnecting it from the mains doesn't disable the alarm.

Re: DIY alarms/immobiliser

Posted: Jul 15th, '08, 20:54
by Tom L
the alarm doesn't run off the mains, it runs off the bike battery so slowly drains it. an optimate is a battery charger/conditioner which will prevent the alarm from draining the battery, so disconnecting it from the mains doesn't disable the alarm.
sweet :)

Re: DIY alarms/immobiliser

Posted: Jul 18th, '08, 13:52
by Tom L
Having just bought the new bike, funds are at an all time low :wink:

If i do it on the cheap do you reckon i can set one up for around the £100 mark?