Despite Decline Motorcycle Thefts Continue

There were 46,667 motorcycles reported stolen in 2011 compared with 49,791 in 2010—a decline of 6 percent, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

The theft rate averages out to one theft every 11 minutes. All data is from theft reports contained in the National Crime Information Center.

The top five makes stolen last year were: (1) Honda, 11,014; (2) Yamaha, 8,880; (3) Suzuki, 7,281; (4) Kawasaki, 5,009; and (5) Harley-Davidson, 3,120. Combined, these five brands accounted for 35,304 thefts in 2011, or 75.6 percent of the total.

For 2011, the top five states with the most motorcycle thefts were: (1) California, 5,927; (2) Texas, 3,950; (3) Florida, 3,927; (4) North Carolina, 2,466; and (5) Indiana, 2,114. These five states accounted for 18,384 thefts, or 39.3 percent of the total.

Of some significance is the fact that thefts were down in 2011 while motorcycle sales increased slightly from 2010. According to the Motorcycle Industry Council, motorcycle sales increased in 2011 to 440,899 units—up 0.3 percent from 2010’s sales figure of 439,678 units.

As expected, the warm months of July and August logged the most thefts in 2011 at 5,544 and 5,397, respectively. On the other end of the scale, the cooler months of February and December saw the fewest thefts with 2,147 and 2,475, respectively.

While the most active day for thefts was Monday with 6,962, there was a relatively even spread across the week with the least active day, Sunday, posting 6,422 thefts.

Source: NICB