autoevolution
 

When the Disc-Lock Fails You

Although inventive thieves found ways to bypass a simple disc-lock that secures your motorcycle, it’s still a good device to use and surprise potential but lazy robbers from stealing your ride. Sometimes it could surprise you as well, and the results could be troubling.
Disc-lock sends rider down 5 photos
Photo: screenshot from YouTube
Disc-lock failDisc-lock failDisc-lock failDisc-lock fail
Forgetting to take off with your disc-lock mounted to the wheel is a common niggle among riders. I too got surprised by this several times while leaving work or a shopping center. Put the key in, throw a leg over the saddle, contact, first gear, shoulder check, clutch out and DING - almost fell over and made a fool of myself.

However, tipping the bike and falling on the ground next to it is the least amount of damage this little device can bring to a careless rider. Things could get more serious if you’re parked in between cars, near a short but spiky fence or simply have a pillion with you.

A heavy bike with no frame sliders could also catch your leg under and sprain your ankle or worse. The rider in the video bellow ticks almost all the boxes - heavy topcase, a passenger with him in the saddle, parked in between cars, disk-lock still on - a recipe for disaster.

As you can imagine, he went forward for half a meter, stopped all of a sudden and toppled over the car to his right along with the passenger. The bike caught his leg underneath and a couple passers-by had to help him get up.

Both the rider and the passenger are all right while the car and the bike got away with only some scratches, but this is a warning something more dramatic could have happened.

I can also provide you with some tips on how to avoid such issues. Start by using the provided bright-colored disc-lock reminder that attaches to the handlebar. If you don’t want to use that because it signals thieves you run a disc-lock, at least mount the disk lock near a fixed part, such as the caliper or the fork tube. This way, even if you forget about it, the disk-lock has only an inch to travel before it slams into the fixed part and you won’t be traveling that fast to tip over.

Also, I have noticed that mounting the disc-lock to the rear wheel and taking off with it minimizes the chance to fall since the front wheel can still turn freely. Depending on how hard you accelerate, this might be a bit more dangerous for your chain and sprocket, though, so keep that in mind too.

Ultimately, you can train your brain to take off with a leg still hanging off to catch you in case something goes wrong. Or train it not to forget about the damn disc-lock...

If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories