One rider. A lot of outside storage.
My first bike sat on the road outside an end-terrace in South East England. It didn’t get stolen — but it did get knocked over. That was the moment I started taking security seriously, and it turns out nobody had written a genuinely useful guide aimed at UK riders without a garage.
Over the years I’ve stored bikes in a side alley at a semi-detached house, a front garden with no anchor point, a rented driveway, and now a proper garage. Each situation taught me something different about what actually works and what’s just heavy and expensive.
This site is the guide I wish I’d had when I started. Everything here is either something I’ve used myself, something I’ve researched in depth against independent test data, or both. I only recommend Sold Secure rated products. I don’t list anything I wouldn’t use on my own bike.
A few years ago I convinced two friends to take up motorcycling. What happened next is essentially the reason this site exists.
Friend A — in his 50s
Lifelong driver. No rear access. Driveway only.
My assumption going in was that my younger friend would have the harder time with insurance — less experience, younger rider. I was completely wrong.
It was the older friend who hit wall after wall. Not because of his age or record — because of where he’d be storing the bike. No garage, no rear access, just a driveway. Insurers had conditions. Some wouldn’t cover him at all without specific security measures.
We ended up working through ground anchors, alarmed disc locks, D-locks, chains, security lights, and covers — navigating each against what his insurer would and wouldn’t recognise — before he could get a policy that made his dream machine financially viable.
Friend B — in his 30s
Sporadic car owner. Passed DAS. Went straight onto a 1200cc.
Passed his direct access course and bought his dream machine without a second thought about security.
He has a garage. That one difference changed everything. The same products reviewed on this site matter to him too — but for him they were never the gating factor between being insurable and not.
Same starting point. Same products to consider. Completely different stakes. That gap is what this site is for. If you’re storing outside — driveway, road, side alley, front garden — getting the security right isn’t just about protecting your bike from theft. It’s the difference between getting the insurance you want at a price that makes sense, or not getting it at all.
Lesson: exposed bikes get knocked over and targeted. Ground anchor not possible — learned to rely on chains and disc locks, and to park strategically.
First ground anchor install. Concrete drilling, wall anchor, 16mm chain. This is when I realised the quality gap between Sold Secure Gold and the generic stuff from Amazon.
Layered security without permanent fixtures. Disc lock alarm + chain to a heavy deadweight block. Not ideal — drove the insurance comparison research on this site.
Portable ground anchor testing. Bolt-in vs screw-in vs ground spike options — all of which now feature in the ground anchor guide.
Still outside sometimes. Touring means outside storage on the road constantly. The problem never fully goes away.
Only Sold Secure rated products recommended
Every lock, chain, disc lock and ground anchor recommended on this site carries a current Sold Secure Motorcycle rating. No exceptions. This is the standard UK insurers recognise.
Independent test data cited throughout
Where third-party testing exists (Bennetts BikeSocial, MotorCycleNews, Which?), it’s referenced directly. You’re not just taking my word for it.
Insurance implications covered honestly
Many sites ignore how security choices affect your policy. Every major guide here addresses what insurers actually require for outside storage.
UK-specific, not repackaged US content
Sold Secure is a UK standard. UK insurers, UK theft patterns, UK housing types. This site is written for the UK market, not translated from elsewhere.
Some links earn a small commission. This never affects which products are recommended or their order. The Sold Secure rating filter applies regardless.
The research process behind every recommendation
A lot of motorcycle security content online is thin — a few Amazon listings reordered and republished. The guides on this site take a different approach. Here’s exactly what goes into a buyers guide before anything appears on the page.
Sold Secure Filter
The starting point is always the Sold Secure database. Any product without a current Motorcycle rating is disqualified immediately — regardless of marketing claims, price, or weight.
Independent Test Review
Bennetts BikeSocial, MCN, and others. Where independent tests exist, they’re read in full. Where they conflict, that conflict is noted in the guide — not smoothed over.
Real-World Use Context
Products I’ve used personally are flagged as such. For products I haven’t used, verified long-term owner feedback is synthesised — not cherry-picked reviews from the product listing.
Insurance Cross-Check
Where a product’s security rating affects insurance premiums or compliance, that’s covered explicitly. The best lock in the world is less useful if your insurer doesn’t recognise it.
Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you buy via them, this site earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. This income helps cover hosting and keeps the guides free. It does not influence which products are recommended — the Sold Secure filter applies regardless of whether a commission is available. Products without affiliate links are included when they’re the right choice.
Referenced throughout this site
Sold Secure is an independent UK testing house backed by the Master Locksmiths Association. Products are physically attacked using the tools a real thief would use, for a set duration. A rating tells you how long a determined attacker with the right tools would need to defeat the product. UK insurers use these ratings to set policy requirements and discounts.
Resists attack for the shortest period. Adequate for low-risk environments or as a secondary deterrent layer. Not usually sufficient for insurance requirements.
Moderate resistance. Accepted by some insurers as a minimum requirement. Not recommended as a standalone solution for outside street parking.
The standard most guides on this site recommend. Widely recognised by UK insurers. Resists sustained attack including angle grinder.
The highest Sold Secure rating. Maximum attack resistance — typically very heavy products for home use with ground anchors. The strongest insurer discount available.