Motorcycle Thefts Down, Honda Most Stolen

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com

You’d think that Harley-Davidson would be the brand preferred by thieves, if only because of the popularity and market share. But, no, Honda was the most-stolen brand of motorcycle in 2010 with 12,260 bikes taken, followed by Yamaha (9,853), Suzuki (7,869), Kawasaki (5,470) and Harley (3,301), according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau in a recently released study.

Together, these five brands accounted for 77.8 percent of all motorcycles stolen – 38,753 thefts. The good news is that motorcycles thefts in 2010 were down 24 percent (to 49,791) from 2007 when 65,678 were ripped off.

The top five states for thievery were California, Texas, Florida, North Carolina and Indiana, which combined accounted for 37.7 percent of all thefts. The summer months of July and August saw the most theft activity with February and December having the fewest thefts.