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DES PLAINES, IL – Motorcycle thefts in the United States decreased six percent in 2014 with Honda the brand with the most bikes thefts, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Insurance Crime Bureau. California ranked No. 1 as the state with the most thefts. Las Vegas the No. 1 city for motorcycle thievery.
A total of 42,856 motorcycles were stolen in 2014, compared to 45,367 in 2013. Of those stolen in 2014, a total of 17,757 motorcycles (or 41 percent) were recovered. The NICB said the warm months of July and August had the most motorcycle thefts with the cold months of January and February the least.
The Top 5 states for motorcycle thefts were California (6,355), Florida (3,981), Texas (3,274), South Carolina (2,146) and North Carolina (2,117).
New York claimed the No. 6 spot with 1,544 thefts.
Among the six New England states, Massachusetts came in 17th place (861), Connecticut came in 20th (715), Rhode Island came in 41st (136), New Hampshire came in 45th (69), Maine came in 47th (43) and Vermont came in 49th (28).
The Top 5 cities for bike thefts were Las Vegas (1,163), New York (1,034), San Diego (650), Miami (541) and San Francisco (516).
One statistic in the NICB report that may be surprising is that a total 473 different motorcycle makes were identified, but the Top 15 makes accounted for 82 percent of the motorcycle thefts. Honda had the most stolen (8,045), followed by Yamaha (6,728), Suzuki (5,987), Kawasaki (4,497) and Harley-Davidson (4,146).
– Bud Wilkinson
