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Mark Hinchliffe·
NewsMotorbike news
··3 min read

Bike theft rises as all vehicle theft drops

Lock theft stolen Lock Insurance theft motorcycles thief reduce thefts leap

Motorcycle theft rose 5% in the 2017/2018 financial year while all other vehicle theft across Australia dropped.

Official figures from the National Theft Reduction Council (NTRC) show motorcycle thefts were up 381 to 8471.

It follows several years of low growth in motorcycle theft.Theft

The highest growth of any state was Queensland, up 7.8% to 11,733, representing 22.3% of total national motorcycle thefts.

Thefts were down in all other states and territories, except the ACT which was up 14.5% to 1257, although it represents only 2.4% of national bike thefts.

The biggest drop was in Tasmania which was down 2.7% to 1046.

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Where theft occurs

State or Territory 2016/17 2017/18 % change Theft rate per 1,000 registrations
Thefts
% of thefts 
 Thefts
% of thefts 
 2016/17 2017/18
ACT 1,098
1.9
 1,257
2.4
 14.5%  3.75 4.18
NSW 12,302
21.8
 12,059
22.9
 -2.0%  2.24 2.15
NT 1,106
2.0
 881
1.7
 -20.3%  6.87 5.43
QLD 10,883
19.3
 11,733
22.3
 7.8%  2.62 2.76
SA 3,256
5.8
 2,999
5.7
 -7.9%  2.27 2.00
TAS 1,319
2.3
 1,046
2.0
 -20.7%  2.81 2.21
VIC 18,248
32.4
 15,164
28.8
 -16.9%  3.66 2.97
WA 8,107
14.4
 7,583
14.4
 -6.5%  3.55 3.31
AUS 56,319 100.0 52,722 100.0 -6.4%  2.92 2.68

Since Queensland had the highest growth rate of motorcycle theft, several local authority regions in the south-east are hot spots for bike theft.

State or Territory LGA 2013/14 2017/18 % change
QLD Brisbane (City) 133 162 21.8% 
QLD Gold Coast (City) 91 132 45.1% 
VIC Melbourne (City) 63 116 84.1% 
VIC Port Phillip (City) 34 82 141.2% 
QLD Logan (City) 91 80 -12.1% 
WA Rockingham (City) 88 76 -13.6% 
QLD Moreton Bay (Regional Council) 71 72 1.4% 
ACT Greater ACT 69 71 2.9% 
WA Armadale (City) 81 70 -13.6% 
WA Swan (City) 52 70 34.6% 

The NTRC website includes a “Motorcycle cluster map” which is an interactive map of motorcycle theft.

“By understanding the theft risk in their local area, riders can take action to protect their motorcycle,” the council says.

Click on the circles on the national map for a closer view of the selected region.

What was stolen

The most stolen motorcycles were those made between 2000 and 2010 (42.3%), followed by bikes built since 2010 (29%).

Since Japanese motorcycles dominate sales, they also top the statistics in the most stolen brands.

However, there is also a high incidence of dirt bikes and Chinese-made scooter brands as these are lighter and easier to steal.

Make 2013/14 2017/18
Honda 868 962
Yamaha 888 919
Suzuki 411 426
Kawasaki 350 383
KTM 317 370
Harley Davidson 116 185
Husqvarna 61 87
Piaggio 45 72
Triumph 52 69
Hyosung 51 67
SYM 49 58
Kymco 34 55
Ducati 35 54
TGB 47 48
Aprilia 25 46
Polaris 30 44
Vespa 29 39
Atomik 53 36
Longjia 54 35
BMW 15 32

When bikes are stolen

Most motorcycle theft occurs between 4pm on a Friday through to late Sunday night.
Earliest possible time of theft Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Total
00:00 – 03:59 82 62 59 82 69 94 87 535
04:00 – 07:59 64 62 50 55 71 43 42 387
08:00 – 11:59 90 88 93 96 100 107 89 663
12:00 – 15:59 104 101 92 101 131 130 123 782
16:00 – 19:59 177 153 159 175  235 210 174 1,283
20:00 – 23:59 142 157 142 143 143 136 177 1,040
Total 659 623 595 652 749 720 692 4,690