Bike crime rarely gets a sympathetic hearing on mainstream TV. But security firm BikeTrac earned some welcome publicity last month when it recovered a stolen Husqvarna 701 on the BBC One daytime crime-fighting show Frontline Fightback.
The show focused on the threat of bike theft and outlined the advantages of tracking devices. BikeTrac’s Bill Taylor provided us the background to the story: “The theft featured was of a Husqvarna that had been stolen from Fulham and had been missing for 24 hours. That’s an unusually long time for a bike to be missing for us, but the thieves had driven the stolen bike around in a van, so we had to wait for the signal to come to rest. When it did, we deployed our radio frequency technology, using the signal to check several vans in a car park, until it led us to the offending silver Ford Transit.
“We were very proud to be asked to feature on Frontline Fightback, but importantly it’s a great educational piece for viewers with scooters or motorcycles. Bike security should be a layered approach, and while we have obvious confidence in our own technology, we always suggest that owners lock their bikes securely and try to minimise exposure to potential thieves.”