It seems like the theft of just about everything has been on the rise lately. Whether it is the bad economy or just more immoral people, it seems like if you don’t have something bolted down (and sometimes even if you do) it is going to be ripped off. So it is with great surprise that I read a report recently that thefts of motorcycles are actually down.

I wonder why that is. As reported in www.examiner.com.

Take a guess on how many motorcycles were reported stolen last year. A total of 46,667 motorcycles were reported stolen in 2011, and 17,199 of them were recovered. This is six percent less than the previous year when 49,791 motor bikes were reported stolen.

It should come as no surprise that motorcycle thefts increase when the weather is warmer. What day of the week do you think is most dangerous for having your bike boosted? I would have thought Saturday, yet Monday is the day of danger with 6,962 bikes stolen. The number on Sundays, the day of the lowest number, there were 6,422.

As with many things in our country, California is the leader in motorcycle thefts with 5,927, followed by Texas, Florida, North Carolina, and Indiana. The state reporting the lowest number of thefts was North Dakota (21) followed by Wyoming, South Dakota, Vermont, Alaska, and Montana. Of course, those five states all have low population numbers and the weather can be extremely adverse for motorcycle riding a significant portion of the year so it is no surprise they should have lower numbers of motorcycles--or anything--stolen.

The highest percentage of bikes stolen were Hondas, at 24 percent. Yamaha was next (19 percent), followed by Suzuki (16 percent), Kawasaki (11 percent), and Harley-Davidson (7 percent).

I would like to think an increase in mandated stop theft classes is partially to credit for the decrease in motorcycle thefts. Do you have anything to add on this topic?