What Are The Most Frequently Stolen Motorcycles In Australia?
One motorcycle gets stolen in Australia every hour. But which are the most common targets? Get the full motorcycle theft picture from the latest data.
Contrary to popular belief, thieves don’t often target Harleys and expensive Ducatis. Their most common target is the humble scooter. In Australia specifically, the Yamaha NMAX 125 and Honda PCX 125 scooters top the list.
Japanese Brands Lead The Pack.
Honda is the most stolen motorcycle brand overall. Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki are close behind – but a huge proportion of these are scooters – not street and sport bikes. Cruisers and Harleys are least likely to get stolen. The most stolen brands are the four Japanese manufacturers as they are also the biggest sellers. Although Harley is the top-selling brand in Australia, after the Japanese models, it only accounts for approximately 2.6% of all bike thefts. Dirt bike manufacturer KTM is the much more popular target.
Nobody Wants Your Vespa. (Almost).
Even though Vespas are one of the most popular scooters in Australia, they contribute to only about 0.5% of all motorcycle thefts. Unlike parts on high-end sport bikes and scooters, Vespa parts lower resale value – making them less lucrative for professional thieves. It makes more sense for a thief to target a premium scooter; their downside is fixed, regardless of the model they choose – but the upside with premium scooters is much higher.
What are the odds of your stolen motorcycle being returned to you?
Not great, but it depends on the state you live in.
Most stolen motorcycles are immediately stripped for parts by professional crime outfits. The odds of your bike being in one piece a month after it disappeared are not great.
If your bike gets stolen in Tasmania, you can feel optimistic – there’s roughly an 80% chance of it being returned. But if it gets stolen in Victoria, don’t hold your breath – it has the worst recovery rate in Australia of about 30%.