Bicycle Lock for small outboard

I don't like the looks of the locks for small outboards and I have been looking for a different choice. I hope this is it. It is the Onguard Bulldog Minni DT 8015 bicycle lock.

It fits around the lower shaft of my 2.5 HP Mercury. I got it on sale locally for $30 with 5 keys and a cable. If it works out, I will replace the cable with a chain. You can get $500 of theft protection for 3 years for $15 but that is for watercraft and you have to return the broken lock. I don't know if it will pay for use on an outboard.

I know that nothing will keep the motor from being stolen because of battery powered tools but at least it may slow them down and prevent a smash and grab. I will lock the cable or chain around the trailer frame or to a fitting in the pickup bed. I feel better about this than the locks that slide over the mounting screws.

If I am not using it, the motor lives on the wooden stand in the garage.

I could have that cable, or even a chain, off there in less than a minute ...

FWIW I prefer the Fulton box-type lock w/ the tubular keyway.

Thank you - I think about that. What made me look in this direction is that on bigger motors the screw claps are stouter. On the 2.5 hp the screws don't look like they will hold up to much, even drilling holes in the wood for the screws to fit into.

Out of curiosity, how would you get the lock off?

nlester said:

Out of curiosity, how would you get the lock off?

Click to expand...

I wouldn't ... no use attacking that lock - that's an awesome, about best designyou can get. I'd go after the chain or rope cable.

Any chance to out a bolt through transom through OB mount-bracket to help slow them down? Usually in security, you can only make them go to EASIER pickings ... If stored in your yard, best defense is motion-detected lights.

nlester said:

Out of curiosity, how would you get the lock off?

Click to expand...

I have a cheap pair of bolt cutters that easily cut a Master lock that I lost the key to and used to cut a safety chain to length for my trailer. That cable would be easy cutting.

I got a fort knox safe you can keep it in if desired? :roll: If that lock and cable you got don't do it, you need to pick a new place
to store your motor.

Got a buddy who is a chicago cop (retired), bought a new pickup on way to montana, Was out there for 3 months, no issues. Came home, remember I said chicago, his spare tire did not last even one night. Some dude with a battery powered tool got it in 40 seconds time. A camera across the street recorded it but not well enough to identify anyone.

Tim

I could take a battery powered saws all and cut a chuck out of the transom also. I am looking to try to make it uninviting. I don't see any way to get the lock off without destroying the lock or busting the motor housing. So if that is true what about the cable?

I plan to use the cable for my first trip but that is close and I will not be leaving the boat for very long and then only in busy areas. I just want to stop, eat go to the bathroom have a reasonable chance of everything being there when I get back.

Do you think thie chain in the link below is worth considering? Will it only delay a thief for a minute or is it overkill? At least it looks intimating. I am trying to decide what is reasonable.

https://www.1st-chainsupply.com/mobile/securitymaxx.html#secchain

I am hoping this chain & lock will work for me but if it is too easy to bust, I need to consider something else.

With the chain and the lock, I would have about $70 invested. Nothing is fool proof, except to stay at home. I don't want $200 of lock to protect a $400 motor. I just want to discourage the casual lookers. Nothing is going to stop some one who is determined. I just want them to have to work for it. That has always worked for me in the past.

If they really want it, they will cut the chains & locks on the trailer and take everything. Or they can lift the boat off the trailer and toss in the back of a pickup. At some point enough is enough. The main reason for the lock and chain would be to give more me options and I don't feel the Fulton box type lock is a good option for my motor.

With the floods around Dallas, I am locked out of fishing my home lakes for most of the summer & there are some small lakes in east Texas that I would like to camp at for a few days.

It is certainly better than nothing and is a deterrent, a crook will get it if he really wants it and I think that would stop most, that motor ain’t worth that much effort to a real crook.

The bike lock and cable will stop or deter most people from bothering your stuff, as they want something quick and easy to lessen their chances of getting seen or caught. Using power tools to cut the lock/cable will make noise, draw attention and thieves don't like that.

Do any of you watch the TV show Storage Wars ?
where the people bid on abandoned storage units. . . . .
the owner walks up to a heavy duty pad lock and buzzes right through it
with an Angle Grinder with a 1/16" metal blade and 4 seconds it hits the ground.

This is my TOOL OF CHOICE around my hobby area for just about anything that
a wrench won't take off. It is awesome working on old farm equipment, trucks,
cars, yada yada yada .... once you use one, you will wonder how you got along
without it for so long. You see it on the TV shows doing auto body work cutting
the bed off a pick up truck or coil springs off a '57 Chevy.... only takes 60 seconds.

Like Dale says . . . . go after the weakest spot in the system. Sure, the visual element
of "protection" is indeed a deterrent. But, when a dedicated meth head is desperate,
he WILL get your stuff.

I remember back in my Navy days . . . we would put a 1/2" link chain on a gate then
put on a 1/4" BRASS shackle pad lock ..... that is so funny when I think back on it.
you can cut a brass lock off with a fingernail file.

we are not in Kansas any more ToTo.



.

If your boat is out where no one is around then nothing works. We are talking campground or diner parking lot. People are your best protection and noise is your friend along with good choices. If it is going to take power equipment, then I am satisfied and will take my chances. I never locked my doors on my sport's cars because I never had anything inside worth the price of a new soft top.

My tool of choice was a 22 oz framing hammer. Aim for the sweet spot on top of the lock between the shackles and follow through. I didn't always live or work in the best parts of town and the most important thing is to be aware of your surroundings. Especially with a truck full of tools, you want to watch where you park it.

I once thought of putting a sign on my truck, "septic tank cleaning service" but no one in the cities that I worked in would have known what a septic tank was.

Bottom line is you can't make it theft proof. You can only make it more difficult, which in turn may make the thief look for easier pickings. I don't know of any locks that will stand up to power tools but they do make some that stand up against bolt cutters pretty well. When it comes to chains and cables, go with the cable. A good set of bolt cutters will cut most chains, but they tend to have problems with large cables. When bolt cutters start to squeeze a cable, the strands of the cable spread and the cable will flatten out a bit. This makes it much wider and a lot more difficult for bolt cutters to get through because it has to cut more material at once. If you've ever tried to cut a cable with bolt cutters, you know what I'm talking about. I'm not saying you can't cut a cable with bolt cutters but it is more difficult than cutting a chain. And cutting a cable with a power tool is more difficult than cutting a chain because the individual strands of the cable start getting in the way as they are cut with a power tool so that may slow them down.

Thanks - I broken a lot locks but never messed with cables. I know the cables that HD sells are not much challenge but this one is a little heavier and I had no idea what to expect.

If a thief wants it, he'll get it...regardless of what you have .