UK’s Motorcycle Theft Hotspots Revealed - is Your Town on the List?

Motorcycle theft is never far from a biker’s mind, and sometimes it does feel like no matter how much security you employ, if they want it (and they have the time) a thief will have it!

There are though some areas that are more at risk of motorcycle theft, and these hotspots have been highlighted by new data published by Anglo Scottish Data. This was acquired via a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted to the DVLA and looks at the period of time from June 2022, to May 2023. And as you’d expect, the nation’s capital city sits at the top of the charts.

During this time period, London had 2,975 bikes reported stolen to the DVLA, although, with a population recorded at 8,961,989, the bike theft per capita number sits fairly low at 33 bikes stolen per 100,000 people. Second place for overall thefts is Bristol, with 482 bikes stolen, and with a population of just 617,280 which equates to 78 bikes pinched per 100,000 people.

After Bristol comes Birmingham, with 309 thefts and 31 bikes stolen per 100,000 people, which is closely followed by Manchester, with 308, and 78 per 100,000 people.

UK’s motorcycle theft top 10 towns and cities

The data also highlights which models of motorcycle are most likely at risk of being stolen, and it’ll be no surprise to hear that scooters and 125cc bikes are the most at risk. The Yamaha NMAX 125 has the unenviable top spot on this chart with 512 bikes pinched, closely followed by the Honda WW 125-A (commonly known as the PCX 125). Interestingly there are only two geared bikes in the top 10 most stolen bikes, with the Yamaha YBR 125 inhabiting fourth place with 306 bikes stolen, and the Yamaha YZF-R125 rounding out the top 10 with 171 bikes stolen between June 2022 and May 2023.

UK’s most stolen bikes

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