Ducati Monster Forum

Hey gang.  Yesterday I was hooking up a Battery Tender Jr. to my wife's M620, in storage for the rest of the winter.  At first I was upset because I forgot to bring the key to pop off the seat and allow the tank to lift.  Then I was happy because I saw that the exposed cable from the seat lock is so easily pulled with a flat screwdriver.  Then I was alarmed at how easily someone could steal the contents of the storage area under the seat, and particularly something like a helmet locked to the bike via that strap dealie which depends on the seat lock.

Anybody else concerned about this?  Anyone else even notice it? Anyone had anything stolen? Am I a bad person for posting this info in a public forum? Will the next person to get a helmet stolen blame me for empowering the criminals with this sacred knowledge?  :-\

I don't think many people use the poor excuse for a helmet lock, that ducati provides.

As for stealing things that are in the "storage compartment," its the same deal. Not many people use it as storage since the most you could put in there is a deck of cards  [roll]

people kept stuffing things into my lock. i just took the lock out. most people however, will not try to steal something attatched to that lock anyway, cause im not dumb enough to put something there. :p

Yeah I notice that too.  I rarely lock my helmet there anyhow.  Too paranoid.

I guess I better find another spot to stash emergency dinaro. 

Thanks folks.  I know that these things are never 100% secure, but even so I was shocked at how poor the setup on the Monster is.

Our monsters have helmet locks?  Seriously

~JD

If you're serious, I think the answer is "kinda".  There's a hook under the seat, and there's a steel wire loop kinda deal that you can loop over the hook, through your helmet, and back onto the hook.  The seat locked in place keeps the loop on the hook.

Of course, the seat lock can be defeated in about 1 second by anyone who's ever looked at one.

If you want to lock up your helmet, I recommend getting a short bicycle cable lock.

I'd never leave my helmet unattended, especially outside.

What if some drunk asshole comes and pees in it?

takes about 30 seconds to steal a visor too...
only time i ever leave mine outside is at a large group meet where everyone is riding... i figure the people around that want helmets that bad, already have one.

I don't have a huge sample, but as far as I can tell any Duc key will open any other Duc monster seat.   The seat locks are just to keep the honest people honest...a reminder as it were.

this is my helmet lock;


(http://www.dumbaaldum.org/images/pic-sounds/letter-h/hand.jpg)

Wow!  A deck of cards?  I wish my S4RS had that much storage space.  Heck, I wish it had ANY storage space!   [cheeky]

I have one like that too.


Doubles as my girlfriend.

she's been cheating on me!

Rosy you're alright
You wear my ring
When you hold me tight
Rosy that's my thing
When I turn out the light
I got to hand it to me.

--Jackson Browne

You'd think you'd recognize your own helmet. [roll]

Dimby here I come. ;D

Over 10 years of riding motorcycles, I've locked helmets to bikes literally hundreds of times and never had a problem with someone defacing it or stealing parts off it.  I've seen plenty of people leave the helmet just sitting on the mirror, or hanging from the handlebar by the chinstrap, too.  I thought I was being paranoid to worry about that cheesy lock, but I see I was outgunned in that department by plenty of folks here.  [thumbsup]

I've asked the question a few times, and all the answers seem to come back from two camps:

1. Always just leave it with the bike, anywhere, never had a problem.
2. Would never do it, that's just crazy, theft/vandalism/etc.

Those who do it say it's fine and they've never had trouble, everyone else thinks there's no reason to take that sort of risk, so they don't.  I've never actually heard of anyone having their helmet abused or stolen in their absence.

I just figure the one time it does happen you'll be a hundred miles from home, at night, in the rain when you find out.


Taking it with you will guarantee that never, ever happens.

For me, it would guarantee that I slip and go to break my fall with the helmet and smash the visor and/or chin bar. :)

But you make a good point.

Dang, does you wife know you're seeing someone on the side?  :P

Perfect example of why you should keep your helmet with you:
I'm back at school and it's safe here. People just fold up their leather jackets and leave them sitting on the tank or sear of their bike or prop helmets on the bars/ mirrors. Yesterday my friend left his helmet on the seat lock of his SV650. Surprise shower. Now he gets to ride home with a soggy helmet and has to dry out his helmet tonight because it got soggy in the rain.

Soggy helmet? You're kidding, right? It's not that big a deal, I've done plenty of miles in or after rain.  It dries out just fine. :)

when I was (about 14 years old) in highschool, my friend and I walked by a little bar with 2 motorcycles parked outside.  They bikers apparently belonged to a gang or club of some sort called "The Tigers" or at least that's what the jacket promiently draped on one of the bikes said.  My friend and I grabbed the jacket and later tok turns wearing it.  It was dirty and smelly and because neither one of us had the means of washing it (couldn't exactly ask our moms to wash a stolen jacket), we eventually thought it was more fun to shoot it full of holes with air rifles, then blow it up with firecrackers.

I carry my helmet around just in case Karma rides by and evens the score.

Did you ride in the short bus to school?

At my old job there was a co worker that would take his small tail bag and put it in his helmet which was locked while he was at work.  One day he came out and the bag was stolen.  That is really ballsy because he parked right by the exit door of the store.   He was so pissed.  I felt bad cause he had a 40 mile commute.  He said it got really cold the last part of the trip cause he lives in the foothills.

actually went to a math and science high school.  for our junior year science project, we made vodka.  I was a nerd who was 6ft tall, lifted weights, and used his knowledge for evil.

There's a storage space on these bikes?  ???

With a cheap helmet it wouldn't matter to me, but I won't buy a cheap helmet so it's kind of a moot point.