Motorcycle Thefts Down 11.2% in 2010

Dennis Chung
by Dennis Chung

Motorcycle thefts in the U.S. are down for the fourth consecutive year in 2010, according to a report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

There were 49,791 reported motorcycle thefts in 2010, an 11.2% drop from the 56,093 thefts reported in 2009. The number of reported thefts decreased in each of the four years of the NICB study, with the 2010 numbers representing a 24.2% decrease from the 65,678 thefts reported in 2007. Meanwhile, the number of stolen motorcycles recovered in 2010 totaled 14,979.

While the drop in theft reports is good news, it is tempered by the overall decline in motorcycle sales. According to the Motorcycle Industry Council, Americans purchased 439,678 motorcycles in 2010, a 15.5% drop from the 520,502 units sold in 2009.

Not surprisingly, California topped all states (as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) in reported thefts with 5,662 reports in 2010, ahead of Texas’ total of 4,394 reported thefts and Florida’s 4,148 thefts. These three states have led the nation in reported thefts in each of the past four years with California on top each year and Texas and Florida swapping between the second and third spots. North Dakota had the fewest number of reported thefts at 17, followed by South Dakota at 37 and Wyoming at 45.

Reported thefts decreased in all but 14 states: Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia. Of those states, only Maryland and Indiana are among the top ten states in terms of reported thefts.

Maryland had the largest percentage increase in reported thefts (up 8.3% to 1,667) while Georgia (down 26.8% to 1,513) and Texas (down 20.4% to 4,394) had the largest decreases.

For the fourth straight year, Honda topped all manufacturers in reported motorcycle thefts with 12,260 Honda motorcycles stolen in 2010 (incidentally, Honda also topped all auto brands in reported thefts). Yamaha was second at 9,853 followed by Suzuki (7,869), Kawasaki (5,470) and Harley-Davidson (3,301).

[Source: NICB]

Dennis Chung
Dennis Chung

Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.

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