Fewer Thieves Are Stealing Motorcycles, But More Are Getting Away With It

Have you ever had your motorcycle stolen? There's just a pit in the bottom of your stomach, that feeling of having been trespassed against by your fellow human. Maybe, if you're lucky, it'll turn up again, but chances are high it's long gone. 

Perhaps this won't make you feel better, but the good news is that motorcycle theft is becoming significantly less likely. After a period of motorcycle and powersports theft increases in post-pandemic America, the crime wave has abated. Some 54,736 bikes were stolen in 2022, almost 150 a day, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. The NICB says that in 2025, the number was down to an estimated 44,564. 

The FBI, meanwhile, reports that between spring of 2025 and 2026 violent crimes fell 9.3% and property crimes are down 12.3%. Homicide hit a 75-year low. (It seems the only kind of crime continuing apace is corporate wage theft, and potentially insider trading.) Leading the way in decline by a lot is motor vehicle theft, which fell 21.6% between May of 2025 and April of this year. As the cost of living continues to increase and working-class wages remain stagnant, property crime may increase again, but that's a problem for the future. Right now we're celebrating that crime is down! 

The bigger concern right now is that about 63% of stolen bikes remain un-recovered. Unlike cars, powersports machines aren't typically used regularly, and if your motorcycle is stolen from the side of the garage, you may not notice until you get a nice day or a weekend opportunity to go for a ride. Theft recovery is much more likely if the vehicle is reported missing immediately, and more than half of recoveries happen within two weeks of being reported stolen. If you store your bike in a parking garage across town, you may not even know it's missing for two weeks. (They also get stolen from dealerships, but that's another story.)

Why is motorcycle theft declining? There are many reasons, but high on the list is that modern motorcycles often feature some pretty useful theft-prevention tech, including app-based tracking and immobilization. Even older bikes without the tech can benefit from a DIY tracker as simple as an Apple AirTag. Perhaps the biggest driver is that there is a glut of used motorcycles on the market right now and the pandemic-driven scarcity has abated, driving prices and values down, making theft less profitable. If you can't make as much money stealing bikes, the juice just isn't worth the squeeze, as they say.

Alongside motorcycles, thefts of other powersports vehicles — including four-wheelers, side-by-sides, snowmobiles, and jet skis — are also down. Many of these, including dirt bikes, are easier targets because they're often not plated or registered and become quite difficult to track down. "Recreational vehicles are often valuable, easily portable, and stored in locations that make them attractive targets for thieves," said David J. Glawe, president and CEO of NICB. Conversely, 45% of stolen cars are recovered within two days, and over 85% are eventually recovered.

Why don't stolen motorcycles get recovered more frequently? Part of what makes them great to own and ride also makes them easy targets for theft and equally easy to hide: They're compact and easy to maneuver. Stolen motorcycles are often moved quickly into private garages, loaded into trailers, or stripped for parts before authorities have an opportunity to act. It's much easier to load a motorcycle than a stolen car into a van or pickup and drive away. Without an active tracker, it's hard for visual identification to spot the bike's movements, even with the massive proliferation of surveillance tracking. 

The best way to avoid having your motorcycle stolen is to remember to keep it locked up. Theft is typically a crime of opportunity, so any hurdle you can place in front of a would-be thief can turn them away. Chain your bike up, put a rotor lock on the front wheel, lock your steering if the bike is so-equipped. Make sure you set your immobilizers, alarms, and trackers if your bike has them. If you can, park the bike behind closed doors, in a garage, or gated parking. Private-property security cameras may not be a bad idea. Failing all of that, keeping the bike out of sight makes it more difficult for thieves to even make it a target. Combine as many of these tips as you can, as each layer of security adds risk for the thief.

If you find your motorcycle was stolen, time is of the essence. If you can get a police report started within minutes of discovering its theft, it's much more likely to be recovered. Maybe you'll be one of the lucky 41% that gets your bike back. If not, you can hope that your insurance policy is up to snuff and gets you paid out and made whole again. Be grateful nobody was hurt; it's just a pile of metal, plastic, and rubber, and it can be replaced. 

All of that said, as crime naturally declines, police department budgets continue to grow, and we're all being watched by the dystopian panopticon network of tracking cameras, why is stolen property still so difficult to recover? Perhaps that was never the priority.