Securing the TFT

[JohnF]

Well, after a little over 3 months of ownership, my bike fell victim to TFT theft and is currently waiting insurance approval for the repair. TFT removed without any apparent damage during the day in cental London (bike bay in the middle of Holborn by the old Pru' building, for those of you local).

I had the Cymarc anti-theft bracket fitted and to be fair to them, they concede it's only a deterrent, but it's clear to me now that BMW appear to have designed these to be easy to assemeble (and disassemble) with no thought for overall security. The recovery van driver told me they're seeing 2-3 TFT thefts every week in London.

I've seen a few suggestions on line and wondered if anyone had any experience or thoughts about using secure Torx and Loctite to replace the OE Torx? I know Loctite would be a PITA if I needed to remove the screen, but I figure that it's more likely to be stolen than removed with good cause and some Loctite red might do enough to make them move onto another bike.

And finally, I have a real problem with BMW profiting substantially by charging GBP1300 for a replacement unit that's been stolen because of their poor design...

[Grumpy Goat]

First of all ... sorry to hear of your loss.

Having a 2016 with the LED display that no one want to steal, I am not familiar with the mounting design for the nice new TFTs so I can only comment generally. Two things come to mind:

1. Shouldn't Cymarc shoulder some of the blame for this "theft-ability"? After all they designed something that is supposed to enhance the security of the allegedly security-weak BMW design and yet still it was stolen ...
   
2. I would guess that resistance to theft for the dash would be secondary to the BMW design team, especially given that it is on a motorcycle. The added cost of enhancing security against a determined thief, on a vehicle that itself can be piled into a van, would likely not be sustainable in the marketplace.
   

The fact that these parts cost so much in the first place supports the black market in parts.

As for the Loctite and secure torx ... I doubt there would be any strength of threadlocker that would withstand a determined well-fitting torx tool inserted properly into the fastener. Threadlockers are effective against vibration as opposed to crooks. Then there is the case of crooks over there having noisy battery powered cutting wheels to cut through bike chains and such ... I'd think that the relative quiet and easy operation like the removal of a TFT dash would be a piece of cake for those types ...

I suspect that the only recourse, short of a removable dash, is anti-theft insurance coverage. In the case of my Nav VI and now my Carpuride CarPlay unit - I just remove them from the bike as needed. PITA but I still have them ...

[JohnF]

Agree with your Cymark point in part - they do only claim deterence and I was aware of this from reviews before I bought it and when I fitted it. 2 Torx, both exposed are all that retain it. Will feed back to them all the same.

I'd been thinking along similar lines to you with your Nav - if it's this easy to steal, why not make it removeable by design. Oh, hang on, BMW have done that already...

[Grumpy Goat]

Agree with your Cymark point in part - they do only claim deterence and I was aware of this from reviews before I bought it and when I fitted it. 2 Torx, both exposed are all that retain it. Will feed back to them all the same.

I'm amazed that the design has 2 exposed torx screws - non-secure at that - to be the last line of defense which includes some sort of lock. Normally the fixings are hidden within the locked arrangement, where you'd have to undo the lock and remove the item being locked, to reveal the fixings. Strange.

I'd been thinking along similar lines to you with your Nav - if it's this easy to steal, why not make it removeable by design. Oh, hang on, BMW have done that already...

I suspect that now that they have had these TFTs on various models for a while, and they learn about the ease at which they are stolen, they may give added consideration to making them easily removable by the owner. No other manufacturer has done this, to my knowledge, and that too may factor into the decision on whether to pursue that. When you think about it, the displays like the TFT dash and the GPSs are the most value-dense items on a bike.

[92232]

....
I suspect that the only recourse, short of a removable dash, is anti-theft insurance coverage. In the case of my Nav VI and now my Carpuride CarPlay unit - I just remove them from the bike as needed. PITA but I still have them ...

So my question is, do we here in the USA have a problem with TFT theft as I see in the EU?  I really don't hear anything about it.

Bill

[JohnF]

Bill, I think the easiest way to see if you have a theft forum is search eBay or your local Craig's List. If I do that in SE England, I can see plenty of listings for units that appear to be in perfect working order yet supplied without any box or other documentation. I don't think it's a coincidence and I also don't think there's that many bikes being crashed and legitimately broken for parts.

The root of this problem is obviously the criminal, closely followed by BMW's design. And in this day age, a TFT dashboard should be coded to the VIN in the factory and it simply shouldn't be possible to use it on another bike without asking BMW for an unlock code.

[Grumpy Goat]

...
The root of this problem is obviously the criminal, closely followed by BMW's design. And in this day age, a TFT dashboard should be coded to the VIN in the factory and it simply shouldn't be possible to use it on another bike without asking BMW for an unlock code.

Agree 100%. I think that if they required an unlock code then the demand should decrease and once the word gets around the thefts should decrease also.

[Toruk]

Make a fake stick-on cover that makes it look like a cracked screen! I hate thieves.