Motorcycle Thefts 2007 - 2010 and 2010 Recoveries in the United States
Maverick from a Report by Chris Kluz, Strategic Analyst - Oct 6, 2011

This Strategic Report analyzes motorcycle thefts for 2007 -­ 2010 and recoveries for 2010 in the United States (U.S.), including the District of Columbia (D.C.) and Puerto Rico. For the purposes of this report, the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) data from 2007 -­ 2010 was reviewed for thefts and recoveries of motorcycles by analyzing the NCIC Make, Model, and Style fields.      

This report is divided into three sections. The first section analyzes motorcycle thefts in the U.S from 2007 – 2010 based on Theft Year, Theft Month, Theft State, and motorcycle Make. The second section analyzes motorcycle recoveries in the U.S. of 2010 thefts, based on Theft Year, Recovery Month, Recovery State, and motorcycle Make. The third section offers conclusions based upon the analysis of the gathered data 

Executive Summary

Analysis of the NCIC data showed that there was a significant decrease in thefts from 2009 (56,093 thefts) to 2010 (49,791 thefts), an 11% decrease. Of the 2010 dates of theft there were a total of 17,047 motorcycles recovered.  

Motorcycle thefts are decreasing; however, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), the opportunity to steal motorcycles is decreasing, based on considerable decrease in motorcycle sales. The MIC reports a 16% decrease in sales between 2009 ((520,502 units) and 2010 (439,678 units); this is a difference of 80,824 units. During recent economic instability, motorcycle sales have declined, affecting the motorcycle theft trend. 

Section 1: Motorcycle Thefts in the U.S. 2007 – 2010

There were 236,054 motorcycle thefts in the U.S. from 2007 through 2010. The number of motorcycle thefts declined each year during this time with a decline of 11% from 2009 to 2010. 

In general, motorcycle theft is a seasonal crime related to warmer months, as July and August had the most motorcycle thefts in 2010 (5,714 motorcycle thefts in July and 5,380 in August). December, January, and February were the months with the fewest motorcycle thefts (2,763 in December; 2,961 in January; and 2,403 in February).

California, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Indiana, South Carolina, Maryland, New York, Georgia, and Ohio experienced the most thefts with California coming in first.   Fifty-four percent of all thefts occurred in these states during the four-year period. Of these top 10 states during 2010, Maryland and Indiana experienced an increase in thefts while Georgia and Texas experienced a decrease.

Brands and number of motorcycles stolen 2007 through 2010 are Honda 59,288; Yamaha 46,968; Suzuki 39292; Kawasaki 25,092; Harley-Davidson 14,635; KTM 1,944; KYMC 1,424; Baja 1,662; and Vespa 1,365.

Section 2: Motorcycle Recoveries in the U.S. 2010

Of the 49,791 motorcycle thefts in 2010, there were 17,047 recoveries from 01/01/2010 through 05/31/2011 for a recovery rate of 34%.

July and August were the months with the greatest number of motorcycle   recoveries in 2010 (1,785 recoveries in July and 1,942 recoveries in August) and were also the months with the greatest number of thefts.  The months with the fewest number of motorcycle recoveries in 2010 were January (430 recoveries) and February (539 recoveries).  With the exception of New York, the 10 states with the most thefts had the most recoveries.

Understandably, with the exception of Baja, the top nine motorcycles stolen with the most frequency were also recovered most often. 

Section 3: Conclusions

• Overall, there were a total of 49,791 motorcycle thefts in the U.S. during 2010.  
• Motorcycle thefts have declined 11% from 2009 (56,093) through 2010  (49,791).
• Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, Kansas, Oregon, West Virginia, Hawaii, Delaware, District of Columbia, Vermont and Arkansas saw increases in motorcycle thefts from 2009 through 2010.
• Motorcycle thefts increased during the warmer months, as July and August had the most motorcycle thefts and December, January, and February had the least motorcycle thefts.
• Of the 49,791 motorcycle thefts, there were 17,047 motorcycles recovered from 01/01/2010 through 05/31/2011.
• July and August were the months with the greatest motorcycle recoveries while January and February were the months with the fewest motorcycle recoveries.  
• The states with the most motorcycle thefts in 2009 and 2010 also had the highest recoveries for the same period.  These states were California (5,662 thefts and 2,033 recoveries), Texas (4,394 thefts and 1,303 recoveries) and Florida (4,148 thefts and 1,468 recoveries).  
• Honda, Yamaha, and Suzuki were the motorcycle Makes with both the most motorcycle thefts and recoveries.  

The motorcycle theft and recovery data summarized in this article is taken from a National Insurance crime Bureau ForeCast Report dated August 8, 2011.