Stolen 2021 BMW Rallye GSA - South Florida

I'am surprise With all the electronics on the new vehicles they can't track it. They can tell you were you being with half the electronics out there.

k1200lt00 said:

I'am surprise With all the electronics on the new vehicles they can't track it. They can tell you were you being with half the electronics out there.

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I think if it has satellite radio they could, like with the Onstar/sirius setup in GMs. A GSA doesn't have that, does it? I'll be they took the side cover off and put some sort of scanning device on the OBD2 port and put the cover back on so they could hack the key programming. Just changing the antenna won't do it.

Anyone remember the keyring antenna debacle from the early R1200's, when plenty of folks ended up either being stranded or brought a spare antenna so they could continue their trip.This means that the key fob is linked to the ECU and not the antenna. Antennas are nothing more than a coil that receives a signal and sends it to receiver that processes the signal.

This theft reeks of an inside job to me. Either these guys somehow got hold of the VIN (not hard to do) and ordered a key, or they used a sophisticated electronic device hacking the bike.
Leaving a few plastic bits on the floor doesn't mean much IMHO.
Whichever way it happened, it sucks big time.

I have no experience with BMW keyless but found this video interesting:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gdAzdoV8lt8

Is the key used here chipped?

RIDERR1150GSADV said:

Anyone remember the keyring antenna debacle from the early R1200's, when plenty of folks ended up either being stranded or brought a spare antenna so they could continue their trip.This means that the key fob is linked to the ECU and not the antenna. Antennas are nothing more than a coil that receives a signal and sends it to receiver that processes the signal.

This theft reeks of an inside job to me. Either these guys somehow got hold of the VIN (not hard to do) and ordered a key, or they used a sophisticated electronic device hacking the bike.
Leaving a few plastic bits on the floor doesn't mean much IMHO.
Whichever way it happened, it sucks big time.

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Yup. They key is linked to both in BMW cars from what I read. The antenna and the computer. If the computer can be accessed through the OBD2 port, it can be hacked. That's what I think happened. Most owners wouldn't know where the port is let alone if someone attached something to it.

ponch1 said:

And I'll say it again here: Just changing the antenna shouldn't allow a bike to be stolen. The code has to match one stored in the computer of the bike. I think there's more to the story on how it was done. If you do a google search on theft and FOBs/RFID keys, it's more involved. In 2021, BMW wouldn't engineer/produce a vehicle that could be stolen so easily by changing the ring. I have to wonder if the put a device on the OBD2 port and used it to hack when you were riding it. There are also devices that can intercept radio frequencies and hack the fob.

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I believe Ponch has nailed it here. Keyless start cars are regularly stolen right out of the owner's driveway by cloning the frequency of the fob which is sitting on a table inside the front door.

BC1100S said:

I believe Ponch has nailed it here. Keyless start cars are regularly stolen right out of the owner's driveway by cloning the frequency of the fob which is sitting on a table inside the front door.

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Yes, it’s called “relay theft” and uses a device to amplify the signal of the fob in the house and make the vehicle think the fob is within normal range. Explained a bit here.

And this and other devices for stealing keyless entry vehicles have been around for some time, as evidenced by the age of this article.

Can I please have my plain old double-cut metal key back?

Best,
DeVern

GTRider said:

Can I please have my plain old double-cut metal key back?

Best,
DeVern

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Buy a RFID bag for key storage like this. https://silent-pocket.com

I had a call from BMW this afternoon to discuss my motorcycle being stolen and the information and photos I sent them of the broken connector I found where my motorcycle was parked when it was stolen.
I asked if they had heard of any other thefts that involved breaking off the connector and plugging in something to defeat the security that is build into the motorcycle. The person I was talking too said he personally had not heard of this but was not sure if others have heard of this. They are going to look into this. I was talking to the detective on my case and he said he has heard of a Ducati being stolen that way and I think Ducati uses some similar technology. They are going to look into this and let me know if they find out anything and if there is a way to prevent it in the future.

I asked them a few questions about tracking keys being made and if there was a way to see if anyone had ordered a key for my GSA as the keys are tied to the VIN number. He believed there may be a way to see if a key had been ordered in their system. I do not think this is what happened in my case since I found the broken connector but it does happen.

I also asked about tagging VIN’s of motorcycle that are reported stolen. BMW already has functionality to tag a specific VIN in their system for many different types of conditions like the stop sale they had on my GSA until the recall was completed. They also tag VIN’s regarding warranty work so why not tag VIN’s of motorcycles that have been reported as stolen. I suggested that if we can reduce the chances of a reward ( money ) a thief gets when he steals a motorcycle we will reduce the theft of BMW motorcycles. If it is harder to sell what you stole then the thefts will go down. If BMW would tag stolen motorcycle VIN’s on their current global vehicle tracking system a person would not be able to bring a stolen motorcycle to any BMW shop in the world as they would risk getting caught.

The person said there would be some internal discussions regarding this and would let me know if they find anything out. I am sure I will be talking again to BMW as we continue to identify ways to cut down on the theft of motorcycles and just how my GSA was stolen.

gregrice56 said:

I am sure I will be talking again to BMW as we continue to identify ways to cut down on the theft of motorcycles and just how my GSA was stolen.

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Big chain and heavy duty lock along with high decibel alarm in a secure garage works best. But nothing is 100%

BC1100S said:

Big chain and heavy duty lock along with high decibel alarm in a secure garage works best. But nothing is 100%

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I agree but I ride 40,000+ miles a year and that would be a lot chaining and unchaining.

I am open to lots of ideas so keep your ideas coming.

I am thinking about adding a second kill switch in line with the one on the handlebar somewhere on the next GSA.

gregrice56 said:

I am thinking about adding a second kill switch in line with the one on the handlebar somewhere on the next GSA.

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Good idea. That would certainly deter "rideaway" theft.

On a separate subject....Not sure how your insurance works where you are but where I live one can have an "agreed value" on their vehicle which is paid out in the case of a total loss. Saves a lot of time and heartache if one has an accident or suffers what you're going through. A buddy of mine lost his bike and he had a new one inside a week.

Greg - so sorry to hear that this happened! I know that part of the pain of loosing a bike is all the time and effort that you had put into making it your own - so many hours spent researching, purchasing, and installing all those farkles that make it suitable to do what you do.

I so hope that BMW takes this seriously, the VIN registration thing should be a given!

~Thom

Best of luck in getting your bike back, and thanks for discussing with BMW. Anything that can be done to make bike theft less profitable is a good thing.

The saddest part of this whole problem of theft is, If they want your vehicle bad enough they can find a way to take it. If you have a tracking device on that vehicle, who is going to track it? And do you really want it back now, not knowing what it went threw?

Here are a couple of vids about a tracker (thanks to one of my HD-ridin' friends); Cycle Gear sells them and others.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHHemjSfJ9o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igLm_DsIcMk

junkjohn said:

The saddest part of this whole problem of theft is, If they want your vehicle bad enough they can find a way to take it. If you have a tracking device on that vehicle, who is going to track it? And do you really want it back now, not knowing what it went threw?

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I think the saddest part of this whole thing is that these people are not caught, convicted and locked up.

Wayne Koppa
Grayling, MI
#71,449 Life

I just read on the Pelican board that Chrysler will be introducing a keypad in certain models of keyless cars, that owners can punch an access code into before the vehicle becomes normally operational. Apparently the theft of keyless vehicles has become a real problem.

Sorry for the circumstances! Gut punch

Not that it stops determined folks, but do the forks no longer lock with keyless?