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Motorcycle Thefts Decline Nearly 5 Percent in Past Two Years

The report clearly shows that motorcycle theft is more seasonal than other vehicle theft activity. July and August logged the most thefts while December, January and February had the fewest.

There are 684 different makes of motorcycles identified in the report, but just five makes account for 150,183 -- 80.4 percent -- of the total thefts. The top five makes are: Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki,Kawasaki and Harley-Davidson.

The five states with the most motorcycle theft activity are:California,Florida,Texas,North Carolina andIndiana. These states reported 72,619 thefts, or 38.9 percent of the total.

While overall thefts are down, recoveries are down as well, mirroring a trend that began in 2006 when the national recovery rate for stolen vehicles fell below 60 percent (59.0) for the first time in more than 10 years.

The top five states for recoveries of stolen motorcycles are:California,Florida,Texas,North Carolina andMaryland.

With bikes costing $20,000 and more, baby boomers and younger easy riders should take the time to learn how to protect their bikes. NICB has motorcycle theft prevention tips on our web site at www.nicb.org/cps/rde/xbcr/nicb/13734_Motorcycle_Eng.pdf.

The complete theft report is also available at www.nicb.org.

About the National Insurance Crime Bureau: Headquartered inDes Plaines, IL, the NICB is the nation's leading not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to preventing, detecting and defeating insurance fraud and vehicle theft through information analysis, investigations, training, legislative advocacy and public awareness. The NICB is supported by more than 1,000 property and casualty insurance companies and self-insured organizations. To learn more visit www.nicb.org.

    CONTACT:
    Frank Scafidi
    916-979-7025
    fscafidi@nicb.org

SOURCE National Insurance Crime Bureau