Tracking the location of Nortons on the internet

I posted this on the NOC website. It was not met with the attitude I expected and therefore I thought I would post it here also. Thankfully we do not use full names on this forum. This has again been criticised by one of their members. His prerogative. No doubt he will also mention this post.

"Dear All As a result of the takeover of Norton various bike magazines and journalists are quite rightly taking an interest. I received a call last week from a well respected journalist who having visited this (NOC) forum, took my name and punched it into Google who then supplied my contact details. He rang me to discuss 961's. My details are freely available on the internet as I run a couple of companies but the fact he was able to identify me as an 961 owner and could locate my address from this gives me some cause for concern. I think it should for everyone on this forum. Should we be thinking about using either a first or screen name in the future to protect the members from this type of potential threat. Regards Graham"

One of the members stated that I would not be able to find him, and truth be told I didn't. (I got within 15 miles) But I only spent two minutes doing so on Google I did not use any more sophisticated software. From his profile on NOC I searched his name and the word Norton Google provided me with a list of his bikes on another forum site and also pictures. One of these was a rubbish (trash) bin with a street number on it. Search the photo and street number on Google and hey presto an address. Technology is wonderful but as I keep reading on other forums bike theft is going through the roof even in semi lockdown here. Just a word of warning to keep it safe and double check the photos before posting.

Regards

I have a list of where a lot of the SE’s are. I also made a post on here about it a while back. No names. Just SE number and location. Give me some time and I’ll dig up the SE list.

Why is it that stinking damned thieves permeate every aspect of life? I try not to criticize folks for beliefs or choices of lifestyle but draw the line at a thief.

richard-7 said:

I have a list of where a lot of the SE’s are. I also made a post on here about it a while back. No names. Just SE number and location. Give me some time and I’ll dig up the SE list.

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Ricard Thanks but NO What I was saying is that criminals can obtain details from simple photos and use the internet to locate bikes to steal.

jbruney said:

Why is it that stinking damned thieves permeate every aspect of life? I try not to criticize folks for beliefs or choices of lifestyle but draw the line at a thief.

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Yep care necessary, until we start gibitting the thieving b's, that's life.

When I bought my Thruxton I joined the FB forum. There was another member who was also from Lincs who was modifying his bike with all sorts of nice stuff and frequently posting pics and short vids. For a bit of fun I tried to see if I could pin-point him down and from his vids I could make out street signs and road junction markings, it took just 30 mins to get his address and location of where he stored his bike... frightening!

If you leave the location setting in your photo app turned on then every pic you take has the location info included in the jpg file, post it publically and the location can be determined.

It’s the same with videos on YouTube. There is one video l’ve seen where the owner films the ride back to his house and puts his bike away. All the roads signs were clealy visible, and I took maybe 10 minutes max to find his exact house using Google Maps. I Won’t go into any more detail, but the location of his bike storage meant that it was very vulnerable to undetected theft.

Something to consider - when I renewed my insurance I was made aware that if the bike is not in its locked garage and was stolen within a mile of the house it would not be covered.

So you've just ridden home parked on the drive and gone indoors and its taken you're not covered.
You nip indoors while cleaning it and its taken you're not covered.
You stop at the local corner shop/ petrol station and its taken you're not covered.

That’s seems harsh. Mine stipulates it must be kept in the garage OVERNIGHT when at home. Which seems fair to me.

kommando said:

If you leave the location setting in your photo app turned on then every pic you take has the location info included in the jpg file, post it publically and the location can be determined.

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Spot on kommando , friend of mine sent me a “ what’s app pic” of a married woman he was seeing from her snow covered garden in Sweden , once in my phone I accidentally clicked on done notification alert & it logged the time date & location, of a tiny village.
I I told him where she lived But not how I knew for days , great wind up !

Even before social media it always amazed me how often we have to stand at a desk and give our name and address in front of strangers. The worst one is collecting travel money - you get to know know where the person ahead of you in the queue lives and see the currency counted out. Phone a mate to wait for them at that address......

Mmmmmmmm, how do I change my name on this forum to something more anonymous?! Luckily I have Walter. Don’t be fooled by his pink jumper and soft toy, he is vicious! Well, he could give you a nasty lick at the very least. Scum bag bike thieves are amongst the lowest forms of life. Had a pristine new Ducati 998 when they first came out. It was gone within a few weeks from my garage. I know exactly what that feels like.

So that’s Mr Stephen Spencer in Australia. I’ll see ya soon

N make sure the bikes clean

Stephen_Spencer said:

Luckily I have Walter. Don’t be fooled by his pink jumper and soft toy, he is vicious! Well, he could give you a nasty lick at the very least.View attachment 16513

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Don't have any money back guarantee down under, if ears don't point up?

Bike’s always clean nopdog; I sometimes take a microfibre cloth out and clean the tank, whilst I’m actually riding!! It’s tricky but can be done with practice, and a few accidents. Ah security, now you also know that I have a brick driveway, white net curtains, a cream carpet and a gay dog called Walter. I feel the net closing, time to move!

Thanks for mentioning it Mike, but I had my ears pinned last year and they look almost normal now. Surgeon said no refunds. Still a bit sensitive about it!

Shortly after I purchased my second T140D, I did a google search for that model and there was a photo of MY BIKE. Within the first three of hundreds of photos. Man, what an invasion of privacy.

Clive said:

Something to consider - when I renewed my insurance I was made aware that if the bike is not in its locked garage and was stolen within a mile of the house it would not be covered.

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Same stipulation on my insurance, I guess the thing to do should that happen is to claim it was stolen elsewhere, doubt that they could prove otherwise and the police are only likely to give you an incident number and not follow up on the theft.