I Bought a Xena U-lock and Chain

I bought a Xena Security lock, because buying a new motorcycle can attract the wrong people, and new motorcycles tend to disappear - like the new scooter my neighbor bought a few weeks ago or the pedal powered two-wheeler from my front porch. That last theft got me really riled up, and opened my eyes to the vulnerability of my beloved motorcycles, perched unprotected in a dark soi (small street) in a Bangkok suburb.

Since electronic security doesn't offer the protection I need, Bangkok police have a terrible response time to the sound of an alarm going off. I considered guard dogs, but the first guard dog I looked, well trained I was told, almost had his teeth in my leg. I would hate to come home late from a night out and have to sleep outside because I cannot control my dog. So I went for the next best thing: a lock and chain from Xena Security.

I wanted something with serious visual impact, and nothing else out there says 'Don't bother' like Xena's XUL103 U-lock and XCL200 chain. The lock's robust stainless-steel body and the fat 18mm shackle would take forever to cut through with a hacksaw - never mind a bolt cutter. The chain is equally burly, exactly the type that would make a thief think twice. The chain made from gas-hardened, 14mm-thick links, it's long enough to wind through the motorcycle's frame, wheel and whatever you're locking it up to. A soft nylon sleeve covers the links and protects your motorcycle paint.

As if its overbuild construction wasn't enough, the lock also features a built-in alarm, something Xena has incorporated into its disc locks for nearly 10 years. The weatherproof module is buried deep within the lock body and channels sound out of and outlet near the base of the shackle. Give is a jostle and the lock chirps a warning. Keep at it and a piercing, 110-decibel alarm will bring me outside, baseball bat in hand. I pity the fool who tries to jack my motorcycle.