Industry theft reports have consistently put the figure in the tens of thousands per year — recent years have generally landed in the range of roughly 40,000 to 60,000 reported motorcycle thefts annually in the US. Work that out and it's a motorcycle stolen every ten to fifteen minutes, around the clock.
A few things the headline number hides:
- It's likely an undercount. Some thefts — especially of cheap scooters and dirt bikes — never get formally reported.
- It's concentrated. California, Florida, and Texas account for an outsized share, and within those states the big metros dominate.
- It's seasonal. Thefts climb in the warm months when more bikes are parked outside, peaking in summer.
- Most bikes don't come back. Recovery rates have historically run below 50% — far worse than cars — because bikes are quickly parted out or moved.
The takeaway isn't fear, it's math: with those odds, the smart play is to make your bike hard to take and possible to find. Locks handle the first part. A hidden tracker handles the second.
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