The Most Stolen Motorcycles in France in 2026 (and How to Protect Yours)

In France, a powered two-wheeler disappears roughly every ten minutes. Insurers recorded nearly 16,000 declared two-wheeler thefts in 2025, but the GIE Argos estimates the real number of disappearances at around 60,000 a year — many owners never file a claim for an older or minimally insured scooter. The trend is at least going the right way, down 17 % year on year, yet not every model carries the same risk.

So which are the most stolen motorcycles in France? And more importantly, what actually keeps yours off that list? Here are the targeted models, the methods thieves really use, and the protections that make a difference.

The ranking of the most stolen motorcycles in France

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The reference ranking comes from Mutuelle des Motards, France’s specialist two-wheeler insurer, and is built from its own theft claims. Here is the 2025 top 10 for motorcycles:

Source: 2025 ranking of the most stolen two-wheelers, Mutuelle des Motards, reported by Moto Magazine (5 June 2026) and Moto-Net (29 May 2026).

Two things stand out. First, big adventure bikes dominate: the BMW R 1300 GS has taken over from the R 1250 GS, still 6th, and Honda puts the Africa Twin on the podium. Second, superbikes have not gone away: the BMW S 1000 RR is now joined by the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade — machines rarely taken at random, and usually stolen on demand.

What about scooters? The most stolen models

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Scooters are the other half of the problem, with a very different profile: here the urban 125 cc models concentrate the thefts, easy to resell whole or strip for parts.

Source: same Mutuelle des Motards 2025 ranking (scooter section).

The Yamaha TMAX alone takes three of the ten places across its generations: year after year, it is the single most coveted two-wheeler in France — we once told the story of a stolen TMAX being recovered.

How thieves actually operate

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The image of a thief hot-wiring a bike on the street is outdated. The 2025 figures describe a far more organised method:

1. Two thefts out of three involve a van. The bike is lifted, loaded and gone in a matter of seconds — lock still attached. A U-lock or chain that is not anchored to a fixed point offers no protection in this scenario.
2. One theft in two happens in a supposedly secure place: a shared garage, a residential car park, a closed courtyard. That sense of safety lowers everyone’s guard — and it is exactly where thieves spot bikes away from prying eyes.
3. Thefts are geographically concentrated. Île-de-France, the PACA region and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes account for 55 % of all thefts — the three regions with the most two-wheelers on the road.
4. Resale often runs through parts. As with cars, the spare parts market fuels a large share of these thefts: a recent bike stripped down is worth more, and becomes untraceable.

The direct consequence: deterrence is not enough. A lock costs the thief time; it does not give you your bike back.

How to protect your motorcycle from theft

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Effective protection is built in layers. None is enough on its own, but together they discourage the vast majority of attempts — and, crucially, they leave you a chance of recovering the machine.

1. A mechanical lock, used properly

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• A quality U-lock through the wheel and anchored to a fixed point: the only setup that prevents a van pick-up.
• A chain plus a ground anchor in a garage or courtyard: the best value investment if you always park in the same place.
• A disc lock as a supplement for short stops — never as your main protection.

Our dedicated guide covers the selection criteria: choosing an anti-theft device for your motorcycle.

2. Deliberate parking

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• Prefer a lit, busy spot over a discreet corner.
• In a shared car park, do not rely on the gate: attach the bike to a fixed point.
• Vary your habits if you park on the street every night — thefts are usually preceded by scouting.
• Use a cover: an unidentifiable recent machine attracts less attention.

3. Marking and insurance

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Marking parts makes resale harder and identification easier if the bike turns up. On the insurance side, check that your policy actually covers theft — and what lock requirements come with it. On that note, Mutuelle des Motards relies on Invoxia GPS trackers to protect its policyholders.

4. A hidden GPS tracker: the only protection that works after the theft

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This is the difference in kind between deterring and recovering. Once the bike is in the van, only a discreet, self-powered tracker can tell you where it is. The Invoxia GPS Tracker Classic is built for exactly this: compact enough to hide under the seat or inside a fairing, and running independently of the motorcycle’s electronics — therefore independently of anything thieves can disable.

What it brings to an at-risk two-wheeler:

• Anti-theft alerts and suspicious movement detection in real time
• Safety zones with an alert as soon as the bike leaves its usual spot
• Accurate GPS tracking over the 4G LTE-M network
• Weeks of battery life without charging, even with the bike’s own battery disconnected
• Live Tracking to tighten position updates during a pursuit
• A theft file ready to hand to the police

One detail deserves your attention: where you put the tracker. Badly placed, an experienced thief finds it in two minutes. We covered the best hiding spots in where to place a tracker on a motorcycle.

My motorcycle was stolen during the night. I followed its position live in the app, passed the information to the police, and it was found the next day in a lock-up.

Invoxia user testimonial

In summary

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If your bike is on this list — a big BMW or Honda adventure model, a Yamaha Tracer or MT-09, a TMAX — you ride something statistically more exposed than average. That is not a sentence, but it does call for protection to match: a lock anchored to a fixed point against van pick-ups, deliberate parking against scouting, and a hidden GPS tracker so you keep the upper hand once the theft has happened.

Thefts are declining in France, but they are becoming more professional. The best protection is still the one you set up before you need it.