Is the Harley-Davidson Sportster likely to be stolen?
No, much less than most. Lower
Once you allow for how many are on the road, Sportsters are stolen more often than 6% of 932 comparable UK motorcycle families.
Likely range 2–9 · 2023–2025 edition · High evidence
- recorded stolen in 2025 (+20%)
- 6
- licensed on average in 2025
- 3,898
- stolen per 10,000 licensed
- 15.4
Thefts per year
Harley-Davidson Sportster recorded stolen in national records, 2014–2025.
View chart data
| Year | Recorded stolen |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 2 |
| 2015 | 5 |
| 2016 | 9 |
| 2017 | 4 |
| 2018 | 9 |
| 2019 | 2 |
| 2020 | 4 |
| 2021 | 3 |
| 2022 | 4 |
| 2023 | 4 |
| 2024 | 5 |
| 2025 | 6 |
One bike can be recorded more than once. Related versions are grouped into one model family.
Which years get taken
Bikes stolen in 2025, by the year they were made or first registered.
- 20232
- 20111
- 20171
- 20181
- 20221
How many are on the road
3,542 licensed in 2026 Q1, -22% since 2014 Q3. This is the number the score divides by.
View chart data
| Month | Licensed Motorcycles |
|---|---|
| 2014 Q3 | 4523 |
| 2014 Q4 | 3865 |
| 2015 Q1 | 3834 |
| 2015 Q2 | 4373 |
| 2015 Q3 | 4436 |
| 2015 Q4 | 3898 |
| 2016 Q1 | 3874 |
| 2016 Q2 | 4374 |
| 2016 Q3 | 4416 |
| 2016 Q4 | 3928 |
| 2017 Q1 | 3936 |
| 2017 Q2 | 4479 |
| 2017 Q3 | 4483 |
| 2017 Q4 | 3913 |
| 2018 Q1 | 3808 |
| 2018 Q2 | 4434 |
| 2018 Q3 | 4476 |
| 2018 Q4 | 3838 |
| 2019 Q1 | 3852 |
| 2019 Q2 | 4331 |
| 2019 Q3 | 4362 |
| 2019 Q4 | 3742 |
| 2020 Q1 | 3606 |
| 2020 Q2 | 4033 |
| 2020 Q3 | 4206 |
| 2020 Q4 | 3597 |
| 2021 Q1 | 3497 |
| 2021 Q2 | 4040 |
| 2021 Q3 | 4079 |
| 2021 Q4 | 3569 |
| 2022 Q1 | 3690 |
| 2022 Q2 | 4326 |
| 2022 Q3 | 4345 |
| 2022 Q4 | 3744 |
| 2023 Q1 | 3730 |
| 2023 Q2 | 4320 |
| 2023 Q3 | 4372 |
| 2023 Q4 | 3688 |
| 2024 Q1 | 3706 |
| 2024 Q2 | 4246 |
| 2024 Q3 | 4201 |
| 2024 Q4 | 3576 |
| 2025 Q1 | 3594 |
| 2025 Q2 | 4250 |
| 2025 Q3 | 4208 |
| 2025 Q4 | 3540 |
| 2026 Q1 | 3542 |
Protect this bike
Insurers often ask for security rated by Sold Secure or Thatcham. These are the layers that make a bike slower and noisier to take.
Ground anchor and chain
Locks the bike to something that can't be lifted into a van.
Alarmed disc lock
Stops it being rolled away and makes noise if someone tries.
GPS tracker
Helps police find it if it does go. Some insurers ask for one.
Cover
Thieves pick bikes by sight. A cover hides the model.
How this score works
We take Sportsters recorded stolen in national records and divide by the average number licensed, then rank that rate against 932 motorcycle families with enough data. The likely range is 2–9.
It compares models. It isn't the chance that your bike will be stolen, which depends on where and how you keep it.
Recent reports
Stolen-bike reports from riders and forums. They show what's happening now, but they're a sample, not the official count, and they don't change the score.
Compared with similar bikesNot enough datatoo few reports to compare
We don't show this comparison until there are enough reports for similar bikes.
How we count theseReports by month
View chart data
| Month | Recent Reports |
|---|---|
| 2021-11 | 1 |
| 2021-12 | 0 |
| 2022-01 | 0 |
| 2022-02 | 0 |
| 2022-03 | 0 |
| 2022-04 | 0 |
| 2022-05 | 0 |
| 2022-06 | 0 |
| 2022-07 | 0 |
| 2022-08 | 0 |
| 2022-09 | 0 |
| 2022-10 | 0 |
| 2022-11 | 0 |
| 2022-12 | 0 |
| 2023-01 | 0 |
| 2023-02 | 0 |
| 2023-03 | 0 |
| 2023-04 | 0 |
| 2023-05 | 0 |
| 2023-06 | 0 |
| 2023-07 | 0 |
| 2023-08 | 0 |
| 2023-09 | 0 |
| 2023-10 | 0 |
| 2023-11 | 0 |
| 2023-12 | 0 |
| 2024-01 | 0 |
| 2024-02 | 0 |
| 2024-03 | 0 |
| 2024-04 | 0 |
| 2024-05 | 0 |
| 2024-06 | 0 |
| 2024-07 | 0 |
| 2024-08 | 0 |
| 2024-09 | 0 |
| 2024-10 | 0 |
| 2024-11 | 0 |
| 2024-12 | 0 |
| 2025-01 | 0 |
| 2025-02 | 0 |
| 2025-03 | 0 |
| 2025-04 | 0 |
| 2025-05 | 0 |
| 2025-06 | 0 |
| 2025-07 | 0 |
| 2025-08 | 0 |
| 2025-09 | 0 |
| 2025-10 | 0 |
| 2025-11 | 0 |
| 2025-12 | 0 |
| 2026-01 | 0 |
| 2026-02 | 0 |
| 2026-03 | 0 |
| 2026-04 | 0 |
| 2026-05 | 0 |
| 2026-06 | 0 |
| 2026-07 | 1 |
| 2026-08 | 0 |
| 2026-09 | 0 |
| 2026-10 | 0 |
Months with no reports show as zero. This month isn't finished, so it's left out.
Where they were reported
Latest reports
South WestReg VK66•••
ReportWalesReg CV21•••
ReportReading these figures
The official national record, the number on the road and recent reports are three separate sources. Some comparisons are hidden when there isn't enough data. The national record can count the same bike more than once, and recent reports aren't a national total. The method page explains more.