Study: Motorcycle theft, ranked by state (WA is 14th highest)

We mentioned this in this morning's news clips, but it's worth another post. The National Insurance Crime Bureau says that "motorcycle thefts in 2009 are continuing their downward trend."

Some 56,093 motorcycles were reported stolen last year, the NICB says, down from 64,492 in 2008. That's a 13 percent decrease.

But the group also notes that part of that trend may be due to the fact that there are fewer bikes available to steal. Motorcyle manufacturers reported sales declines of about 41 to 47 percent last year, compared to 2008.

The most stolen makes:

• Honda: 13,688
• Yamaha: 11,148
• Suzuki: 9,154
• Kawasaki: 5,911
• and Harley-Davidson: 3,529.

(Bonus round: the study identified a total of 593 different motorcycle makes among those stolen.)

Biggest states for theft: California, Texas, Florida, North Carolina and Georgia, which combined accounted for nearly 40 percent of the thefts. (Washington ranked 14th, Oregon's 35th, and Idaho's 41st.)

The decline reflects a similar trend in lower thefts for passenger cars and light trucks, the group says.

And how likely are you to get your bike back? The report says that the average recovery rate over the past three years was about 36 percent.

Here's the press release, which includes a link to the full report at the top.