Advice carrying e-bikes on tow bar in Germany

[Willshake]

I am taking two e bikes to Belgium and Germany using my Atera towbar mounted rack . It’s the first time with our GC 680, having done previous trips( to Spain) in our Cali Ocean.
I take the batteries out to reduce weight and make theft less desirable.
Can anyone offer advice regarding
1. Covering them yes/no ?
If yes, do you cover both bikes completely and include straps to stop material flapping?
Or just cover handlebar and electrics?
2 Having a warning sign hung at the rear?
3 Security, the bikes are locked to rack and heavy duty locked to each other.

Any thoughts greatly welcomed!

 

[Californication69]

Can you lock one frame to the frame underneath the California ?

 

[Wesel]

Do as for Great Britain, there are no more risks in Belgium and Germany than in the UK.

 

[RockinNRollin]

When on the move, locked to the rack like you say is the most practical option (assuming you can’t fit them inside the vehicle?). Overnight I would probably lock them to something else as racks can be prised off with effort and will damage the vehicle in the process. In the past I lock bikes to railings etc on campsites overnight - I figure it’s fairly unlikely that an opportunistic bike thief will happen to be there at the same time and with decent locks and an immovable object it’ll be tricky.

If you want to be belt and braces, I have used an Oxford Alarm-D lock in the past which detects if the lock is being tampered with or moved and sets of a loud alarm. No use while driving along obviously but it would be very effective overnight.

 

[soulstyledevon]

1 - Covering them, no.
Every cover I’ve tried ends up torn and split

2 - Warning sign not required, the rack has a full light system

3 - You should always remove the batteries when transporting e-bikes, expensive replacement if they were to dismount during transit, plus a good deterrent with them removed.
Lock bikes to each other, (they should be facing opposite one another) lock the Strada handles in place and fit a Dutch lock to the rear wheel.