You can - but we advise you don't.

Ideally, motorcycle ground anchors shouldn't be installed directly into tarmac or asphalt. These surfaces are not structurally strong enough to hold a ground anchor securely.

However, we appreciate that in the real world, it is not always possible to fix a ground anchor into concrete. So we'll explain why you should avoid installing into surfaces such as tarmac and what you can do to improve your install if tarmac is your only option.

• A ground anchor should not be installed in tarmac/asphalt alone.
• Tarmac/asphalt doesn’t provide the solid substrate needed for secure fixing under attack.
• The best security requires solid concrete or structural mounting.

Why Tarmac and Asphalt are unsuitable

Tarmac and asphalt are smooth flexible surfaces that offer good traction and drainage, which is what makes them ideal for roads and cost-effective and durable for driveways.

However, when it comes to securing an object into tarmac, its flexibility doesn't make it ideal for resisting leverage or cutting attacks. Under force, it can can crack, crumble, or let fixings loosen — dramatically reducing the effectiveness of even a hardened ground anchor.

When used with a ground anchor, under force, tarmac can:

• Crack or deform
• Allow fixings to loosen
• Fail completely under leverage or cutting attacks

A ground anchor fixed only into these materials offers a lower grade of security.

Traditionally, expansion anchors that are designed for brick and concrete work by exerting pressure on the walls of the drill hole, making them incredibly difficult to remove, expecially when four bolts are used, such as with our Torc Mega and Beefy Bridge ground anchors.

Asphalt is around 20-times more yielding than concrete, meaning that over time the constant force exerted on the tarmac by the shield anchor will cause a loss of friction and a failure of the fixings. 

What substrate ground anchors actually need

For a ground anchor to offer the highest level of resistance against attack, it must be fixed into:

• Solid concrete
• A reinforced concrete slab
• Structural masonry (i.e. brickwork or blockwork)

The strength of the anchor comes from the substrate, not just the anchor itself.

The ways you can work with tarmac

If your driveway or parking area is tarmac or asphalt, you still have options:

1. Install a concrete foundation beneath the surface and mount the anchor into that
2. Cut through the surface and pour a dedicated concrete pad
3. Use a nearby concrete wall or structural pillar with a wall-mounted anchor

Simply bolting through tarmac without a solid base underneath is not sufficient.

What if tarmac is the only option?

We've had plenty of conversations with customers where tarmac is their only realistic option and they can't modify it (rented property, communal space, etc).

Sometimes you can only deal with what you have and here at Pragmasis we like to take a pragmatic approach to security (afterall, it's in our name..)

In these cases, we advise customers who are using our ground anchors to drill a deeper hole, use 100mm bolts (instead of the 70mm we supply as standard) and use injection resin to fit the anchor. All of this is available on our website as options when you select our ground anchors.

The main weakness of an anchor in tarmac is a thief's ability to lever the anchor out of the tarmac. This isn't a walk in the park but it can be done.

We have seen instances of a thief using a tow rope attached to a vehicle to pull the anchor from the tarmac. We have also seen a ground anchor levered out of the ground using a crow bar and scaffold pole for leverage.

However, the security attached to the asset and the ground anchor still needs to be dealt with (a high security chain or D-lock for example).

But a thief may wish to lever the anchor out of the ground in order to lift the asset into another vehcile and deal with the security at a different location.

These types of attacks are rare and we'd wager that most thieving scrotes won't be weighing up your substrate - they'll probably try and attack the anchor or the security attached to it, regardless of the substrate the anchor is fixed into.

However some thieves are desperate, daft or committed and they can approach things in strange ways. Never rule anything out.

If you're happy with these odds, a ground anchor still has huge value when it comes to securing your assets.

Verdict

You cannot install a motorcycle ground anchor directly into tarmac or asphalt and expect the same level of security as if it were installed into concrete. For real security, the anchor must be fixed into solid concrete or structural masonry beneath or beside the surface but if tarmac is your only option, we're here to support you.

Looking for the right ground anchor? We've been producing them for over two decades and offer a range of fitting options that other manufacturers don't.

Explore our ground anchors collection.