Ever had your bike stolen?

GangGreen
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472
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Mechanicsburg, PA US
12/27/2018 4:04am
Did anyone else read "Bikes Stolen at Gunpoint", from Hard Rock Cycle Park ??
Sorry if this was already posted.





Stevo683
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89
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12/20/2018
Location
Westerville, OH US
12/27/2018 4:37am
Kelz87 wrote:
Just curious how many of you have ever had your bike stolen. Also, anyone ever recovered a bike? When I got back into mx two years...
Just curious how many of you have ever had your bike stolen. Also, anyone ever recovered a bike?

When I got back into mx two years ago, someone broke our apartment garage door and stole my bike a year later. Made me sick.. it was my childhood dream having a nice bike and was an ‘escape’ during a low point in life. Just got new suspension and plastics and about a month later it was gone and I had to eat the money spent

I had my 94 CR125 stolen in 96. Went to the bank that week and bought a brand new 96 CR125 off the showroom floor to replace it. Got a call 12 years later from a police department in Pa. that they had found it. Thought it was a prank. Drove 4 hours to pick it up. It was toast but all there. They arrested the guy and he paid me restitution for the parts to fix it up for a year. Never thought I would see it again.
1
fourfourone
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3043
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10/14/2017
Location
86oh, CT US
12/27/2018 4:40am
3 months ago I heard my garage door open at 430am(my bedroom is above my garage) Walked downstairs and 2 loser 12 o'clock boys were in...
3 months ago I heard my garage door open at 430am(my bedroom is above my garage) Walked downstairs and 2 loser 12 o'clock boys were in my garage trying to steal my 450. They ran off and I ran inside to have my girl call 911 and to grab my firearm. Within 40 seconds they actually came back and took the bike. They didn't get far because I live in a very large hilly condo complex surrounded by thick woods. Its about a a 3/4 mile drive uphill just to leave the complex. Cops came and the k9 unit used the stolen vehicle they were in to gain the scent and got one of them in about ten minutes. The charged him pretty heavily and he's still sitting in jail awaiting sentencing. They know how the second guy is but are waiting for positive finger prints to come back from the stolen car.

The smashed my GF window of her car to get the garage door opener. They found the bike one complex over. Busted one of the radiators when he dropped it but that was it.

Its funny because i live in such a bad spot to try and steal a bike. after you ride or push the bike uphill for 3/4 of a mile you then have to ride the bike another mile down an unlit road untill you hit a main strech of road that is ALAWAYS patrolled.

Mike bike is now always chained up like fort knox
Doddy wrote:
Why didn't you have your firearm already on you? C'mon man.....
I know I get that reaction all the time. To be honest firearms are a hobby to me. Most of my pistols are highly modified glocks. I always keep one somewhat close but I honestly thought it was my garage door malfunctioning or maybe my neighbors garage. Part of me is glad I didn't have it with me. One of the 2 guys would have been shot or shot at. Not worth the hassle of killing someone over a bike. CT sucks for that sort of stuff. it would have cost me ten times what the bike was worth for lawyer fees.
1
gsxr6
Posts
1956
Joined
9/3/2011
Location
Anderson, CA US
12/27/2018 6:56am
I have not, but I had a Haro Bmx stolen when I was 17, got a call at work from someone who said they knew it was mine, knew who stole it and that it was at so and so address. Went a waited up the street for about two hours, here comes a kid on my bike. Jumped out, said hey mfer and took it back. Was a little guy so I didn't wind up getting physical as he gave it right back lol. Had a friend lose his 99 kx250, 85cr500, and an xr200 the night of Thanksgiving 2014. I hear about it that am and freak out, basically spent all day driving around looking for them, towards the end of the day I see a glint of red in the grass next to the road, jump out it's the xr and cr layed over on each other, maybe 400 yards from his house. Call him up say hey bro found the Honda's come out to the end of your driveway. I was able to wave to him he was so close to where they were stashed
Never found the kx though. Headed to the lake sitting at a gas station, notice a stolen car I saw on Facebook earlier in the day, confirm frantically the license plate from earlier post. Skinny tweaker comes walking up, I jump out, say drop the keys mfer lol he drops the keys in his hand and runs away. I contacted the people, via the FB post and waited for them and the cops to come get the car. Mid nineties Civic big surprise. The keys weren't even for that car haha. Wifes 1998 Civic was stolen, cost me a brand new 2012 Civic to replace it, recovered the 98 3 days after she got the new one. Tweekers again, idiots took pictures of punching the ignition, trunk, each other's matching name tatoos, trip to Oregon and back and forgot the mem card in the car, my wife finds it, see the tats, used that to pull pics of them from social media and got them busted.

The Shop

12/27/2018 7:13am
I often dream of setting up bear traps and would love to hear the crunching sound of the bastards ankle snapping. Then leave his screaming to bring in the cops.
2
tingo
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1191
Joined
8/16/2016
Location
Orlando, FL US
12/27/2018 7:32am
My first bike, a 1988 YZ 80, was stolen out of my parents' garage when I was 11. My dad accidentally left the door open one night; he felt awful about it. This was in a nice neighborhood with no through traffic, and the garage didn't face the street. It had to be one of the older kids in the neighborhood that knew I had it. I washed cars, did special projects, anything I could to do to make a little money to save up for it. I was devastated when I noticed it was gone. The bike was a clapped out piece of crap, but it was MY clapped out piece of crap. Word quickly got out that out that it was stolen, and a few days later it showed up at the entrance to our neighborhood where we all waited to catch the bus. Needless to say, I hate thieves with a passion and wish our society wasn't so civilized - losing a hand for stealing is a hell of a deterrent.
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GregDVT
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705
Joined
3/23/2016
Location
Phoenix, MD US
12/27/2018 8:11am
A kid I knew from highschool tried to steal my 05 crf250 in January. Someone called the cops when they saw him wheeling it across the street to a parking lot at 2am in 10 degree weather. Cops found him trying to lift it and put it into the trunk of his moms Camry. I imagine his mom was pissed when she couldn’t go to work because they impounded her car.

Worst part was I saw him at a convenience store near my house while waiting for his sentencing, which was unsettling and infuriating.

He got 4 years (he will only serve one since it’s non violent) and a restraining order.
Steve 396
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858
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6/14/2014
Location
Crestview, FL US
12/27/2018 8:27am
Kelz87 wrote:
Man that would have me so mad seeing my bike trashed like that after being stolen..I could only imagine. At least they found it tho
Mad wasnt the word I would use. But it was what it was and a good learning experience for me at 21 years old. I have zero use for people that steal that's for sure....
1
DoctorJD
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2969
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4/1/2008
Location
Somewhere in..., GA US
12/27/2018 8:28am Edited Date/Time 12/27/2018 8:28am
I did last year, but it was one of my older bikes. I have a shop made kind of like a barn. There's the main part that's enclosed and two outer coverings that are open. I keep my main rides in the enclosed part, and my golf cart, mowers, equipment in the outer part. I also had an older CRF250R that needed valves out there.

I went out there one day and realized it was gone. I called the local chief of police (I went to high school with him) and he came by my house. He asked me if I had any pictures of it, and I told him I didn't have any handy, then he asked me to describe it, and he said, "I've got that bike in my impound lot". I told him that I doubted that was the bike, but we rode up there anyway. The graphics had all been pulled off, but there it was.

They said they'd chased a guy down who was riding it on the street. He ditched it and took off on foot. I was amazed the thief got the thing running. It wouldn't start for sht since the valves were so bad out of spec. Anyway, I got it back and refurbished it. It's inside my shop with the rest of my steeds now.
1
1
12/27/2018 8:34am
I had a bike stolen out of my parent's garage when I was a kid. The door was open when my dad and I were doing lawn work in the back. Ever since then the bikes are chained together at all times in the garage or at least locked to something else.
Doddy
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773
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Location
Everett, WA US
12/27/2018 8:47am
3 months ago I heard my garage door open at 430am(my bedroom is above my garage) Walked downstairs and 2 loser 12 o'clock boys were in...
3 months ago I heard my garage door open at 430am(my bedroom is above my garage) Walked downstairs and 2 loser 12 o'clock boys were in my garage trying to steal my 450. They ran off and I ran inside to have my girl call 911 and to grab my firearm. Within 40 seconds they actually came back and took the bike. They didn't get far because I live in a very large hilly condo complex surrounded by thick woods. Its about a a 3/4 mile drive uphill just to leave the complex. Cops came and the k9 unit used the stolen vehicle they were in to gain the scent and got one of them in about ten minutes. The charged him pretty heavily and he's still sitting in jail awaiting sentencing. They know how the second guy is but are waiting for positive finger prints to come back from the stolen car.

The smashed my GF window of her car to get the garage door opener. They found the bike one complex over. Busted one of the radiators when he dropped it but that was it.

Its funny because i live in such a bad spot to try and steal a bike. after you ride or push the bike uphill for 3/4 of a mile you then have to ride the bike another mile down an unlit road untill you hit a main strech of road that is ALAWAYS patrolled.

Mike bike is now always chained up like fort knox
Doddy wrote:
Why didn't you have your firearm already on you? C'mon man.....
I know I get that reaction all the time. To be honest firearms are a hobby to me. Most of my pistols are highly modified glocks...
I know I get that reaction all the time. To be honest firearms are a hobby to me. Most of my pistols are highly modified glocks. I always keep one somewhat close but I honestly thought it was my garage door malfunctioning or maybe my neighbors garage. Part of me is glad I didn't have it with me. One of the 2 guys would have been shot or shot at. Not worth the hassle of killing someone over a bike. CT sucks for that sort of stuff. it would have cost me ten times what the bike was worth for lawyer fees.
I completely understand. It's just the "what ifs' that get me. I didn't mean you have to blow them away, I just mean it was ballsy to investigate without something to protect yourself and as you said they came back. I don't think you are wrong in that last statement either......it's just fcked.
Tenacious P
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325
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9/1/2016
Location
SoCal, CA US
12/27/2018 9:02am
My 1997 KX250 was stolen around 2010 from my backyard. 99% sure it was my gardeners. Filed police report. Nothing happened. God I miss that bike, it was the torquiest 2T i'd ever ridden!
fourfourone
Posts
3043
Joined
10/14/2017
Location
86oh, CT US
12/27/2018 9:03am
Doddy wrote:
Why didn't you have your firearm already on you? C'mon man.....
I know I get that reaction all the time. To be honest firearms are a hobby to me. Most of my pistols are highly modified glocks...
I know I get that reaction all the time. To be honest firearms are a hobby to me. Most of my pistols are highly modified glocks. I always keep one somewhat close but I honestly thought it was my garage door malfunctioning or maybe my neighbors garage. Part of me is glad I didn't have it with me. One of the 2 guys would have been shot or shot at. Not worth the hassle of killing someone over a bike. CT sucks for that sort of stuff. it would have cost me ten times what the bike was worth for lawyer fees.
Doddy wrote:
I completely understand. It's just the "what ifs' that get me. I didn't mean you have to blow them away, I just mean it was ballsy...
I completely understand. It's just the "what ifs' that get me. I didn't mean you have to blow them away, I just mean it was ballsy to investigate without something to protect yourself and as you said they came back. I don't think you are wrong in that last statement either......it's just fcked.
to be honest myself and a lot of people get too comfortable. I never thought in a million years I would get my bike stolen. Part of its my fault. Shit my truck had decals on the rear window that clearly made it obvious that I ride dirtbikes. During the warm weather I usually even leave my ramp in the back of my truck because I ride every weekend. The same night my bike go taken they broke into 4 other cars in my complex. Since my unit is at the end of this huge complex I was probably the last one to hit. They probably saw my decals and ramp in the truck and new right away there probably was a bike in the garage. No risk to them if there wasn't. They would have just opened the garage and ran away if they didn't see anything.
12/27/2018 9:46am
What's crazy to me is most of these stories involve bikes getting stolen out of garages or from ones own property. But we go to the track and leave our bikes in secured all day, often times very much out of sight of them watching other races. Yet very seldom do we hear about bikes getting stolen from the track.

Moto community > society
3
Jimmy638
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360
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8/22/2018
Location
Falcon, CO US
12/27/2018 10:31am Edited Date/Time 12/27/2018 10:31am
My 1997 KX250 was stolen around 2010 from my backyard. 99% sure it was my gardeners. Filed police report. Nothing happened. God I miss that bike...
My 1997 KX250 was stolen around 2010 from my backyard. 99% sure it was my gardeners. Filed police report. Nothing happened. God I miss that bike, it was the torquiest 2T i'd ever ridden!
Sorry about your bike but Who has a Gardener Blink
BR8ES
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1909
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6/3/2018
Location
Bennett, CO US
12/27/2018 10:44am
I had a 2001 Maico 500 stolen... was devastated.
mxer807
Posts
133
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12/16/2017
Location
Lake Elsinore, CA US
12/27/2018 11:43am
Fifteen years ago, my sisters 97 cr 125 was stolen off back porch very shortly after my dad bought it. Pretty sure we knew who it was or that they had something to do with it. I was in intermediate school at the time, my best friend at the time brought his uncle and uncles “mechanic buddy “ that lived up the street into my back yard to borrow some tools, and he sees the bike and starts talking about how “he knows Mitch Payton and he can take that bike to pro circuit and get it all dialed in, make it run tits”. A week later the bike was gone. Me and my buddy went to the guys house just to look around and he was outside and we started bs’ing with him about random stuff . Then my buddy brings up the bike got stolen and the guy flipped out. “The only reason you guys are here is because you think I stole that bike. Blah blah. I’m not a thief, yada yada.” Never found the bike. Sister had to settle for a clapper 92 cr 125 after that one. Few things learned: can’t trust anyone, don’t leave your stuff in plain sight, and lock it up.
1
JN137
Posts
284
Joined
1/18/2017
Location
CA US
12/27/2018 11:53am
I had an 85 stolen out of my garage years ago. My neighbors actually saw it happen and just assumed it was us. Someone pulled up to my house with a trailer around 10pm, went into the side yard and came through the outside door into the garage. Wheeled it right through the side yard into their trailer and left. We were home and inside while it happened. I think the worst part about it, other than knowing someone was in my garage while I was inside my house just feet away, was that the police didn't seem to even care to pretend to be concerned.

A buddy of mine had 2 bikes stolen last year, knew who did it, where they lived and where the stolen bikes were located and police pretty much said "Yeah, nothing we can do about it."
Paul333
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2/15/2012
Location
Virginia Beach, VA US
12/27/2018 12:05pm
Does having a MTB stolen count? I had a Fat Chance Yo Eddy stolen out of my truck. They broke the camper shell lock, cut the chain securing the bike, and hauled ass.
HenryA
Posts
3785
Joined
12/29/2011
Location
Stockholm SE
12/27/2018 12:07pm
Stevo683 wrote:
I had my 94 CR125 stolen in 96. Went to the bank that week and bought a brand new 96 CR125 off the showroom floor to...
I had my 94 CR125 stolen in 96. Went to the bank that week and bought a brand new 96 CR125 off the showroom floor to replace it. Got a call 12 years later from a police department in Pa. that they had found it. Thought it was a prank. Drove 4 hours to pick it up. It was toast but all there. They arrested the guy and he paid me restitution for the parts to fix it up for a year. Never thought I would see it again.
12 years? that's insane! Tell us more, how far away was the bike from the location that it was stolen?

How did the guy get caught? Surely can't be the same guy who stole it 12 years ago?
nosredna297
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30
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6/10/2017
Location
Norman, OK US
12/27/2018 12:44pm
Yep. Had a 14 yz250f stolen out of an enclosed trailer. That was a bike my parents bought me when I was 16, so there was no insurance on it. Learned my lesson though. I have insurance on my new 450.
12/27/2018 1:08pm Edited Date/Time 12/27/2018 1:18pm
Truck with my 2015 KTM 350 SX-F, wifes 2015 KLX 140, toolbox, two gear bags with 3 sets of gear in each, 2 helmets, gas, ramp, stands, wifes purse...all gone. We went into a store in Bremen, Ga. Turned my back on the truck for no more than 5 minutes, when I checked, it was gone. The perps, 3 black youths wearing hoodies, (Bremen PD description from the security camera footage) were sitting next to my truck for 20 minutes waiting for a break in the action. Atlanta PD recovered the truck completely trashed and nothing else 3 days later. A week later I spotted this "model citizen" rolling down the streets of Atlanta from an Instagram post. Cops found the Kawi a few days later. $1400 to repair the damage to a bike that had 30 minutes on it prior to being stolen. No arrests. Never recovered the KTM or gear or tools or....bitter, nah!

1
AZRider
Posts
412
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Location
Rock Spring, GA US
12/27/2018 1:33pm
I had 2 stolen in July of 2016. 2005 RMZ450 that I loved and brand new husky FC350. Had one ride on the Husky. Maybe had 1.5 hrs on it. Rmz never to be seen again. Husky was recovered a year later.

The only nice part is that we knew who did it but couldn't prove it until later. The idiot got what he deserved when he stole a quad and ran from the cops. T boned a car on the right front and put his head through the windshield. Lost an eye and has serious spinal damage. Made me quite happy. Only wish I could have been there to see it and stand over him and laugh.

The detective called me on Halloween of this year to tell me what had happened because he knew I wanted to know. Best Halloween I have ever had.
4
fourfourone
Posts
3043
Joined
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Location
86oh, CT US
12/27/2018 1:33pm
Truck with my 2015 KTM 350 SX-F, wifes 2015 KLX 140, toolbox, two gear bags with 3 sets of gear in each, 2 helmets, gas, ramp...
Truck with my 2015 KTM 350 SX-F, wifes 2015 KLX 140, toolbox, two gear bags with 3 sets of gear in each, 2 helmets, gas, ramp, stands, wifes purse...all gone. We went into a store in Bremen, Ga. Turned my back on the truck for no more than 5 minutes, when I checked, it was gone. The perps, 3 black youths wearing hoodies, (Bremen PD description from the security camera footage) were sitting next to my truck for 20 minutes waiting for a break in the action. Atlanta PD recovered the truck completely trashed and nothing else 3 days later. A week later I spotted this "model citizen" rolling down the streets of Atlanta from an Instagram post. Cops found the Kawi a few days later. $1400 to repair the damage to a bike that had 30 minutes on it prior to being stolen. No arrests. Never recovered the KTM or gear or tools or....bitter, nah!

that's crazy you saw it online. They guy they caught trying to steal my 450 was part of that wheelie bike life bullshit. I found his facebook profile. Every time I see a pack of those idiots I literally want to just run them all over.
3
12/27/2018 2:15pm
AZRider wrote:
I had 2 stolen in July of 2016. 2005 RMZ450 that I loved and brand new husky FC350. Had one ride on the Husky. Maybe had...
I had 2 stolen in July of 2016. 2005 RMZ450 that I loved and brand new husky FC350. Had one ride on the Husky. Maybe had 1.5 hrs on it. Rmz never to be seen again. Husky was recovered a year later.

The only nice part is that we knew who did it but couldn't prove it until later. The idiot got what he deserved when he stole a quad and ran from the cops. T boned a car on the right front and put his head through the windshield. Lost an eye and has serious spinal damage. Made me quite happy. Only wish I could have been there to see it and stand over him and laugh.

The detective called me on Halloween of this year to tell me what had happened because he knew I wanted to know. Best Halloween I have ever had.
mxer807
Posts
133
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12/16/2017
Location
Lake Elsinore, CA US
12/27/2018 2:26pm
AZRider wrote:
I had 2 stolen in July of 2016. 2005 RMZ450 that I loved and brand new husky FC350. Had one ride on the Husky. Maybe had...
I had 2 stolen in July of 2016. 2005 RMZ450 that I loved and brand new husky FC350. Had one ride on the Husky. Maybe had 1.5 hrs on it. Rmz never to be seen again. Husky was recovered a year later.

The only nice part is that we knew who did it but couldn't prove it until later. The idiot got what he deserved when he stole a quad and ran from the cops. T boned a car on the right front and put his head through the windshield. Lost an eye and has serious spinal damage. Made me quite happy. Only wish I could have been there to see it and stand over him and laugh.

The detective called me on Halloween of this year to tell me what had happened because he knew I wanted to know. Best Halloween I have ever had.
I saw that story somewhere. Shouldn’t of stole the bike.
2
12/27/2018 2:59pm
CSAR FE wrote:
Never had one stolen, but I am always paranoid about it happening. There's some things you can do, but unless your house is fort knox, nothing...
Never had one stolen, but I am always paranoid about it happening. There's some things you can do, but unless your house is fort knox, nothing is thief-proof. Chaining them up and things like that are only things that slow a thief down. If they know your pattern of life and know when you are at home and at work, they know when they can swing by your house and have all day to cut through chains or what have you. The best thing you can do is layer your security to either deter thieves or buy you time, and don't make yourself a soft target:

1. Don't advertise. Hanging out with your garage open is only showcasing the sweet stuff you have for thieves casing your neighborhood, to come back later and take when you aren't home. Don't put dirt bike stickers all over your vehicle. It just screams "I have one or more of them in my garage". The same goes for putting shit like gun manufacturer or NRA stickers on your car.

2. Don't leave your garage door clicker in your car. All a thief has to do (like in the story above) is bust your window out and open your garage. If you have one of those garage door openers built into your vehicle, don't program it to work with your garage door. I would advise against hiding spare keys outside your house. Also, consider getting a timer for your garage door. People forget to close their doors all the time and drive off to work, leaving it wide open all day. Cut the loop or knob off the pull string on your emergency door release. Thieves can stick a coat hanger through the weather strip at the top of your door and get a hold of the release if there's something on the end of it to grab on to.

3. If you have dogs who are good guard dogs, and you leave them out in your house during the day, maybe consider leaving your interior garage door from your house cracked open enough that they can go in there if they hear someone. Thieves don't like dogs.

4. Insure your bikes. If you can get accessory replacement coverage as part of your policy, do that too. I have full coverage with $0 deductible, comprehensive with $0 and accessory coverage with $0 deductible on three bikes. It costs me $22/mo. It's dumb not to have it. It may not give you $10k back on that new KTM, but anything is better than nothing. Keep receipts of everything and take plenty of pictures.

5. Get one or more cameras that alert you when it detects movement. This also serves as a deterrent. If a thief sees one of those Ring doorbell cameras or something like it, they probably assume there's more inside.

6. Keep areas like your front door or driveway lit up at night. Put plants like rosebushes or cactus under windows (thorny, poky stuff).

7. If you chain your bikes up in your garage, don't leave tools lying around that can help the thieves out. Lock up your tool boxes.

Most of these pricks are just looking for quick and easy targets of opportunity. The more difficult you can make it on them to steal your shit, the more likely they are to go next door and steal from your neighbor instead.
I thought I had my place pretty well locked up but after thieves busted in the roller door off the tracks in the middle of the day, moved two other customers bikes I had torn down for work and also chained up, they cut my Kryptonite cable lock with an angle grinder after several attempts were obviously made with bolt cutters on the cable and a special Lockwood locksmith's association accredited pad lock I had purchased and squeezed my WR250F out and around 2 cars in the shed. Worse was seeing one of my extension cords laid out all the way across to where my bike had been secured. I don't leave those around anymore.
$1000 no questions asked reward got the bike back from a real piece of work from a few doors up who had just got out of jail coincidentally, who knew a few people like that. Apparently.

So after I made 2 brackets for each roller door that are plated to it with the nuts welded over that accept a length of 2mm thickness 75 x 75 square hollow section tube that slide through these and the vertical shed beams either side of the rollers on the inside and locked together using a Kyrtonite U bold sliding through holes in the end of each beam, set at different heights and then acting as ram raid bars, got lengths of 25 x 25 by 5mm steel angle and welded 2 of these together back to back in a sort of S shape for each roller track that bolsters the original tracks and is then welded to the vertical post the tracks are attached to and out a dyno bolt into each end of the roller doors to bolt down the d made two locks for the personal entrance door so one at the bottom and the top that accept a pad lock and has a protective cover build in made of 8mm plate so the padlocks can't be jimmied or belted and also with the nuts welded so it can' be undone from inside, drilled and fitted 8mm bolts with nylock nuts on the inside of the bottom row of the iron sheets that line the shed and I thought that I was pretty safe.

Fuckers come back 3 months later which coincidentally happened to be school holidays again (with the prize scumbag back in lock up that created even more questions than answers), the scum simply unscrewed the corner flashing, used tin snips to put two cuts horizontally along the tin from the now exposed tin edges about a foot and a half apart and made a door for them selves to just step in. Once in they cut the chain I was now securing my bike with, they set about trying to get the bike out. And that's where things got difficult for them. Not sure what they were using, but the scums were bashing through the exposed personal door entry hinges from the outside, middle of the day on a corner block exposed to the semi busy roadway, when luckily the elderly neighbours came home and stuck their head over the fence to see what all the noise was about. Said they were kids but didn't know or didn't want to get involved to say who. The scum had bashed through the bottom hinge and were trying to jimmy the door out which was still held in place by the two locks I had installed and the top hinge. I called the cops to come and get prints or something and they turned up the next day reluctantly, said they couldn't do much and acted like they were going to do even less. So I took my bike to a local shop the next day and just said I want it gone on consignment for about $1000 less than I could have got privately and a month later got the money. Troubles, worry and my hobby gone too. Didn't have a bike again for many years after that and when I did I bought cheap (remember when you could buy cheap 2 strokes) but still insured that even.
I now have 3 larger hinges on that door, repaired the tin and drilled out the screws on the corner flashings, a length of 22 tonne lifting chain that was getting thrown out at work with that good pad lock and an alarmed disc lock. I also have a big dog and there is now a house built on the vacant neighboring lot so felt safe enough to get another decent bike recently.
DTR830
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961
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Location
Mountain Top, PA US
12/27/2018 3:13pm
I had 3 in the past

2002 kx125 & 2004 honda foreman- same instance


2001 Yamaha raptor from a buddies house right when they came out. ( The family had an older daughter who was mixed with the wrong crowd) really think she had something to do with it.


Insure all now
mx918
Posts
567
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Louisville, KY US
12/27/2018 3:23pm
Some of you may remember my stolen bike story from INSIDE Anaheim 2 back in 2016.

After the LCQ, I parked my KTM450 in the tunnel along with several other bikes to watch the main. Came back to find it gone.
Long story short, myself and a buddy spent the next 14 hours tracking it down with some leads and caught the bastard red handed (3 hours from the stadium) and he was arrested right there. Needless to say, Feld has cracked down on fake press passes since then! One of the best feelings in the world watching him get cuffed. I can't stand a thief!

I wish more people had success stories like mine.
8
Jimmy638
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8/22/2018
Location
Falcon, CO US
12/27/2018 3:30pm
CSAR FE wrote:
Never had one stolen, but I am always paranoid about it happening. There's some things you can do, but unless your house is fort knox, nothing...
Never had one stolen, but I am always paranoid about it happening. There's some things you can do, but unless your house is fort knox, nothing is thief-proof. Chaining them up and things like that are only things that slow a thief down. If they know your pattern of life and know when you are at home and at work, they know when they can swing by your house and have all day to cut through chains or what have you. The best thing you can do is layer your security to either deter thieves or buy you time, and don't make yourself a soft target:

1. Don't advertise. Hanging out with your garage open is only showcasing the sweet stuff you have for thieves casing your neighborhood, to come back later and take when you aren't home. Don't put dirt bike stickers all over your vehicle. It just screams "I have one or more of them in my garage". The same goes for putting shit like gun manufacturer or NRA stickers on your car.

2. Don't leave your garage door clicker in your car. All a thief has to do (like in the story above) is bust your window out and open your garage. If you have one of those garage door openers built into your vehicle, don't program it to work with your garage door. I would advise against hiding spare keys outside your house. Also, consider getting a timer for your garage door. People forget to close their doors all the time and drive off to work, leaving it wide open all day. Cut the loop or knob off the pull string on your emergency door release. Thieves can stick a coat hanger through the weather strip at the top of your door and get a hold of the release if there's something on the end of it to grab on to.

3. If you have dogs who are good guard dogs, and you leave them out in your house during the day, maybe consider leaving your interior garage door from your house cracked open enough that they can go in there if they hear someone. Thieves don't like dogs.

4. Insure your bikes. If you can get accessory replacement coverage as part of your policy, do that too. I have full coverage with $0 deductible, comprehensive with $0 and accessory coverage with $0 deductible on three bikes. It costs me $22/mo. It's dumb not to have it. It may not give you $10k back on that new KTM, but anything is better than nothing. Keep receipts of everything and take plenty of pictures.

5. Get one or more cameras that alert you when it detects movement. This also serves as a deterrent. If a thief sees one of those Ring doorbell cameras or something like it, they probably assume there's more inside.

6. Keep areas like your front door or driveway lit up at night. Put plants like rosebushes or cactus under windows (thorny, poky stuff).

7. If you chain your bikes up in your garage, don't leave tools lying around that can help the thieves out. Lock up your tool boxes.

Most of these pricks are just looking for quick and easy targets of opportunity. The more difficult you can make it on them to steal your shit, the more likely they are to go next door and steal from your neighbor instead.
I thought I had my place pretty well locked up but after thieves busted in the roller door off the tracks in the middle of the...
I thought I had my place pretty well locked up but after thieves busted in the roller door off the tracks in the middle of the day, moved two other customers bikes I had torn down for work and also chained up, they cut my Kryptonite cable lock with an angle grinder after several attempts were obviously made with bolt cutters on the cable and a special Lockwood locksmith's association accredited pad lock I had purchased and squeezed my WR250F out and around 2 cars in the shed. Worse was seeing one of my extension cords laid out all the way across to where my bike had been secured. I don't leave those around anymore.
$1000 no questions asked reward got the bike back from a real piece of work from a few doors up who had just got out of jail coincidentally, who knew a few people like that. Apparently.

So after I made 2 brackets for each roller door that are plated to it with the nuts welded over that accept a length of 2mm thickness 75 x 75 square hollow section tube that slide through these and the vertical shed beams either side of the rollers on the inside and locked together using a Kyrtonite U bold sliding through holes in the end of each beam, set at different heights and then acting as ram raid bars, got lengths of 25 x 25 by 5mm steel angle and welded 2 of these together back to back in a sort of S shape for each roller track that bolsters the original tracks and is then welded to the vertical post the tracks are attached to and out a dyno bolt into each end of the roller doors to bolt down the d made two locks for the personal entrance door so one at the bottom and the top that accept a pad lock and has a protective cover build in made of 8mm plate so the padlocks can't be jimmied or belted and also with the nuts welded so it can' be undone from inside, drilled and fitted 8mm bolts with nylock nuts on the inside of the bottom row of the iron sheets that line the shed and I thought that I was pretty safe.

Fuckers come back 3 months later which coincidentally happened to be school holidays again (with the prize scumbag back in lock up that created even more questions than answers), the scum simply unscrewed the corner flashing, used tin snips to put two cuts horizontally along the tin from the now exposed tin edges about a foot and a half apart and made a door for them selves to just step in. Once in they cut the chain I was now securing my bike with, they set about trying to get the bike out. And that's where things got difficult for them. Not sure what they were using, but the scums were bashing through the exposed personal door entry hinges from the outside, middle of the day on a corner block exposed to the semi busy roadway, when luckily the elderly neighbours came home and stuck their head over the fence to see what all the noise was about. Said they were kids but didn't know or didn't want to get involved to say who. The scum had bashed through the bottom hinge and were trying to jimmy the door out which was still held in place by the two locks I had installed and the top hinge. I called the cops to come and get prints or something and they turned up the next day reluctantly, said they couldn't do much and acted like they were going to do even less. So I took my bike to a local shop the next day and just said I want it gone on consignment for about $1000 less than I could have got privately and a month later got the money. Troubles, worry and my hobby gone too. Didn't have a bike again for many years after that and when I did I bought cheap (remember when you could buy cheap 2 strokes) but still insured that even.
I now have 3 larger hinges on that door, repaired the tin and drilled out the screws on the corner flashings, a length of 22 tonne lifting chain that was getting thrown out at work with that good pad lock and an alarmed disc lock. I also have a big dog and there is now a house built on the vacant neighboring lot so felt safe enough to get another decent bike recently.
H O L Y F _ _ K!
Glad I have cameras that track any movement notifies me of that.

Crazy story thxs for sharing

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