Posts
1160
Joined
7/21/2018
Location
Phoenix, AZ
US
Fantasy
1372nd
Edited Date/Time
5/5/2020 2:38pm
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
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 was crushed.
And not able to replace it so that was the end of racing for me, i didn't ride again for many years , and Started Drinking
And other things that i stayed away from when i raced because i was trying to live a healthy lifestyle for racing.
So that bike getting stolen was life changing for me, ina bad way.
The Shop
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
More infuriating was back when my kid was little, his birthday-present KTM 50 was stolen on said birthday. He was crushed.
It takes an exceptionally shitty person to steal from a 7-year old
I was so pissed because Where was our security guard? Why is the gate ALWAYS broken? We paid a lot to live there. And almost exactly a year prior, our garage was broken into and my roommates Taylormades were stolen (but covered)
Plus with a bike like yours, you can’t just insure, get a check, and buy another
Pit Row
Back on topic, I have not had a bike stolen. Because of that, I always feel like one day I may come home and she'll be gone.....
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 didn’t have it very secured obviously, but still a brazen act. Right behind my brothers back door.
For a couple days I kind of sat around in disbelief. Poor student with no toy.
Afternoon, heard a braap, braap in the distance. About a mile and a half away by then I cut two teenagers off on the trail, Frank Cannon style in my sort of insured LTD Landau and yelled, “get off that fucking bike”. They laid it down and ran.
A week later, sold it to finish school.
Keep your eyes and ears open. I wonder when a bike is actually recovered how far away they usually end up.
No chop shops in my small city.
You're probably thinking "the frame being swapped is unlikely." How did I know that it was mine? I lived in a small military town and the bike was a little odd. "2007 KX450F. I took off my graphics so there were no graphics on the fork guards, shrouds, or rear fender, just 205 on the number plates. Rear black Excel, front stock wheel, pretty worn rear tire. Black Renthal Twinwall Windham bends, Pro Circuit 22mm clamps, FMF Ti system- Megabomb and 4.1 anodized blue. Red engine plugs and front wheel spacers. Those things stick out the most. " The pictures that they posted on the Craigslist ad clearly showed my bike with all of the same parts, but the plastics with 205 backgrounds were removed. Additionally, I found one the guys Photobucket account and he had my pictures of my individual parts on there, probably to sell them individually online somewhere. Additionally, right after I found it, I had actually gotten messages from other people who saw the post on Racer X (thanks to Steve Matthes) about it being stolen saying that they found it on Craigslist as well.
The worst part of the whole ordeal? The police basically treated me like I was the criminal from start to finish. One of the best things that happened, however, was that a fellow boardmember and moto rider PMed me after seeing a post about it and asked for the case number. He never told me exactly what he did, but he was involved with law enforcement and had access to cases. He pulled the info up and told me exactly what happened and tried to keep me informed. Dumb mistake on my part for assuming that it would be safe for a matter of hours and I paid HEAVILY for it. I just paid if off a few years ago.
Lost an IT175 when I was in college. Found parts of it in the woods about 400 yards from my house. Wasn't enough to come close to making another whole bike.
Fast forward, 25 years and someone cleaned out my enclosed trailer. This time it was 2 vintage bikes (77 RM125B and 83 CR480) and my son's XR80. They also took my gear bag with about a grand of stuff in it.
All the cops would say is "it's all probably in Mexico by now"...and that's the last I ever heard from them.
The next thieves won't get a chance to cross the border if I catch them. Thug version of the Rainbow Bridge maybe, but not the border.
About a year later i got my first dirt bike. Made a trade for my 1980 bronco for a Nissan pick up and a CR 500. Bike was road hard and put up wet but man did I have fun riding it in the river wash area under the Marysville bridge.
F thieves. ....
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