Thick as Thieves

[Totoro]

My colleague advertised his beetle on FB,
some guys came round,
seemed keen
- went away to "think about it"

Sadly this happens and has been happening for a long time. Seen a few motorcycles stolen this way.

One friend had an off-road motorcycle (KX 250) listed for sale online, people came to view, left and then that night it was stolen. Not a very heavy bike but he said they probably lifted it over 2 parked cars to get it out of the workshop!

When two of my motorcycles got stolen together one was found just around the corner dumped as they didn't manage to break the steering lock. It was a neighbour knocking on my door who had found it which alerted me to the theft.

 

[pigman]

yup - I agree - below is my 'leave it in the town centre' bike - not going to attract any attention from thieves imho - its a shame that you cant leave anything nice in plain sight - but face reality, when shoplifters are not challenged, when crimes including theft and criminal damage are not followed up on and when the police are acting under the direction of the activists in their midst and only focused on pursuing people posting on social media ( that includes us btw) - then you would be ill advised to risk losing something more precious. I set a limit of £100 total when building this one and covered it with stickers to make it less attractive, more recognisable and although kids probably snigger at it, I dont have any qualms about leaving it anywhere - it also doesnt through fit through any narrow alleyways so hard to speed off on in the unlikely event I get hijacked whilst riding it - lol.

View attachment 1001755

To my mind, that still looks too good (and tempting) for a 'leave it in town' bike. Decent paint, nice wheels and tyres, matching pedals and grips etc

Here's my effort

 

[bikeworkshop]

The lock needs to be too hard to break to just ride home, and the bike too hard to sell.

We did have a customer yesterday whose decent lock was actually cut through by it was a modern 4k bike so someone made a special trip.

 

[Woz]

Therein lies the problem. The cycling community is totally apathetic.

We sit around bemoaning the Police and blaming society and everyone else but when faced with a simple, free tool to help combat the sale of (and identify) stolen bikes, no one can be arsed to use it.

Beckons the question why sales outlets for new bike sales can't be arsed either?

That is the logical start point for traceability, along with warranty, new ownership and building up a critical mass of data.

Personally I'm too sceptical that a register and sticker is a better answer than having a bike with a value one is willing to write-off for urban duties.

When I had my Cannondale stolen in Stockholm (in daylight, on a busy walkthrough, with many CCTV cameras both public and private covering building entrances) I registered the theft immediately with the Police for insurance purposes. Three weeks later I got a letter from the Police asking if I had found and if I recovered the bike. Bemoaning perhaps but it was a waste of time. The insurance company were very good - even for a custom one off bike - supplied photographs and receipts for every item (including the lock), then was re-imbursed in full.

 

[Woz]

To my mind, that still looks too good (and tempting) for a 'leave it in town' bike. Decent paint, nice wheels and tyres, matching pedals and grips etc

Here's my effort

Valves not aligned, but it is a drive side photograph Still think it's possible to have a decent bike but fully agree it's just got to look a bit rough, covered in a layer of dirt and grime and not stand out.

 

[highlandsflyer]

Bottom line; you just oughtn't gamble more than you're prepared to lose.

 

[novocaine]

Bottom line; you just oughtn't gamble more than you're prepared to lose.

looks like a walking then.

 

[Woz]

Bottom line; you just oughtn't gamble more than you're prepared to lose.

.... or your parents to loose?

Who remembers as a kid being "instructed" to go to the local Police and have the post-code stamped on the BB shell?

 

[bikeworkshop]

You ain't got nothing?
you got nothing to lose.

Bottom line; you just oughtn't gamble more than you're prepared to lose.

As people endlessly tell me
"They can steal anything if they want to"
But you judge the risk and act accordingly.
You should treat a 1/10 risk different to a 1/10,000.

(The motorcyclists here will be very aware of that. If not, you're dead already.)

If you want to call any risk gambling, then
Not gambling is Not possible,
with the possible exception of being in isolation in a secure mental institution.

 

[highlandsflyer]

Yes. There is a difference between locking your £3000 Ti racer up in line of sight whilst having a pub lunch, and 'abandoning' it overnight outside your local crack den.