Stolen - 2015 Adventure, Kingston 7th August

HTB

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As an FYI my 2015 1200 GSA in Matt Green was stolen around midday on the 7th of August from the 'dedicated' bike parking in Dolphin Street, behind the Bentalls Centre in Kingston. The bike was locked (keyless ignition) and alarmed but the chain was left at home as I was just 'popping out to get some Euro's' for the trip to France the next morning. The area is covered in CCTV which recorded the theft and the removal of the bike for a good half mile into the Hampton / Twickenham direction. I don't normally park there - total opportunist theft. It was also witnessed by security at the loading bay for Bentalls.

Two lowlife on a scooter arrived shortly after I had left the bike, broke the steering lock and towed/pushed the bike all the way out of Kingston using the scooter (with no legible number plate). Police arrived 4 minutes later but are 'unable to pursue' for risk of prosecution if there was an accident.

Anyway, after 25 years of riding its a first for me and I am gutted. I know I'm about to have a battle with insurance to get a value which is reasonable; and it will never match the value of the bike to me.

Lesson learnt - disc locks, chains and anything other than relying on your bikes standard security are a must - anything to make your bike the less easy target. Nowhere is safe from this scum. At least I didn't get dragged off it, or worse as is happening.

I'm firmly of the view that unless something is changed and we allow the police (certainly in the first instance) and courts, or whoever else needs it, the ability to make these w*nkers realise the risks outweigh the benefits, we'll never see the end of this. Bike manufacturers also need to be improving their '5 second' security engineering - its just crap.

Anyway, whatever your thoughts on this, just have a think about whether you've really done all you can to stop your bike being the next - it really, really ruins the day.
 
Really sorry to read about your bike. While I agree with you that the police are oporating with their hands tied behind them it was foolish of you not to use a disc lock or better. You really handed it to them on a plate. JJH
 
They've done you a favour....I mean, matt green. :barf











On a more serious note, we need a shoot to kill policy on these scooter scumbags.
 
I think anything that slows them down or means they have to make more of a kerfuffle to nick your bike has to be a good thing, I've taken to leaving mine in a gear other than 1st or 2nd as well as a lock, just to cause a faff.

I'm sorry that these scumbags have knicked your bike, this problem is moving further out of London with a similar MO being used in Ingatestone, Essex, last thursday.
 
This "unable to pursue" because of legal ramifications just boggles the mind.

They are vermin and should be treated as such.

Sent from a OnePlusX.
 
Ban the sale of these portable angle grinders that cut through anything.
Or make the purchasers prove id.
Without the use of these tools all the security we have would stop all this.
Really sorry to read about your bike. While I agree with you that the police are oporating with their hands tied behind them it was foolish of you not to use a disc lock or better. You really handed it to them on a plate. JJH
 
Yet another ........... these scumbags are just the foot soldiers. Who is waiting down the road with a van/truck ready to whisk your bike away, into a container & see it spirited off to a new life somewhere to the east. We've seen it with 4x4s shipping out to E.Africa, Merc E Class stolen only to become taxis wherever - currently it's GS/GSAs & KTMs into E.Europe or Russia. The only way to break down these organisations surely is to lay the bait, track the bikes & expose the fence networks. Trouble is there is absolutely no inertia; no one is really interested, the OP is insured, no one got hurt & closing down a sophisticated network would take big manpower/ budget/international crime agency liason. I just can't see it happening anytime soon. It might help if BMW didn't make the steering lock tongues out of cheese metal.
 
That bike parking bay is a magnet for bike thefts.. It's featured many times on CCtv footage on the motorcycle theft facebook page.

I use it frequently but even when on my old K100RT use a chain, disc lock and U lock ..
 
what about some type of ratchet to the centre stand and front wheel? like those old car ones? Or better yet, one of exact length that hooks in somehow? And park it facing the kerb? Or offer massive bounty to anyone that does anything apart from watch as the shits steal the bikes. sorry for your loss.
 
Im working on a new wheel lock especially for a 1200 tc gsa...watch this space.. awaiting steel shipments.Oh and fit a tracker ffs, its not hard.sorry for your loss.look around the area, you may find it .
 
Really sorry to hear that - I've used that parking bay frequently over the years (but not recently), quite often without anything more than the steering lock - for exactly the same reason - just popping in quickly to Kingston, will not do that again.

Good luck with the insurance malarkey :thumb
 
Heard reports of bike jacking in Kingston area as well, if riding be aware of who's around you .
Good luck
With insurance
 
Heard reports of bike jacking in Kingston area as well, if riding be aware of who's around you .
Good luck
With insurance

Thanks to all who have responded. I have a sneaky suspicion I may have been followed around the Kingston one-way system from around Hampton Wick. So, agree that as well as watching car drivers like they're on a mission to squish you, you now also need to watch the other bikes, if you weren't doing so already. I do hope whoever was 'jacked' is OK.

In the mean time have spoken to:-

Kingston / Surrey Council
The 'motorcycle press'
BMW

...all about how we get the attitude towards this changed (i.e. time to stamp this out) and not just accept this as part of the 'times we live in'. I sense some refusal to accept any opportunity to addesss it in some of the conversations I had - industry not wanting to admit it is so bad or that there is anything that can be done, or that they should be doing anything. I think this is short sighted of them. I assume the ability to keep selling bikes to people who have had them stolen is somehow kind of attractive for thier business? Right up until the point people stop buying bikes becasue the risk of losing it is too great...

There are some really scary stories about theives fitting trackers to bikes to find out where they are parked overnight, mobile workshops to break bikes up as soon as they're stolen and ultimately, scariest of all, the number of bikes being taken each day. Its certainly moved outside of London.

The saddest thing is that my Girlfirend who had been ready to take her GS or Scooter up to London when SouthWest Trains were not working (that'll be every day then), or the weather was looking good, is now too scared to even ride in to Surbiton or Kingston.

So, whilst I recognise I could have used further security I know two people who had their 10 year old bikes stolen in Bromley last week - despite being chained and disc locked.

We need to get some of the Motorcycling groups engaging with the issue and lobbying the industry and authorities - and then a concerted effort to support them from the guys (and girls) who are the losers here - us motorcycle owners.

We have to start somewhere...

Ride safe.

H.
 
Sorry to hear that. It really really sucks.

In times gone by if you fucked with a bike you would end up with a life changing injury. Shame its not like that aymore as that was the best deterrent.
 
With keyless ignition would it be possible to rig the bike so that if it is moved more than 15 metres without he key present the seat would explode?
Deterrent and entertainment. Win/win.
Pat.
 
Crikey sorry to hear that. I agree who is behind this someone is doing something with the bikes.


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