sykospain
Registered user
Bike Stolen
Hopefully a heartening bike-theft tale from year 2000:
My bright yellow R1100S was always kept locked up and alarmed in a locked garage alongside and slightly in front of the family car. Scroats came to call one winter dead-of-night and broke into the garage, broke the steering and brake disc locks, disabled the alarm and LIFTED the 500lb bike over the top of the car which was blocking it in - apparently there were four of the bastards - and made off with my pride and joy in their battered Sprinter, which a passerby had noticed parked near the house after midnight on his way home from the pub.
I was even more annoyed than at the loss of the bike, by the attitude of the cops when they turned up later the same day with the crime number:-
"Ah, sorry sir, a nice expensive bike like that is probably already in a container on its way to Europe or Africa..so there's very little we can do."
Thank you very sodding much officer.
So after no news for a fortnight, and a bike-tour group to lead to a trip to Germany imminently, I got onto the local rag and a reporter and photographer turned up and an article appeared a day or so later. Must have been a quiet news day...
"Dream Bike Vanishes" was the headline over a photo of me in full leathers astride a kiddy pushbike looking sorry for myself.
Typical of journalists, they however got the story wrong. When I said it would be difficult to replace the bike 'cos there were only four of the exact same spec available to buy in the UK at the time, the story said in the paper:-
"This bike is very rare indeed - only 4 others exist in Britain."
Obviously the scroats responsible for the theft took fright reading that, and TWO WEEKS LATER, the bike was left abandoned on a pub car-park only 20 miles away.
Meanwhile I'd claimed for the total loss, bought another bike and gone on the tour.
A fortnight later, the cops rang and said they'd had the bike in their pound for some while, covered in grey fingerprint dust. Thanks to the kind generosity of Barry Roberts at Roberts BMW in York, I was able to sell him his replacement bike back, then eventually was able after much difficulty to refund the insurance company, spend £300 on lock repairs and retake ownership of my bright yellow pride and joy.
Moral of the story:
stamp your feet and make a fuss. Don't relay solely on our overworked, underpaid underfunded plods.
Best'o'luck,
AL in s.e. Spain
Hopefully a heartening bike-theft tale from year 2000:
My bright yellow R1100S was always kept locked up and alarmed in a locked garage alongside and slightly in front of the family car. Scroats came to call one winter dead-of-night and broke into the garage, broke the steering and brake disc locks, disabled the alarm and LIFTED the 500lb bike over the top of the car which was blocking it in - apparently there were four of the bastards - and made off with my pride and joy in their battered Sprinter, which a passerby had noticed parked near the house after midnight on his way home from the pub.
I was even more annoyed than at the loss of the bike, by the attitude of the cops when they turned up later the same day with the crime number:-
"Ah, sorry sir, a nice expensive bike like that is probably already in a container on its way to Europe or Africa..so there's very little we can do."
Thank you very sodding much officer.
So after no news for a fortnight, and a bike-tour group to lead to a trip to Germany imminently, I got onto the local rag and a reporter and photographer turned up and an article appeared a day or so later. Must have been a quiet news day...
"Dream Bike Vanishes" was the headline over a photo of me in full leathers astride a kiddy pushbike looking sorry for myself.
Typical of journalists, they however got the story wrong. When I said it would be difficult to replace the bike 'cos there were only four of the exact same spec available to buy in the UK at the time, the story said in the paper:-
"This bike is very rare indeed - only 4 others exist in Britain."
Obviously the scroats responsible for the theft took fright reading that, and TWO WEEKS LATER, the bike was left abandoned on a pub car-park only 20 miles away.
Meanwhile I'd claimed for the total loss, bought another bike and gone on the tour.
A fortnight later, the cops rang and said they'd had the bike in their pound for some while, covered in grey fingerprint dust. Thanks to the kind generosity of Barry Roberts at Roberts BMW in York, I was able to sell him his replacement bike back, then eventually was able after much difficulty to refund the insurance company, spend £300 on lock repairs and retake ownership of my bright yellow pride and joy.
Moral of the story:
stamp your feet and make a fuss. Don't relay solely on our overworked, underpaid underfunded plods.
Best'o'luck,
AL in s.e. Spain
)
