Bike Part Theft?

[blindside666]

Right.
Yet another thread by me.

The past few weeks, bits have been "falling off" my bike. Exhuast (front part) came off, somehow unbolted, bolts just randomly ending up on the car park floor behind our house. I put this down to having an import bike, they are shite, they could fall apart.
Moving on - there is a small forecourt behind our house, we are in a closed estate, the courtyard holds 4 parking spaces and thats it. Both mine and my mothers bikes get left there quite often, we have a garage round the corner that we rent and use for longer storage (now permenant storage because of this) to get into the car park you drive through the estate and UNDER a flat, you would only really know its there if you knew the estate well or did some proper exploring. The only other way in is over a 6 foot high fence the other end of the courtyard, which backs on to a small footpath.

This morning my Dad came out to find a small slit in the bike cover over mums bike. I stayed at my girlfriends so my bike was not there. He took it off to investigate. The entire clutch had gone! The slit was small as well, so the guy knew what he was doing to get his hands in there in the pitch black and take the entire thing off and apart. The only evidence was a fingerprint and a bolt on the floor, and of course the slit in the cover.

Now it all adds up, the mysterious bits going missing. My clutch cable snapped once, I said to my Dad how it looked like it had been cut, but we thought, if somebody wanted to vandalize the bike they'd just kick it over right? Guess not. Also a week ago my back brake started to feel REAL loose as I pulled out of the street, I pulled over to find the linking bolt had gone! That is right, somebody is messing with our brakes too.

A number of things have happeend, and just imagine if I'd had not noticed the bike, its a very malicious act, and stealing a clutch lever? Why would you want to steal it? What purpose?

I want to know if this has happened to any of you guys and if anybody can give me any information whatsoever. My mothers bike is out of action, my fathers bike is also out of action due to spark plugs missing, they will both miss the Nov 2nd ride. Mine is the only one still on the road because I wasn't home last night. All bikes are locked in the garage now, with alarms. Working on getting CCTV up and running and the police are running an enquiry.
I'd just like to appeal for information.

Thanks,
Steve.

[Johnnyb]

I just allways assume that someone is going to do something crap and act accordingly, my lad used to lock his bike up when he first got it now he just gets off and leaves it, no steering lock, padlock,chain or even a cover anymore but you cant tell him. Your case sounds a bit more like malicious damage than theft apart from the clutch which was obviously needed by some tw*t, the rest sounds like someone pissing about loosening things. Sorry to hear it, me personally i would have spent a few nights sat up just watching the bikes and waiting for the tw*ts to turn up, then a bit of 4x2 round the kneecaps would give them the hint. Just my thoughts........

[Funky]

Got to say, i'm with Jonny on this one, you and a few others wait up one night and catch them in the act, make sure they don't do it again.

I don't see the point in nicking parts, especialy over such a long period of time, just asking to be caught. At least my whole bike was nicked then broken down for parts!

[deej]

the clucth story isnt good at all,as for bits coming off your bike without being rude is a lifan and the build quality is known to be bery poor with things like the exhausts falling off with less than 600 miles on the clock etc, check all your bolts and keep a eye on them and see what happens,if you tighten them all up,keep it in the garage and they stay tight then you know its been vandalism thats caused all the loose bolts

[blindside666]

Double nutted the exhuast
checked it every day before I rode out. One morning, mysteriously one nut is going, the other nut is loose... Hmm I thought it may have rattled off the night before. But now I have second thoughts, I will admit that Lifans aren't great. But with the tons and tons of things that have happened over the past month I don't think all of it is down to a crap bike. I'm not that terrible an owner =P

As for the stake out, it is being planned. This guy is obviously a dumb [censored] and has returned to the scene many many times. We're gonna go for it and leave both bikes out there during a free night this coming week. We're gonna watch through the blinds, stake out style, take it in turns. When we see something, one of us is going to head the back door towards the forecourt, the other out the front to head off his escape route, and the other calling the police and asking them to come in silent with the blues off ;) What a plan kick the guys shins in, he may knows about bikes, but doing something like that? He's certainly not a biker.

[Maver-Nick]

As for the stake out, it is being planned. This guy is obviously a dumb [censored] and has returned to the scene many many times. We're gonna go for it and leave both bikes out there during a free night this coming week. We're gonna watch through the blinds, stake out style, take it in turns. When we see something, one of us is going to head the back door towards the forecourt, the other out the front to head off his escape route, and the other calling the police and asking them to come in silent with the blues off ;) What a plan kick the guys shins in, he may knows about bikes, but doing something like that? He's certainly not a biker.

Be careful... remember this guy(s) is/are probably going to have tools in his/their hands...

[blindside666]

Hence the police, if we can just contain him to the courtyard for long enough then its a success. Either way this guy must be bought to justice! My mother has no transport, got to rely on Dad's car now.

[thelastsuperpower]

Id sneakily link your bike frame to a few car batteries just for good measure.

That'd learn the baastards!

[blindside666]

Tea, Pizza, Stake Out sounds good

I don't know if that'd work... might be a give away, ya';know.. maybe the 10-20 motorbikes parked there (although they might be done enough to scream "JACKPOT!") or 10-20 angry bikers with metal poles and bats.... and mugs of tea

Yeah, it is kind of sickening, they may know about bikes but hell no can they can themselves a biker doing that! CCTV is now installed, going to set up a nice little trap =P
I'll see if I can get photos up on here for everybody

Lets make it fun and devise crued punishments/traps/methods of death for said person whilst the investigation continues lol

[scorpion]

Instead of sitting up and waiting just wire a passive infrared up to an internal alarm they dont know they've triggered it and you just pop out and give em a nice surprise...i did it when i had my chains nicked of 3 of my bikes...the little shit came back the following night but this time set the alarm of that was in the house so i sneaked out with a blank firing Colt 45 and let a couple of shots of at him...it was hillarious watching him bouncing round the walls like a pin ball screaming like a little girl...anyhow when the cops turned up the little shit had a 12" screwdriver tucked in his waistband so just be careful cause if he'd have realised the gun wasn't real then i could have been a human toolbox

[Tom L]

As satisfying as it would be to give him a good going over. Remember that he knows where you live and he sounds like a fairly petty front bottom. So don't give him anything enough grievances about to come back for revenge, pick your shots

[Johnnyb]

Be careful... remember this guy(s) is/are probably going to have tools in his/their hands...

Even better, if he has his tool in his hand they can do him for exposing himself as well

[billinom8s]

i guess its good the cops know, shame it might scare him off tho. No alarms on any of the bikes ? Get some more spark plugs and get on the road. Stick a few eggs on the radiator so when he does turn up they should be good n nasty to break on him. When you do have him, take pics and post them up, then print them off and give to press and send to bike shops to put up.

[thelastsuperpower]

I hold a firearms certificate and own numerous shotguns and rifles, my favourite is a Remington 7.62mm (308) ..... drops deer at 1000 yrds...... also mounted with a laser dot sighting system, green laser at that...... looks good in the dark ! Blow his brains out !!

Remind me NEVER to piss you off!

[Funky]

[quote="Chaoscustoms"]my favourite is a Remington 7.62mm (308) ..... also mounted with a laser dot sighting system, green laser at that...... looks good in the dark ! Blow his brains out !!quote]

Now thats how you would get a close shave. I'll stick to my Mach 3 though