Am I a grumpy old man?

[Rhino]

The thread on overnight security has made we want to ask if I'm getting old (at 24!). Basically, the kids on my estate are always setting my alarm off. It's never malicious - for example on Sunday a crowd of 7-16 year olds set it off 5 times while posing and sitting on it for their camera phones.

Should I tell them to sling their hooks, or just accept they like the bike? I mean when they picked the bike up and the alarm went off, one of them wasn't particularily careful at putting the bike back on it's stand. This could cost me a t tidy sum. If they did drop it, could I make a claim for criminal damage against these kids?

[rossirep46]

sitting on your bike...


thats a crime in my eyes..... worthy of a good right hook to the face! cant you put your bike off the street??

i shout at any kid that gets within half a meter of my bike, or shit em up with the alarm.... but in your case that obviuosly dont scare em off!

[Claud 14.7 to 1]

What the hell are thay doing on your bike, without permission?

Tell them to F*** off. Get a bike cover, and cover it up. Tell them if they touch it, you will call the police.

If you let them jump on it and take a few pics, i guess that's ok, but withough asking??!! No way!

[EDIT: Dont even let them jump on it, even for pics etc. ]

FFS, little brats.

[dainesefreak]

I would go f*cking ballistic if it was my bike mate. I would track them all down and murder them in their sleep.

I accept I may be over reacting but it only takes one of them to drop it, sit on it with zips or whatever scraping the tank.

Have you not got a cover for it?

[ProXimaCore]

[Rhino]

Thing is, I live in a shithole area, and if I did threaten the kids, they could drop my bike. Where would I stand legally if anything like that happened?

[Annabella]

No way!

If anyone gets too close to my bike without permission they get a warning firstly. Then, if they get any closer, or I catch them again I'll loose my temper and scare them off.

I'd be enraged by kids sitting on it. You're not turning into a grumpy old man, never fear, merely an over protective bike owner
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[Sadie]

I absolutely agree that sitting on a bike without the owner's permission is a complete no-no!

However, handle the situation correctly and you will have several additional sets of eyes watching out for your bike.

Maybe letting them know that they can all have their photo taken and possibly sit on the bike on one day while you are there supervising will result in them thinking that you are a great bloke and we had better watch his bike for him because we wouldn't want him to lose it. It won't hurt for you to tell them several times what would happen to someone found to be damaging your bike.

Shouting and threatening behaviour, on the other hand, may resulting in malicious damage to your bike.


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With experience comes age.

[hellkat]

[dainesefreak]

I can understand the shitty area thing and that it could cause more hassle than good. So what you need to do is hang draw and quarter one of them in front of their mates and leave the body hanging from a lamppost in the street as an example.

Or cover/move the bike to make it more difficult for them to get at.

[Claud 14.7 to 1]

[Sparks!]

BUY A BIKE COVER, NOW!

And a big chain..

Hopefully that'll prevent people sitting on it and maybe prevent theives as well, won't be able to see the bike as easily and will mean kids have to take the cover off to sit on it...

And if they are taking the cover of, then they're gonna nick it aren't they which deserves a phone call to the police "Some cnuts nicking my bike, he's got a gun too, and a hostage.. come quick!"
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Current Toys: 06 Yamaha WR250F | Nissan 350Z GT | Tech 4 Homes

[Rhino]

[dainesefreak]

You can buy some covers that have splits in for chains to go through. I had an Oxford Stormex rainproof thing for mine, it was good but bulky and heavy. I only used it when I was at home though so it wasn't a problem. If you get a tight fitting cover it should set the alarm off when or if they try to remove it too.

[Sparks!]

[Rhino]

Cheers DF, I might have a look at some covers. Do you reckon it's worth paying extra for the heatproof ones?

[nc30 chick]

Would you let someone open your car door and sit in the drivers seat without your permission?
Same thing! If anyone sat on my bike without my permission then i would throttle them! even my own daughter asks before she sits on my bike!
Get a cover! Buy a chain and if you catch them again tell them you will call the police on them. If need be get a camera installed!

[Bendy]

You can cut your own holes for chains, just make sure you 'hem' them with some gaffa tape otherwise they tend to run.

My old cover's shredded to bits now, but I used to put the front wheel and the rear wheel lock through the cover to stop it blowing off with the wind, stop the traffic warden lifting it up for a sneaky ticket and of course for the theft thing. Scum trying to lift my cover off was enough to trigger the alarm and scare them away.

Reminds me, I must buy a new bike cover.

[hellkat]

I understood what you meant.

They touched your bike ... and put it at RISK of damage.

Although Sadie's suggestions might come in useful, I think you've let them get away with too much already. Reclaim it brusquely as being a no-go area unless they have your SPECIFIC permission. Otherwise they'll be saying to their mates, "Oh, Rhino, he's an okay guy, he lets us touch his bike." So they'll come along and bring their mates next time, and you'll soon have damage that no-one will admit to. Kids are well acquainted with Not Me syndrome.

I used to have a panel with airhorn buttons on the XJ900 and the little toe rags were always pressing them and running away. Till we started chasing them with a barrage of "Oi"'s and waving fists.

What worked for us was having the offenders see us liaising with OTHER kids who had not touched the bike but who had expressed an interest, and then the ones who were being little shits sidled up and started asking "interested" questions, at which point we managed to get across to them that fucking with the bike, even so much as TOUCHING it puts them in peril.

We did manage to accumulate some "community interaction" when we were living in a cruddy area in Bow, and had two bikes nicked. Several of the lads on the estate actually offered to put up signs they had written themselves, and they were encouraged to make their friends aware that whoever had nicked the bikes would come under some VERY intense interrogation if discovered.

If you don't MIND letting them sit on it whilst you are supervising, encourage them to knock on your door in traditional "Hey mister can we look at your bike" mode.

Personally I prefer the scary approach before they even get anywhere NEAR it.
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[dainesefreak]

[Ade067]

I got a real nice Oxford bike cover from Ebay for £10 a few weeks back,it might be worth having a look there for one.

[Sadie]

Thanks, HellKat, you actually clarified what I meant, really.
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With experience comes age.

[Rhino]

Yeah, I can never be bothered to put the cover on, even before the ehaust has cooled down, but I'll try to get into the habit.

Cheers for your advice everyone. I think I'm going to take a hard line with the kids from now on. Now can anyone give advice on how to scare street urchins?

[Sparks!]

I think....









you need to call in the A TEAM!




dee de deee dee da dee , neh ded edaaaaaaaaaa dedadada deee
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Current Toys: 06 Yamaha WR250F | Nissan 350Z GT | Tech 4 Homes

[ProXimaCore]

Can't you set up something on the bike to shock anyone that touches it?
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Honda NSR125R -> Suzuki GSXR400R GK76a -> Kawasaki ZX636 B1H -> Honda CBR400RR NC29 -> Nothing