Bike being targetted by theives/vandals, now won't start

[r11na]

I bought a cheap 2005 ybr125 as my first bike abaout 6 months ago and it was great during the summer. Now in the winter shes isn't so great and is tough as hell to start in the cold and often unreliable as hell. Kinda regret having it now as its a surprise anytime the thing starts up.

Anyway, about a month ago it was targetted by theives at my home (a large car park for all residents) who stole the speedometer from it.

I couldn't afford to replace the speedo and figured no point putting one on again just for them to steal it again and I figured if nothing else it would be less attractive for them to target... I was wrong.

Last week i found the bike moved about 10 meters from where I parked it at my home still on its centre stand.


The steering lock was still on so i'm guessing they tried to lift it away. Anyway I have no idea what they have done to it but when i turn on the ignition no lights come on and when I press the ignition switch absolutely nothing happens, no sound nothingas if there is no battery, and the kick start won't start it. (there is no kill switch on this model).

I'm utterly clueless when it comes to bikes, i don't even know what to look for or where the battery is or how to tell if its connected or anything. I've checked the fuel thingy is in the correct position, and the bike is in neutral.

Does anyone have any idea what to look for, or is pushing this thing a couple miles to the dealer my only option

[dydey90]

They might have tried disconnecting/cutting the wires on the ignition barrel in the hope that this would disengage the steering lock?
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This post is probably not serious and shouldn't be taken literally.
Past: CBR125,ER6f NINJA 650, ZZR600 Current: VFR750

[fatpies]

They tried lifting it and were able to?

You do chain it to something immobile right? Like a lamp post or some railings?

If you don't it only takes two blokes and a van for it to vanish very quickly! a 125 is 120kilos.

Two blokes can move a 200 kilo piano easily (I did well not easily).
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"It's easy to attack and destroy an act of creation. It's a lot more difficult to perform one"

[G]

Or two kids picking the front end up and wheeling it away.

I'd check the ignition wires too.

If you listed where you lived in your profile, people could see where you are and if you were lucky, might find someone happy to help.

[supZ]

slightly OT but if you wish to ride a motorcycle I would suggest you start looking into it's basic mechanics. Bikes require maintenance and it'll be far cheaper to do it yourself than to take it to a garage every time you want to change a bulb.

I only say this, as by your own admission 'i don't even know what to look for or where the battery is' is very basic knowledge and not even knowing that I wouldn't trust you to fix this issue.. hell, wouldn't trust you to open a can of sardines that was already open, but hey..

If your ignition has been fiddled with, are you really the right person to start digging around trying to work out the issue?

In these circumstances I'd normally say get a multi-meter and trace the ignition to find out the problem but would you be able to do that? (I say this with no malice)

Get a haynes manual and start reading.. will be good to learn this kind of stuff anyway. Will help you out with other bikes in the future.

You obviously don't need a degree in mechanics to do the simple stuff but a basic understanding of how it works will go a long way to being able to track down your issues. (present and future)

Oh and the battery is the boxy looking thing with 2 cables clamped to it.. often found under your seat.
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CBR954RR - Daily toy
CBR600RR - Trackbike

[r11na]

Thanks for the quick replys!

I had a chain that i used to use to anchor the bike to a steel bike rail, often I would leave the chain tied to the pole when I go out on the bike, left one weekend on my bike came back to find the lock won't open, thought nothing of it and that the lock was faulty but suspect they may have sabotaged the chain so i couldn't lock it. The chain is just stuck on the bike pole.

I'm going to buy a new lock for it asap though.

I plan to learn basic bike mechanics i was just worried about doing things that would screw up my only transport atm, looks like I'm left with no choice though.

I live in Reading, near the town centre so if anyone is nearby I has the time I would of course be grateful!

[r11na]

Thanks guys, the problem was simple, as dydey90 said, they disconnected the ignition barrel hoping it would remove the steering lock. I connected it back and the ignition fires again.

I really want to learn how to do this stuff, I guess I'm going to order myself a couple tools (toolkit, multimeter etc) and spend this xmas learning about maintenance a bit more.

Thanks for the help and the motivation guys!

[-Matt-]

Big point as well - depending whos targetting it, and more importantly who might potentially target it, a lot of chains are worth their weight in... atoms.

Get a really good strong chain, almax tends to get the thumbs up all round. Ideally ground anchored, or if not something really fucking immovable like a lampost.

Otherwise its only a matter of time before really big bolt-croppers and a van comes along and the bikes snipped n' whipped into the abyss. Additionally you could think about alarms either bike alarms [cheap n useable cyclone], or via disc lock alarms which can be found for varying prices on the net - only problem with cheap ones is tend to get set off easily in the wind etc.

Don't be under any illusions its safe with 'a chain' though as one day it will get nabbed

[G]

Ah well; used to live in Reading, but now in the grim norf .

There's a few threads around discussing 'starter' tools and the like.

[dydey90]

[r11na]

New to the forums dunno how to give karma (maybe i can't yet?)

The bike is up and running again however the bastards seem to have damaged the throttle while trying to drag the bike away as the throttle handle is visible scuffed and it sticks.

Is fixing this a good idea for a newbie and what tools would i need.

[deeds]

This should help with any future problems.

https://ybrclub.com/_files/books/yamaha/YBR125ED-3D9-E0.pdf

If its not stolen first

[nutbutter]

get some wd40 or similar and spray it into your lock.

Locks need (basic) care too.

You might find some spray and some wiggling of the key gets it undone.

[Paul2129]

If I had no money whatsoever I'd blag / borrow a lock and chain off a mate, failing that I'd buy a "D-Lock" for £10, you might say what use is that ? but not all theives carry cutting tools, and whilst you might be able to smash it off with a hammer, you're gonna make noise and get spotted while doing that, they might just move onto the next bike.

[Saltire]

Thieves really seem to love dirtbikes. Like 90% of thefts have to be them alone. Makes me not want to get one even though I have a garage.

[Boxing]

Get some locks ASAP.

They weren't connecting the wires in the hope of getting the steering lock disengaged, they were trying to hot wire it, once they got the lights on the ignition and the bike turning over, they would have snapped the steering lock.

You're lucky, the Yamaha YBR has an immobiliser, and is impossible to hotwire. Even the earlier kick start models.

[Az]

[barrkel]