My bike was stolen :(

[waffles]

Now that I am home and have calmed down a little, let me tell you the tale of the last day and a half. I will put a TL;DR at the bottom as I realise I have lived up to my username Also I hosted photos on Imgur and it seems to want to resize them all.

BACKGROUND - I am supposed to be away riding through the Netherlands and Germany with some friends, three bikes in total (my GSXR600, a BMW S1000R and a Tiger), away for a little over a week. Also I don't sleep very well and frequently wake up during the night. First stop is a hotel on the outskirts of Amsterdam.

Yesterday just before 3am I woke up and checked my phone to see several text messages from my tracker company and a phone call all within the last hour. I got up to look out of the window to make sure my bike is OK and its gone. Vanished somewhere into the night. Three bikes a few hours ago, two bikes now.

After a moment of sheer panic I called back my tracking company to tell them that my bike has been stolen, threw on a hoodie, found my keys and headed down to reception. The guy manning reception tells me that he was outside smoking, saw three bikes, went inside to watch TV and saw some guys snooping around the bikes. He scared them off but not before they had had my bike away somewhere. Police were on their way. I legged it outside the hotel to check up and down the road to see if I could spot anything. I'm not sure what I could have done at that point but I was so full of adrenaline and anger that I couldn't sit still!

Police arrived a few minutes later and I flagged one of them down on the roadside whilst the other couple of cars and bike started circling the area and checking bikes parked up nearby. In perfect English, the Dutch officer asked me the basic questions (what bike, colour, reg plate, when did it go missing, where was it last, was it locked etc) and I handed over my phone to him so the tracking company can tell him the current location of the bike. He tells me to go back to the hotel and they will check it out.

Five minutes later and I am fully dressed, helmet in hand, bike paperwork shoved in a pocket, my keys ready and my new best friend, Mr Dutch Police officer, pulls up at the hotel, casually gets out of the car, and told me the magic words...

"Yes, we have your bike. We will take you there now and maybe you can ride it back?" Oh thank fuck!

So I got my first ever ride in a police car to a location two minutes away in a dingy estate to go and check my bike over. It had been tucked next to one of the buildings in a corner with the mirrors folded in and the disc lock and reminder cable still in place so it looked like it had been parked up by the owner and left overnight. Really not suspicious at all. At this point two more police cars and their recovery truck arrive and light up the area so we can all check the bike over.

https://i.imgur.com/ckSHnMi.jpg

A quick once over showed no major damage, the seat was still in place, no wires had been cut and the bike started on the button. Closer inspection revealed that the thieves had removed all of the brake disc bolts, pulled the disc out of the calliper and let it hang down so that they could wheel the bike away without cutting off the lock.

https://i.imgur.com/Cwc4aV2.jpg

Not sure if you can see it too well in the picture but once I took my lock off I could freely spin the disc around. The recovery truck lined itself up and I was given me the option to take the bike back to the hotel or back to the station where they could lock it up for me in their garage until I could get rolling again. By this point it is around 4.30am and I am still shaking from adrenaline. They decided that the bike should go back to the station and I can give a statement there at the same time.

By 6am I am done, crime reference number sorted and a copy of my police report in hand (all in Dutch, they told me what it says) and got a lift back to the hotel with the instruction to return back to the station later. I could get my bike back so long as I am there before 10pm as that is when they shut. I was ushered out of the door with the passing comment that the station is only open now because of me. Whoops!

First problem - sourcing a set of disc bolts in the Netherlands on a Monday morning. Most shops are open on Sundays and close on Mondays so calls to dealerships were unsuccessful. By this point my friends were all on the phone to different companies to track these things down. Eventually we sourced some from CMSNL which helpfully enough was only 30 minutes away, they had 17 in stock and said that if I ordered online they would intercept my order and pull it so I could collect it from them directly. Awesome, we all went and I rode pillion to get my bolts.

https://i.imgur.com/J3ugZxL.jpg

Best 30 Euro ever spent! We were greeted by a lovely woman who yelled "Those fuckers in Amsterdam!" and gave us all some keyrings and calendars. Thank you, CMSNL!

Second problem - back at the station they tell me that the bike isn't rideable so will have to be recovered back home. After some back and forth and showing them that I have the parts needed they agreed to let us all go round to the garage and inspect the bike in the daylight. I hand over my passport so that they can release it to me, fitted the disc bolts and all was well! Up until....

Problem 3 - the thieves broke off the steering lock and cracked the headstock.

https://i.imgur.com/8NILCKv.jpg

I didn't see that in the dark and presumed all was OK because the key turned and the bike fired up. After checking over the bike I was a little unsure, my friends told me it wasn't the actual headstock structure itself that was cracked but the part holding the ignition barrel in place. The police said that it would probably be OK but I might want to get it check by a garage (which was closed, lol!). SE forum members (cheers guys!) also said that they would ride it so long as the bike went lock to lock without fouling on anything. There is a bit of a problem with turning the key round and the ignition barrel had dropped slightly so now catches slightly on the dash surround on right lock.

Decision made. Ferry booking changed. I wanted out of the Netherlands.

https://i.imgur.com/MDTb5Z4.jpg

We all rode back to the hotel and picked up our luggage, my friends were continuing their holiday and I was going to split off and go back to Hook of Holland. We had a group hug and went our different ways, I got the overnight ferry and arrived back at 6am this morning, my bike is safely locked away and booked in to a garage to be assessed properly for cost of repair work. I have reported it to my insurance company but they have it down as a non claim for now, I will decide if I want to claim once I have an idea of exactly what is broken and what costs are involved.

TOTALLY NOT A SALES PITCH but I feel like I can now prove that tracking systems for vehicles are a worthwhile purchases. If my bike didn't have a tracker the thieves would have retrieved it and used it for snatch and grab robberies around Amsterdam before dumping it a week later and moving on to the next unlucky victim. I have said before that trackers are good for piece of mind but for me it allowed me to have my bike back in a foreign country less than two hours after being stolen. For those interested I have BikeTrac fitted but there are other companies that offer similar services.

TL;DR - on holiday and bike was nicked in the wee early hours, bike found, bike recovered, bike mostly rideable after bolting bits back on, I got home in one piece, trackers are excellent.
____________________
Theory test - 19/8/09, CBT - 11/10/09, MOD 1 - 16/8/10, MOD 2 - 27/10/10
Past rides Yamaha XT125X, Triumph TT600, Honda XR250
Current rides Suzuki GSXR 600, Honda MSX125

[Wheezybiker]

Well done good to hear a good news story

Not just an advert for trackers also an advert for Dutch Police and how things should be done

If you'd have rang my local police you would still be listening to. The options menu

[goto10]

Fuckers, I feel your pain. This is the main reason I don't bother with steering locks any longer, they won't stop someone pinching your bike and they'll probably just cause you issues if/when you retrieve it. Chains/disk-locks all the way - tracker sounds great, what was the approx install cost and how much do you pay per month/per year?

I'm looking to replace my stolen Hornet, so may go the tracker route next time - I'm thinking a cheapy GPS/SMS jobby at the moment, but a 'proper' one is probably [definitely] going to make retrieving the bike more likely.
____________________
'12 NC700S & '12 CB600F Hornet [Stolen by some dickless twat] Suzuki GT500 shed

[waffles]

[pepperami]

Pleased for you getting your bike back
Pleased the Dutch cops and the tracking company denied scumbags a bike
____________________
I am the sum total of my own existence, what went before makes me who I am now!

[arry]

That sucks Good that you got it back relatively unscathed and I guess it could have been a lot worse getting out of Amsterdam on the back of recovery truck.

Sorry to hear it, though.

[chickenstrip]

Glad you got the bike back with not too much damage.
Reading that was a bit up and down!

Bike nicked
Bike found
Disc bolts missing
Not the worst that could have happened, and sourced replacements
Headstock cracked
Not actually the headstock, but a mount for the ignition switch - not the worst that could have happened

Hope you don't find anything worse. Shame it ended your trip prematurely.
____________________
Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[B0ndy]

The thieves' hands should be chopped off.
Well done for getting it back
____________________
CBF 125 -> CB400SF -> GSX600F -> ZX6R (G1) -> GSXR1000 K4 -> ZX6R (B1H Stunt bike) -> VFR800 -> R1 5PW -> Sprint 1050 -> Fireblade 929 -> ZX10R C2H

[waffles]

Dutch police impressed me with both the speed of their response and the number of vehicles that attended. They spoke to people in the flats nearby and pulled CCTV footage from the hotel but it was grainy and apparently didn't show much.

There was a clear handprint on the tank though which they didn't seem interested in. Meh, I have my bike and it is mostly in one piece!

I will add a set of disc bolts to my bag of spares and emergency bits that I keep in the tail, never thought I would have to do that
____________________
Theory test - 19/8/09, CBT - 11/10/09, MOD 1 - 16/8/10, MOD 2 - 27/10/10
Past rides Yamaha XT125X, Triumph TT600, Honda XR250
Current rides Suzuki GSXR 600, Honda MSX125

[Ste]

Cool story brah.

Another happy ending for a bike fitted with BikeTrac. Think they're the only ones I've seen success stories on here for, if I was after a tracker then it would have to be one of those.

Where was the hotel your bike was taken from?

[waffles]

[Polarbear]

Both my commiserations and congratulations.

I'm tempted to say thank god it was in Holland and not one of the southern European countries (or Britain) that really wouldn't have give a fuck.
____________________
Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[Fin]

It's good to hear the hotel receptionist at least tried to chase them away, quick police response in English and finding the bike.

My friend had his bike nicked in Brighton on the seafront, a bus driver saw it happen and said 'it looked like it was their bike' even though 2 kids on a moped, shorts and t-shirt. Clearly kids due to size.

Friend was then on hold for over half an hour to the police, at which point the thieves had been spotted multiple times around the city riding on the pavement etc, police around not caring.

[Ste]

[Polarbear]

Obviously they came tooled up. I doubt a 1.99 poundland alan key set would have got those bolts off in a hurry.
____________________
Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[G]

Nice to hear a relatively happy ending to a less happy storey.

A decent battery drill (rather than impact, to keep it quiet) and appropriate allen socket could probably have the lot of in under 30 seconds.

Whether they'd have tried another bike if it'd been locked to something with a chain is another matter.

[Kentol750]

Why your bike over the others?
My edit is because, a. Age of bike and no ffimobilser, or b. Popular, easy to sell in spares?
____________________
Some bikes.

[waffles]

[Kris]

Glad you got the bike back!


____________________
NSR125RR - ZXR750H1 - ZX9R E1 - GSF600S - GSF600SK3 - VFR400-NC30 - SV1000N - ST1100-R - CBR900RR-R - GSF1200SK5 - GSF600SK1 - VFR1200FA - GSXR1000K2 - ZZR1400 D8F
www.prisonplanet.com

[Kentol750]

That's always my worry in hotel car parks, do people trawl areas looking for easy pickings? Is out of the way easier to steal or safer? Will it get knocked over if in front of doors? Good to know it turned out ok.
____________________
Some bikes.

[waffles]

UPDATE - I took the bike to my local dealership to be priced up for parts and to be inspected for overall damage. Mostly a clean bill of health except for the ignition barrel and steering lock pin that is clearly on the wonk.

£1042.61 for a new top yoke, lock set, sheer bolts, Suzuki emblem badge (£14 by itself) and a couple of hours labour. They also pointed out that where the steering lock was snapped off it has left a chunk of the frame hanging off so they offered to file it down and paint it over so it won't catch on anything.

It isn't worth claiming for that from my insurance as my excess is £500 already and I don't want to declare a £500 claim for the next five years across every vehicle insurance policy I have.

Paddy has kindly offered to help me fix it so long as I keep him topped up with tea and presumably biscuits

I am going to buy some more heavy locks and chains to secure both my bikes in the garage for now. I've kinda lost the love for bikes so will get the gixer sorted at a later date when I don't feel so angry about the whole thing.
____________________
Theory test - 19/8/09, CBT - 11/10/09, MOD 1 - 16/8/10, MOD 2 - 27/10/10
Past rides Yamaha XT125X, Triumph TT600, Honda XR250
Current rides Suzuki GSXR 600, Honda MSX125

[ride_to_die]

Glad you got your bike back. Can you find any second hand bits to help keep the costs down?
____________________
I'm not here for a long time, I'm here for a good time.

[waffles]

I've had a look on eBay and there are a few parts that I could possibly use. Fortunately the weather is a bit shit at the moment so I am not desperate to get out on the bike!
____________________
Theory test - 19/8/09, CBT - 11/10/09, MOD 1 - 16/8/10, MOD 2 - 27/10/10
Past rides Yamaha XT125X, Triumph TT600, Honda XR250
Current rides Suzuki GSXR 600, Honda MSX125

[waffles]

As of today my bike now has a new top yoke and ignition. As far as I am concerned its now repaired, the only thing I don't have is a steering lock anymore. Time to put this whole shitty experience behind me
____________________
Theory test - 19/8/09, CBT - 11/10/09, MOD 1 - 16/8/10, MOD 2 - 27/10/10
Past rides Yamaha XT125X, Triumph TT600, Honda XR250
Current rides Suzuki GSXR 600, Honda MSX125

[Wonko The Sane]

Good to hear that it's fixed and presumably back on the road.

Shame about the crap weather preventing you taking it out for a spin?
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Looking to pass your CBT / Bike tests in Bury Lancashire? try www.focusridertraining.co.uk Would recommend.
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