Good News on a Stolen Bike

[firstturn]

Just thought some may want to read a positive ending to someone having a bike stolen.  This was taken from Mark's Swap Meet so I deleted the name.  Some years back Chris Carter had a very rare restored RH Suzuki.  
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I wanted to pass along something that happened yesterday, which looking at the big picture turned out good, even though i wasted time and money.

As many here know, i have been running wanted ads for quite some time for Suzuki RH67 parts or bikes, so yesterday a member here gave me a lead on one that was on Craigslist in the SF bay area i called on the bike first thing and the young man (teenager) told me i was the first to call, i asked the normal questions and how he aquired the bike, he told me that his mom bought the bike for him as a Christmas gift, but the bike had some issues and the Suzuki dealer had no parts for it. So i bought the bike for a $150 over the phone and to him that i would be up the next day, but after hanging up i told him that i would be up there the same day, it's a six hour drive one way, i was afraid that others would be offering him more money, yeah there are some people like that, about twenty minutes later he called and said his mother did not want him to sell the bike, i thought to myself ok here we go someone is offering more money, i than offered him a $1000 for the bike and i could hear him ask his mom if that was ok and she said yes, so he promised that we had a deal and that the bike was mine.

Driving on the way up my biggest fear was that he was going to sell the bike to someone else, on the way up i was running about an hour late so i called him to let him know and he said no problem.

After seven hours of driving i arrive at his house and to my surprise what do i see? about 15 swat team members in his garage, i walked up there and they told me that they were stopping the sale of a stolen motorcycle. Come to find out that this motorcycle was the bike that was stolen from Chris Carter in 2004.

At first i was very angry, for the time and money that i had wasted, but i started to look at the big picture, Chris got his bike back and i felt good about that, then i started thinking that i was lucky, lucky to arrive late otherwise i would have bought a stolen bike and what if a year or two down the road, someone would come up to me and say that bike belongs to Chris, how would i look? and the money that i would have lost restoring the bike, so i have decided to look at the bright side, it could have turned out worse for me in the long run.

I have been collecting vintage bikes for 31yrs and you will see the good and the bad, i have been lied too and conned out of money, it's better now in some ways because of the net and email but up until about 10-15 years ago it was only someones word i have driven a 1000 miles only to have a person double their price thinking that i won't go away empty handed, should have seen their faces after flipping them the bird and driving away.

A word of warning, the DMV here in Ca. has an active file for 5yrs. on stolen motorcycles, so if you have a bike that was stolen six years ago you could walk into the DMV and get a title for it, but hang on there is another file that is never closed this is the file that after six years all stolen bikes go into and a request has to be made to go into this file it's not automatic, if a bike that you have a title for shows up in this file your out of luck, or your in luck if you think that you spot a bike that was stolen from you years ago.

After all of this i'm happy that Chris finally got his bike back.

Ron Carbaugh

[242]

A friend of mine Mike Freedline from southern Ill. got a new 1974 CR-125 when he was 17 years old with money he got from summer work. On the way home from the Honda dealer the bike fell over putting a small V dent in the new tank. This realy up-set him with it being new and all. He rode the new bike for a week or so and was ready to go race at a local track, so he washed the little Honda and put it on the porch. The next morning the bike was gone, but never forgotting. Twenty years later he was going to a new job in a town some 30 miles away and seen a old Honda CR-125 chained to a light pole for sale.  Later after work he decided to check on the bike as he had always wanted to get get another one. One quick look and there it was, more then twenty years later was the little V dent in the gas tank. Mike still had the title so with some help from the local Police he had his CR back. He told me this story some years ago and said the bike was in his shop and he didn't have time to work on it. Later we were at Crab Orchard, Ill putting on a AHRMA Cross Country Race and he went home and got the old CR-125. Afer a few cold ones, lots of old bike  storys I had the little Honda running, not very good but running. He later sold the bike to my son and he's now restoring it. Buy the way it still had the original piston. Ol Dave

[OhioTed]

I still carry in my wallet, the serial numbers of mine and my son's KTM's, which were stolen nearly 15 years ago.  If I EVER come across either of those bikes, the current owner is getting a 2x4 up the back of the head and I'm leaving with MY bike(s).  No cops, no arguements.  Please read the following before you judge my attitude.

                         
                          THE BIG PURCHASE


   As crazy as I am about motorcycles, it's still tough for me to convince myself to spend money to purchase one.  Make no mistake, if left to my own devices, I would be awash in bikes.  If I were to win the lottery and go to, say, the AMA's Vintage Days event the next day, I'd come home broke, guaranteed.

   Ah, but with the reality of family, a home, and the associated bills to pay, I must, as most of us do, temper my desires.  Still, the dealer and my wife had to practically pry my fingers off that Ducati 749 I attached myself to at the shop a couple of weeks ago.  Afterwards, Reb tried to make me feel better by getting me a scale model of the bike.  Yipee.

   I guess that's why I end up keeping my bikes forever.  Got one that has celebrated 25 years together with me.  It also explains why I keep working on building basket cases.  The low or no initial cost fools me into believing that I got a new motorcycle, when in fact it's really just a bunch of parts that may or may not ever be part of a functioning machine.  

   However, once in a great while, like every decade or so, I will actually break down and get something nice.  Something that actually costs some rather substantial cash.  Keeping in mind, of course, that anything over five bucks represents substantial cash to me.  

      Anyway, one such case was back when I was really into racing.  Specifically, off-road racing, and I was trying to make do with an '87 KTM 350 that was over seven years old.  Remember, that's about 126 in street bike years, so while the old 350 was still a great bike, it was getting awfully tired.  Also, at my skill level, the handicap of an outdated machine was the last thing I needed.    

   Well, for reasons that don't matter, as the old song goes, I found myself one day in the race shop I dealt with and discovered sitting there in the showroom, an ultra-clean '94 KTM 300 E/XC.  For those of you not familiar with the breed, this model is nothing short of magic, capable of instantly transforming even rank amateurs such as myself into competent riders.

   This bike, while used, was perfect.  It was less than a year old at the time and whoever owned it previously must have ridden it only in his living room, and even then only after the carpet had been professionally cleaned.  I just stood, captivated.  KTM's are so good, they're what dirt was created for.

   Eventually however, the shop closed for the day and I was pushed out the door and told to go home.  Rats.  There's nothing sadder than driving your truck home from the motorcycle shop with nothing in the bed but some lonesome tiedowns and a few dry leaves blowing around.  

   I pouted for the next week.  The wife wanted to know what was wrong, but I wouldn't tell her.  Buying that super clean machine was simply outside the realm of possibility.  However, Reb finally pried it out me, and bless her heart, convinced me that if I really wanted the bike, we would find a way to make it happen.

   But, by this time over a week had passed, and that bike was too good to last for long.  The shop I dealt with was a hoppin' place, and sold a lot of machines, and I feared "my" bike had already been snapped up by some other heathen.

   However, I got over to the shop as soon as I could the next day and held my breath as I walked in.  To my great relief, the 300 was still there!  I immediately descended upon it and began such serious consideration that I'm sure my hair was smoldering.  I had pretty much made up my mind to make the purchase, but it was still going to be tough to make the final commitment.  The price tag on this machine was three times more than I had ever paid for a dirt bike before.

   The husband and wife owners of the shop were friends of mine, and all during my teeth-grinding consideration process, Toni had watched me from behind the counter.  Finally, she asked, "Are you interested in buying that bike, Ted?" all innocent-like.  "Yes, I guess I am." I replied, with the best certainty I could muster.  "Oh, I'm sorry," she said, with the solemnity of the Pope, "someone came in just this morning and put a deposit on it."

   Talk about having your legs knocked out from under you.  I was totally crestfallen.  After having agonized over this decision for more than a week, I missed out on a great deal, for the best bike I would have ever owned, by a few hours.  Remember those pictures of the famous clown, Emmet Kelly, with his sad, sad face?  Well, that's just what I looked like at that moment.

   So, in total, utter defeat, I turned to shuffle out of the shop.  Before, I could reach the door, however, Toni called out to me and said, "Oh, by the way, Ted, the person who put down the deposit was your wife."

   And they all lived happily ever after, right?  Oh man, did I ever.  That KTM absolutely was, magic.  I could do no wrong on the bike.  It made every racing ambition I ever had, happen.  I didn't begin taking first place overalls or anything like that, of course, but I did become as good as I ever was going to as an off-road racer, and after having been at it for over twenty years, that's saying something.  

   But, the fairy tale lasted less than a year.  I went out to the garage one morning to get the truck out to go to work and found the door ajar.  Inside were two empty spaces where the KTM's had previously sat.  Two?  Yep, they got my son's 125 KTM Enduro also, which was the best bike he ever owned as well.

   I won't go on about all the rotten details of how the bikes were never recovered.  However, the bastards who took them were so stupid that they called my shop to inquire about buying different color plastic for both bikes to try to disguise them.  Also, and I apologize If this offends honest, hardworking police officers, but the Barney Fifes in my small town are totally worthless.  After I found everything out about the thieves, including their names, where they lived, where they worked, everything except where the bikes were, the police did absolutely nothing except to tell me to go home and leave them alone.

   The lessons here are this:  Don't ever let down your guard, and if you want to keep your property, lock it up everywhere, all the time, and above all else, insure it!  I stupidly thought my homeowner's insurance would cover my bikes while they were locked up in my garage.  Nope!  

   What those thieves stole was not just a couple of motorcycles.  They stole a way of life.  Ma, for as much as she has always supported me concerning the bikes, simply could not arrange for us to finance yet another pair of racers.  As it was, our second jobs were what it took just to pay for the ones that were stolen.  We were out of business.  

Additionally, I was 36 years old at the time, and after a few more years, accumulated injuries from what is admittedly a tough sport brought my off-road career to a close anyway.  Also, our son began college soon after, so his schedule and the costs relating to his education pretty much dropped the curtain for good.   And, as Porky Pig says,  "That's all, folks!"


                                                                                        Ted Guthrie


                                                                               
     

               

[tomale]

Wow, that is an aweful story..few things in life are worse than stealing something from you that is central to who you are, I am very sorry..
Thank God I have never had a bike stolen from me. but as you say, I just do not leave my bike unsecured. STill we are never completly safe. As my dad use to say, locks are to keep hones people honest. real thieves will find a way to steal anything you have.....

Thom Green,Still crazy after all these years!
76' 250 MC5 (orginal owner)74'
250 hare scrambler (project bike)

[ALB]

My experience with a stolen bike was back around the summer of 1977. I was riding around one of my trail areas when some young fella approached me. He was inquiring if I had seen a new 1977 Honda 125 that was stolen from his house a few days prior. After receiving some information about what his bike looked like, he gave me a piece of paper with his name and phone number on it just in case I spot it.
   Wouldn't you know it, the following week I was riding my Penton through the same area and I see a young kid on the side of the trail trying to get his bike started. As I pulled over to lend some assistance to him, I notice that the bike was spray painted black and under that ugly paint job was a brand new looking Honda. I thought it strange that someone would paint a brand new bike like that and figured that it must be the stolen bike. I parked my Penton and struck up a conversation with the kid and offered my assistance to get a close look at the bike. While fiddeling with the spark plug and carb I made a mental note of the last 4 numbers of the serial number on the bike. I was able to get the bike running (it was flooded out) and as I went back to my bike, I purposely waited for the kid to leave on the Honda so I could follow him, without him knowing it.
     I got lucky in that he rode straight to his house which was near the riding area. I wrote down the address, rode home, and called the owner of the stolen bike. The owner of the stolen bike confirmed from the serial number and description of the bike that it was indeed his bike. He contacted the police and I arranged to meet him at the crook's house and wait for the police to arrive. When the police arrived, they confronted the boy's mother and upon searching the garage - found the bike stashed in the garage attic. The bike was returned to the bike's owner who was very upset that his new bike was ruined with the spray paint, but at least it was recovered and it was still rideable. He offered me a reward for helping recover the bike, but I refused it. I was happy to help him recover his bike and told him that he should do the same for someone else in the future.
   I don't know what happened to the kid that stole the bike. I didn't hang around and left it up to the police.

Alan Buehner

[brian kirby]

quote:Originally posted by 242

Later we were at Crab Orchard, Ill putting on a AHRMA Cross Country Race

On a sort of related note, there is going to be an AHRMA Cross Country national at Crab Orchard this weekend, you going?

Brian

'72 Berkshire

[Jeff D]

OhioTed, you are a better man than I.  Had Barney Fife not followed up on your investigative work, I'm afraid that a little frontier justice would have been required to make the two "perps" realize the error of their ways.

Jeff DeBell

[OhioTed]

Jeff,

Interesting you should mention personal justice.  After getting nowhere with the police, I rounded the biggest buddies I knew and went over this guy's place of employment.  However, after some carefully chosen and worded references to his possible future (or lack thereof) along with a promise of no retribution if the bikes were returned, the guy never flinched.  Career derelict, evidently.  Plus, such situations must be handled with extreme care or the victim can end up being nailed by the same authorities who refuse to pursue the real criminals.  

Note, I even went so far as to talk to an individual who, for a price, could arrange some extremely unpleasant circumstances for the thieves.  And yet, without the bikes, what good would it do?  I would have just been out more money, plus potentially implicated with some real nogoodnicks.  

Now matter how you look at it, theft of a non-registered (but still expensive) motorcycle is a bad situation with little hope of resolution.  Unlike the scenerio Al described, I never got even a whiff of where my bikes ended up.  I spent an entire summer searching for them, chasing down every lead, and hanging around local riding areas.  I posted a reward, handed out flyers, and talked to everybody in the state.  I don't know - maybe I tried TOO hard and the theives got scared and pushed the KTM's into a pond.  Wouldn't be the first time it happened.  A friend of mine told me that he acquired his '77 MC5 by way of his father, who was a telephone lineman, spotting the bike lying in a ditch as he worked on the lines overhead.  The bike was reported to the police, who traced it to a local shop where it had been stolen.  For whatever reason, the bike was just tossed into this ditch.  However, the shop had been paid off by their insurance company, and since the bike had been underwater for several months, didn't want it back.  So, my friend ended up with the Penton, rebuilt it, and raced it in local Hare Scrambles for several years.  No such luck for me, though.

[Jeff D]

Hmm, still it would be tragic if his pickup mysteriously caught fire in the middle of the night.  Scum like that probably only has liability insurance.  Hit 'em where it hurts.  You can only turn the other cheek so many times.  Maybe I'm getting meaner in my old age, but I think I would have had to slip the "acquaintance" a couple hundred bucks to make the jerk's life miserable for a while.  Probably won't get your bike back, but might make him think twice about stealing someone else's and putting them through the same misery you endured.  OK, I'll get off the soapbox.  Sorry!

Jeff DeBell

[Frosty]

Ted,If anything I admire your attitude.Thieves are a group that that I hold no feelings for.I'm still looking for a bike that I "lost" in 75.If I ever find out who got it I'd spend my time behind bars knowing I did the right thing.Thieves should be eliminated,nothing more nothing less.