Sorry to hear that YellowJacket! I know that feeling. I had a bike stolen once & never got it back. What's KnoxVegas turning into?!? As suggested, keep your eyes on your local & surrounding craigslists for your bikes & parts. One thing I've seen is a guy who had his bike stolen, he put an add in CL for a reward. That way, you've got many eyes looking for it.

 

jeez
you said it was locked up with a heavy duty chain and lock...what kind?

 

Doesn't matter. Bolt cutters can go through almost anything and portable sawzall's can go through anything the bolt cutters can't in seconds.

 

Well, we got some good news today...sort of. A jogger found the bike this morning at the bottom of a hill along a wooded jogging trail and called the police. Police had the bike towed to impound and my friend (the original owner) went to "identify" it. It looks like, and according to the police, whoever stole it was more interested in joyriding than anything else. But like most spineless bastards they were a bit pissed that they were unsuccessful in getting it started so they took a bit of their agression out on it.
Looks like they tried to punch out the ignition/lock first but that didn't work so they cut all of the ignition wires and tried to hotwire it. Apparently that didn't work so they tried to bump start it by rolling it down along a very long hill on the path. Looks like they may have picked a low gear and dropped it several times in their feeble attempts. Both side fairings as well as the front fairing are damaged and they pulled off all the turn signals. On top of that, it looks like they used a hammer to knock the license plate off the back of the bike. Most of the damage appears to be cosmetic with the exception of the ignition so it can be fixed. Main problem now though is I'm in up to my elbows in grad school and won't have time to work on it for at least another year. Plus, we have to pay the impound fees and find a truck to haul it to my place in. At least I live in a house and have a large storage barn to keep it in.
Finally the police were also able to get lots of prints off it so chances are good they may actally catch the bastards that stole it. Hopefully some busted kneecaps and elbows will deterr them from anything like this in the future... oops, did I say that?
Anyway, thanks for all the kind words and thoughts.
Heres a picture of what she looked like before she was stolen.



David

 

Sorry to read about you and your buddy's misfortune, but glad you got some leverage with the recovery. It sounds like either an idiot or some kids because a motorcycle is worth a lot more than a joyride.

Hopefully it will all work out in the end.

Good luck to you with school. I know the feeling. I'm 4 classes away from my Master's degree and I am starting to contemplate getting my Ph.D, but its getting harder and harder economically.

Cheers!

 

damn bud sorry to hear.

Next time full coverage I guess.

But hey at least you got it back!! that's wayyy wayy wayyy better than not - even if is damaged. Sounds like its not too too jacked up

 

I am glad that you got your ride back. Most likely this is not the work of someone who knows too much about bikes or theft. I certainly hope that you get your ride working again, maybe some of our fellow members will be able to sift through their parts and find you some of the things you need to get your mount running again. I know one time someone hotwired a friend of mines bike and we got it back later. He was not able to afford the wiring harness for it so we went to radio shack we got some wire splices and heat shrink. It took us a few hours and some careful/tedious labor but we got it done. Best luck to you. I do certainly hope that any of us that have extra parts can help our brother out. All that I have that I can offer you is my stock exhaust. If yours is scratched up and you need mine you are welcom to it.

 

Well more bad news today. The impound and towing fees were right at $400.00!! Got the bike back this afternoon and I'm really trying hard to control my anger because I'm afraid that the amount of damage that was done is going to cost way more than I have to fix it or more importantly, way more than its worth with the additional costs of the parts I'll need. I think the biggest hit is that the rear rim is cracked. Tire is still holding air and the bike rolls straight but it looks like when it was rolled down the hill it hit a rock or something. Besides the destroyed ignition, the rest is cosmetic, but again, that is gonna cost a lot.

All the signals are ripped off. The mudguard was kicked off. The side fairings are cracked and scuffed up. The front fairing is broken as is the headlight cover and housing. From the feel of it , the front fairing mounting points are all broken. The clutch lever is bent as is the rear brake pedal. Looks like the gas can was pushed into the frame and has some knuckle marks on it like it was punched. Left clipon is bent too. My Jardine pipe is also gouged up.

I'm guessing the biggest expenses are going to be the fairing and headlight assembly and the rear wheel. Tire looks ok. Crap, it was new too.

Why do I have the urge to tie someones ***** to my bumper and drag them around by them until there is nothing left?

Oh and the irony...in spite of trying to hotwire it and bump start it, the kill switch was still in the "off" position...not too bright.

Heres some pics of the damage:























Ugggg...

David

 

The cosmetic damage is minor - but the wiring could really be a pain.

I hate wiring.

 

Why do you have to pay impound fees when the bike was stolen and then recovered? it's not like you parked it illegally or something...

good that you got it.. but sucks nonetheless..