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Post by millsc on Apr 8, 2013 12:44:31 GMT -5
my sticker Attachments:
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Post by spandi on Apr 8, 2013 14:12:54 GMT -5
I'm in the process of saving up for a scooter and I got to thinking. At around 300 pounds, is there any likelihood that a couple of guys could just load it up on the back of a truck and drive away? Is that a rational fear? While on the subject, does anyone have any advice on how to prevent theft? Security devices, general practices, where to avoid parking your scoot. Things like that. I used to sell scoots...now I just do parts/repair. I had 5 brand new ones stolen in one year...3 one spring then three the next. The first 2 they used bolt cutters on the shop door lock...it had a Hasp&Latch but was only 30 feet from the house so we could see and hear anything going on. Went to Wal Mart and came back...they were gone..wheeled away leaving tracks and footprints in our dirt driveway. I used to set them out by the road...use a disk brake lock and heavy chain to secure them to a tree. When one of the three was stolen I was outside 200' feet away(we gotta long dirt driveway) Busy fixing a customers exhaust bolts I was laying on the ground.They must have perused the scoots a few times cause they were prepared with bolt cutters. Whole thing took them less than 10 seconds in broad daylight! Driver snipped the chain.....2 other boys picked it up and slid it in the trunk..a Varooom! Off they went. Tried to chase them down..but too late...long gone. One of the other new ones for sale.. stolen from the front of our house was disk brake locked and chained..even had the alarm set. I was sitting 50 yards behind the house Squirrel hunting and heard the alarm...sprinted my out there gun still in hand. I got there in a flash cause I am a runner...(3 miles in 16:45)..but they were gone. Alarms do NOTHING!!! All 5 of my neighbors said they heard it..but did not even look out the window cause in town..."We hear them damn alarms going off all the time for no reason".... Bottom line still lock it...use an alarm..when in town park it in a very visible spot and secure it well at home. MORAL OF THE STORY: When a thief is bent on stealing something the honestly is REALLY nothing you can do. Also 'Booby Trapping' is illegal! I found out the hard way. My car was broken into..so I took speaker wire and connected it to 2 Estes Rocket igniters...then to a pack of 50 firecrackers after first connecting the wires to my dome light and closing all doors. Figured it would scare the poop outta them. I showed the Officer when he arrived and was made to remove it as he watched. Reason being....if it startles the thief and he trips or takes off and runs into something or is injured in any way during his crime...we can be sued for his injuries.Huh? What a crock of !!! 3 days after finishing my rebuild, someone tried to tamper with my scoot, and since I have plenty of neighbors (and it was late at night) the crooks must have tripped the pre-alarm warning, quit and ran. (making off with a WHOLE reflector!) I hate to think what they would have taken with no alarm.
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Post by skuttadawg on Apr 8, 2013 14:37:58 GMT -5
I use disc locks and thick cables when traveling and heavy chain with a 20 year NRA member sign at home . www.cyclegear.com has many goodies so does the bicycle section at Wally World
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Post by skuttadawg on Apr 8, 2013 15:01:57 GMT -5
When at a store I chain up to a pole or the cart return bin
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Post by SylvreKat on Apr 8, 2013 18:46:44 GMT -5
I use a bike cable and a cover at work, but then it's parked right in front of Panera's where folks are around all day. I know, a bit trusting, that. Then again, I've never heard of any vehicular theft issues there. Had a guy supposed get jewelry stolen from his trunk, but that was also somewhat fishy.
At home, I've got the best defense of all--parked in front of my car in the garage. Someone would have to break into the garage, hotwire my car and back it out, then shove my scoot out. Methinks no thief is gonna' go to THAT much trouble!
I did just buy one of those mondo-cables with built-in lock from Wal-Mart, for if/when I stop at a store or someplace
Skunk, I think like someone said, if a thief wants your bike he's gonna' get it, regardless of security. Best you can do is make your ride harder to take, so it's less appealing than someone else's that isn't as secure. Plus have full coverage insurance.
>'Kat
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Post by rockynv on Apr 8, 2013 20:41:05 GMT -5
Best security for me at work is to be nice to the security guards and always park my bike directly in view of the main camera in the parking garage. What does a howdy how you doing really cost you and guess what you meet interesting people and aquaint yourself with friends you didn't know you had out there. A big win all around for everyone. At home the bike is always parked in the locked garage watched over by nosey neighbors and a yappety dog.
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Post by SylvreKat on Apr 8, 2013 21:57:42 GMT -5
rocky's right. Never hurts to be friendly.
Back in high school, I always chatted with the custodians, just 'cause they were neat people too. Then one evening during a basketball game, I realised I'd left something in my locker. The custodian opened the gate so I could get to my locker, 'cause he knew me and knew I wasn't going to cause mischief.
>'Kat
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Post by gy6girl on Apr 9, 2013 12:30:27 GMT -5
A cheap gps cell phone pay as you go tied in to the bikes electrical system and hidden under the fairings. Just buy some minutes if the bike is stolen and locate it. Poor mans LoJak. Now there's a neat idea!! Have you ever done it?
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Post by DaveC on Apr 9, 2013 13:22:10 GMT -5
hey..good idea!!! GPS chip...cause of all mine stolen...the Police tell you straight to your face "Sir we do not look for stolen mopeds,Scooters or Motorcycles, if we find it abandoned somewhere we will call you" on one of the Sunny's stolen...I found it. Nobody was home when I knocked. I had the original keys(but did not matter they had punched the lock out) I also had the factory sent MCO in hand....matched the VIN numbers exactly...then called the Police. They told me to get off the property immediately as it had potential for a dangerous situation. So I left and went home. No Officer showed up to get my MCO...called every2 hours that day...still no one showed up at my place or the thieves place. What a dummy the perpetrator was...he only lived just over 1 MILE from me. Thought he would ride it in town and not get noticed? Most likely he was gonna sell it to a person far away I would...unless he really was that stupid.. Regardless after 3 days of non stop calls they never showed up here or there. So I rolled up to an Officer hiding next to the Elementary School in their favorite speed trap. Showed him the MCO...he copied the VIN and said give him an hour. That was 7 a.m....by 7p.m. still nothing. So I call dispatch..and she says..."Sir, can you give us that VIN again, and I will get someone out there" Well been 18 months and still nothing. The guy lives right across the street from our Doctors office..and one day 2 mos. my gf went for an appointment. She used her cell phone and video recorded them put it in a truck and drive north out of town. Another phone call..and yup...you guessed it...STILL nobody showed up. Me thinks that sometimes, ya just gotta take matters into your own hands. If I found my stolen property in someone elses yard,garage, parking lot, ... it's coming home with me..
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Post by carasdad on Apr 9, 2013 14:00:25 GMT -5
hey..good idea!!! GPS chip...cause of all mine stolen...the Police tell you straight to your face "Sir we do not look for stolen mopeds,Scooters or Motorcycles, if we find it abandoned somewhere we will call you" on one of the Sunny's stolen...I found it. Nobody was home when I knocked. I had the original keys(but did not matter they had punched the lock out) I also had the factory sent MCO in hand....matched the VIN numbers exactly...then called the Police. They told me to get off the property immediately as it had potential for a dangerous situation. So I left and went home. No Officer showed up to get my MCO...called every2 hours that day...still no one showed up at my place or the thieves place. What a dummy the perpetrator was...he only lived just over 1 MILE from me. Thought he would ride it in town and not get noticed? Most likely he was gonna sell it to a person far away I would...unless he really was that stupid.. Regardless after 3 days of non stop calls they never showed up here or there. So I rolled up to an Officer hiding next to the Elementary School in their favorite speed trap. Showed him the MCO...he copied the VIN and said give him an hour. That was 7 a.m....by 7p.m. still nothing. So I call dispatch..and she says..."Sir, can you give us that VIN again, and I will get someone out there" Well been 18 months and still nothing. The guy lives right across the street from our Doctors office..and one day 2 mos. my gf went for an appointment. She used her cell phone and video recorded them put it in a truck and drive north out of town. Another phone call..and yup...you guessed it...STILL nobody showed up. Me thinks that sometimes, ya just gotta take matters into your own hands. If I found my stolen property in someone elses yard,garage, parking lot, ... it's coming home with me.. Tried that when the Officer supposedly 10 mins out..did not show up after an hour. I called dispatch and told her the VIN matches the MCO in my hand...it is my scoot...I am wheeling it away. Was told.."Do not go into their yard and take it, you could be charged with Trespassing, wait for an Officer"... and one never did show up. Crazy how I could be prosecuted for taking back what a thief stole from me.. Are laws to protect criminals or us I wonder..
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Post by spandi on Apr 9, 2013 15:14:25 GMT -5
Crazy how I could be prosecuted for taking back what a thief stole from me.. Are laws to protect criminals or us I wonder.. The law is not really concerned with your rights, or even right and wrong as such. Only that there is as little disruption as possible to get in the way of it's main function, and that is the harvesting of CASH.
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Post by carasdad on Apr 9, 2013 15:38:43 GMT -5
Crazy how I could be prosecuted for taking back what a thief stole from me.. Are laws to protect criminals or us I wonder.. The law is not really concerned with your rights, or even right and wrong as such. Only that there is as little disruption as possible to get in the way of it's main function, and that is the harvesting of CASH. BINGO! Young fella down the road just paid off a $1,600 fine. They gave him days to do it. I do not see how any ticket or fine corrects the problem at hand. All the kid learned was....in those days all your money goes to them..so you go without eating..or only eat one meal every other day....and that you live your last 28 days..of those days...without electricity. He rides his bicycle to work 5 1/2 miles daily. One week we had a bad blizzard so he walked for 3 days. He missed an appointment with his Probation Officer during the blizzard cause she is 16 miles away and he could not ride his bike. So he gets slapped with $1,600. Again how did that fix the problem? The only lesson Andrew learned was that....once the law is on your @ss...no matter how hard you try..you are screwed and they get a lil more revenue to line their pockets or frivolously waste on departmental things they don't need. Meanwhile you go hungry days..and without electric 28 days which means no heat as the gas furnace needs electric spark to ignite it. The town got together...we gave him 2 Kerosene heaters and the rest gave him 30 gallons of Kerosene. Which shows how the system works....WE THE CITIZENS..must ban together to help each other. He would have frozen to death in his lil apartment if we did not lend a hand. The system would just say..gee..that's to bad...a young man froze to death. Ok he messed up and let a friend talk him into doing a stupid thing. Since then he learned(on his own not by fines) he learned what he did was wrong and stupid...made amends with the lady whose house he broke into by shoveling her snow all winter and now he is cleaning up her yard and clearing a Garden plot for her. That is HOW the system should work..not take all your money making you starve and freeze.
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Post by jwalz1 on Apr 9, 2013 15:54:12 GMT -5
Skip to the three minute mark. Unless you have your bike locked to something solid with a real solid chain/cable, it takes about 25 seconds to make off with it.
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Post by carasdad on Apr 9, 2013 16:43:50 GMT -5
Skip to the three minute mark. Unless you have your bike locked to something solid with a real solid chain/cable, it takes about 25 seconds to make off with it. That is just how easy it is! That is why the from brake disk locks people think are so secure are useless! That is how 3 of our 5 scoots were stolen when we used to sell scoots.. 2 Burly young fellas picked them up and put them in their truck....varoom....gone in less than 15 seconds says my elderly neighbor lady that saw them do it.
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Post by marshalldillion on Apr 9, 2013 17:40:43 GMT -5
Crazy how I could be prosecuted for taking back what a thief stole from me.. Are laws to protect criminals or us I wonder.. The law is not really concerned with your rights, or even right and wrong as such. Only that there is as little disruption as possible to get in the way of it's main function, and that is the harvesting of CASH. So what would you suggest take the place of law and order instead?
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