FYI, Bike Thieves in Somerville

[nurseratchet]

Just wanted to give the Villens a heads up, had my SVS stolen last night in Somerville. It was parked in front of my next door neighbor's house; I've been parking it on the street for the past 8 years, with no problem. Went to the cop shop, and there was another guy reporting his Monster stolen from Davis. Thankfully mine got dumped in a park and is at Pat's, but they trashed the ignition. I saw another blue sportbike parked next to mine which also had trashed ignition. Bastards.
Chris

[R8td-R]

sorry you had to go through that man, at least you found it

[nurseratchet]

I actually said "SHUT UP" when the detective told me "yeah, we have your bike". ooops. I know I'm lucky, but now I'm also paranoid.
Chris

[maxim_X]

Welcome to the forum. On a related note a friend of mine got his 2012 triumph 675r stolen a week ago.

[jcrawford]

yep lucky you found it, when my 2008 CBR was stolen it was never recovered Sucked but thankful I had full coverage on it.

[SprintPoser]

When I went to Triumph of Swansea over the weekend they had/have a copy of the May 30, 2012 edition of the (Fall River) Herald News sitting on the counter. One of the stories on the front page was about how the town had yanked the dealer's license for a nearby local shop because the owner of it had been charged with 15 counts of receiving stolen goods...motorcycle parts. Nice that a chop shop got nailed, I hope it stops them!

[ɹǝʍoןandɹǝʍoן]

that is really shitty! I street park my bike in medord all the time! with full coverage!

[Billy]

Sucks man. At least it was recovered. Little off topic but there's a guy who lives near me (house with a garage) and he keeps both of his bikes outside. No wheel locks and doesnt lock the steering stems. Basically anyone could walk up to them in the middle of the night and roll them away. Been outside since like March and I'm amazed they haven't been stolen yet. The kicker is he lives on a main roadway so hundreds of people drive by his house on a daily basis. I dont understand why he doesnt put them in the garage. Even when it rains he leaves them outside.

[Dip Dungles]

I think I know exactly which house you are talking about.

[ɹǝʍoןandɹǝʍoן]

do you guys have an address?
:p
jk

[Legion1440]

that is really shitty! I street park my bike in medord all the time! with full coverage!

Do you live on Main St, near the Somerville line? I always see an RC51 parked on the sidewalk there. I live right around the corner if so

[Dannyf]

My buddy just had a red 06 R1 stolen from sommerville this weekend. No leads and no theft coverage.

[ɹǝʍoןandɹǝʍoן]

Do you live on Main St, near the Somerville line? I always see an RC51 parked on the sidewalk there. I live right around the corner if so

I don't live on main st. but I do park there on the street! mine is black. I see another RC just up the street past italos always parked on the sidewalk. that is a hayden edition so I hope that would go first rofl. we should ride! I am always down there!

[Billy]

I think I know exactly which house you are talking about.

You probably do. I'm simply amazed at that. Every morning and evening I drive by in amazement they are still there. Ok done hijacking thread.

[jasnmar]

To the OP... sorry your bike was taken and thanks for the warning.

Anytime I park in a sketchy area I just lock the steering and put it in reverse. Reverse is generally much harder for the typical "street thug" to figure out, and requires that you jack the ignition to disengage.

[ɹǝʍoןandɹǝʍoן]

do they put reverse on motorcycle for the female drivers? that is a serious question. thanks.

[aldend123]

They put reverse on big bikes like a gold wing. And I suspect a lot of gold wing customers are older. So, I think you can say that they do it for people who aren't naturally strong. A quick google search says the new gold wing is ~900lbs. That's double any of the bikes you've had. I've yet to see a sport bike with reverse (don't prove me wrong, I'm sure there's a few out there).

[jasnmar]

They put reverse on big bikes like a gold wing.

Yep.

And I suspect a lot of gold wing customers are older.

Yep. Last (completely unscientific) survey done on my Goldwing board, we ended up with an average age somewhere in the mid 50's

So, I think you can say that they do it for people who aren't naturally strong. A quick google search says the new gold wing is ~900lbs. That's double any of the bikes you've had. I've yet to see a sport bike with reverse (don't prove me wrong, I'm sure there's a few out there).

While delivery weight is ~900 pounds, let's not forget the typical goldwing rider... He's probably going to add 30 lbs. of useless safety chrome and lights. An additional 10 lbs. of "wings" to keep the wind off of him (even more than the ginormous factory faring). 10 lbs. of additional foot rests, cup holders, and mounts for electronics. Also take into account that he and his wife are probably good for another 400 lbs. Add the gear that they can fit in the bags, as well as the luggage rack and you can easily add 100 lbs. more. This, of course assumes that he doesn't also have a trailer (and hitch) and you can quickly get into the 1400-1500 lb range.

With a little planning you can usually keep from getting into a situation where you need reverse, but it is certainly nice when you need it.

It's also extremely nice when unloading from a trailer. The reverse is effectively a wheel lock as well. Push the button, go back. Let off the button, stop. No need to "fuss" with the brakes.

I'm not aware of any "aftermarket" reverses, but I also haven't looked. It's pretty amazing what people come up with. Look at http://www.trikealternatives.com/retractatrike/ for example.

[Legion1440]

I don't live on main st. but I do park there on the street! mine is black. I see another RC just up the street past italos always parked on the sidewalk. that is a hayden edition so I hope that would go first rofl. we should ride! I am always down there!

Sounds good. I just moved to Somerville a couple weeks ago. Still have my bike stored at my parent's since my last place didn't have a garage. I'll let you know once I get it to my new place.

[DesmoTull]

They put reverse on big bikes like a gold wing. And I suspect a lot of gold wing customers are older. So, I think you can say that they do it for people who aren't naturally strong. A quick google search says the new gold wing is ~900lbs. That's double any of the bikes you've had. I've yet to see a sport bike with reverse (don't prove me wrong, I'm sure there's a few out there).

Some Urals (only sidecar ones, methinks) have reverse as well.

[nhbubba]

Yep. Last (completely unscientific) survey done on my Goldwing board, we ended up with an average age somewhere in the mid 50's

Gotta love those threads.