Stolen 850 Commando

You must be gutted, I was when my 650 TR6 was stolen.

Prevention is better than cure but you are only making the thief's job more difficult in the hope they go elsewhere for easier pickings. So floor anchors are going to slow them down but if they have a petrol powered angle grinder it will be seconds but at the risk of the noise leading to detection. So maximise prevention with, alarms, locks, anchors etc but also add cure.

Cure would be tracking devices, datatag, CCTV, anything that tells you where it is and who has it. Hopefully the Police will be interested enough to use your cures but if not then you will have to go DIY.

Previously Martin Freeman wrote:

Sad day yesterday as my 77 electric start Commando PHL540R was stolen in early hours. Engine/Frame number 335267, if anyone is offered cheap parts let me know.

Also taken was Armstrong MT500 unusual as fitted with electic start 350 Aprilia engine.

Question is short of keeping bikes in front room what can we do to keep our bikes safe, as I have discovered locks slow theives down but dont stop the determined ones, but you have door/frame to mend or replace.

review your security make it more difficult if you can, do floor anchors work? or are they 30 sec delay using battery angle grinder, what are your experiences?

regards Martin

Martin,

I am gutted for you. Please can you tell me what part of the country you live in so I can be on the lookout. Also an angle grinder may be useful of cutting the bollox off the thief or do some fem if it was a wench

Andy

Was that FGM you meant, Andy?

I am gutted too for Martin. Never had a bike stolen but had a car stolen twice so I have an idea what anger he is feeling. These days with imobilisers, modern vehicles are fairly difficult to take without a key. (Though bikes can be wheeled into the back of a van!!!!) It would be nice to think the thief / thieves would be caught but with modern policing becoming more reactionary rather than proactive, collecting data and crime numbers is where we are. A thieves charter or call it what you will.

Will keep a look out at local autojumbles but I wonder who is checking the ports? Will be checking fleebay too. Hope you get justice, Martin and your bikes back.

Nearly every Commando will have plenty of unique features by now unless it is a concours standard example. This would lead me to think that it's going to be broken for parts or exported. I don't suppose the police will be prepared to look at local CCTV at the time in question? A friend of mine started doing his own investigation into his stolen GSXR the police took a pretty dim view but didn't come up with any other options. Where abouts in the country was it stolen from?

Where people's garages open onto the street or passers by have a view into a garage, then would be thieves will cruise by checking out the opportunities. Look for slow moving transit vans driven by blokes in hoodies. Also, when expecting deliveries or workmen, keep the garage door closed, beware the casual passer by taking an interest. "nice bike mate, you don't see many of those about now, my Dad had one of those" etc.

Many many years ago if you stole a horse you were hung to death...Now that didn't stop all horse thieving but it almost certainly reduced the amount that were. Similarly, if Auto theft or any costly item theft resulted in ones life being ended by the state, I am absolutely certain that would reduce theft overnight. Now the brainwashed do-gooders of this crumbling world will automatically frown on such an idea..."Poor man/woman....they didn't REALLY want to steal anything why should they be punished it was just an accident" but all un-brainwashed sensible people know it WOULD work.

The real reason why the punishment of crime is not severe enough is to make sure crime does NOT STOP!

Yep Crime is the biggest money making industry in the world....not for the criminals but for the massive industrial scale job fest that encompasses it...From security hardware, to the law firms the courts, the police etc etc....it cost billions in money and most of it is in wages for the lawyers and judges and insurance firms. Stop crime and you put millions of top earners on the dole. So to make sure they stay in work they make sure that any deterrents in terms of punishment are light enough to allow criminals making the calculated risk to commit the crime..

So back to the stolen Commando...well I reckon you would still be in possession of it if the thief knew he would have his life ended if he was caught nicking a bike...Work it out, is it worth the certainty of hanging just to nick a motorbike?...obviously NOT but should anyone still do it and get caught, then they deserve NOT to be alive anyway!

You know it makes sense.

Les

Right from the days of King Aurthur we paid our taxes to fund our protection , now there is no protection and little justice. We gave up our right to protect whats ours with sword and gun ,and passed that responsibilty to government,and we have been let down.Vigilanti groups are not far away. I now understand why Americans hang onto their rights.

A few years ago in the IOM at the MGP I came out of the hotel in Douglas to check on my bike. I was just walking away when a contractors van pulled up (Windows open) the man in the passenger seat said 'Norton' and the driver, with a distinct accent said: 'Do you want it?' Thankfully the passenger said 'no.' They drove away.

I made a mental note of the vans registration number and kept the bike covered up after that. I was pleased to get home that year.

The problem with bikes is that they are so easy to move. Even with locks on the wheels, 4 blokes with 2 bits of broom handle can lift them. Look out for refrigerated vans. They use them so that the sound of a bike alarm is no longer heard when the van doors are closed. It is difficult to stop a determined thief but you can deter opportunist ones. Always lock your bike, even if just popping into the shops for a minute.

One bike alarm which seems effective is the one which fires a 12 bore blank. Certainly lets you know if someone's at your machine. One of the bike mags tested a variant which used a blank filled with yellow paint. Very effective indeed. The total bike respray was something they had not considered.

A quick search on alarm trip mine will illustrate.

It's dreadful to think that this sort of thing is happening with such specialist items and that the perpetrators must be connected with the scene.

Watching ebay and all the jumbles is the best hope that you have. Good luck !

Hi, Sorry for your loss,

i was on the Isle of Man for practice week and met some miners from Nottingham, they told me there is an Security APP that links to your mobile phone which sets off an alarm if your bike is moved when the security system on your machine is activated, this is an instant response to anyone fiddling with your machines. i read 2 years ago 20,000 machines a year stolen in the UK, most exit, through Kent Suffolk in refridgeration lorries and over to the continent!

Refridgeration stops the tracker signals from being detected!

It's an industry apparently in London people watch them with angle-grinders cutting bikes free and loading into vans!

I was told 30 machines were stolen from a Hotel car park in Liverpool on their way to the TT, an inside job i reckon and guess what no Police around even though they know bike theft gangs are operating in the region!

How would you confront a gang stealing your machine?

Cheers

John

Previously Neil Wyatt wrote:

A few years ago in the IOM at the MGP I came out of the hotel in Douglas to check on my bike. I was just walking away when a contractors van pulled up (Windows open) the man in the passenger seat said 'Norton' and the driver, with a distinct accent said: 'Do you want it?' Thankfully the passenger said 'no.' They drove away.

I made a mental note of the vans registration number and kept the bike covered up after that. I was pleased to get home that year.

You should have reported them Manx justice is more effective than the Mainland variety!

Cheers

John

Quite right John, but I suppose the evidence would have been what I heard with no witness, though might have been a lead with any other theft.

Back in the 90's the IOM had a 'hanging judge' and I can tell you folks were watching their step, even though sentence would never be carried out.

I'll keep a lookout for the above stolen bike @ Rufforth next Saturday. I suspect though, it's emigrated...

Good Grief ! Did they torch it or did the blighter singe them ? I love the idea that it might have spat back and burned 'em...

There really is no more suitable machine of that era to rebuild following substantial damage, pretty well everthing that you need is available.

In terms of wiring, much of the Mk3 harness was designed with production line assembly in mind. Even the earlier looms have far too many connectors. My advice would be to wire it from scratch. It's quite straightforward and helps you avoid those little pinch points where the standard looms are not quite long enough.

Previously richard_payne wrote:

Good Grief ! Did they torch it or did the blighter singe them ? I love the idea that it might have spat back and burned 'em...

There really is no more suitable machine of that era to rebuild following substantial damage, pretty well everthing that you need is available.

In terms of wiring, much of the Mk3 harness was designed with production line assembly in mind. Even the earlier looms have far too many connectors. My advice would be to wire it from scratch. It's quite straightforward and helps you avoid those little pinch points where the standard looms are not quite long enough.

Good to see you here still Richard. As for loom parts, I produce a basic kit of parts that suits Featherbed specials and 750 commandos. The Mk III does have a few extra wires!

Al