Phantom Bike Pusher... (Lounged)

[giddygecko]

Does anyone else own a motorbike & if so has it been recently knocked carelessly to the ground??? I live in Upland Rd & noticed a rather noice Yamaha had been toppled over onto the pavement last week, then this morning my housemate came home & asked if I needed a hand picking my bike back up...

Now it could be that someone is reversing into innocent motorbikes & knocking them over without noticing or..... altogether more likely there is a yob/yobette/s going around purposefully pushing them over. Fortunately I had a thick winter cover on Otis to keep her warm & dry so she was not too damaged but the mirrors needed retightening & she had lost some petrol. I took her out for a spin & she handled as well as normal so I can only presume no damage was done to forks/suspension or steering.

Just wondered if any other bike owners out there had suffered a similar experience?

Cheers GG

[keithmoonisalive]

yes yes yes and again yes!

had mine knocked over again this weekend. it's now the third time, but this time the foot peg has given up the ghost and bent all over the shop. plus a scratched can and engine bars, as well as a ripped cover.

however this time i managed to catch the person who did it. she claims not to have known she did it (luckily i heard it from my bedroom window), but since then her and her boyfriend have been very very good about it and are going to pay for the damage.

however, the other couple of times are a mystery. the first time it was knocked over it was left for dead. the second time they picked it up (great, thanks). i try so hard to park it in obvious places, even bought reflective tape for the cover, but still over she goes.

am thinking of tying helium balloons to it. seriously.

argh!

[giddygecko]

:X Grrrr the thugs have done it again, not my bike & I was very much mistaken, it was NOT a rather noice Yamaha but a very fetching Honda Hornet that was knocked down, I came round into Upland Road again tonight & saw the poor Hornet over on its side & on the pavement again. I best go put my cover on Otis in case they come back.

General etiquette question here for bikers... when finding someone elses bike shoved & dropped should it be left for the owner to pick up or worth friendly fellow bikers/bikerettes picking it back up??? I am never sure what to do for the best?

Cheers GG

[zephyr]

Not sure really. The problem is if you drop it trying to pick it up. I have a 900cc which is f****g heavy and it difficult for me to pick up and I am a big guy. Personnally that is what I would worry about so would leave it (unless I knocked it over!!)

My previous bike was knocked over a couple of times by my next door neighbour in her car - silly woman!

[*Bob*]

I used to be a bike picker-upper (the ones I could 'manage' anyway) but tend to leave them now.

If you pick one up that seems ok but has actually suffered some hard-to-see damage, the owner may be unalerted, jump on and ride off when s(he) returns. Even if the damage is minor, it's annoying to suddenly spot a scratch you never noticed before and spend the day wondering how and when it got there.

[zephyr]

that is a very good point. The damage could go unnoticed.

[giddygecko]

:)HA HA I was gonna say that too. It is very frustrating.

[kford]

Came back off my hols this year to find my CBR600 on its side. Probably bad parking; it can be hard to judge bikes when they're parked on an angle. Still, no excuse. I actually watched someone reverse and knock over our two bikes with his Discovery at our old place. Red faced, he coughed up his details.

[micpix]

My first entry on the forum. Have been watching for a few weeks with interest until this bike pusher thread came up.

Here's the thing.

My lovely special edition colours 50th anniversary Transalp WAS pushed over a couple of months ago. I came out on I think a Sat morning and a neighbour said my bike was over. I live on LL and park the bike round the corner on Heber rd, have done for 10 yrs. As I was swearing very loudly (it seemed obvious it was kicked over) a nice new couple that have just moved in on Heber said they had heard it go over, looked out of their bedroom window and seen a bunch of kids running off!!

The fairing was totally smashed both sides, bars bent, tank dented, side panels cracked. Where's the fun in that?

I was too peed off to ask why they hadn't called the police that night...I understand it is a hassle but to stop this sort of thing people need to do the right thing. If the police are alerted that night they can go round and maybe pick them up, at least be aware and maybe stop who knows what else going on that night. It is often a small group with a couple of ringleaders doing stuff in spatts..( not the shoes ).

Last year we all had our wing mirrors kicked off on Friday nights. Cost me ?90.00. Then one night I heard a smash looked out to see a car outside with the mirror smashed and a bloke trying to wrench off the one on the next car. His mate was on the other side of the road laughing. I shouted at him, his mate ran over and grabbed the culprit and they legged it off up Townley rd. I was going to go after them, I could have delt with them but thought I don't need the hassle so called the police. I didn't need their hassle either but 2 mins later I'm in a jam sandwich driving too fast up the road to catch them. Not little herberts but tanked up college boys. Half an hour of dictating to a copper who could hardly write was a bore but at least they won't be doing that round here in a hurry, and a night in nick sobering up might help them see the error of their ways.

Back to the bike, the side that was uppermost was pushed in against the now broken screws. Went to Camberwell nick to have it dusted and sure enough the very nice forensics woman found a trainer print on that side, unfortunately not enough of one but she agreed someone had put their foot on it to push it over, it's a heavy bike and I don't park it stupidly. So it it is going on deliberately me thinks.

P.S. the sad thing is I was lying in bed and heard a noise at 1.30 which sounded like a plastic wheel rim being run over on LL. But oh no, that was my bike going over 'cause the neighbours who looked out said it was 1.30!! AARRGHHHH!!

[giddygecko]

My bike was pushed over again at the beginning of last week, unfortunately I had not realised the damage down to her until I drove off, the throttle was stiff & would not allow me to de-celerate which meant that when I changed up a gear I was going too fast as unable to slow down which resulted in my shooting out into the main road from a crossroad, I was really really lucky & drove from Upland Road to work in Bermondsey VERY slowly & carefully, where I then dropped Otis off for immediate surgery.

TOP TIP - London Scooters on Druid Street, SE1 (near Guys Hospital) is very reasonable, Otis was due an MOT & I explained what had happened to the bike & they adjusted/fixed the throttle & checked the bike over at no extra charge.

I did report this to the Police & received a confirmation letter with CAD No but as there were no witnesses they have been unable to arrest anyone. It is worth reporting if it happens again then. The more reports they get on this sort of crimes the better.

Cheers GG

[Barry Rhode]

I own a rather nice bike but unfortunately I can't keep it in ED under lock and key and so won't risk it staying on the street over night

I'm quite a calm person but this kind of thing drives me crazy

Why should it be that someone works hard to buy, insure and maintain a bike only for some f**kw**s to think it's a laugh to push it over and cause damage, expense and aggravation?

These people really do deserve a good kicking and beating up to within an inch of their empty lives

[*Bob*]

Ahhh... my first nice motorcycle.

Every night, I wheeled it up a plank into the kitchen of my shared house and parked it in the kitchen.

Then, one night, I got home very early in the morning and - not wanting to wake my already very accommodating housemates up - I left it in the back yard.

And some c*** nicked it.

[ChavWivaLawDegree]

Couldn't someone invent/build a sort of parking crate thing to put in front of your house to keep motorbikes safe? Maybe it would have to go in a garden, but you could see if the council would let you put one in the street, cos they are obviously not being kept safe at the moment and bikes are greener than cars so should be encouraged.

[zephyr]

You can get minished type structures for bike security. I would love one but I would have to put it in front of my front windows - not sure the rest of the family would agree with that.

I do not keep my Thunderbird on the road after my last bike was knocked over several times by or dozy neighbour. Every time I use it I have to squeeze it back onto the 'front garden' (area 4ft by 10ft). It is a bit of a pain but helps my insurance. It also stops road dirt being spayed onto the nice chrome.

[*Bob*]

You can buy hard bike covers (a bit like a mini-garage, I suppose) and you can install anchors, sunk into concrete or fixed into a wall, but they're not always an option. There's always somewhere where your bike is vulnerable. I had two nicked in the space of a year, prompting a visit from the claims investigator "So, Mr *Bob*.. (fixes me with icy stare).. you seem to be losing an awful lot of motorcycles, mmmm?"

Buying heavier or less desirable (or both) machines seems to be the best deterrent. Sad, but true.

[zephyr]

I would agree with that *Bob*. I used to have a scooter for commuting but only really upgraded to a proper bike because the local tealeaves kept trying o nick the thing every night. Got fed up with it in the end. I got a smallish bike (250cc)and they tried to nick that as well. Once I got my 550cc I never had any problems. Now got a Thunderbird which is more of a target for 'organised' thieves but it would be reasonably difficult to lift it out from where I park it.

[Keef]

Afriend of mine has a place on Pellatt Road, and a couple of years ago she got her first bike. It was locked up outside, and one night some people came along with a truck, picked the whole thing up including locks and shipped it off. She was gutted, but fortunately insured.

These days she keeps her bike at her partners place which seems much more secure.

[Mellors]

I know nothing about bikes, but a very nice looking shiny new one was pushed over onto the pavement outside my house in Henslowe Rd last Saturday morning.

[snorky]

If it was an ugly new Harley, then I may be temopted to give it a nudge.

Pushing a Truimph over would be a travesty IMHO.

[giddygecko]

Hmmmmmmmmmm well that confirms my suspicions that it is a purposeful push/kicked over rather than an accidental reversing into by a car.... It is happening too often to be cars, so once again we have yobs to thank for their thoughtlessness & ASB

Hey ho... Cheers GG

[giddygecko]

Fri 02/11/2007 at 21:15 I have just 5 mins ago been outside to put my bike cover on & as I threw the cover off the bike my right hand mirror dropped off, the plastic nut cover & fixing bolt which holds into the handlebar were both missing. I have been throwing the cover over her in the same manner yet the mirror has barely moved before yet today the whole blooming thing fell off, so now I cant even drive it to the garage to get it fixed cos I have no way of securing the mirror to the bike!!!

Why cant the little f**kwits keep their tampering digits off property that is NOT theirs, I have just about had enough, I know that much!!! If I see ANYONE loitering, tampering near my bike I will be running out with my wrench, fully snarling & after an explanation!!!!

[Barry Rhode]

Giddy, if you see them give me a call and I'bring my Torque wrench...

[giddygecko]

When I checked my beloved bike this morning I found the fixing nut, bolt, cracked washer & plastic rust cap rolled under the bike & into the gutter.... the mirror arm was not bent & it appeard to be a clean break at the base of the fixing nut... so it looks like it was removed, then balanced back on the bike rather than just being snapped off, cos lets face it if you had snapped it off you would probably run off with it or throw it nearby.

The mirror didnt move at all on my journey home from work yesterday so it must have been done between 7pm & 9pmish when I put the cover on it. So lesson learned.... however tired & hungry you are take care of the bike first & dont leave it vulnerable. It shouldn't be this way, but clearly it is! (6)

I will be keeping my eyes open for any further tampering & again make my reports to the Police. Likewise if I see anyone tampering or loitering near other bikes nearby I will be intervening.

Cheers Growling Giddy Gecko

[dave]

Maybe not entirely on topic (reading the above makes me remember why I resist the temptation to have a bike in London, though). My other half and I were driving along Creek Road towards Greenwich last night when someone unseen (though I have built up a fairly comprehensive profile in my mind) lobbed a stone out from between some of the flats on the water side of the road. It hit the passenger door of my car and has left two nasty dings. Stopped as soon as I could safely and went back to take a look (trans - "find the little buggers and elucidate them on the error of their ways through the application of summary justice"). Fortunately I didn't find them.

Went for a drink with some mates last night and a few had heard of the same sort of thing happening in different places.

Nihilistic vandalism - no trace of who did it - and I am going to have to pick up the cost. Not happy at all. Fairly dreading going out to take a look at the damage in the cold might of day.

[giddygecko]

My problem is I work shifts & when I do a late shift, especially on a Sunday I really dont fancy getting a bus from Bermondsey to East Dulwich after 10:30, which is one of the main reasons for having the bike it makes me self reliant & not vulnerable to hanging around in the dark waiting for buses & then walking 10 mins in the dark on my own late at night from the bus stop...

I have been keeping an eye on my bike, as has my big & burly landlord

Cheers GG