Stolen Bikes Near the Rally

Dubuque · Jul 15, 2018

I was staying at the Quality Inn by the airport in Des Moines during the rally. I got in early on Thursday and spent Thursday and Friday at the rally. Friday night I had my bike parked out by the front door of the hotel along with several other bikes whose owners were also attending the rally. On Saturday morning I got up early to have breakfast and some of the guys were talking about two bikes stolen during the night. Then one of the guys made a comment that there was a red K75 knocked over at the back of the hotel. My first thought was, Hey I parked my K75 out front....my second thought was, Hey I have the only red K75 at the hotel! So I ran out front and sure enough my 1991 K75S was not where I parked it. So I went around back and there was my bike laying on its right side. The left hard bag was on the pavement next to it. One of the guys helped me get it upright and we checked it out. The right handlebar and brake lever are badly bent and the right hard bag is scratched up. Not to mention some body damage and engine cover scratches. I managed to get the left side hard bag back on and the brakes worked fine and the bike started up no problem. A little hard to reach the brake lever but doable. Didn't leak any gas out either. So luckily, was able to ride home. But now I have a mangled K75 :violin

However, two bikes were stolen. A brand new BMW and a Yamaha. The thieves must have gotten scared off and dumped my bike or dumped it and that scared them off. Who knows. The police thought the bikes were going to a chop shop for parts.

Anyway, did this happen to anyone else at the rally? At any of the other hotels around town?

mlytle · Jul 15, 2018

well, that just sucks.

52184 · Jul 16, 2018

Sorry for your damage but glad you still had a bike on which to get home. I wonder if your thief is a person of slight build or height who simply could not pick up the K-bike once dropped. I hope the DSM police are able to catch the culprits.
Best,
DG

jkersh1 · Jul 16, 2018

Sorry to hear about your misfortune, but to be fair to Rally organizers and the Iowa State Fair Police, it should be clarified that the bike was not stolen at the Rally, but at a hotel.

Terry Cainey · Jul 16, 2018

jkersh1 said:
Sorry to hear about your misfortune, but to be fair to Rally organizers and the Iowa State Fair Police, it should be clarified that the bike was not stolen at the Rally, but at a hotel.

O P did clearly state that it happened at the Quality Hotel. He also was just asking if it also happened anywhere else. His post was very clear.

chasman · Jul 16, 2018

There were no reports of any other stolen bikes. The new BMW was owned by a State Patrol officer whom I happened to meet Sunday AM.

ncpbmw1953 · Jul 16, 2018

How do you steal big heavy bikes w/ their steering locked? Seems like you'd need 5 or 6 strong adults or a small crane!

52184 · Jul 16, 2018

ncpbmw1953 said:
How do you steal big heavy bikes w/ their steering locked? Seems like you'd need 5 or 6 strong adults or a small crane!

Thieves have been stealing Harleys for decades so big and heavy and steering locks aren’t much of a deterrent. Three or four guys with a van or trailer can pretty quickly muscle a bike aboard and be gone. And just as with cars, few that are stolen have actually been locked and secured.

Best,
DG

lee · Jul 16, 2018

ncpbmw1953 said:
How do you steal big heavy bikes w/ their steering locked? Seems like you'd need 5 or 6 strong adults or a small crane!

Several years back in California a rider damaged his bike after hitting a rock in the road. I think it was 5 of us that lifted the K1200RS into the back of a pickup.
Lifting a bike onto a trailer would not be hard.

royce · Jul 16, 2018

jkersh1 said:
Sorry to hear about your misfortune, but to be fair to Rally organizers and the Iowa State Fair Police, it should be clarified that the bike was not stolen at the Rally, but at a hotel.[/QUO

Poster was likely commenting on the assigned title of the thread, not the content of the original post. I wondered the same thing when the thread title caught my eye, and I was relieved to find that the stolen bikes were in fact NOT at the rally when heisted.

lee · Jul 16, 2018

chasman said:
There were no reports of any other stolen bikes. The new BMW was owned by a State Patrol officer whom I happened to meet Sunday AM.

Did he mention if the motel had security cameras for the parking areas?

shortythorne · Jul 16, 2018

Sorry about your misfortune. Seems there are low lives everywhere now days, and one cannot let his/her guard down a second. Sure takes some of the fun out of an otherwise nice trip. :cry

Also, glad to find out they weren't actually stolen AT the Rally. The BMW crowd is above average.

101905 · Jul 16, 2018

Stolen Bike

In all fairness, you should remove the header and change it. Its a misfortune but the bikes were not stolen at the rally.

The second part is the rationale of staying at an airport hotel and having something of value. Its just not wise and asking for trouble. For those that don't travel much there is a reason the hotels are cheap at the airport, and they beg to be victimized. People come and go all hours and blend in, so the sight of a bunch of guys loading a bike on a trailer would not raise suspicion. No one sees anything or knows anything. Stay away from cheap hotels if your property cant be secured. Covers and heavy locks usually will deter a lazy thief. And Never, leave anything of any value inside one of these places. The trooper should have known better. Des Moines has high crime especially that area.

See below:

https://www.crimemapping.com/map/lo...zI2xuZz0zMyNwbD02ODM3NyNsYnM9MTQ6ODkyMTEyNQ==

Spend a couple bucks or get a roommate to share costs and get away from hotels in seedy neighborhoods and airports. Im telling you this after 35 years of trouble free travel. I use this site all the time and stayed in Ankeny trouble free and just a couple dollars more than what they charged you. Try Beemer yard and Cycles Recycled for parts and hope you can get bike back to norm. Your insurance can help too.

Cheers,

Miles

ragtoplvr · Jul 16, 2018

chasman said:
There were no reports of any other stolen bikes. The new BMW was owned by a State Patrol officer whom I happened to meet Sunday AM.

Dumb enough to steal a bike owned by a state policeman. I suspect a steep earning curve when caught.

Rod

greenwald · Jul 16, 2018

ncpbmw1953 said:
How do you steal big heavy bikes w/ their steering locked? Seems like you'd need 5 or 6 strong adults or a small crane!

Some comments from my law enforcement experience. Might be a bit of trouble for a single thief to snap a steering lock mechanism, but multiple muscled-thieves (or throwing the bike to the ground just right on its handlebars, as might have been the case with the OP's unit) could bust that discouragement loose.

Theft prevention is two-fold: either something is a 'discouragement,' or it's a 'deterrent.'

It's why I always error on the side of 'deterrent' and lock my bike up at night (first, with the fork lock) while touring with an undefeatable disc lock on the front tire. Yes - I am aware the front tire could be removed from the bike, but the front tire is actually more difficult and time-consuming (hence more obvious to any passer-by) than a rear tire, since many rears today are single swingarm by design. Lifting entire bikes into pickups is almost unheard of; more common to roll into a van.

Still - raw deal to the OP, no matter what precautions were taken. Hope they find the perpetrators.

robsryder · Jul 16, 2018

The OP's bike was parked next to mine in the hotel parking lot. My R1200RT was not taken. It sucks that his bike was damaged. It looked liked the thieves were trying to get smaller, lighter bikes (an 800cc Yamaha and an F800GS were stolen). An attempt was made to take to OP's red K75S.

I hope that the OP spoke with the hotel manager. The manager has surveillance video that covered the parking lot; it might be worthwhile to obtain a copy of the relevant video clip. The manager also mentioned that he had insurance against theft.

I noticed that only one bike in the parking lot had a disc lock. Such would likely have discouraged the thieves from rolling the bikes (past the lobby night attendant!!) and onto their get-away vehicle. I have now obtained my disc lock.
https://www.amazon.com/Kryptonite-000884-Keeper-Yellow-Disc/dp/B008N82D2E

Omega Man · Jul 16, 2018

I don't know where all the stolen bikes are going. Around here, a friend of mine who is on FaceBook- not sure what page, is reporting 2-4 bikes stolen a night. Most are of the smaller dirt and "fun" size bikes.

As an aside, leaving your bike parked with the steering locked and in 5th or 6th gear becomes a rather complicated theft. Most bikes don't like to come on down through the gears well without the engine running......and a little rocking.
OM

Friedle · Jul 16, 2018

In a setting of multiple bikes, a full cover is an excellent deterrent as thieves are usually in a hurry and unlikely to remove the cover to determine what is underneath with so many other options at hand. BTW, a PLAIN cover, not model specific identifying what is under the cover!

Stealing motorcycles is ridiculously easy.....a van, 4 people and 2 2x4s. Open van doors, 2x4 through each wheel, lift into van, close door and drive away. Smaller bikes are inside the next shipping container leaving port, larger bikes to the nearest chop shop. Most bike parts do not have vin numbers. Sport bike bodywork in particular. Ever wonder why there are so many sets of bodywork on Craigslist or Fleabay for less than half of retail? No way to trace origin of parts.

How do you think I have 10 bikes??????

Friedle

akbeemer · Jul 16, 2018

Friedle said:
In a setting of multiple bikes, a full cover is an excellent deterrent as thieves are usually in a hurry and unlikely to remove the cover to determine what is underneath with so many other options at hand. BTW, a PLAIN cover, not model specific identifying what is under the cover!

Stealing motorcycles is ridiculously easy.....a van, 4 people and 2 2x4s. Open van doors, 2x4 through each wheel, lift into van, close door and drive away. Smaller bikes are inside the next shipping container leaving port, larger bikes to the nearest chop shop. Most bike parts do not have vin numbers. Sport bike bodywork in particular. Ever wonder why there are so many sets of bodywork on Craigslist or Fleabay for less than half of retail? No way to trace origin of parts.

How do you think I have 10 bikes??????

Friedle

You sure seem to know a great deal about the “business“. :scratch

Friedle · Jul 16, 2018

akbeemer said:
You sure seem to know a great deal about the “business“.

It has been a topic of discussion at my basic rider courses for the past 21 years. What does that work out to be......a "new" bike every other year. :dunno

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