[Closed] Had my Vespa stolen and recovered today

Is that first pic from CCTV or did you see them doing it?

There was a witness who took the picture and tried to stop them from doing it but they (a) threatened her with a hammer (b) couldn't give a ****

Angle grinder on the lock?

Did they angle grind the lock?

Glad you got it back!

Suprised they took the tracker out and then dumped it, you'd think they'd take it out and keep it....

Looks angle ground that lock

The joy of battery grinder is it won't matter what lock you use. Solid d lock or pragmasis /almax chains. The battery grinder with a thin disk will mince it material and hardening will only slow them down slightly.

Bawbags

Yes, lock had been cut with an angle grinder

Glad you got it back but don't these bikes have chipped keys?

Don't think they have chipped keys. They took ignition barrel out and hotwired it - all within 3 mins

Don’t think they have chipped keys.

I'd guessed not since so many of them get stolen but I really can't see why they don't. At least then they'd have to be taking it away in a van or something. As it is it's a couple of neds just riding round on a scooter until they spot one they like the look of.

If it was a proper motorbike a disclock is more difficult for an angle grinder. Glad you got it back at least. Total scuzzballs..

why can't I see pictures?

You're eyes are closed?

OP: I'm not sure what lesson you can learn from that but I'm glad you've got it back... Nice bike.

My peugeot speedfight had a chipped key

Nice bike I had 2 gt s, second one was a gts 300 made a great sound and could almost pull a wheelie.

Sorry about the theft, low life scumbags. In leafy Kew as well, note to self, don't go to Hounslow.

Doesn't "threatened her with a hammer" make it armed robbery?

I had a GTS300 a while ago - great bike. Was stolen from my drive in west London one night, never to be seen again 🙁

Shame a few more of them don’t end up under the wheels of a lorry.

Best place for a Vespa... just kidding scooterists

Coming form South Africa in the late 90's, my old car that I had while I was at UNI and then my first job, had a tiny little isolator switch hidden under the dash, I had it connect to (I think the coil wire via a relay - cant remember exactly how we did it).

Is this sort of option not viable for a motorcycle? you could have a tiny toggle switch hidden in a un obvious place, so even if u do have the key, break the lock barrel, u can still not start it?

There is hope...

^^ Love this clip (unless they were on my bike at the time...)

God that sucks ☹️ How much does a tracker cost to fit 🤔 I've always had fairly undesirable bikes until recently, latest bike has alarm, immobiliser and chain lock but a tracker does seem the best chance of recovery it if were nicked.

Some scrotes tried to steal my motorbike one night a couple of years ago. They seemed to snip through an expensive cable lock with apparent ease - but a cheap disk lock saved the day!

So might be worth buying some of those. I have a couple fitted to both the front and back.

But the bike's now stored in a garage so is nicely out of sight.

Some scrotes tried to steal my motorbike one night a couple of years ago. They seemed to snip through an expensive cable lock with apparent ease – but a cheap disk lock saved the day!

Exactly the same happened to my brother last year - it was the cheapo disklock that saved the bike.

In leafy Kew as well, note to self, don’t go to Hounslow.

That's about a 30 second walk from my dad's gf's house. And about 2 min from his house. He doesn't have a Vespa though.

Has the bike been returned to you? Or does it have to stay with the police? What a total pain in the butt.

i saw a couple of undesirables attempting to steal a bike in Brighton a year or so ago. I casually walked past to confirm my suspicions, once i had, i asked the question 'are you nicking that?', at which point matey jumped back on the bike they turned up on and sped off.

I attempted to push them off as they left, but with no luck. Which was probably lucky, as if they had fallen and then turned on me, i would have definitely been outnumbered and outgunned.

But felt good that i had stopped a crime! Not all hero's wear capes 😀

It always surprises me how easy bikes are to steal these days.

my old car that I had while I was at UNI and then my first job, had a tiny little isolator switch hidden under the dash

I jury-rigged similar on my first two cars. Cut the wire to position 3 in the ignition and fitted a switch inline. Hot-wiring at the ignition barrel wouldn't work as it was severed further down.

The first was in the days when all models had the same basic dash, with snap-in blanking plates covering holes for the switches you didn't have. I fitted a fog light switch from a scrappie and wired it through that. The second was a random toggle switch hidden behind a speaker grille.

Literally the worst thing for me to read today. 2 weeks away from picking up my new (and first) motorbike. I've spent a lot of money to get to this point and almost ready to not go ahead with it now.

Glad you got your bike recovered though.

He doesn’t have a Vespa though.

Did he have one?

@stcolin just remember you just have to make it that bit more difficult for them and they will probably move on. If they really want it there is probably not much you can realistically do, but equally you don’t have to do that much to make it not worth their trouble... There will probably be other bikes out there that are easier for them to nick if you put sensible measures in place.

Bloke driving car with dash cam above is so calm!

^^ Love this clip (unless they were on my bike at the time…)

I'll bet the poor bloke in the Toyota(?) sat patiently waiting for the lights wasn't so impressed. You can see him looking to see if his car was damaged by the debris. Presumably the police car had judged that it was ok to damage other vehicles or people in their attempt to stop the stolen bike?

@howarthp - what had happened to need a police response like that?

Absolutely rife in Edinburgh and the surrounding areas.

I chased down 3 that stole my KTM from a shopping centre and got it back, but if they had gotten away it would have been gone forever.

Most are stashed behind the old church in Pilton before being moved on so worth a look there if it happens to you.