Manolo Rey of San Diego is a happy man today. He is slated to receive his stolen, recovered, and now finally repaired motorcycle back from the shop. Manolo's BMW S1000RR was stolen six months ago.
Because the bike is the newest model, it took this long to get the parts to repair those the thieves destroyed. The thieves, however, we apprehended within just a few hours because the bike was equipped with the LoJack theft recovery system.
This was not the first time Manolo had had a motorcycle stolen from the parking area of his apartment complex. Three years ago his Yamaha R1 was taken and never recovered. The worst thing about that, he says, was that he still owed about $3,000 on the bike but insurance only reimbursed him for the value of his bike used. So he was left making payments on something he no longer had.
A neighbor had seen the thieves taking the bike the first time and called the police, but by the time the police arrived they were gone. He told Manolo that the men were laughing as they lifted his bike into a trailer and drove off.
"This time I'm the one laughing," he says.
The night his BMW was stolen, Manolo got home from work around 3:30 a.m. and his bike was where it should be. Around 4:30, however, he received a call from LoJack telling him his bike was being moved. Manolo works as a security guard so he took his gun with him when he went to see what was up. But the thieves and the bike were already gone.
The thieves took the bike to a vacant lot where they started to cannibalize it. A police officer drove by and picked up the signal from the LoJack device and arrested two men. By this time they had already destroyed the fairing and the seat. The bike had an alarm, which apparently went off and caused them to panic. Getting past the seat was necessary to get to the battery, in order to shut off the alarm.
Manolo says he was reluctant to spend the $700 the LoJack system cost when he bought the bike, but the BMW dealership urged him to do so because of where he lives. He's happy now that he took their advice.
When he gets his bike back today Manolo will not be parking it in the same spot anymore. He hopes to move to a bigger apartment in the complex, which will include enclosed parking. So far he has owned the bike for eight months and only been able to ride it two of those eight.
"That's my therapy, riding bikes," he says. And after six long months, Manolo is looking forward to some therapy. Meanwhile the thieves have cell walls to look forward to for another year or more.
Comments
Too bad Manolo didn't have contacts on the inside - those friends could have had a conversation with the thieves and I bet if they continued to steel when they get out - they would look for different fodder to take.
Glad he got his bike back.
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