Stolen/recovered bike help needed

[benparker]

Hi,

I could do with some help if possible. I had my sv stolen from outside my house on Monday night and suprisingly the police found it today (hidden about 200 yards from my house). They've taken it away for forensics and said that I should be able to collect it from the garage they use early next week. I'm keen to collect it asap as I have to pay for the recovery and storage costs. They said the bike looks fine, doesn't look like it's been dropped but has been hotwired. I'm hoping that I'll be able to start the bike and ride it back. Has anyone done this or does anyone know how to hotwire the sv? I assume they've cut the wires from the back of the barrell but whether they actually got it to start I don't know. Any help would be much appreciated. If, understandably, you don't want to put it on a public forum could you PM me. Also it's a 1999 if that makes a difference.

Thanks very much.

[timwilky]

Hot wiring will not work as the ignition switch incorporates a resistor. No resistance detected, no start.

So depending upon the damage they did trying to hot wire it, you may end up having to get it recovered home.

[tom-k6]

do you know if it has been hotwired or just rammed a screwdriver down the barrel of ignition?

[littleoldman2]

Where are you ?, help maybe close to hand.

[benparker]

Thanks for the quick replies (it's in Loughborough btw). The police called again today and it seems to be worse than they first thought, no damage but a lot of wires hanging out apparently, as I have to pay for the storage after it's released I figured it's not really worth faffing about so I'm going to sort out a van to get it home.

[Nobbylad]

Pity you can't ask them to take it back to where they found it, you could walk 200yds home with it then.

[tom-k6]

i think the police is wrong to charge you for finding and storage of your stolen motor. everything everywhere is bloody sub-contracted out and probably sub-contracted out again.

[Red Herring]

They shouldn't be charging you for the recovery if they seized it for forensic examination.
There are various reasons why the police recover vehicles from the roadside, but if they seize it as evidence, then the cost is down to them. They are allowed to defer storage charges to you once they have finished with it and authorized the agent to release it to you. A phone call to their vehicle recovery manager (call the police switchboard and ask for them) might prove useful. Good luck.

[bikeramy]

Did it not have an alarm on or lock on? is it that easy for theifs to pinch?

[k1ngy SV]

Having to pay after being a victim of a crime. NO WAY! il'd try put in a claim to victim support :thumbsup: as the police seized it to examine. (just a thought)

[benparker]

It is a bit annoying, I've spoken to a few different people including an ex traffic officer and they've all just said that's how it works, they think of it as keeping it safe for you so no more damage is done. Might give them a call though because what Red Herring says seems a lot more fair. To be honest I'm just glad to get it back because I wasn't going to get any insurance money because the excess was so high it wasn't worth losing my no claims for the small amount I'd have received. No, it doesn't have an alarm and stupidly I hadn't put the disk lock on because it was only there for a night, really stupid, I know.

[littleoldman2]

RH is a serving police officer, just do as he says.

[benparker]

Thought I'd update you all on progress. I spoke to the police again and they said that the bike was not only seized for forensics but also to stop further damage being done. Other than this police have been very helpful and kept me updated. Picked the bike up yesterday and realised the thieves were more stupid than I had imagined. Instead of ripping the wires from the back of the ignition barrel, they ripped them from the plug at the other end and then stripped the wires and tried to hot wire it using the wires attached to the ignition barrel. Serious, serious deficiency of brain cells but it did make me laugh. Other than that the damage is minor, they also tried to start it with a screwdriver so the barrel's pretty chewed and it's been dropped but no real damage.

[Bluefish]

Lol muppets.

[Red Herring]

... I spoke to the police again and they said that the bike was not only seized for forensics but also to stop further damage being done......

Ummm. Someone was quick thinking! They are entitled to charge you for reasonable steps taken to safeguard your property, and most forces ask you if you agree to this at the time you report it stolen. However if they found it close to your property it is reasonable to expect them to make an attempt to contact you to see if you could recover it yourself before incurring unnecessary expense. The words "reasonable" and "necessary" are important here. If they recovered it near to your home and didn't make any attempt to contact you (their control log will have all the information re this) then you are in a strong position to negotiate the recovery cost.

[benparker]

Thanks very much for that RH, big help, I'll give them a call Monday. They did call me when the bike was found, think it was about 10 oclock at night, but didn't give me the option to collect it, I think it had already been recovered. I expect most people don't challenge it because it's claimed on insurance but when you have to pay yourself it's a lot of money, especially considering van hire aswell, costly week.