warning bout 'plate thefts in north london

alright guys and gals,
i dont post much but i tend to read quite a bit on here, thought id post this though!
right, about a month a go (sunday night) i park my bike at home, lock it and cover it as usual. next day i get up and go to work. i carry on through the week as usual. on friday i get home from work and decide to open all me bills and junk mail etc, two of the letters were notice's of intended prosecution for speeding! i go out to the bike and realise my plates gone!!i must be blind! one of the offences was on the monday at 3am, the bike was caught in barnet doing 50mph in a thirty,NOT ME i was in bed! after checking pics online i realise it wasnt me, or my bike! eventually spoke to the police and was told it was clearly not me but id have to write a letter, blah blah blah.
the whole point of all this nonsence is that the copper that delt with the case is seeing more and more of this in north london, and in some cases its dam hard to prove it wasnt the original owner of the plate causing the offence.
so me and all my mates have now replaced our numberplate bolts with heavy duty velcro, and NEVER leave the plates on the bikes!
i personally blame all those little basterds on the ****ing wheelie machine mopeds! i know its them coz i collered one a week later and the little tosser had two different numberplates!
so be warned people, not only that, its easier to pull your plate off in soho than it is to remember a carrier bag

just doing my bit!

little @%^£%, one of those %£*&£ set fire to a bike in a parking bay where I usually park two bikes burned to ash and one melted like cheese.

can you recommand us a heavy duty velcro

[Red Herring]

I'd second the warning on number plate theft, it's becoming a real problem. A by-product of automated policing. You can do plenty of things to try and avoid either having your plate stolen or being vulnerable to someone cloning your bike. I would be careful about using velcro to attach your number plate, yes it means you can remove it easily, but the police are likely to treat you with a degree of suspicion if they find it in a stop check, after all, how do you think the bad guys do it? The best fix is to pop rivet the plate on, pretty much impossible to get off intact quickly. Having a distinctive bike helps stop the cloning (or at least makes it easier for you to prove it wasn't you) as does a particular jacket/helmet although not as reliable given we all have several don't we? Of course, all this may be to your disadvantage if you're actually fibbing about your number plate being taken....(and that's not directed at you Coz83, it's just the bogus claims are starting to outnumber the genuine ones)

Originally Posted by Red Herring

Having a distinctive bike helps stop the cloning (or at least makes it easier for you to prove it wasn't you)

I think I'm safe then

[Biker Biggles]

We had this the other week didnt we?You shouldnt need to prove it wasnt you.The crown should have to prove it was you.But we have allowed automated policing to erode this essential principle of what used to be justice.
Rant mode off now thanks.

[Spiderman]

Sadly BB its no longer a case of innocent untl proven guilty is it...its more a case of guilty if accused unless you can prove your innocence.

It's not enough to have distinctive bikes or clothing coz you still have the inconvenience of having to write letters and send photos. The bike my plate was put on was a yellow gsxr, mine was a blue bobbed single seat sv. The police KNEW it wasn't me but I still had to prove, and nothings gonna happen because you used Velcro, in fact it was old bill who told me to do it. I even got pulled by traffic yesterday with a 7 x 2 inch plate, and they thought the Velcro was a great idea! They didn't even mention the size of the plate!

Oh it's the Velcro branded stuff from halfords for outdoor use. It comes in a tringular packet and it's two pieces per pack, just do it everyone! Puts a spanner int the works for all those ******s out there!

Velcro does sound like a good idea, however, if a warden spots you bike in a bay with no plate on can't they arrange to have it towed?

[Spiderman]

Yeh, parking it in a bay without a plate may draw the wrong kind of attention but if you could always replace it with a scrap of paper till you retunr and put your real plate back on. Only a cop can give you a fine for not displaying a plate and evn then if you explained why you take your real plate with you they should understand. If they're human....apparently some of them are