Bikers Get Robbed Heading to Daytona

stolen bikesBill Rogers of Beaver Falls Pennsylvania won’t ever forget Bike Week 2014, and that’s not a good thing.   On the trip down last week,  he and his friends were hauling their motorcycles and stopped in the Days Inn on St. Matthews Rd  in Orangeburg South Carolina Thursday March 6th to spend the night and get a little shuteye.

The next morning their Ford F-350 and trailer containing 4 Harley-Davidson motorcycles had vanished, and no one, including the clerk saw anything.

Three of the bikes are Electa-Glides and one is a FXR.

Bill Rogers said, “This is a dream. I need to wake up.  Somebody run cold water over my head or something.”

Police in the area told Rogers they have had numerous thefts of trailers and there was a good chance they might find the bikes and the truck abandoned.

For more see the video on WTAE

To prevent the theft of your bike while traveling, experts recommend you do several things.   Pick a hotel that is on the main section of town, not out of the way on a dead end street.  Park in a well lit area of the hotel, preferably in front where the clerk and security cameras can watch your bike. Chain your bike to something solid, like a post and make sure the chain and lock does not touch the ground, to prevent the thief from using the ground as an anvil to break the lock.  Install a GPS locator on the bike, such as the one shown here.  It might not stop a thief, but it will help law enforcement find your bike.
Install an alarm.  In this case (where the bike is in a trailer) an alarm wouldn’t have prevented the theft, when your bike is parked in front of a hotel, restaurant or bar, it will alert you and others around you, when a thief tries to move it. Higher priced alarms and other systems can also alert you via text or email when your bike is moved.  And, if possible, block your vehicle or bike in the parking space with another vehicle which makes it harder for the thieves to get to the bike.

For extra security, you could install this locking “boot” device that’s used by police departments when they want to impound a vehicle for unpaid parking tickets.   While none of these measures will stop a determined thief or thieves, hopefully they’ll notice how much trouble it would be to steal your property and move on to easier pickings.

The post Bikers Get Robbed Heading to Daytona appeared first on USRiderNews.

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