STOLEN 1989 FJ ALERT!!! Reward offered by owner for return

[Steve_in_Florida]

Not any of mine, but this was this posted today on the San Diego, CA CraigsList:

https://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/mcy/d/1989-yamaha-fj1200-stolen/6581974292.html

1989 yamaha fj1200 STOLEN (UTC)

Stolen 5/02/2018. Was parked in my carport Wednesday night. Gone Thursday 8am. $500 reward.
Mike 858-82nine949five.

***

So, this begs the question, which I present for discussion: How do we assist in the recovery of our stolen motorcycles, and their respective parts?

Back in the days of dormitory life, I used to engrave my social security number in obscure places on items that were likely to be stolen and sold. I felt that it would help prove my ownership, if the question ever arose.

A former employer had a utility trailer stolen from his lot. They spotted it in the community a while later, but the "new" owner said "I don't see your name on it!". Subsequently, he welded his name in several prominent places on the frame of his next trailer.

Extreme? The times, they are a changin'...

Anyway, I hope that Mike gets his bike back, unscathed.

Keep your eyes peeled, west-coasters.

This has been a public service announcement.

Steve

[Pat Conlon]

Thanks Steve,

A question for our law enforcement folks. When a bike is reported stolen in say, Calif, and the bike's VIN is entered into Calif's data base and tagged as stolen, is there nationwide reciprocity on this info?
IOW if the scum bag wants to register this bike in New York or Maine, will the VIN show up as stolen?

Steve, never, never use your SSN as a identifying etched mark. The thief and look up your name, address by the bike's licence (and registration if left on the bike), now they have your SSN to boot.

If a nation wide data base is available by LEO's and DMV's then what commonly happens is that the thief will part the bike out. Sell the engine to a unsuspecting Legend Car owner and the rest (minus the frame) on FleaBay.

Our bikes are worth more in parts than assembled.

[aviationfred]

Here in Kansas, when a vehicle is purchased from out of the state, or you move here from another state. You are required to have a VIN verification the matches the engine numbers to the frame numbers. This goes for Motorcycles and cars/trucks. The VIN numbers are also entered into a data base to check if there is a flag for being stolen.

Fred

[fj1289]

When I went back to Oklahoma to get my stolen trailer out of impound after it was recovered, I met a guy that was picking up a sportster that had been stolen 7 years prior!  The thief held on to it until the statue of limitations had run out.   When they went to register it, it popped up on the stolen list.  They couldn't charge the thief, but they did impound the bike.  The guy picking it said it was stolen while he was in high school - he was now a staff sergeant in the Air Force at Tinker AFB. 

[Steve_in_Florida]

Steve, never, never use your SSN as a identifying etched mark. The thief and look up your name, address by the bike's licence (and registration if left on the bike), now they have your SSN to boot.

Pat,
I am aware of the implications of a compromised SSN. At the time, I was simply protecting my CD collection, as it comprised the most pilferable items I owned at the time. Nobody wanted my books!

So...

...IF I were to continue subtly and indelibly marking specific parts on my bike, what identifying data SHOULD I use? Perhaps my FJ forum name???

I understand that race horses are tattooed inside their upper lip, prior to their first North American race, and the data is unique and identifiable.  http://www.horse-races.net/library/lip-tattoos.htm

Thieves suck!

Steve

[Pat Conlon]

Yea Steve, I know, you know that....didn't use to be like that in the old days huh?
Identity Theft? What's that? Is that when I used to use my buddies driver's licence to get into a club?
Something like that?  My how times change.

I'm sure all my info. is somewhere on the dark web with all the data breaches we've had.

I have over 2200 of my CD's stamped with my name and my Calif drivers license number. I wanted something that LEOs would trace back to me, hopefully get my stuff back.
Then, years later, they tell me that's not a good idea, the CA DMV data base has been compromised. With a driver's licence number, any one can look up all your info.
Sure, LEO's say only someone authorized in law enforcement can pull up this history, but they are in denial.

So, to answer your question Steve, what to do?
The current thinking is some kind of unique # that you list on the Police report.

What about all those CD's? I have since loaded them as WAV files on to a 6TB file server.
I never use them anymore. They're in a box somewhere.

Time marches on... Although I wonder what I should etch on my file server?

[rlucas]

I'm sure all my info. is somewhere on the dark web with all the data breaches we've had.

It's not that dark.

So, to answer your question Steve, what to do?
The current thinking is some kind of unique # that you list on the Police report.

Personally, I like to splatter my personal DNA all over everything I own. I think that was a tip from Klavdy. 

[fjbiker84]

Bummer!  That's near my home in San Diego where we are moving back to next year.  At least I know what it looks like if I ever see it on the street. 

[red]

One possibility is to mark your things with a micro-print identifier, which may be anything like your name, Gmail address, phone number, et c.  You can get up to 15 characters on one custom stamp from Amazon for less than US$80 and it should be good for hundreds of impressions.  The characters are tiny, 0.062" or 1,5 mm tall, so a thief should miss it.  It is made to mark metal, but it can be used for other materials also.   Put the stamping anywhere that would be hard to notice and protected, maybe even with a coat of paint to conceal it. 
.
https://www.amazon.com/Custom-Steel-Personalized-Marking-Available/dp/B0713VY95F
.

[Miksteww]

My FJ1200 was Stolen. 1989 mint  condition gold 17" FZ1 rims. Too sick to list all the upgrades.Mike Stewart
858-829-9495 so bummed

[Pat Conlon]

Welcome Mike, I can only imagine.... We will keep an eye out. Send us your Lic. # and VIN.

Did you have insurance?

Pat

[red]

Welcome Mike, I can only imagine.... We will keep an eye out. Send us your Lic. # and VIN.  Did you have insurance?
Pat

Pat,

Unless you have "declared value" insurance, the insurance company won't pay squat for the theft of a three-decades old imported bike.  Better ask the insurance company what you might get back, in a theft (or any loss), before you buy "full coverage" insurance.

If you bank the expected premium payments instead of giving that money to the insurance company, you would probably have more money in that "insurance" bank account when/if the bike gets stolen, than they would have paid you for the loss.  You'd be out either way, no joke; this is about cutting your losses and de-stressing your life.  You would not enjoy hassling with an insurance company, whose business is to NOT pay out any more money than necessary on any claim.  They know you can't (reasonably) sue for the small value of the bike.

[Pat Conlon]

Very True Red, I agree.
Unless the bike is stolen sometime in the first year of the policy coverage, you're better off banking the cost of the theft coverage.

I think Fred got some money back from his insurance on the theft of his '89.

[Urban_Legend]

Glad I have an agreed value ($6000) on mine for insurance. But it is still only a fraction of what the bike it worth to me. I would hate to think of someone taking my baby.

[aviationfred]

I think Fred got some money back from his insurance on the theft of his '89.

Welcome to the forum Mike, Sorry to hear of your loss. As Pat mentioned. I know first hand what you are feeling. Your '89 is a Beautiful looking bike. I hope it is found soon and not damaged.

I did not have agreed value coverage on my '89. Just regular comprehensive. Blue book on a very good condition '89 is in the $2000.00-$2500.00 range.

I had nearly $12,000.00 invested in my FJ. I do know there are a few more members that have much more than that invested. My advise is to get an agreed value coverage rider. Never in a million years would I have thought someone would steal a 30 year old motorcycle. A small bit of solace. I was able to produce receipts for almost everything that was done to my FJ. I settled with the insurance company for double the blue book value.


Fred