Theft and (very quick) recovery

JPaganel · April 02, 2020, 12:51:13 PM

So, my FJ was stolen last week.

My wife called me up on her way to work and said "wasn't your bike in front of the house? Why is it down the block at the neighbor's?"

So, I went and looked, and there it was. Called the cops, thinking it was just vandalism.

As they were writing the report, I tried to run it back to my house. That's when I saw the ignition wires.

So, it kinda looks like they hotwired it, tried to ride away, and stalled it. The kill switch was flipped.

Now I have some wiring to do.

red · April 02, 2020, 01:09:55 PM

Quote from: JPaganel on April 02, 2020, 12:51:13 PMSo, my FJ was stolen last week. My wife called me up on her way to work and said "wasn't your bike in front of the house? Why is it down the block at the neighbor's?" So, I went and looked, and there it was. Called the cops, thinking it was just vandalism. As they were writing the report, I tried to run it back to my house. That's when I saw the ignition wires. So, it kinda looks like they hotwired it, tried to ride away, and stalled it. The kill switch was flipped.
Now I have some wiring to do.

JPaganel,

. . . And lots of time to do it.

Still, it's a pisser.

You may be able to swap out the wiring part of the ignition switch (not the key part) for new. Worth investigating, anyway.

I usually leave the kill switch Off when I park. Your post has made me think, maybe I should reverse the kill switch function, so thieves will think it is On when it is Off. Or maybe rig a separate secret switch that will blow the main fuse if somebody (not the owner) tries to start it.

Glad you got the bike back.
.

Pat Conlon · April 02, 2020, 03:36:40 PM

You dodged a bullet....

fj1289 · April 02, 2020, 04:47:37 PM

I hate a thief.

fj1289 · April 02, 2020, 04:48:31 PM

Glad you got it back - especially with no damage to the plastics or anything costly!

JPaganel · April 02, 2020, 05:31:36 PM

Yeah, I'm kinda surprised they left it parked on the stand, nicely. Didn't even dump it.

The concerning thing here is that is way too nice of a job of hotwiring. Someone had a pretty good idea of what they were doing.

fj1289 · April 02, 2020, 05:37:13 PM

Quote from: JPaganel on April 02, 2020, 05:31:36 PM
Yeah, I'm kinda surprised they left it parked on the stand, nicely. Didn't even dump it.

The concerning thing here is that is way too nice of a job of hotwiring. Someone had a pretty good idea of what they were doing.

Well, you'll never be able to make it impossible to steal. But hopefully you can make it not worth their time - using a heavy chain, parked between the house and a car, etc. OR, maybe better yet would be to use spade connectors for a "quick" repair, let the asshole see it and think it's an easy theft again, and then catch him in the act...maybe he breaks both his arms "falling off the curb" while "running away"...

Bozo · April 06, 2020, 07:43:29 AM

Quote from: red on April 02, 2020, 01:09:55 PM
Quote from: JPaganel on April 02, 2020, 12:51:13 PMSo, my FJ was stolen last week. My wife called me up on her way to work and said "wasn't your bike in front of the house? Why is it down the block at the neighbor's?" So, I went and looked, and there it was. Called the cops, thinking it was just vandalism. As they were writing the report, I tried to run it back to my house. That's when I saw the ignition wires. So, it kinda looks like they hotwired it, tried to ride away, and stalled it. The kill switch was flipped.
Now I have some wiring to do.
JPaganel,

. . . And lots of time to do it. Still, it's a pisser.

You may be able to swap out the wiring part of the ignition switch (not the key part) for new. Worth investigating, anyway.

I usually leave the kill switch Off when I park. Your post has made me think, maybe I should reverse the kill switch function, so thieves will think it is On when it is Off. Or maybe rig a separate secret switch that will blow the main fuse if somebody (not the owner) tries to start it.

Glad you got the bike back.
.

When I got some chinese knock-offs for my Kawasaki, the switch wiring was back the front on the switch, anyone who tries to start the bike won't be able to unless the switch is OFF, it works really well.

JPaganel · April 12, 2020, 01:35:04 AM

So today I got around to fixing it.

Wasn't too hard - the thieves were actually very considerate in stripping the wires, so all I really had to do was cut them an inch shorter and resolder.

red · April 12, 2020, 10:09:25 AM

Quote from: JPaganel on April 12, 2020, 01:35:04 AMSo today I got around to fixing it. Wasn't too hard - the thieves were actually very considerate in stripping the wires, so all I really had to do was cut them an inch shorter and resolder.

Ladies, 'n' gennamun,

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https://markal.com/collections/soldering-fluxes/products/regular-flux-paste

.

Ted Schefelbein · April 12, 2020, 01:17:27 PM

Good work! When the Kung flu is over, let's get together for that beer!

Ted

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Theft and (very quick) recovery