Author Topic: People suck. - This is serious now. bike gore inside.... (Read 11349 times)

Duke McDukiedook · « **Reply #50 on:** September 18, 2009, 11:11:34 AM »

Tweak and townies, that's what my money is on.

They did this kind of senseless crap on my campus also, they would target students and break into their cars and steal stereos, other things of value.

sangyo soichiro · « **Reply #51 on:** September 18, 2009, 12:13:27 PM »

Let's look at the facts:
1. It was first tipped over in the early afternoon (daylight).
2. Sometime within roughly 12 hours after the first incident, it was tipped over again and a more aggressive vandalism took place (presumably in the dark).
3. Someone else's car was also messed with in the same lot.

Things to find out:
4. Was any other vehicles or property messed with on campus (besides the other car)?
5. What has been the crime statistics on your campus in the last year (any similar activity)?

Hunches:
6. My hunch is that you don't have any enemies.
7. I think it is likely a couple or more 'kids' (students, townies, or young kids) going around doing this.
7a. If the answers to 4 and 5 are affirmative, then hunches 6 and 7 are probably correct.
8. While the first could have been an accident, it sure doesn't look like the second one was. And the two incidents are almost surely related (which would mean the first was no accident either).

Further questions:
9. Where the hell are the security? I know on my campus the security is kind of a joke. They only seem interested in policing tailgaters and giving parking violations. I sent them an email once begging them to let me park my scooter on campus in the bike racks, that I was concerned about theft and vandalism, that a couple of good-sized guys could load a scooter on a truck. Why not let us park in the bike racks? After all, scooters are small and not offensive. They sent an email back saying that people park scooters in the parking lot (DUH! I don't think they even read my email).
10. Does your school have a newspaper? If so, write a letter to them and see if they will print it so people can be made aware of this vandalism.
11. Seems like there would be witnesses. Especially if other property got vandalized. Didn't anyone see anything? Hear anything? Maybe the letter in the school paper will bring witnesses out.

Bright sides:
12. If I am correct, then whoever is doing this will tire of it and it will again become safe for you to ride to school. Especially is it's two or more people doing it. Likely they are doing it to impress each other. People alone are much less likely to do this senseless vandal stuff. And the next set of vandals will likely have their sights set on other targets.

333 · « **Reply #52 on:** September 18, 2009, 12:38:14 PM »

My experience with campus security is quite different, although it didn't change the results. My wife works for Georgetown University here in D.C.. Her office(at the time) was just a couple block outside the campus. When it was broken into a few years ago, the D.C. police could hardly be bothered. And between petty cash and laptops, we're talking almost $10k. When asked, D.C Police would NOT take fingerprints. Campus security wasn't allowed in until D.C was done, and they didn't even wait to be asked. That's where they started. Never caught anyone, but it wasn't for a lack of trying.

sangyo soichiro · « **Reply #53 on:** September 18, 2009, 12:47:39 PM »

Here is a template of a letter I might write to the newspaper if I were in your shoes. Feel free to fill in the blanks, edit it as you like, and use it. I know you're emotionally vested and busy with studying.

To the possible witnesses, and potential victims of a crime:

On Thursday, Sept. 17, around the time of ______, my absolutely awesome, tricked out 1977 Honda CB750 cafe racer was tipped over in the _____ parking lot. While I was understandably upset, I simply assumed this was an innocent accident.

However, within 12 or so hours of the first incident, the bike (which was moved to a different location in the same lot) was tipped over again, and the seat and tank were ripped off and much more damage was done.

I find it almost impossible to believe that this was an innocent accident, and I now believe the two incidents are related. At least one other car was also tampered with in the same lot. Not even a lowly Harley guy could do something like this.

I put a lot of work into restoring this classic motorcycle. Anyone that would do this senseless act has no understanding of quality and should read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig.

Any information from potential witnesses that may have seen or heard something would be greatly appreciated. Also any information from other victims may be helpful. And last but not least, I ask people to remain vigilant. If we all remain alert, we may be able to prevent further senseless vandalism.

Sincerely,
_______

Anyway, that is a first draft of something I might write to the school paper. Feel free to edit and use it if you like.

Good luck.

Gordon · « **Reply #54 on:** September 18, 2009, 12:57:32 PM »

Holy #$%*! I just came back to this thread and saw this. That's awful! Those pictures make me really sad, and extremely pissed off!

I honestly don't know what I would do in that situation. $:-\$ My first instinct would be to lie in wait for the bastards with a baseball bat, but then I wouldn't want to cause any more trouble for myself and end up in jail.

There are just too many people on a college campus for these incidents to have gone completely unnoticed. Hopefully somebody will do the right thing and tell the campus police what they saw.

Shenanigans · « **Reply #55 on:** September 18, 2009, 01:07:40 PM »

Fu#k who ever did that, seriously...

sangyo soichiro · « **Reply #56 on:** September 18, 2009, 01:14:20 PM »

Thank goodness they didn't get the idea to light fire to the spilled gas! Bastards!

By the way, how long does it take for gas like that to evaporate? It looks fresh in the photos. Maybe it happened not long before you got there...

My "get 'em!" brain is turning now...
I'm thinking of ways to booby trap it. From shoe polish and looking for the bastard with black hands, to electric shocks. What would Mad Max do...?

Gordon · « **Reply #57 on:** September 18, 2009, 01:19:40 PM »

I have to say, if that had happened to me ten years ago when I was single and didn't have kids and a house to pay for, and only myself to worry about, those #$%*ers would have paid dearly. I would have made it my full time job to find out who did it, and then it would be my full time job screwing up their lives for the next couple of years. No quick beat-down with a few friends. That would be too easy and get me into too much trouble.

I'm the kind of person who will take a deep breath, and calmly sit back, wait, and plot to #$%* up their lives to the point that they will regret ever having laid eyes on my bike in the first place. And they would never have any proof who it actually was, but they'd have a pretty damn good idea...

I don't mean to add fuel to a fire, but this kind of thing really makes my blood boil.

noahspop · « **Reply #58 on:** September 18, 2009, 01:20:58 PM »

That's seriously some messed up sh&t man.
I have the same bike, not as pretty.

Someone else touched on this question, but were there any other bikes that were messed with that day, or in previous days.

I hope things work out for you.

noahspop · « **Reply #59 on:** September 18, 2009, 01:25:14 PM »

"What would Mad Max do...?"

Lie and wait with the 12 guage.

Great observation about the fuel still there.

I bet there are a lot of pissed off people sitting at their computers right now rooting for you.

sangyo soichiro · « **Reply #60 on:** September 18, 2009, 02:08:17 PM »

Sure would be nice to have a mean dog tied to the bike....

Hope · « **Reply #61 on:** September 18, 2009, 02:18:10 PM »

If campus security would not take care of it, I would. All these items will fit in your booksack. Put your bike on the center stand, drill some holes in the asphalt, put your eye hooks down, and ratchet the straps down as tight as it will go without hurting your bike - ensuring that they are so tight that the bike cannot be tipped over. Slap a lock on it.

When campus police fault you for damaging the asphalt, fault them for not rectifying the situation sooner.

That is BS. Pure BS. The second incident surely was no accident, and I would not have given the 1st incident the benefit of the doubt. I always park on the center stand, so I know that someone would have had to push the bike over.

Put pictures of your bike on posters all over campus with a brief description of what happened. Ask for witnesses.

This is fuel to form a motorcycle association that way when something happens like this on campus, you have other eyes.... EYES THAT WILL REPORT BACK TO YOU WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED.

Students find all kind of reasons to take up action, organizations, causes. This is certainly one.

When I was at SLU back in 94, my back quarter panel of my 84 Dodge Daytona w/Turbo got kicked in.... just beneath my rainbow flag sticker. I ended up starting a GLBT organization there that still exists as far as I know because I was furious. (Just looked it up, yes it still exists... http://www2.selu.edu/StudentOrganizations/SpecialInterest.html)

It's not right to wrong people and get away with it...

With me, it was part of my rite (and right) in college to make a stand... and that I did. You can make an impact, too, and hopefully get to the bottom of who did this. Even if you can't find out who did it, you can hopefully prevent it from happening again.

b82ta · « **Reply #62 on:** September 18, 2009, 02:24:12 PM »

Wow, thank you all for the comments, and support. a lot of my friends in studio today have been like dude, I heard about your bike, that really sucks... So that helps too, that people actually get it, or at least kind of. They aren't just about amount of damage done, or value of parts, but understand the time, effort, and emotion that one puts into a project like this. I have calmed down considerably, but still pissed/rattled. Just the thought of someone 'targeting me' while that may or may not be the case, is a little unnerving to say the least. At this point I really would much rather be at home working on getting it back to ridable condition rather than sitting in class $:-\$ not that I really should be ignoring my projects to fix the bike...

I dont know about the gas evaporation thing, they still have spill dry spread out in the parking lot today.... When it was tipped earlier yesterday the gas just messed up the asphalt, darkening it and softening it. That spot is still dark today. I dont know how much of the dark spot you see is gas, but I do know that it happened within an hour and a half of me finding it, because from talking to my friends, the bike was still up at 2:00-2:15ish and a friend coming in to work at 3:45 told me it was tipped. I am VERY thankful they didn't light it, that would have been the end of the season for sure....

I still can't believe it happened. Especially in lowly Ames, IA. Campus security is kind of a joke here, much more concerned with MIP, Public intox and parking tickets.... or at least it seems that way.

I didn't notice anyone else's bike being messed with... The first tipping, my bike was by itself in that particular spot, and at the time of the second, there was only 1 other bike in the entire lot, it was not messed with as far as I could tell, ie upright, no spilled fuel etc. Then again it was parked next to some cop cars. I think I will be following suit and parking more towards the police division side of the lot. I had no reason to believe that I needed to do that until now. As far as other things/cars/etc getting messed with last night, I do not know for sure, but when I came back to studio after dropping my bike off a cop flicked on his lights and took off, went half a block down, stopped, got out and walked around like he was looking for someone or something. So maybe there were more incidents of vandalism/theft last night that I'm not aware of.

I do know that last weekend, there were 31 arrests in the campus town area, for a fight/fights that broke out. Iowa vs Iowa State game, add some alcohol and apparently things got out of hand.

I really hope that I find who did this. There are some things I need to 'discuss' with them.

Thanks for all the support guys, This is one thing that makes this site and its members truly awesome!

b82ta · « **Reply #63 on:** September 18, 2009, 02:28:10 PM »

Good idea with the campus organization. I wonder if there already is a motorcycle group on campus that I can appeal to for some help/action. I will have to look into that. If there isn't one, it may be time to start one, there sure are enough motorcycle riders on campus. Interesting solution with the ratchet straps! I may have to try that one if this contines. Until then I will be parking on the police division side, on the centerstand, with a huge ferocious dog tied to it. ok so maybe not the dog.... I don't have a place to keep one, though we did have a pretty mean looking snake in our garage one day, maybe that would work. hmmmm....

edbikerii · « **Reply #64 on:** September 18, 2009, 02:43:11 PM »

Based on my experience here in NYC, there are lots of people pissed off at the "loud pipes save lives" clowns. We have a whole neighborhood in Greenwich Village that is trying to ban all motorcycles because of that minority of idiots running around residential neighborhoods with open pipes.

Many people lump all motorcycles in with those guys, mostly because they don't notice the quiet bikes, since the quiet ones aren't making all the noise.

It sucks, but lots of people hate us.

I pulled up to a class the other night on my GL1200 with stock pipes. One of the more advanced students saw me, and I waved to him in the parking lot, before I went up to class. When I got there, he didn't say, "wow, cool bike" or anything like that. All he said was, "at least it isn't one of those damned loud pieces of #$%*". Then he went on about it for like 5 minutes about motorcycles making noise and waking up his kids, etc. He's a young guy, too, maybe late 30's.

edbikerii · « **Reply #65 on:** September 18, 2009, 02:45:37 PM »

Oh by the way, that is a beautiful paint job. I would re-do it if I were you.

And as for waiting with a baseball bat, 12 gauge, whatever, please don't. If you're gonna set up a "sting", sit in your car/truck fairly far away with a camera equipped with a telephoto lens. Catch the bastard(s) in the act and bring the pictures and their licence plate numbers to the police.

It is not worth killing, dying, or going to jail for a motorcycle, no matter how nice.

Hope · « **Reply #66 on:** September 18, 2009, 02:50:21 PM »

Yeah, check into the organization.

Anytime I park my bike, I keep in mind that bikes are easy targets and that if someone wants to tip it over that they could do so easily and inconspicuously. I try to park where people might notice if something happens.

When I went to BRCC, someone broke into the car next to my bike and never touched my bike. When I came out of class, I saw 3 or 4 officers in a circle around where I parked. My heart dropped to my knees. The closer I got, the more concerned I got until my brisk walk led me to my bike... untouched. The car was broken in to.

Bikes are easy targets. Only takes a second to tip. Check on the organization. Raise awareness. Make fliers. Put them on bulletin boards. Somebody you don't even know may come forward and help you...

sangyo soichiro · « **Reply #67 on:** September 18, 2009, 03:01:18 PM »

Quote from: b82ta on September 18, 2009, 02:24:12 PM

I do know that last weekend, there were 31 arrests in the campus town area, for a fight/fights that broke out. Iowa vs Iowa State game, add some alcohol and apparently things got out of hand.

It's funny you mention this. On the first page when I mentioned my girlfriend's sister's car that got the door kicked, then a week later vandalized again along with other things around their house, I mentioned that I thought the two incidents were not related. The reason I thought this way was partly because the door-kick incident happened on a home football Saturday. They live near campus where people park and I figured some drunk guys walked by and one tried to impress his friends - going to 'jump the car' or some BS, but was too drunk to actually do it. The second incident was a much different type of vandalism - not just one dent, but instead the tires were deflated, antennae bent, wipers tampered with, tire cover ripped, bra tampered with, and non-car stuff was the mailbox messed up, swing tipped, bricks thrown through the pool cover into the pool, etc. I figured the first incident was a drunk football fan showing off, and the second was two or more kids up to mischief.

Anyway, I was going to ask if you had a home football game this weekend, but thought Thursday was a little early for drunk football fans.

bucky katt · « **Reply #68 on:** September 18, 2009, 03:31:23 PM »

if you find out who it is......no baseball bat or gun. get a package of cheap bologna and put it ALL over their car one night. they'll supposedly have round spots in the paint, down to bare metal in a few hours.

Inkscars · « **Reply #69 on:** September 18, 2009, 03:46:01 PM »

Loads of things work like that. That window paint works great for that too.
I think peeing in windshield washer fluid, pulling the rubber off of windshield wiper blades and greasing door handles are some of my favorites. and temporary!

b82ta · « **Reply #70 on:** September 18, 2009, 06:59:20 PM »

Just thought I would let you all know that the bike is back on the road, and seems to be riding decent. The paint job is toasted for sure, and the short brake lever is annoying. I'll get some photos of the damages tomorrow...

I'm planning on checking on it every 30 mins-hour or so.... It is up on the center stand, next to a pretty nice looking cbr. I know for sure I am not infringing on the bike next to me or the car stall on the other side and I'm as far forward and away from the traffic lane as possible. Finger's crossed it wont get tipped again tonight. If it does I'm going to speak with the police about taking some sort of action. Thanks for the tips. I'm not going to do anything stupid.... That doesn't mean I wouldn't mind having a few words with whoever this d-bag is!

Uncle Ernie · « **Reply #71 on:** September 18, 2009, 07:51:23 PM »

Got a link to how made the seat pictures?

The problem in dealing with crazy people is, you don't know how far they'll go when they go off. A conversation can easily be interpreted as a confrontation and most sane people aren't willing to recognize that until it's too late.
Trust me. Just chew and swallow. Tomorrow is another day.

b82ta · « **Reply #72 on:** September 18, 2009, 07:55:51 PM »

That is true... Thanks for the advice.

I don't have any photos up at the moment, but I will try to get a thread put together sometime tomorrow. I should have time. If not tomorrow, then Tuesday for sure.

Tretnine · « **Reply #73 on:** September 19, 2009, 04:50:34 AM »

Sorry to hear about the bike, man. That's a lame maneuver by whoever did it.

alltherightpills · « **Reply #74 on:** September 19, 2009, 08:37:14 AM »

As I was reading, my first thought was that some #$%*head from the Iowa/Iowa State game did it to you. Sucks about your bike though. In Iowa City it wouldn't be the townies who would do it, it would be the douche bag college kids from "Chicago."

31 arrests isn't too bad for that game though. I don't know how bad it gets in Ames, but when that game is here there are usually 30,000 people plastered by 3 or 4 in the afternoon.

News:

Author Topic: People suck. - This is serious now. bike gore inside.... (Read 11349 times)