Topic: This is why owning a bike in San Francisco SUCKS!!!

[domer]

so i finally get a dry day to take the bike to work... and what happens, some #$%*ing crackhead decided that he needed the porcelain from my spark plug more than my bike did. and of course there aint nothin with in walking distance that has these damn d7ea's... #$%*ing #$%*s...
sorry, rant over.

[ekpent]

Any idea as to why somebody would damage just that section    Bet you will have an extra plug under the seat soon

[dave500]

i keep four plugs under the seat with tools,man id be phucked right off,sure its not just a vandal?

[domer]

They use the porcelin to break car windows. Throw a small chunk at a window and all you'll hear is the glass hitting the ground. Where as a hammer would make a lot of noise. So now I also have to file a police report, cause there is a chunk of spark plug on the floor of someones car with my finger prints all over it... What a Tuesday!

[Bob Wessner]

They use the porcelin to break car windows. Throw a small chunk at a window and all you'll hear is the glass hitting the ground. Where as a hammer would make a lot of noise.

Learn something new all the time on this site. 
Sorry to hear about your trouble, does sound like a giant pain.

[dave500]

whats wrong with picking up a rock?still breaks glass.

[Radam]

Rocks are illegal in Cali. They don't always match the sidewalks. 

[Dusthawk]

Yup, every rock has to be registered and licensed, LMAOLMAO

[domer]

not sure about the physics of it, but the porcelin will break the glass every time, and it literally doesnt make a sound. and if the glass is angled right, it'll fall inside the car, so no sound of glass on concrete.... instant daytime thievery. went to the local honda dealer for the plug, and apparently im the 3rd one today.

ever try to find a rock in the middle of a city? spark plugs are a lot more common round these parts...
and thats registered, licensed, and taxed...

[lone*X]

"ever try to find a rock in the middle of a city? "
Yea, we have lots of them, all around every pot hole in every city street.  Street maintenance was the first thing to go away when the economy went sour.

[slowjo]

Years ago at the local bar scene someone locked their keys in their car and tried to break the side window with a brick. The brick just bounced off the window about ten times, then we left. We didn't want to be around when the police came.

[Really?]

He did say San Francisco.  Maybe they was having a lonely day?

[Greggo]

  This fukcing city...I pretty much refuse to leave my bike unattended here, and clearly my paranoia is not unjustified.

[camelman]

Domer, that sucks!  Sorry to hear. I went into kragen to get some plugs the other day and the guy at the counter didn't miss a beat when he said ,"I hate crackheads too". I was just buying plugs though. You know... to break into cars. ;-)

[wrenchmuch]

Its not just there . My friend and I watch through a window while a guy 20 feet away broke the porcelain of a plug on his Virago . By the time we got outside he was gone . The cops called the piece he broke off a ninja rock . Hope he didn't bash up your head .

[CycleRanger]

Bizarre.  I've never heard of this.
I assume this works because ceramic is harder than glass.

[ekpent]

Must say that is really strange,never heard of it before but it does take awhile for stuff to reach us in the innocent Midwest  All those crackheads must have a pair of pliers in their back pocket 

[Gaither]

Domer

'Sorry 'bout your plug. But, at least now we all know how to break into a car.

I wonder which crackhead figured this one out first!

My, this really is an educational Forum.

[famoussas1]

I was just in s.f. for work...yes it sucks. too many homeless bums round there....amazed at how many crazies came up to me and mumbled schizophrenic like phrases.  sorry for your bike.

[lone*X]

Amazing video.  I assume this follows the same principle as using a spring loaded center punch to break the windows.  EMT's around here carry them as a rescue tool.  You can't kick thru the side glass but the punch pulverizes the window.  The large rock or brick spreads the impact over too large an area.

[dave500]

try leaving a broken off old spark plug on your seat next time?i wouldnt be surprised if that small piece was fired from a sling shot?you dont actually see him throw it,i work in the garbage industry and can put it to the test next time im at the dump.

[Hondawggie]

Domer sorry to hear about being stranded, at least they did not take the bike.

If you watch craigslist in this area ('SF Bay Area') where we live there are daily postings of 'bike was parked in the Mission/just off Geary/near Golden Gate Park' etc. and 'reward for finding the bike'.

Also the parking tickets are noteworthy.  I drove up to SF from Silicon Valley and parked my car on a sidestreet for a business meeting.  I came out 20 minutes later as my co-worker told me to repark and my car was gone.  The sign had been obscured by a small tree, 'no parking 4pm to blah blah' it was 5 minutes after 4pm car was gone.

My friend explained  "the tow trucks line up starting at 3:45pm and the minute 4pm hits they tow."

Took the guy 5 minutes to get my car hooked up.  $450 ticket.   Thankfully that included the tow.
I think the tow company must have a racket if they are so damn eager to get your money.

Also San Fran is thinking about charging anyone entering the City from the south a fee to enter the city.
No #$%*ing #$%*. Peninsula towns south of San Fran include most of Silicon Valley.

I would have bailed on this over-regulated, government-as-micromanager nanny state 4 years ago if I coulda sold my danged house.    Waiting for breakeven then moving to TX or FLA (California income tax is 10%).

[754]

 I have had 3 windows, on non insured vehicles at my shop broken that way.. its a piss-off..

 Not too many crackers in our end of town the last few years.. Did see one a few months back.. Sun nite I think..
 Hear this scraping noise in the alley, and this cracker appears dragging a beerkeg with a rope. So I ask what he is doing with the keg.. He says, I am gonna drill a hole and get the rest of the beer out.. gotta be a few glasses left in there.. .. got a drill. ??. Nope I said. He says, I will go to the mill and ask them !.. its like a good 1/2 mile..!!
 So I says to him, see all this stuff out here and these barrels with metal. I said its not for the taking , dont ever come in the yard here and look around.. He says sure, and saunters off..dragging the keg.. on the rope...

[fatmatt650]

That #$%* used to happen to me all the #$%*ing time when I lived in the Loin. At first I thought they smoked crack out of 'em but then I started noticing the piles of glass from broken in cars coincided w/ me replacing the 2 outside spark plugs. Oh, man I could #$%* for days. I so don't miss the city. Finding your bike kicked over, towed, tickets. I once picked up my bike from city tow and it was literally under a PILE of motorcycles. 

[Lavis500]

WOW...  This is unbelievable!  Never heard of it before!

Waiting for breakeven then moving to TX or FLA (California income tax is 10%).

Definitely come down to TX!  Ride all year, beautiful coasts, great fishing, wonderful hunting, and loads of fun country roads!