BIKER’S SCOOTER STOLEN AFTER 40,000 MILE TRIP
BUT HORRIFIED M.E.N. READERS CHIP IN TO HELP BUY KOREAN TOURIST A NEW ONE
A KOREAN man who had his scooter stolen in Manchester while travelling the world will have it replaced – thanks to kind-hearted bikers and M.E.N. readers.
Yung Gu Ro, 43, was left stranded in the city after being targeted by thieves.
He has visited 37 COUNTRIES and clocked up 40,000 MILES on his Honda PCX125 before his journey came to an abrupt halt in Manchester.
Yung, who is travelling alone, went to check out of his hotel in the Northern Quarter and found his bike and many of his precious belongings gone from the spot where he left it on Thomas Street. He left a poignant message on his Instagram account – Yunguho ‘Around World with Scooter’ – which read: “My trip seems to have ended in Manchester. Someone stole my bike.”
With very little English and not knowing what to do, Yung called Raceways motorbike shop in Fleetwood, Lancashire, where he had been the day before for an oil change.
Service manager Lee Hindle and his pals were devastated at the news and vowed to help Yung out.
“When we heard what happened it just pulled at the heartstrings,” he said. “Yung came to us on Thursday to get an oil change after he looked us up on Google and he was just the nicest guy.
“He told us his story – I couldn’t believe it when I saw 64,000km on his clock! So we gave him some free muffs to keep his hands warm, and a free tyre. He wanted to stay and help us clean!
“Then the next day he rings and tells us he’s had his bike nicked.
“He didn’t know what to do – he rang the Korean police at first.
“We told him to ring Manchester police and we just want to help.”
Yung, who comes from the South Korean city of Busan, lost some important documents to help him get back into Korea, winter clothes and most importantly, his means of transport.
But the biking community quickly rallied round and set up a fundraising page with a £2,000 target to replace Yung’s scooter.
After the M.E.N. published a story, donations and messages of support poured in on the Gofundme page.
Paul Hearn wrote: “Really sorry that a few bad apples have ruined your stay in Manchester, and hopefully we can get you back on the road in no time.”
Nick Medlock said: “Let’s help make your memories of Manchester happy ones. The vast majority are friendly and helpful spoilt by a tiny minority of thieves and scallywags.”
The £2,000 target was reached by yesterday morning and Nick Steed, a fellow biker from Salisbury who set up the page, reset it to £3,000 so that the extra money can replace some of the extensive amount of kit Yung had on the bike. “Yung is delighted that the target has been reached and can’t wait to get back on the road,” Nick added. He may have suffered a nasty setback, but Yung has made a gang of new friends. Lee shared images of their night out in Blackpool on Saturday and told how Yung is now in great spirits. “We took him back to Raceyways to choose a new scooter then home to meet the family,” said Lee. “Then we went out for tea at Mr Basrai’s World Buffet in Blackpool with friends and customers of Raceways where Yung ate lots of varieties of foods. “I took him back to Manchester at 2am as he said he needs to sit it out and wait for the police to contact him today or tomorrow. All he kept saying was ‘best experience ever,’ just sighing with a massive smile on his face.” It is believed Yung’s original scooter may also have been found burnt out in the Collyhurst area. Lee and the Raceways team are hoping to return with a van to pick it up and bring Yung back to Fleetwood to get kitted out with his replacement scooter.