Scooter Theft: Be… S.M.A.R.T.
Following on from a previously featured article we did regarding scooter security and theft, more recently we spoke to a member of a group who are taking a more ‘hands on’ approach to the matter…
The group S.M.A.R.T. NorthWest was set up to find, recover and return stolen bikes and scooters to their owners. It’s part of a network who cooperate with the police and councils. SSome describe them as vigilantes, and wwhile that may have been true, these ggroups are now receiving greater official rrecognition nationwide. I sat down with oone of them to find out what they do, aand their motivations for doing it. Here’s wwhat my contact at S.M.A.R.T. had to ssay… “I got into the group because
I was pissed off with seeing scooters cconstantly getting nicked. I remember a stunning Lambretta being lifted, the oowner had nipped into a bank and it was ppushed away by a bunch who hadn’t a cclue what they’d just stolen. We posted info over Facebook and it was found later tthat day, a wreck. My mate’s GTS was then stolen, he spotted it three weeks later when he was out in his van, so he rammed them off it. He reclaimed the scooter and found drugs stashed within it so immediately phoned the police. An hour later no one had to turned up, they left him on his own for so long that the thieves returned in cars, all armed with baseball bats and knives, he had to get out of there, pronto!
“So we wanted to know the hard facts surrounding scooter/motorbike crime, specifically in Greater Manchester, therefore we applied to the Information Compliance and Records Management Unit of Greater Manchester Police for stats via the Freedom of Information Act. When they responded, they supplied us with figures for 2016, 2017 and 2018. These broke down to nine motorbikes, seven mopeds and 1000 ‘others’. This wasn’t much help. We understand the police have a problem with stats, as there’s no common way bikes are stolen, so we’ve driven ourselves mad trying work out a category system, and we’ve boiled it down to three categories shown below...”
Our contact continued: “In regard to ‘category 3’ outlined previously, a shipping container was recently found full of stripped scooters and bikes heading abroad. Classics and high cc performance scooters are usually stolen to order… why? A new GTS costs circa £5k, and we’ve known them changing hands for as little as £250. If the seller hasn’t paid for it and gets £250 cash, then it’s pure profit. I think that classic scooters nicked by scrotes are predominately chance; most haven’t a clue about them. I’ve spoken with these clowns, all they know about classics is… ‘they’re the ones with the push gears, aren’t they?’ Believe it or not, some magazines are used as a thieves’ bible, they have sections listing models, specs and values, literally telling them the most profitable to nick. As for classics, it’s got to be people in the scene, there’s lots of cash in spares or resprayed and resold under a false or a swapped plate, the temptation is huge.
“From experience, the most common scooters nicked are the Yamaha T Max and Lexmoto types and the most popular method is jumping on the bike, a grinder through the lock, wheel it off to a certain distance and hot wire it. Alternatively, just slinging it into the back of a van. Without giving too much away, nearly all manufacturers use similar steering locks which don’t need much force to compromise. It’s easy to take a barrel out, get a couple of wires together and bingo! Thieves know how to hot wire. You’ll notice bits of Sellotape on handlebars, I can’t tell you what they’re for, but it’s a giveaway too. Some of them even use switch boxes as overrides.
“There’s a lot of videos on social media of people being hijacked for their bike. Yes, this does happen, but it’s not as common as you’d think. I’ve known it happen three or four times, which is three or four times too many. People do get followed or chased, but thankfully it rarely happens in the north, it’s far more common in London. However, thefts ARE high, we believe the actual figures are at least four times those declared. Our estimate is steered by the amount of thefts posted on social media.
Who’s who?
“There are many bike theft awareness groups across the UK. In Manchester there is S.M.A.R.T. Northwest, in Bristol there is S & R, in London there is Biker Biker and each outfit operates differently. The crew in Bristol is small, but does a huge amount of work and has been given a council’s Civic Award, which all adds to credibility.
“We specialise in going out and finding bikes. Locally, Stockport and Ashton councils work well with us. Some councils have official ‘recovery partners’, as the police don’t do it themselves, they are too stretched for that, it all goes back to funding and the Government (apparently) so they employ a company (which hands a portion of the money back to the police). The police’s argument is that they haven’t the manpower to wait for the owner to turn up. Our counterpoint is (usually) that the police don’t have to wait. Is the bike safe at a location, or is it likely to be moved within the next 30 minutes? Nine times out of 10 we can get there within that time span, but some police don’t appear to want that help.
“S.M.A.R.T. also steps in where the police have to get lucky. The police usually stumble upon a live one, but we’re on the alert 24/7. It doesn’t take long to be able to tell if something doesn’t ‘feel’ right. I spotted a Yamaha 125 and upon checking the reg-plate the ID belonged to a Volvo truck. I carefully followed the bike to a house and phoned the police. I sat there for an hour, so I phoned the police again… three and a half hours later they finally pitched up.
“There are some really satisfying moments though – we managed to help a lad who’d turned a Honda C50 into a café racer. It was a one-off, he’d spent a fortune doing it up… and we found it. Let’s just say we have some tricks up our sleeves to get an outcome. One of our lads works for an energy company, he turns up with all official gear on, telling people he’s just there checking on something. He nipped round the back and found the bike under some tarpaulin, he got photos and half an hour later we went down and took it back to the owner.
“Sometimes we focus on an area and organise a patrol, we all have radios and stab-proof clothing. During one of these operations we spotted two kids on a 50cc scooter with the entire front end missing. They couldn’t have been more than 12 years old. They saw us and made off, despite their scooter being capable of 10mph max, even so, they turned tight circles and kept dodging us. Our lads could hardly chase for laughing, then our van turned up and one of the big lads leant out of the window and plucked them off the scooter. Some weeks we get nothing and others are a bonus. One week we got back a 650cc Kawasaki, a C50 and a Benelli which had been missing for three weeks.”
Advice on prevention
Given the amount of stolen machines our contact has seen, he has some good advice for those wishing to at least reduce their chances of being targeted… “There are things you can do to avoid becoming a statistic. Most thieves are lazy. If your scooter looks like hard work to nick, or is in a place that will reveal them as a thief, there is a chance they’ll move on. So whack on as much security as you can. Disc locks, handbrake locks, chain it and anchor it to something immovable, always buy the best you can, especially chains with anti-grinder coverings. Trackers are an investment, and with a high risk machine in a high risk area, definitely worth it. Get a cover, they protect your bike and thieves don’t like to be caught poking about under one. Covers automatically disguise your bike, if the thief can’t immediately identify it, then it’s a good bet they’ll walk on. If you take your scooter to work, don’t put it out of sight, thieves love somewhere quiet where they won’t be disturbed. Most thieves aren’t inclined to whack out a grinder in a busy place, though some are brazen, you see it in videos online. Park it where a colleague can see it, ask them to keep an eye on it, let them know it’s your bike. Having said all that, don’t be petrified of what ‘could’ go on, if you take sensible, simple actions, then you reduce the odds dramatically.
“If you’re out and about and think you’re being followed, head home but DO NOT go straight to your house, do a couple of laps of your road to make sure. Pull up on a neighbour’s drive, or a house you know is occupied. Give them a knock and tell them your suspicions. Alternatively, drive to the nearest noisy place or garage, pull up and make people know that you’re being tailed, lads at a garage are likely to help you. Generally, those who will come to your aid will be workmen. Get to know problem areas and avoid them, find them by visiting bike groups’ Facebook pages. Don’t go the same route home every night, if someone’s watching your bike, they bank on routine.”
Some simple and obvious pointers to spotting a wrong ‘un:
1) No helmet.
2) No number plate.
3) It looks suspect to you, get the number and go on ‘isitnicked.com’
4) No lights on.
5) All in black and hood up – general scrote. 6) Not really knowing how to handle the bike. 7) Not appearing to ‘fit’ the bike i.e. dressed like a scrote on a big cc bike. People who have newer high-cc bikes tend to wear the right gear to go with it.
Protecting your bike at home
Put it in your house overnight (matrimonial strife notwithstanding). If you’ve a garage, put in an anchor point and chain it up. Put a bar on the door. Hooks on a beam across the door mechanism works wonders. Don’t be fatalistic by leaving it all to chance and think ‘whatever will be, will be’… that’s asking to becoming a victim.
Helping out
“If you want to help a bike recovery group, a quick search on Facebook will reveal your locals and they always need help. Join a group that’s getting official recognition and acting responsibly. You’ll probably find new mates too, offer some of your time or throw £20 into the funding kitty, that’ll go into the pot for petrol.” Our man closed with a few happier words, “on the positive side… we’ve got over 200 bikes back to their owners, and lots of these were newer models, the average value about £3000, so we’ve saved insurance companies about £600,000 in the North West alone. Recovery groups don’t operate in isolation, they’re linked across the country, bikes nicked in one area often get moved about. It sounds a bit daft, but we’re linked with local history groups too, as most of them are OAPs who keep their eyes out and feed us intel of bikes in their areas. To help promote what we do, we try to show photos of the bike before stolen, when found and a pic of the bike reunited with the proper owner. If you’re interested in finding your local group head to Facebook, or if you haven’t one in your area, contact an established group and I’m sure they’ll point you in the right direction.”
Words: Rik and H
Pics: H and S.M.A.R.T.