Hilltop Cafe attendees 26 Sept - Check your bike!

[AndyC_772]

Hi all,

Eleanor and I have just got back from this morning's breakfast meet - great to see you all again btw - and she complained that her heated grips had stopped working. They were fine when we arrived at the Hilltop, but when we got home and investigated the fault we found this:

http://www.cawte.nildram.co.uk/wire.jpg

It looks to me as though the wire has been cut with a knife or multi-tool. We're both certain it can only have happened while we were in the cafe eating.

Obviously we've no way to know whether this was just a malicious prank, whether we've unwittingly upset someone, or whether it was a particularly inept attempt to render the bike unusable so it could be stolen later. But whatever the motivation, can I please ask everyone to check their bikes over to make sure they've not suffered any similar or more serious damage.

I'll be speaking to the Hilltop to see what they have to say as well, of course.

[Gordon H]

Thanks for the heads up -

Everything ok here

- there are some right w*nkers out there.....

[rollo22]

BA####DS May they fall over and break something important

[barbican]

Thanks for the warning - mine seemed fine on the way home. Agree it does look like its been snipped.

You might be right that it was the intention to disable the bike, b******ds

No one near them when I left

Cheers

[uksurfer]

sorry to hear that, i'm sure someone knows the cafe owners, it might be Chris but i can't remember.
Seems strange to do that, and doesn't look like a frayed wire at all, hope you find out who did it, or more the question 'Why?'

[AndyC_772]

Just spoken to Brian at the Hilltop, he's been very helpful.

[Gutsy]

Jeez, sorry to see that photo but equally, what non-biker would know to cut a cable that wouldn't cause a dangerous accident? Oddly, I noticed a sticker put on my tank, stuck right over my datatag sticker but I thought it was someone from our group. The sticker says " There comes a time in your life when you have to get off your bike, look in the mirror and say, DAMN, I'm Good. Did anyone of our group put that on my bike?

Glad that no further harm was done to the bike. All cables on mine look ok.

[MrsC_772]

Rally said something to me about the sticker. I can't remember whether he said Char had put it on his bike and he'd put it on yours, or vice versa, but Rally definitely had something to do with that sticker!

[Gordon H]

Rally said something to me about the sticker. I can't remember whether he said Char had put it on his bike and he'd put it on yours, or vice versa, but Rally definitely had something to do with that sticker!

Aye, it was jumping from bike to bike earlier.........

[chris yeatman]

sorry to hear about this, if cctv did catch somebody doing this, will be only to happy to check it out for u.
i hope it wasnt a member that did it, they would be getting some bad feedback on here and removed from our meets.
as said if u would like me to look at the cctv, no probs.

cheers
chris

[Char]

It's very odd - and why? If out to vandalise you would have expected other bikes to have had issues.

Cant believe anyone would single you out - an odd thing to do , didnt see any kids about either

managed to drop mine when I got home!

[chris yeatman]

managed to drop mine when I got home!

oh noooooooooo
hope the bike and u r ok!!!

[Albie]

sorry to hear about this, if cctv did catch somebody doing this, will be only to happy to check it out for u.
i hope it wasnt a member that did it, they would be getting some bad feedback on here and removed from our meets.
as said if u would like me to look at the cctv, no probs.

cheers
chris

Its a real odd one this. Its hard to imagine someone cutting wires for a laugh. I guess its deliberate but who would do such a thing. Likes whats been said someone may be upset and chanced yours because for sure yours is not loud for sure or someones jealous. God forbid it being a member and I doubt it very much unless they were jealous and had cold hands.
I would put money on just a chancer k n o b head. I hope you do find out for the sake of it for some closure. There is no way anyone will get done anyway not in our society nowadays.

ps I was in swindon at walpoles btw :biggrin:
It's very odd - and why? If out to vandalise you would have expected other bikes to have had issues.

Cant believe anyone would single you out - an odd thing to do , didnt see any kids about either

managed to drop mine when I got home!

Oh mate I too hope its not bad. Hope you managed to pick it up ok too. Heavy buggers them s4's with all that water.
I think we all have done it at some point or nearly done.

[Char]

All I can say is thank god I had the crash bungs & no one was looking! Nice dent in one of them

[Albie]

All I can say is thank god I had the crash bungs & no one was looking! Nice dent in one of them

Thats good news char. Yep worth their weight in gold. I have a scraped one I want to change but tough it can wait.

[chris yeatman]

ps I was in swindon at walpoles btw :biggrin:




should of come down, loads of room.

[MrsC_772]

Char - commiserations! Have been there and done that myself (managed to drop it twice in one day, once on each side earlier this year on the way to Liz's!) Can highly recommend the R&G bungs - all mine have clearly shown service, but that's better than having to replace more expensive bike bits.

Was starting to wonder whether my bike had been singled out with a view to theft precisely because it is pretty standard. Maybe all you carbon addicts have got the right idea if it means thieves would be concerned that a more individualised and distinctive bike would be harder to sell on!

Could be worse - see thread on the other forum http://www.ducatisti.co.uk/forum/ducati-monster-696/51924-poor-little-bike.html

[rollo22]

Tough luck Char
0nly a dented crash bung could have been a lot worse.

[Gordon H]

A theory - the last time we were up at the cafe en mass, there were around a dozen or so Monsters lined up along the roadside. This would have stuck out like a sore thumb to anyone local interested in getting hold of one without the hassle of having to pay for it....... so.......

When we turned up again today, word got around and if someone had been waiting for their chance, this would have been it...... (rather inept attempt at a theft unless they were expecting the cables to short out and blow a fuse??)

Next time try and park in front of the cafe with the Monnies (and naughty corner bikes) in sight and take it in turns to have a quick look outside..........

Must admit though - the other riders / bikes in the cafe didn't give the impression that anything untoward was afoot - I had a fairly good view of evryone coming and going but didn't get the impression that we were being watched though it does shake the (possibly naive) idea that every other guy on 2 wheels is a good guy........

Really annoyed about this - it's the type of thing that used to go on between rival bike crowds when we were kids..... grrrrrr. :fiery:

Char - ouch.... hope you and your bike's ok.

[gary tompkins]

Next time try and park in front of the cafe with the Monnies (and naughty corner bikes) in sight and take it in turns to have a quick look outside..........



Would be my suggestion too if possible - and keep a baseball bat handy

[Rally]

Oddly, I noticed a sticker put on my tank, stuck right over my datatag sticker but I thought it was someone from our group. The sticker says " There comes a time in your life when you have to get off your bike, look in the mirror and say, DAMN, I'm Good. Did anyone of our group put that on my bike?

Alison,
Gordon was right. This sticker did the rounds this morning and it was me that placed it on your datatag sticker, so as to not get it on your tank and leave it easy to remove! Being "Damn, I'm good" I thought it suited you!
lol.

Sorry to hear of your dropping of the biike Char, but pleased the bungs we fitted worked well. :)

[granite785]

Glad the idiots who did this didnt manage to get your bike away and it was only the grips line they cut through.

Why do some people feel the need to do this to someone elses bike. :fiery:

I'll have to check mine over tonight but behaved itself (sort of) on the way home and doesnt seem to be any problems. Maybe i'm being paranoid but it did feel a little odd, like something not quite right. My bike probably just had hte hump as its been left in the garage for hte last month!!

Next time we'll have to park away from that bloody caravan so we can keep an eye on them all. Or take turns keeping watch.

I really hope that the caff has CCTV especially with all the bikes they get visiting.
Did you get any news when you called the caff?

[MrsC_772]

Brian (cafe manager) has been very helpful so far. Can't fault their attitude or response.

Hilltop cafe does have CCTV - some lucky person at Wilts police will no doubt have a thrilling morning looking at it.

The really annoying thing is that we suspect the fuse on the Optimate cable to which the heated grips are plugged has blown as a result of the wire cutting. If the fuse is somewhere down near the battery, it'll be a real pain to get to to replace. (For those that don't know, to get to the battery on a 696 you have to undo umpteen allen bolts of varying sizes, remove tank panels, tank etc... The battery is well and truly buried in the bowels of the bike).

Something tells me that if we do go back to the Hilltop I'll be doing first shift on car park patrol while waiting for my pancakes to cook!

[Gordon H]

Something tells me that if we do go back to the Hilltop I'll be doing first shift on car park patrol while waiting for my pancakes to cook!

Don't have a baseball bat but I do have an Irish hurley you can borrow for your shift......

:twak:

[MrsC_772]

No need for the hardware offers - just remember Andy and I met doing jiu jitsu!

[Gordon H]

No need for the hardware offers - just remember Andy and I met doing jiu jitsu!

From Spinal Tap - in the topsy-turvy world of heavy rock, having a good solid piece of wood in your hand is often useful.

I find this philosophy works in several contexts..........

[AndyC_772]

There's an easier way at a bike meet - just go into the cafe and shout "there's a bike thief in the car park"... then sit back and watch...