| Author | Message | ||
     Deadphoenix52 |
interesting story. i got home from work last thursday, 6/16, and there is a bike parked in front of our house. i assume its one of my roommates friends, or someone across the street. idk. it sits there a couple of days. at this point i check it out. i went to check it out, got the VIN etc. its a 99 lightning x1 according to the autocheck. its still there. untouched. to the point that there are cobwebbs across the handle bars. wednesday i finally reported it as abandoned with the hopes of no one claiming the bike. yesterday a police notice appeared on it. but it still sits there. it gets hauled off to impound tomorrow. Then the most recent owner on record has 20 days to claim the vehicle. if it goes unclaimed, im gonna see if i cant try to claim it before it goes to auction. if not ill definitely follow it to auction. ive been doing some research, and in any pictures i can find, no x1 came with drilled rotors, only slotted. and as far as i can tell the paint and seat are custom. the drive belt is missing. i know its fuel injected. its a pretty neat bike. i had never heard of buell before this thing showed up at my door anyway, now for pics, can someone tell me what ive got as a gift from the bike gods?     | ||
| Midnight_rider |
I would have pulled it in drive way and possibly run Tag number my have run out of gas or maybe stoled | ||
| Deadphoenix52 |
like i said there is a police notice on the car saying its been listed as abandoned and goes to impound in 48 hours. im sure they ran the plates on it when they put that notice on it. and the VIN number isnt tampered with at all. the street in a neighborhood is a terrible to hide a stolen bike. and the gas thing is why i waited a week before calling it in. like i said, that, or i saw the drive belt gone and assumed the owner would get a new one, pop it on, and be on his way, but its sat for over a week now. hasnt moved an inch (Message edited by deadphoenix52 on June 24, 2011) | ||
| Midnight_rider |
if i had room pull it in my driveway so poor guy doesn't have to pay all them towing and impound fees | ||
| Cyclonemick |
Don't think someone would just leave it for the taking! Belt prob broke and maybe guy did not have money/time to fix it but figured it would be safe in your neighborhood? | ||
| Nwrider |
Don't try an capitalize on someones misfortune. I agree with midnight. Park it in your driveway.. someone put some time and effort into that bike and will surely be back for it. Belts aren't cheap and maybe the guy doesn't have a friend with a truck or trailer and is planning on returning with a belt. Guarntee he will thank you for moving it. | ||
| Jacob83z28 |
For a week???!!! If that had happened to me I wouldn't leave it there for a week. Belt replacement on that Buell is not a roadside fix. The swingarm needs to be removed from the frame. The bolts that hold the isolators are tight, you need an impact to remove them. I would have guessed stolen but if the police went out and tagged it I guess not. | ||
| Deadphoenix52 |
believe me i considered that. thats why i waited 6 days before doing anything. i figured he would conme back or at least make some attempt to contact the people who's house he parked it at. my house is not a storage unit i wasnt just going to move it into my driveway assuming theyre gonna come back for it either. i need my driveway. plus, here, it still mightve been stolen and dumped. im not moving a potentially stolen bike into my driveway assuming the best in someone EDIT: also, if i just moved it into my driveway, the owner could in fact report me as stealing it the only way to confirm it wasnt stolen was to report it. then its on record any way. so it gets listed as abandoned, because again, why should i store some strangers bike. if he had rang our doorbell or left a note, sure, no problem at all. but a week with nothing. and there isnt a single person in west texas who doesnt know someone with a truck. also a few of my neighbors asked me about it and were planning on calling it in as well, so he would be screwed as far as that goes. and if i abandoned my bike anywhere, while waiting for parts, i would at least check it daily, and maybe move it around. so people know the owner has intent of returning to it. but like i said, there are cobbwebs on the handlebars now. i get everyones point of view. and thats what i had assumed from day one. thats why i waited a week. but not anymore. this bike has literally been dumped. im not trying to capitalize on someones misfortune. if there had been any sign at all of any activity around the bike, i would not have reported it. if there had been a note or something on my door or in my mail box, i would absolutely store it for a short while. but theres nothing. (Message edited by deadphoenix52 on June 24, 2011) (Message edited by deadphoenix52 on June 24, 2011) | ||
| Jacob83z28 |
I would call an insurance tell them you want to buy this bike. Ask them if they can tell u if its stolen. I think they can do that. | ||
| Ratbuell |
The bike: EBC front rotor. Aftermarket, but not rare. Tail section, painted to match the bodywork. Nice touch. Header appears to be ceramic coated. Also nice touch. Aftermarket front pulley cover, rear sprocket cover, carbon fiber tank accents, and forcewinder intake - lots of aftermarket bits on this one. And traction grips? Those are what...10 grand? lol | ||
| Nwrider |
That seat is kinda hideous. | ||
| Deadphoenix52 |
should i end up this bike, if it goes unclaimed and all the legal crap is done. the seat is gonna go. and the baby blue flames have to go. i like the paint other than that. the lightning is on a deep metallic purple base. it actually looks quite good. except on the left side a big chunk of the paint is missing | ||
| Gmaan03 |
Belt is a road side replacement! | ||
| Blks1l |
Looks like a works shock also! It still could be stolen, but not reported by the owner yet if the owner hasn't noticed it missing | ||
| Hellraged |
something is up with that, i cant imagine in 100 years someone would just leave there bike there and forget about it... is a nice bike with alot of good upgrades someone liked it enough to put that stuff on + custom paint and seat.. its prob. hot. | ||
| Deadphoenix52 |
a week is an awful long time to not notice your bike missing, especially, like others have said, to have put money into it. and the cops tagged it so i have no idea. tomorrow marks the 48 hour period before she gets hauled off to impound. ill do my best to keep track of the bike and see what its story is. thanks guys -Nick | ||
| Dammitquikgentry |
What front pulley cover is that? | ||
| S1owner |
I have had to leave a bobcat and a qr yard dump trailer in a high end area. It was there for 4 or 5 days. It would have been towed in an hr if I did not take the time to talk to the persons that owned the house I had to leave it in front of. Basicly he is not capitalizing he did want should be done. Now if the owner would have attempted contact like a note or something then yes help the guy out. If was parked in front of my house it might be missing parts by now lol! | ||
| Dave_02_1200 |
Somebody owns that bike. He paid for it and he is the only one who should rightfully have possession of it. There could be many reasons why it ended up in front of your house but was not reported as stolen. The owner could be deployed overseas. The neighborhood kids could have wheeled it out of his garage without his wife noticing that it was missing. Then when they saw it needed a belt they might have just walked away, etc.... My bottom line is that, even if there is a LEGAL way to take possession of that bike, it is not RIGHT and it is very bad karma to even consider it. My advice: Get the VIN and locate the owner. The DMV or the Harley dealership or a photo ad on Craigslist might find him. Do that and, if you succeed, you will have a friend for life. Even if you try and fail you will know you did the right thing. (Message edited by Dave 02 1200 on June 25, 2011) | ||
| No_rice |
And traction grips? Those are what...10 grand? lol something like that! we just sold the only 1125 we had left(was a used one) 2 days ago. it came back yesterday busted up already. the first thing i said was damn he trashed the traction grips lol | ||
| Deadphoenix52 |
dave i see your point. but again, no contact was made. and your scenarios are extremely unlikely. albeit, still plausible. once the bike was tagged the police attempt to contact the most recent owner or lein holder on record. they do this at least once daily, for 20 days. before they give up. if they cant claim the bike in 3 weeks then they dont want it. me making any attempt to contact them would be no different than the DMV or police agency doing it. in fact they probably have a much better chance of finding the owner than i do playing private investigator. im making no attempt to hide the bike, or make sure they cant contact the owner. becuase i agree, its his bike. my conscious will be completely clear, however, if i obtain the bike legally going through the months long process of claiming an abandoned vehicle. they dont make it easy. | ||
| Midnight_rider |
I was saying help the person out big money to ge bike out of impound and towing fees. strange the belt is not laying around took it when person walked away must be stolen don't know if goes to impound owner doesn't claim it will go to auction | ||
| Jim2 |
This is really strange. If I'm on my bike and my belt breaks only three things are going to keep me from getting back to it quickly and/or talking to the people in the neighborhood. 1. I'm in jail 2. I'm dead 3. I have amnesia and don't remember anything, including my bike. I've got a bad feeling about this one. | ||
| Hellraged |
yeah i would never leave my bike anywhere. i would push the damn thing home no matter how far away if last resort | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Well, the bike is stranded without the belt. From the details on the bike it's been sorted out and taken care of. Implication is that it was stolen and owner doesn't know. Belt probably broke and thief/thieves left it. Yes the seat is um, not pretty, but a custom seat of that sort must have cost upwards of $$$(edit: a lot). If I deployed, or went away for a while I might stick my bike in storage, I wouldn't know if it was stolen. If I had a loan on it and only the bank was contacted, since they were the lien holder, and they didn't bother to tell me, since they'd rather have the money from the insurance co. Or maybe the owner needs the money, and was planning on waiting awhile until he reported it stolen. Many possible things could have happened. Many people look at a Buell and think it's a rare and expensive bike. They are rare, and cost a lot for the original buyer, but are just not worth what they ought to be. Weird that the police haven't heard anything back, but not unreal. My money is on stolen, or "stolen". Either way the owner should eventually get some $$ out of it and that leaves DeadPhoenix free to rise again, so to speak. I don't see the moral conflict if he's done the right thing in reporting it and doesn't do anything to impede the owner from taking the bike back into their possession. On an X1 a belt replacement doesn't require major surgery Jacob, there's a side plate you remove and can get right to it. | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Rat, the rear pulley appears to have been stripped and drilled, kinda cool. I might know a guy with some traction grips... It's also got some kind of aftermarket muffler, the curved outlet and mounting strap suggest it's also carbon (V&H, Borla, or that Canadian company I can't remember the name of), as is the undertray, weave on the tank accents looks clean and straight so maybe these bits came from Al. CRG levers, bar end mirrors, Buell footpegs, battery... someone has decked this bike out. I think the forks need to be rebuilt, from the residue on the rotor and the lower fork leg. The ceramic coating on the headers is flaking off the rear header. But the bike has only been lightly ridden from the look of the tires. Wonder what the deal is. | ||
| Deadphoenix52 |
i had not considered "stolen". maybe the bike isnt worth fixing to the owner. with the belt and who knows what else is wrong with it. maybe he's waiting for it to disappear... | ||
| Hootowl |
"maybe he's waiting for it to disappear..." Not unheard of. He claims it was stolen and collects the insurance. | ||
| Deadphoenix52 |
well the bike finally disappeared today. im going to call the police impound later tonight or tomorrow and see if they picked it up. if not i can only assume the owner came and got it. cuz im not sure someone would steal it, or steal it again.... in broad daylight. either way this story is probly near an end i'll keep yall updated -Nick | ||
| Hellraged |
lol would be funny if it was a "bait car" type of deal | ||
| Deadphoenix52 |
that thought crossed my mind as well. not sure who would want to steal a bike thats clearly broken. but people do some crazy things |
