The Motorcycle Thief Did Not Stand A Chance

Dave called me in a panic, his prized possession—a Suzuki GSX-R750 had been stolen. He had parked his motorcycle in his apartment's underground parking lot and when he arrived the next morning it was gone. This was not, he painfully explained a factory Suzuki, he had tricked it to the max with a special exhaust system, brakes, and more components then I can even remember. Unfortunately, he remembered every single thing that made his motorcycle the most special vehicle ever to ride on the roads of Seattle. And the one thing he told me over and over again was he would never be able to find another Suzuki with the rare black racing paint job. I swear I could almost see a little tear in his eye when he described his paint job.

I couldn't find his motorcycle, but as his insurance agent I could provide him the money to buy a new motorcycle. Weeks went by and his motorcycle never showed up. Dave reluctantly accepted the insurance money and started shopping to replace the irreplaceable motorcycle. Eventually he found a new motorcycle.

Two months went by and I thought I would never hear from Dave again about his stolen motorcycle. The conversation I had next with him I have never had and do not expect to ever have with another client again. Dave spoke in an almost hushed tone as if he was worried someone might over hear the conversation. On the other hand he was giddy with excitement like a school boy describing a mischievous act he was about to do the next day. Dave was thrilled--he had found the guy would had stolen his motorcycle. I thought he had given up on ever finding his motorcycle again but he had been checking Craig's List every day to see if anyone was attempting to sell one his special add-on components. As luck would have it, he found what he was looking for.

He had set up a meeting to meet the thief the following day. At this point the hair on the back of my neck was standing on end. I admonished him that his life was more important than catching the motorcycle thief. Secretly I was more afraid for the motorcycle thief because the thief had no idea how angry Dave was about losing his bike. He reassured me that he was working with the Seattle Police who were helping him set up a sting to bring this thief to justice. He said he had to go and would call me tomorrow. I hung up the phone and sat there bewildered and still a little concerned for his safety.

The next day Dave called. This time he was ecstatic. He explained he not only had caught his motorcycle thief but had also helped to take down a Russian gang that had been stealing motorcycles all over the Seattle area. When he arrived at the location where the exchange would take place, he said the Seattle Police where hiding in different locations. He was suppose to walk over and identify his stolen parts, make a hand signal, and the police would rush in. He described the scene as if it were lifted out of a Hollywood movie. Apparently the thief brought his girlfriend along to sell the parts. When the motorcyle thief was being placed in the cop car his girlfriend was screaming at the top of her lungs. I could almost hear the Bad Boys song playing in my head when Dave described the scene. Dave was on cloud nine.

Dave never recovered the entire bike but most of his prized components were recovered. Since Dave was already compensated for his stolen motorcycle the components were the property of the insurance company. The good news--the insurance company let him keep all the recovered components.

Dave was very happy with how it all turned. And that is how you catch a motorcycle thief.