Fuc@#$ stole our ramp

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85 MAX-fan

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Location
somewhere in Illinois
OK,
So I blow off work today to run by Rockatanski's house to install some hex head sheet metal screws (for traction) into the plywood portion of his launch ramp so that we can try a few runs this weekend even though there is still snow on his back lawn.
Pull up and can feel something is wrong without really understanding whats up. Turn off the bike, walk into the garage to get the key to the hardened steel chain that locks the ramp to his gas meter and find the door ajar. Little things are not where they belong and there is a broken Pabst Blue Ribbon bottle on the floor next to his bike. Definately know someone has been through the place and can see they must have used a pipe wrench to twist open the dead bolt on the door.
I go outside to grab my cell phone out of the tank bag to call the cops and notice the silver tarp that covers the ramp is loose and not the right shape!
MOTHER FUC#%$ STOLE OUR RAMP!!!!!
We had $1500 into it not counting our time welding the frame and bolting it together (after all our time in making the CAD drawings)!
I am waiting for Rockatanski to call me back, and decided not to call the cops yet. This has personal written all over it.
Looks like they towed it away somehow as there are narrow tire tracks in the snow leading out to the street. I am willing to bet that thing is within a 10 mile radius of his house.
My plan is to find it without the help of John Law, as those guys won't give a rat's arse over helping us find the thief(s) after the neighbor called the cops on us about 15 times this last fall.
:hammer bash:
 
it's over the $1000 limit that used to be a misdemeanor amount so if you find them and can get the cops to nail them it will be a felony.

Sean
 
Unfortunately, experience has taught me that unless it's got a license plate on it, don't count on cops caring or finding it. I had a really nice mountain bike that was worth about $1500 stolen up at school....cut the cable lock and took it out of the back of my truck. The local police couldn't have cared less. Yep...bike stolen on college campus....ya, that's really unusual. We'll call you if we find anything. See ya. I was virtually certain that my bike popped up on ebay a few days later in NJ, it was identical and had all the modifications I had done, for a bargain price. I called the local police and clued them in. They'd "look into it". A little later they called me and said they couldn't do anything because it wasn't being sold in their jurisdiction, and to call the police local to the seller's area. I did, and they told me that they couldn't pursue the seller without some sort of proof that it was stolen. :bang head:

Unfortunately, pursuing larceny just doesn't make sense in these tough times. If the cops investigate and find your stuff, the state is out thousands in man-hours. If those same cops are writing tickets are $400+ a pop on the highway, the state is profiting thousands. What do you think they'll do?
 
WHAT KIND OF RAMP WAS IT ?:confused2:

Launch ramp we designed for taking the stock V-MAX distance record.
Roughly 93" tall at the apex, 129" rad with off center tangent blending into a geometricaly changing lift angle over 236" lip to rad segment. A36 steel chaneled boxed frame with 1/16" diameter SS cable cross wires and 7/16-24 turn-buckles (6"OAL) for fine tuning.
Just finished installing 800 1/4 SS hex head sheet metal screws in the 3/4" plywood.
They didn't get the 3/8" hardened link chain though, bastards cut through the frame channel with a MAP gas torch judging by the color of the slag on the ground. It has a 2 5/16" ball hitch mount up front.
I am gonna wait till around 11pm and take the dog for a walk around the neighborhood to see if I can spot it.
 
OK,
So I blow off work today to run by Rockatanski's house to install some hex head sheet metal screws (for traction) into the plywood portion of his launch ramp so that we can try a few runs this weekend even though there is still snow on his back lawn.
Pull up and can feel something is wrong without really understanding whats up. Turn off the bike, walk into the garage to get the key to the hardened steel chain that locks the ramp to his gas meter and find the door ajar. Little things are not where they belong and there is a broken Pabst Blue Ribbon bottle on the floor next to his bike. Definately know someone has been through the place and can see they must have used a pipe wrench to twist open the dead bolt on the door.
I go outside to grab my cell phone out of the tank bag to call the cops and notice the silver tarp that covers the ramp is loose and not the right shape!
MOTHER FUC#%$ STOLE OUR RAMP!!!!!
We had $1500 into it not counting our time welding the frame and bolting it together (after all our time in making the CAD drawings)!
I am waiting for Rockatanski to call me back, and decided not to call the cops yet. This has personal written all over it.
Looks like they towed it away somehow as there are narrow tire tracks in the snow leading out to the street. I am willing to bet that thing is within a 10 mile radius of his house.
My plan is to find it without the help of John Law, as those guys won't give a rat's arse over helping us find the thief(s) after the neighbor called the cops on us about 15 times this last fall.
:hammer bash:
Holy sh%t I thought you were kidding, its freaking gone!!!
 
it's over the $1000 limit that used to be a misdemeanor amount so if you find them and can get the cops to nail them it will be a felony.

Sean


Up here anything over $500 is felony status.

In Illinois you have a great one. Wish we had it here.

RESIDENTIAL BURGLARY

Under Illinois Law, (720 ILCS 5/19-3),a person commits a residential burglary if they
1) knowingly and without authority enters or knowingly and without authority remains 2)within the dwelling place of another, or any part thereof,
3)with the intent to commit therein a felony or theft. It is important to note that the person must intend to commit a felony or theft. If the prosecutor is unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the client intended to commit a felony or theft, it is much likely that the defendant will be charged with Criminal Trespass to Residence which is a Class A misdemeanor which court supervision is available as an alternative to jail.

Residential Burglary is considered a much more serious crime than regular Burglary. Residential Burglary is considered a Class 1 felony which is punishable from 4 to 15 years in prison and probation is not available.
 
Thank God for police, but sometimes they just don't look hard enough. Years ago someone broke into my detached 2 car garage, and stole my sons XR70 dirtbike. They had to pick it up and carry it over my CBR600, and also between the 2 cars that were parked inside. After making it outside they left footprints in the snow with their size 8-9 shoes. When the Police arrived, they seemed like they weren't even slightly interested in looking at any of the clues that were left behind. They told me it was probably one of my son's friends or school mates that did it, and left! My son was 9 years old at the time......DUH! Every year I get a phone call from the police telling me that they are "updating" their records and asking me if I have "recovered" the bike. I feel like telling them that is their job and I should be asking them the same question. Insurance would not cover the loss due to the fact it was a detached garage, and anything with an engine should have its own policy. If I had it to do over again, I would call the insurance company and put insurance on it, then wait a few days and report the theft! Sucks to get robbed, I wish I could have caught them in the act myself!
 
Insurance would not cover the loss due to the fact it was a detached garage, and anything with an engine should have its own policy.

Don't you love that little clause they slip in there.....and from what I know it's still there. Anything with an engine that moves isn't covered under homeowner's insurance, at least it wasn't with those ass-rapers at State Farm. When our garage burnt down, we lost two snowmobiles+aluminum trailer, a snowblower, a large(but still portable) generator, and an old lawnmower. The insurance refused to pay for any of that, stating that any non-stationary motorized equipment was not covered and we should have had separate insurance policies for them. I'm sorry, I didn't realize that getting insurance for my snowblower or push mower was required.

Insurance absolutely sucks ass. I've only been dealing with it for a couple years and am already sick of it. You pay pay pay, and when it comes time to collect it's a tooth and nail struggle for every cent- but heaven forbid you are a few cents short on paying your premium. One time when I sent a check in I confused an "8" for a "3", and underpaid by literally 50 cents. I got all sorts of bitch-mail threatening to cancel the coverage due to "non payment", my policy would default, yadda yadda yadda. It took two hours on the phone and five different people to clear this "issue" up. I felt like putting 50 pennies in an envelope and mailing it to them, but they insisted on "doing me a favor" by sending me a check back for my under-payment, and "giving me the opportunity" to pay again correctly.
 
Funny story RaWarrior. Oh Yeah, I forgot to mention who my insurance company is: STATE FARM!! You should have taken a .50 cent roll of pennies and thrown them through your agents front window. The whole insurance thing is legalized extorsion. My agent had the balls to tell me after it all happened, that I should not claim my side door that got kicked in, because of the fact that home owners insurance is like car insurance now....after 3 claims they automatically dump you and you have to go "high risk" $$$$$
 
Funny story RaWarrior. Oh Yeah, I forgot to mention who my insurance company is: STATE FARM!! You should have taken a .50 cent roll of pennies and thrown them through your agents front window. The whole insurance thing is legalized extorsion. My agent had the balls to tell me after it all happened, that I should not claim my side door that got kicked in, because of the fact that home owners insurance is like car insurance now....after 3 claims they automatically dump you and you have to go "high risk" $$$$$

Man, that's pathetic!! I guess what the insurance companies are saying is, 'go big or go home!' Don't file a $300 claim for the window the kid next door cracked with a baseball....burn the friggin' place to the ground and file a $300,000 claim!! :punk:
 
first time i've ever had to deal with insurance has been this week. my finished basement flooded and i had specifically purchased a clause to protect the basement incase the sump pump got overwhelmed or we lost power.

adjuster dug through and found a way to get us covered and made sure he didnt' ask any questions that would possible not let me be covered. gotta say it was a good experience and the $$ came quick and was reasonable so far.
 
OK,
This has personal written all over it.
Looks like they towed it away somehow as there are narrow tire tracks in the snow leading out to the street. I am willing to bet that thing is within a 10 mile radius of his house.
My plan is to find it without the help of John Law, as those guys won't give a rat's arse over helping us find the thief(s) after the neighbor called the cops on us about 15 times this last fall.
:hammer bash:

I bet your right. With all the things to steal in the house (I assume) to steal a ramp!?!?!?........Your neighbor(s) is/are the only ones "profiting" from this......Unless someone robbed it to jump their dirtbikes off or something....maybe..... i'd watch the local scrap places. If your neighbor did have it stolen they'd probably just cut it up and sell the steel for scrap.......take a picture of it to the scrap yard and ask around....just my hunch...
 
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