So I posted I this forum a while back, but sadly my PCX 125 (2012) got stolen! I'd pretty much given up hope on it when out of the blue I got a call from the police around midnight last night. The bike had been ditched only 15 mins walk from my house. The police waited with it until I could walk over to it.
Sadly the bike is pretty beat up. From what I could see last night it has:
Had the side of the ignition smashed in and been hot wired
Been dropped/crashed on BOTH sides of the bike
Destroyed both mirrors
The master brake cylinder has leaked brake fluid and the front brake is clamped on the disc (I had to push it home like that!)
The seat has been broken into (the under seat storage is broken, seat looks okay)
The plastic flip fuel cover has been ripped off
The fuel cap was removed (the tank looked empty - hopefully they didn't put sand/sugar in there)
I will take a proper look when I get home tonight.
Can anyone recommend a cheap source of parts to fix the above ailments? I'm based in the UK and dealership prices for OEM parts are insane. I've checked ebay and there's not as much PCX parts on there as there used to be.
First time in my life I got third party insurance less than a month before it was stolen. The cheapest quote I could get for third party fire and theft was £250 plus £650 excess, which was insanely high. If I'd made a claim I would have lost all my built up no claims bonus. Ultimately, making a claim would have cost me the value of the bike, so I reluctantly went with third party.
I suspect the insurance company knew someone e.g. a huge spike in bike thefts in my area?
Mine fully comp quotes were higher - £350 + £600 excess to £1500! Went 3rd PFT for £350 with the bike chained up at home and safe at work. Never use it for shopping as I have a push-bike. Take a chance of some damage and repairs for the cost of the fully comp. I have 20 years no claims as a car driver, first time on two wheels.
If you are going to fix it yourself, you will first need to get a service manual. Then you will have to look at a website that has the proper names of each of the pieces of plastic you will be replacing. Then you will have to see if you need a new ignition or will just splicing the wires back together work. And then there is the engine. You will have to make sure it still runs. If the bike isn't totaled then it must be close to it.
Currently own:
Red 2013 Honda PCX150 Givi tall windshield & tailbox - Lots of extra lights Custom seat from Thailand - Bad Boy Airhorn Takegawa Lowering Shocks - Michelin City Grip Tires Headlight assy upgraded to LEDs w/HS5 main bulbs NCY variator, drive face, and rollers
I'm not being helpful at all but have a quick question... What's the motivation behind people doing this? It sounds like they risked prison time just to go for a joyride around the block, steal whatever was under the seat and save $10 by siphoning 6L of gas? I mean I understand theft if they're taking parts or reselling the bike because the thief actually gains something meaningful... But this just seems stupid to me.
There you go using that logic again. There are some scary folks around. Some of them even drive a car. In my state insurance is the law but some will get the card and never make a payment to the insurance company to get their vehicle registered. There are some crafty low life's. It's much more difficult for them to use a stolen vehicle for long. Normally, it is a joy ride or the pro's part them out.
iceman wrote:Mine fully comp quotes were higher - £350 + £600 excess to £1500! Went 3rd PFT for £350 with the bike chained up at home and safe at work. Never use it for shopping as I have a push-bike. Take a chance of some damage and repairs for the cost of the fully comp. I have 20 years no claims as a car driver, first time on two wheels.
Jeez, who are you with?, I'm with Carol Nash and have a Yamaha MT-01, Yamaha Bulldog, KTM 690 Duke and PCX for £352 Full comp. (59 years old, 7 years NCB)
Other rides
Yamaha MT-01, Yamaha BT1100, Yamaha WR250R, Ducati 900 GTS, Honda VFR 750FV, Honda Forza 350
Hate it when the cops bring them home... left my beautiful big bore Honda 600cc enduro at the salvage yard... it was out of state, they had a charge. I had insurance and the officer on the phone said it was a wreck. I just couldn't bring myself to see and decided to remember her the way she was.
-Tom wrote:First time in my life I got third party insurance less than a month before it was stolen. The cheapest quote I could get for third party fire and theft was £250 plus £650 excess, which was insanely high. If I'd made a claim I would have lost all my built up no claims bonus. Ultimately, making a claim would have cost me the value of the bike, so I reluctantly went with third party.
I suspect the insurance company knew someone e.g. a huge spike in bike thefts in my area?
Break it for parts or sell as is for spares/repair on eBay and buy another one.
By the time you work out what parts you need, import them and rebuild it you could have been back on the road.
Four decades on two wheels has taught me nothing, all advice given is guaranteed to be wrong
The cost of repairing all that, and there may be other problems, would suggest it's a write-off and as GN2 says, better to sell for parts. Perhaps you can fix it for £300-400 or so, but what you say has been damaged would suggest a lot more!
DAB - I searched so many sites and got lots of quotes, but Principal Insurance seem to be a reputable company and gave a good price. I could have got TPFT cheaper, say £180, or comp for £300, but MCE or such get mixed reviews (some good, many bad) and if I did claim, the enormous excess would be half the cost of the scoot and then raised premiums down the line!
I hoped 20 years no claims would count for something, but in London, first time on 2 wheels with just a CBT and not a full licence, did not count for much.
You may be right about breaking for parts, but I currently don't have access to a garage so have nowhere to work on the bike.
As for why people steal it, the police said they are constantly chasing kids on stolen scooters but never catch them. They can take the bike down small alleys etc where the police car can't follow. I suspect it was a kid who either was too young to legally ride or couldn't afford their own bike.
Presently cycling to work so I can live without the bike for a little longer. I can also live with scraped body work (though I need to replace the smashed panel where they hot wired it). I'm going to try and price it all up over the weekend. There seem to be some cheap sites based in Thailand that will ship. Going by land is affordable, but they claim it can take up to 3 months (sound extreme?), and by air is quick but quite expensive.
Really sorry to hear Tom. It is just annoying when you hear these stories. Some right idiots out there.
I am also on a provisional and did go with MCE when I first got my PCX October last year (renweal time soon). They quoted £200 fully comp with an excess of £700 which was half the cost of the bike at the time. I went with them and then about a month later they called and said to take off your excess completely pay another £52 quid and then I would be covered for the full amount with no excess at all. I didnt get it but in hindsight (always a great thing) I should have just in case something went wrong. Thankfully all has been well.
I have looked at renewals just today and Carole Nash have come in at £350. MCE are the cheapest again at £152 with an excess of £575. Have to sit down and do a proper hunt around.
Where abouts do you live Tom?? Just saying if you live in London (specifically the South) I would recommend Chas Bikes in Southwark who seem to be quite decent and honest when it comes to repairs etc.
Having said that, if you do decide to repair it yourself, think of it as an opportunity to personalise the bike and add on some cool kit. Either way, hope it all works out for you.
So sorry about your scoot Tom It's a shame crap like this happens. Really! Hope you get things sorted quickly and as cheaply as possible in a reasonable amount of time. Keep us posted please
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Binje, I actually don't live too far from the mechanic that you mentioned. I can do most of the work myself, it's just getting parts that are cheap which is proving difficult. With shipping cost and potential import taxes the foreign sites aren't always as cheap as they seem. Will be keeping a lookout on ebay.
Had exactly the same thing happen to me on Monday night in Battersea. Police found it today in an alleyway ... they had taken it for a joy ride and then dumped.
Damage:
Grill/panel to right hand side ripped off
Black and red wires cut and (to hot wire)
Steering wheel lock broken
seat ripped off
Did you have any joy with fixing and how much did it cost? Same thing happened me about 6 months ago (I know .. not having much luck!) and fixing it in the Honda garage cost over 600pound.
I am in the same predicament - only have 3rd party. They were quoting me a 750 quid excess for fire and theft so I didn't bother.
There are some scary folks around. Some of them even drive a car. In my state insurance is the law but some will get the card and never make a payment to the insurance company to get their vehicle registered. There are some crafty low life's. It's much more difficult for them to use a stolen vehicle for long. Normally, it is a joy ride or the pro's part them out.
It's a shame crap like this happens. Really! Hope you get things sorted quickly and as cheaply as possible in a reasonable amount of time. Keep us posted please 