Stolen Vincents.

timetraveller

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Graham. you are going to have to stop using your nose to type. It can only lead to some sort of repetitive strain injury. Despite the possibility of Vincents being stolen to order and shipped great distances it seems to me that the kind of rogue who carries out this sort of crime is likely to be both idle and stupid and more likely to break the bike and try to sell the parts. I do not go to autojumble often but it is not uncommon to see a Vincent crankcase, generally a Comet, at such events. I would love to have a sheet of paper in my pocket with a list of all stolen engine and frame numbers so that I could check at once the provenance of the parts. That way every Vincent enthusiast can be a 'detective' and any crankcase without an engine number can be reported to the local police as suspicious. With 2,000 VOC member world wide it should be possible to track down at least some of the stolen bikes. For example, what happened to Brian Phillip's bikes. Sure they could be sat in a private vault somewhere with whole sets of Piccasos, Rembrandts etc while some rich nut gloats. Even then, upon demise of said nut they will appear at some stage and an eagle eyed and well informed Vincent owner could spot them. He will not do that if he does not have the relevant numbers.
 
G

Graham Smith

Guest
Stolen Machines

Norman - your theory that every Member of the VOC who visits autojumbles would carry around a notebook and would meticulously check every Vincent part against it sounds very romantic. But realistically, do you really think it'll happen? I don't!

Christ, lots of Members can't even remember to renew on time, so what chance do we stand of getting them to carry a notebook round with them?

We'll have to agree to disagree. I think along the same lines as PlasticBeer. The only person who this would help is the criminal - or someone who has unwittingly purchased stolen parts, then wants to get rid of any identifiable marks (ie numbers).

An example…
Say Joe Bloggs buys a bike or parts off someone. He then gets home, and checks these parts against a database of stolen machines. Is he going to hand them back to the rightful owner and forfeit the money that he paid for them, or try to remove numbers? I think you know the answer to that.

OK - you say, well of course, I'd tell the police. Well, if we published the list do you think the numbers would be on there in the first place?

Don't forget that the only difference between making a list 'public' and only available to Club Members is someone putting their hand into their pocket and pulling out £28. Not all VOC Members are gentlemen like yourself!
 
Top