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Bike Stolen in Amarillo at Hotel

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misterk

misterk

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A friend of mine on a 2015 HD Street Glide and his son on a 2016 Ducati Multi Strata finished a trip around Colorado. They were on their way home north east of the metroplex and made it to Amarillo Tuesday evening. They stopped at the Baymond Hotel off I40 west of downtown on hotel row. They had a first floor room and parked their bikes next to their room window.

They got up Wednesday morning to load the bikes for their return home. Came outside and only the HD remained. Ducati stolen right in front of their room. Yes, there were security cameras and they had the heist on camara. A pickup pulled up, 4 guys jumped out, picked up the bike and threw it in the back of the pickup. I think he said they did it in about 10 seconds.

The police said they will review the film, but chances are they will never find the bike or the thieves. The police said they have been having some problems with bikes getting stolen in Amarillo.

This is just a PSA.

I am staying in Amarillo next Friday night (yippee) now I will probably be checking my bike every hour (not). I have never had an issue and I always park my bike in front of the lobby entrance under the driveway. However, if it does get stolen......I have insurance. But what a **** to refarkle another Africa Twin. Honda's usually arent high on the theft list.
 
Dam

What (if anything) could have been done to prevent this?
 
Wow, that's my worst nightmare, having my vehicle stolen far, far from home.

There's no sure fire cure. A competent thief who wants your bike in particular will get it if he's determined. However, I believe most thefts are opportunistic situations. I always wrap a cable through my wheels when parked at motels or hotels. And when possible, I back the bike up to a post and cable to the post.
 
that sucks to hear that news, thieves suck and since we cant hang them in the courthouse square anymore.... :trust:

typically I prefer to hobo camp but i have stayed in motels when riding on trips, i look for a motel with rooms that have ground floor, room doors to the parking area and i move enough room stuff to put the bike in the room with me.

but, dont ask at the front desk if you can do this... just stealthily do it. :sun:
 
That really stinks. Thank you for posting this, I'll probably start doing what Tim does and cable lock a wheel to a pole and hopefully that will make it just enough hassle to make someone want to go to their next target. Sucks that any of us have to do this though.
 
who knows, but he did have a disc lock on his front brake and the handlebars were locked. Neither bike was covered.

The amarillo police did tell them a bike cover helps because thieves just want to drive through and spot the bike they want. They dont want to stop and raise a cover, they are too lazy. LOL
mitchntx said:
Dam

What (if anything) could have been done to prevent this?
Click to expand...
 
Man, that's terrible. I know a lot of people stop there on the way to ride in Colorado. Since I started riding I've worried about motorcycles getting stolen while staying in hotels. This is a holdover from riding bicycles as they are fairly prone to getting stolen if they aren't locked down.

When I went to the Kerrville last month I used a chain to lock my Africa Twin to something stationary in the parking lot. My buddy saw a cheap, generic cover for the bike on sale somewhere and grabbed it for me, so I threw that on there too. I felt like a goober for doing it as there were a bunch of other (more expensive) bikes in the parking lot that were not chained or covered. Feeling a little better about it now. Seems like running a chain between two bikes might help as well.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
From the sound of it the key is to make you're bike SUPER heavy, that's why they left the Harley.

Too soon?
 
I always like to cable my bike to my riding partner's if I can. Like lifting the cover, anything that slows a thief down will make the bike less attractive. BTW, I have one of the disk locks with an alarm. It used to have a battery in it, but no longer. I just couldn't get the sensitivity correct.
 
Meriden said:
I always like to cable my bike to my riding partner's if I can. Like lifting the cover, anything that slows a thief down will make the bike less attractive. BTW, I have one of the disk locks with an alarm. It used to have a battery in it, but no longer. I just couldn't get the sensitivity correct.
Click to expand...

Just curious, what was the issue with sensitivity? I would expect that you'd want even the slightest movement to set it off. No?
 
copb8 said:
Just curious, what was the issue with sensitivity? I would expect that you'd want even the slightest movement to set it off. No?
Click to expand...

It would go off if a heavy truck passed, someone passed too close going to their car, the wind blew, it felt lonely. I could tolerate the somebody bumping it issue, but having it go off three of four times a night for no apparent reason was a problem, especially at a hotel. Everyone I knew in the BMW club that had one had the same problem.
 
Meriden said:
It would go off if a heavy truck passed, someone passed too close going to their car, the wind blew, it felt lonely. I could tolerate the somebody bumping it issue, but having it go off three of four times a night for no apparent reason was a problem, especially at a hotel. Everyone I knew in the BMW club that had one had the same problem.
Click to expand...

Got it. That would render it useless then.
 
misterk said:
Neither bike was covered.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah. I do carry a cover & use it at motels. That's the "out of sight, out of mind" principle. I've never known whether it actually helps or not, but apparently the Amarillo PD thinks it does.

My cover cost $15 on Amazon, and squishes down to about the size of a large baked potato.
 
Seems like there are way too many reports of this coming out of Amarillo for the past couple of years. While cover and lock helps, I've taken to pushing past Amarillo either way to stay in Claude on the way back home or Dumas on the way out.
 
ShafT said:
Seems like there are way too many reports of this coming out of Amarillo for the past couple of years. While cover and lock helps, I've taken to pushing past Amarillo either way to stay in Claude on the way back home or Dumas on the way out.
Click to expand...

I'll admit to worrying a lot less when I stay in Dumas for the night. I use the Dumas Inn, 1st motel on the right when coming from the Amarillo direction. Cheap, doesn't look like much from the outside, but reasonably clean.

So where do you stay in Claude?
 
Honestly....thieves steal bikes they can sell or strip and sell.

Dirtbikes, Harleys and Sportbikes (or sporty bikes) are way more likely to get stolen than ADV or large touring bikes.

I've got a buddy that literally leaves his keys in his Goldwing overnight and it never gets touched. (think that's pretty stupid...but the point being that nobody steals a Goldwing)

Anyway...when touring with my Goldwing. I don't think about it at all. For my GS, I might give it a second thought but for the KTM, I worry about it and may take some precautions.

Honestly though....at the end of the day...I guess that's why I have insurance. I'm not going to spoil a trip worrying about it but I do appreciate the heads up that it seems to be a bit of a problem in Amarillo.

Kevin.... on that last point....maybe move that hotel on Friday to Dumas. :)
 
Another vote for the cable or chain lock.

Tethered to a stationary object if available or just to another bike would reduce the likelihood of a carry-off theft. Pass the chain or cable through the frame for sure and wheel too if possible.
A disc lock does absolutely nothing for this MO of bike theft as can be seen here. Having a lightweight bike only adds to the ease of theft.

Nothing is 100% theft proof but the best defense is to layer security that requires different tools to defeat each layer. Each layer adds time and exposure to getting caught making the target less and less attractive.

I have seen some riders ask to park bikes right in front of the hotel office, which is normally staffed 24/7.

I'll admit I would not have thought Amarillo would be a high risk place, but that would be my mistake to not take a couple of minutes to secure a bike no matter where.
 
If a nicer hotel, park by the main entrance, as Dave mentioned. I like to park between the columns and potted plants at the check in area.

If a seedy motel, get a first floor room and bring the bike in with you.
 
dukey33 said:
I have seen some riders ask to park bikes right in front of the hotel office, which is normally staffed 24/7.
Click to expand...

I always ask the desk clerk if I could park in the lobby.
No takers, yet, but I ask.
They then usually offer a place.
 
I would adjust the trip. Not stay there. I lived in Amarillo for several years and went to college there. My Dad owned a business there for many years. The interstate I-40 does bring a lot of crime. If you do stay like suggested stay and park the bike where the hotel attendant can see it under the drive up. It will be covered by camera. The majority of the hotels are out on the interstate. The south west side of town is the nicest part. You could look for a hotel to the south. If you don't adjust you might find something off I-27 south of town or even in Canyon, TX. I would not stay on the North side of Amarillo. It was rough when I lived there. I assume you are going North. Dumas is a bit smelly (stinks like cattle), but is a better stay option. Less likely to get stolen.
 
Dumas has a rapidly rising crime issue. Clarendon is a great option, but so is the Southwest part of Amarillo. Getting away from I-40 drastically drops the crime stats. There are some nice places near I-27 and Hollywood (Loop 335) Rd. in Amarillo. These also allow a quick return to I-40 via Loop 335. Amarillo AND Dumas have a really high percentage of recent immigrants. Make your own correlations.

If you're not familiar with the area, I-27 only runs between Lubbock and Amarillo-it is not a through route.
 
Dang , this makes me think I need to buy a Strom for long overnight trips.
 
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