Buddy SCooter Battery Stolen. South Boston, MA

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Godio13
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Location: South Boston, Ma

Buddy SCooter Battery Stolen. South Boston, MA

Post by Godio13 »

Any tips on preventing this again, besides;

1. Unhooking the battery every night
2. Housing the scooter somewhere (not an option)
3. Scooter Cover
4. Tamper proof screws - the cover is plastic and the a**holes will likely just stick something under it to pry it out.
5. An explosive device that blows their faces off because that's not legal. But wouldn't that be nice.


Thanks!
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skully93
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Post by skully93 »

Man, you guys in Boston seem to get them stolen quite a bit!

I recommend just putting landmines all around.
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KABarash
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Post by KABarash »

skully93 wrote:I recommend just putting landmines all around.
Seriously, what can one do?
The obvious thing to ask is why can't people keep their hands off other folks' stuff?
Someone was walking over towards my scoot in the grocery store parking lot, where I now work, saw me with helmet in hand and quickly changed direction, walking 'sheepishly' away.....
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charlie55
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Post by charlie55 »

6. Install a motion-sensitive alarm (and hope that you can hear it when it goes off).
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ed85379
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Post by ed85379 »

charlie55 wrote:6. Install a motion-sensitive alarm (and hope that you can hear it when it goes off).
I have a Gorilla alarm myself, but I use it so rarely. I can't use it while at work, because trucks driving down Atlantic Ave were setting it off. I pretty much only use it when I can't chain it up, but will be out of sight of it for more than a couple minutes. Of course, it constantly drains the battery too, even while it of off, so eventually, this spring, I installed an off-switch under the seat to completely cut the power.

I see people parking "naked" (unchained) scoots out here all the time, and I just keep thinking "only a matter of time before someone walks off with that". Then there are the ones with a little cable securing it that looks so thin I bet I could cut it with a sturdy pair of scissors. Oh well, they'll learn, just like I learned that I can't even trust my own back yard without a good chain, because even my neighbors are scumbags.
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Godio13
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Post by Godio13 »

Hmm, thanks for your honesty! I just bought the Gorilla alarm 9000 series today on impulse, but after reading your posts I don't think that this solution really is the solution that I need. I do have neighbors and fear that it will go off, but I didn't think of the fact that it drains the battery. That sucks. Or that it seems more of a hassle than anything else.

When I see a bike alone, without a chain, I used to think that those people were just really really risky. But now, after owning a scooter and spent two years researching how to protect/possibilities, I first think "hmm, I wonder what alarm they have." So, who knows. Either way, if it is not the battery, it is something else. And if it is not something else, it's the whole bike....
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Syd
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Post by Syd »

Can you wrap (yet another) cable or chain around the floorboard tight enough to make getting at it more difficult? That could be enough.
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PeteH
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Post by PeteH »

By my calculations (and by my personal experience), indeed any alarm system, Gorilla included, will eventually drain the battery as they're always running the radio receiver, waiting for you to press the key fob. The Gorilla's drain is down in the single milliamps, but after a few hundred hours, it adds up.

In real life, my Gorilla drained the battery in somewhere between a week and two weeks of non-riding. Silly me. Learned my lesson, bought a new battery (I had parked the bike for much longer, and really crushed the battery), and started remembering to hook it to my Battery Tender Jr. if I wasn't absolutely sure I'd be riding again within the next day or two.

Short story: it's only an issue if you park the bike for a week or more with the alarm connected.

All that being said, I like having the Gorilla on board. It's thwarted the efforts of a couple of kids to dork with the bike. It occasionally false-alarms in high winds, but the incremental peace of mind is nice.
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VinylDoctor
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Post by VinylDoctor »

I got a disc brake alarm lock at a motorcycle place.
course you said large air waves set yours off.
and you cant use security screws cause you said they just pry it off. you might have to remove it each time.
50CC Cape Cod
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Post by 50CC Cape Cod »

try making up or getting a metal plate that can be used to replace the plastic as long as inside protected from any electric contacts. and secure with tamper proof hardware, may even attach to the original holes if there are on your scooter floor board.
bcsarmaa
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Just had mine stolen from South Boston as well

Post by bcsarmaa »

Sorry to hear about your scooter, I woke up on a beautiful Labor Day morning to find my Buddy missing.

Have you heard any follow-up from C-6? I'm not holding my breath to get mine back but I'm also nervous about buying another scooter if this is going to happen again in a couple of months.

I think we are in the same situation… I don't have a garage or anything secure and out of site to park at. I had my Buddy chained to the sturdiest light pole I could find (the concrete type). I was even home while it happened. I think they snapped the lock and put it in a truck (lots of trucks/U-hauls this past weekend).
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