Rear wheel stolen from BMW GS parked in central London
This is seriously concerning
THIEVES have stolen the rear wheel from a BMW R1200GS Rallye parked in central London, leaving the owner stranded and worried that they will return for the rest of the bike.
The theft was reported on the UK Motorcycle Theft Protest Facebook group yesterday afternoon.
Petros Moschouris wrote: "This afternoon between 2-4pm, rear wheel stolen from a BMW 1200 GS Rallye. Central London, W1, Devonshire street. Owner afraid they will come back for the bike."
Members of the group responded angrily, and offered suggestions for the rider to safely recover his bike.
Others suggested methods to prevent this in future, including fitting locking wheel nuts or removing the bike's centre stand.
And some speculated on why thieves would take the wheel - whether it's to sell on, or fit to a stolen GS that had its rear wheel locked up.
Whatever the thieves' motivation, this is a seriously concerning theft. It goes to show that no matter how well you lock up your bike, thieves will still be able to steal components. And given the market for secondhand bike parts, and the fact that wheels and other parts don't have ID numbers, they won't struggle to sell them on...
