Modern Buddy

I've had a couple of friends who have had their scooters' batteries stolen while parked in San Francisco and Oakland. It seems pretty easy to open up the cover and grab a battery with just a screwdriver.

Any suggestions for making it a bit harder on the crooks?

try attaching a few double edge razor blades in around the battery in the compartment. It may not stop the thief, but it may make him easier to track down.

Get a Stella. Keep 'em guessing where the battery is

I can't believe they're going through the work to steal a $15 battery.

What's next? The $6 spark plug?

k1dude wrote:I can't believe they're going through the work to steal a $15 battery.

Me neither. Why not steal a few of the body panels? They are worth more.

Because they can be taken to a recycling center for a few bucks? Don't have to bother finding a buyer then

No, they steal the battery because $35 or so is a bunch of money to them. Guess where the most batteries seem to get stolen? The Union Mission/homeless shelters. If a scooter was you only means of transportation and you needed a $35ish dollar battery you do what needs to be done. I DO NOT endorse battery theft but know how hard it is to make ends meet sometimes. I replaced my standard phillips head screws with anti-tamper screws AND I put a home made metal strap over the top of the battery that anchors/bolts down to the bottom. If they go thru that much trouble to steal my battery than I guess it was well earned.

Try bolts with screw heads that are not so common. Maybe the thieves only have a few tools...
Rotten scoundrels indeed.

GregsBuddy wrote:Try bolts with screw heads that are not so common. Maybe the thieves only have a few tools...

Good idea. Torx head or Robertson (square) head. Virtually nobody carries around Torx or Robertson bits in their pocket.

Same problem! I'm in SF (SOMA/inner mission). Had the battery stolen three times this year (would be more but I started taking the battery out every night). This last time it was stolen during the day. Got it on security cam. Couple of white guys on bicycles came up and had in about 2 minutes (not sure what took so long, I get my battery out quicker than that lol).

One time I had taken the battery out and put it in the storage area and it was stolen out of there too!

Curious what area your friends had their battery stolen in SF?

Why would so many batteries get stolen? Why would someone go through all the hassle to steal the battery on a machine they could cut a lock off of and run off with the whole machine quicker? Are the batterys stolen and cashed in somewhere for a few cents, or what are they doing with them? I guess I just don't get it.

luckyscroller788 wrote:Why would so many batteries get stolen? Why would someone go through all the hassle to steal the battery on a machine they could cut a lock off of and run off with the whole machine quicker? Are the batterys stolen and cashed in somewhere for a few cents, or what are they doing with them? I guess I just don't get it.

Cops come after you if you steal a scooter. You can't hide a scooter theft. You can sell a stolen battery quickly to make a couple of bucks. A screw driver is easy to carry, a bolt cutter is not something you want to get caught in possession of if you're the sketchy type.

JettaKnight wrote:

luckyscroller788 wrote:Why would so many batteries get stolen? Why would someone go through all the hassle to steal the battery on a machine they could cut a lock off of and run off with the whole machine quicker? Are the batterys stolen and cashed in somewhere for a few cents, or what are they doing with them? I guess I just don't get it.

Cops come after you if you steal a scooter. You can't hide a scooter theft. You can sell a stolen battery quickly to make a couple of bucks. A screw driver is easy to carry, a bolt cutter is not something you want to get caught in possession of if you're the sketchy type.

Not in California. California voters voted to allow no real penalty for stealing less than $950. If you get caught stealing an item with a value of less than $950, you only get a summons to appear before a court. The vast majority of thieves ignore the summons because there's no real consequences.

Since it's become a complete waste of time for police to try preventing theft since there's no real consequences, they won't even waste their time writing the summons. Property crime has exploded as a result.

luckyscroller788 wrote:try attaching a few double edge razor blades in around the battery in the compartment. It may not stop the thief, but it may make him easier to track down.

Replace the battery lid hold-down Philips screws with "one-way" screws, and the thieves won't be able to get to your battery without the special screwdriver for one-way screws.

Use them for your license plate also.

MikeR wrote:

luckyscroller788 wrote:try attaching a few double edge razor blades in around the battery in the compartment. It may not stop the thief, but it may make him easier to track down.

Replace the battery lid hold-down Philips screws with "one-way" screws, and the thieves won't be able to get to your battery without the special screwdriver for one-way screws.

Use them for your license plate also.

What if your battery goes bad? I like the idea of a nonstandard screw head, but torx or square is better, I think.

Or the not-quite-round heads the admin at work once used.

Who buys used motorcycle batteries? Lately there has been a rash of people stealing wiper blades off cars here. I don't see how there is a market or buyer of used wiper blades. The same with motorcycle batteries.

I don't see a motorcycle shop buying used batteries off the street. Nobody in their right mind would buy a used battery for their motorcycle.

I don't see it being an issue or a real concern.

Dave

Yalzin wrote:Because they can be taken to a recycling center for a few bucks? Don't have to bother finding a buyer then

^^^this...i once saw a couple drug addicts smashing up a computer to grab a few parts to bring to the scrap yard for a few bucks to put towards their next high