RE: [CR]Re: Stolen Bikes

(Example: History:Norris Lockley)

In-Reply-To: <e6.7168f6bf.3058f1bb@cs.com>
From: "Fred Masterton" <fritz1255@hotmail.com>
To: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: RE: [CR]Re: Stolen Bikes
Date: Wed, 14 Sep 2005 07:38:48 -0400


My very first 10-speed I found seemingly abandoned at a college campus in about 1969. I reported the find to the campus cops, who never did find the owner, so I got to keep it. Always wondered what the history of that bike was. Was it really abandoned, stolen, what? Since nobody came forward, we'll never know.


>From: Carb7008@cs.com
>To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
>Subject: [CR]Re: Stolen Bikes
>Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2005 23:23:39 EDT
>
>This issue has always been problematic for me as the hunt for bikes (and
>parts) may lead to questionable persons and places. Of course its
>impossible to
>tell if a bike rightfully belongs to its present seller even if it hasn't
>changed hands in 50 years! A ground-off serial number is a powerful clue
>to the
>bike's checkered history but what can be done about that? I guess you can
>give
>the bike to the Police and if unclaimed, it will be scrapped or sold at
>auction. If its a nice bike, who among us would do this? What if a fellow
>lister
>buys a bike, describes it to the list, then another lister says "that's my
>bike
>stolen 10 years ago out of my garage!" Should the original "rightful"
>owner
>get the bike back for free? Should he reimburse the present "unrightful"
>owner for what he paid for it? They say possession is 9/10ths of the law,
>is this
>just a cliche if no corraboration exists? If a new owner is morally,
>legally, ethically (take your pick) obligated to return a bike to someone
>claiming to
>be the legitimate owner, what level of proof must be offered, a police
>report, bill of sale, serial number, all of the above? If we on this list
>propose a
>"stolen bike" policy, why would anyone describe a recent acquisition with
>any
>detail for fear of a "stolen bike" claim unless he/she was 100% sure of its
>provenance? Wouldn't one of the greatest resources this list provides be
>diminished? Is this entire subject moot unless we're talking about a bike
>whose
>"Bluebook" value is greater than $100, $1,000, $10,000?
>
>Jack Romans
>Sacramento, CA