Big bikes not attractive to motorcycle thieves

MANILA, Philippines– Motorcycle thefts are escalating in the Metro, but owners of big bikes can breathe a sigh of relief, for now. It seems that bike bandits are not fond of costly big bikes, which – despite their high price tags – are more difficult to get rid off in the stolen goods market.

Bike thieves are in the know that is harder to find a buyer for these big bikes – those with engine displacements of 400 cc and above – or their spare parts.

As Chief Supt. Arrazad Subong of the Philippine National Police’s Highway Patrol Group (HPG) pointed out in an interview on Tuesday: “There is no wide market for big bikes. Motorcycles are very common to ordinary folk but not big bikes.”

According to HPG records, incidents of stolen motorcycle theft increased from 1,578 from January-June of 2013, to 2,866 within the same period this year. This is almost twice the amount of bikes stolen this year than last year.

Subong pointed out that these thefts did not involve big bikes, noting that a big bike is “too expensive” and “easily recognizable.”

“There are few big bikes here compared to ordinary motorcycles. Also, owners of big bikes take care of them well so there is no high demand for spare parts,” Subong said.

“The suspect would consider if there’s a market for the vehicle he’s eyeing. Will he make a profit immediately? Those are the factors. Besides, it’s harder to hide because it’s easily recognizable,” he added.

HPG data shows that 3,170 motor vehicles and motorcycles were stolen from January to June 2014. This reflects an increase by nearly 100 percent from last year’s registered thefts of 1,881 vehicles stolen within the same period of time.

Subong pointed out that of the 3,170 cases this year, 304 thefts involved motor vehicles while 2,866 involved motorcycles.