Stolen Bike finds new legitimate owner
Mon, July 5, 2021 
Back in November 2016 I got an email from a Police Officer with the Moreno Valley PD, in Riverside County, California. He had a Fuso bike in his possession that was thought to be stolen, and he was trying to track down the rightful owner. (Picture above.)
The bike was not listed on my Registry, and I had no way of knowing who the original owner was as I sold all my frames though bike dealers, so no longer had records of individual frames, or where they went. I did however post the story here on my blog, and posted a link on the Dave Moulton Bikes, Facebook Group.
In 2018 this 60 cm. Fuso bike, frame number #948, was sold by auction from the police impound after the new owner had posted it in three different newspapers. This was required for transfer of ownership. The new owner has now listed it on my Bike Registry.
It seems to me a lot of people made a real effort to try and find the owner of this bike after it was stolen. The owner, it appears did not even take the time to file a police report. Had he done so the bike would have been returned. The same as it would have been had he listed it on my Registry.
If you want to win the lottery you must first buy a lottery ticket. If your bike is stolen and you would like to get it back, you increase your odds greatly by filing a police report. If it is a bike I built and it is listed on my registry, I can flag it as stolen and you will have a whole host of fans of the brand looking out for it.
To the original owner it was obviously just a bike, and his thought was probably. ‘My bike is stolen, and I’ll never see it again so I’ll just get another bike.’ I am pleased this long drawn out story has come to a happy conclusion. Welcomed back into a family of owners where FUSO #948 will be appreciated for what it is, rather than being just another bike.
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Reader Comments (1)
If I had a bike that looked like that, I wouldn’t want it back either.
Best thing that could happen is it is stripped, put into rehab, given new, appropriate parts and set up properly. And if even a modicum of self-respect results it is a better than loathing one’s shadow.
Is a bike more than the sum of its parts? Seems the best are served by riders that know. After all, bicycles don’t ride themselves. The best made bikes will take the best riders to their limit, while the best riders take lesser bikes to their limits.
At least, that is what I have found.