What to do when your two wheeler battery is stolen ?

Theft Incident

We stay in an independent house near Forum Mall, Koramangala, Bangalore. The house is a multi storied building which accommodates 6 tenants in ground floor + two floors and house owner resides from 3rd floor. Its a well maintained house with good water supply and lift services. There’s two-wheeler parking space available in the ground floor for tenants and car parking for house owner. There’s no security guard deployed in the house and the main gate is usually closed but not locked and the side gate is open through out the day/night.

Few months back, while I was leaving by walk in a hurry from my home to office to catch a public transport bus , I accidentally looked at my Honda Shine bike and to my surprise, found that the box under the seat was open and some wiring was cut. I informed the owner, he helped me to understand that the bike’s battery was stolen and I was shocked as to why anyone would resort to such a minor yet troubling theft. He was also surprised by the incident as once bike itself was stolen in that lane but battery theft strongly pointed to some one being a small time thief or who desperately needed the battery. He must have definitely known the place well. As it was newly constructed house, many workers were familiar with the house and one of them or their acquaintances were the initial suspects. More than money that it would cost, I was frustrated on the repair process.

House owner suggested me to check the petrol and at the first glance it looked like even the petrol was stolen. I never bothered to know about battery or gauging petrol consumption inside the tank. This was an eye opener for me. I had an important meeting at office, so had to rush and handed over the case to my parents. In the evening, my father called me that even the gas cylinder was also stolen and we had to file a FIR in the Police Station. Here are the additional details: What to do when your gas cylinder is stolen.

Repair Steps

Coming back to the battery of the bike. Next day, I was worried on how to take it to the nearest mechanic or Honda Service station. I attempted starting the bike with kick and it worked ! Got to know from the fuel meter that the petrol was not stolen which also proved my house owner’s point that without any cut on the petrol pipe or few drops on the floor it’s not possible for some one to take it from the bike.

He suggested to show it to the local mechanic but my parents and I decided to consult Raja Honda service center which was close by, opposite to Forum Mall. After one of the servicing folks had a look, initially he was surprised about the incident He observed the cut portion and said that the entire wiring should also be changed and the battery alone can’t be replaced. I was confused, how the thief would fix it to his bike or even if he sells it off, some one has to do an ad-hoc fix.

Insurance Stuff

I inquired about the insurance, warranty on the bike, AMC special coverage of the servicing station etc but nothing could cover a battery theft of a two-wheeler ! After checking further, realized that the servicing center would always do the best fix and not a temporary one. I handed over the bike to them and had to wait for almost a week as the wiring spare part was not available. Anyways after a week, I got my bike back with new wiring and a new battery. It had cost me over Rs 3000. There were some problems with auto start with the new repair but after consulting the servicing station again, they corrected it.

So more than losing the battery, it’s the aftermath process that frustrated me about the theft. Anyways, the best way is to get it corrected by the servicing station who would do a proper fix.

Also check our another article on what to do when your bike lock gets jammed ?