Ducati Monster Forum

Anyone know anything about the demise of Ram Cycles in Gaithersburg, MD.? He has an S4R of mine that I'd like to get back.... I stopped by there the other day after hearing a rumor that he had closed to find a note on the door saying he was closed for the day, and if you had a bike there to call him and it listed a number which when dialed, went would have gone directly to voice mail if the mailbox was

I talked to MCPD and was told 'it isn't stolen because you gave it to him'. While I see the logic of the statement, I would have thought that if he disappeared with my bike AFTER I GAVE IT TO HIM, then by definition that it would be stolen, and not only that but they would know who had done the deed. Silly me. Their suggestion was to hire a lawyer.... I suppose I now really know the meaning of the term "to cop out".

Anyone here have any idea of how to contact Alex? Know his last name? Anything?

the 95 #Ducati #M944 build by Alex Swetlow, don't miss the clip at the very end of this Monster waving bye with its license plate tag!


Maybe that will help ya.

??? After I saw this thread I did some googling ooc, saw a ton of negative information about Ram Cycles and this Alex fella...what's the significance to this post?

Thanks for the last name info, that's the guy.

The significance of the post is that I'm trying to locate my bike.

Last name and reg# would be helpful. ;)

No I understand that, I was wondering about Red Baron's post, but it makes sense now. His last name can be found within 5 seconds of Googling Ram Cycles and no video or link was showing up on my mobile browser. Good luck getting your bike back, this guy seems like a real creep who ran a pretty shady business.

That's a damn nice M944 though.

That is a nice M944, no doubt.

 Alex seemed pretty standup until this came along, I'm hoping I can get it resolved. Right now, though, it really feels as if I'm out a Ducati with no valid legal recourse. Hell, without a police report saying it has been stolen, I don't think I can even make an insurance claim.

I was talking about his tag# and last name from red baron's post.

You might consider taking your info out of your post for privacy reasons.

Maybe skip the local yocals and call the State Police? I know it really sucks having to rely on kops...I'd contemplate calling up a good friend, get a ninja outfit (black jeans/hoodie/cap/gloves) and a wunderbar and...getting it back myself. But that's def not good advice....I am anything but rational when I've been robbed of what I work my tail off for.

^^^ Horrible advice.

You may have put it in for repair but it is still stolen.  Call the police, call the D.A.  Then call some friends and find the turd.....

Looks like PETTIT & GRIFFIN INC are the owners of those buildings.
http://www.yellowpages.com/gaithersburg-md/mip/airpark-one-condo-assoc-pettit-465789152 (http://www.yellowpages.com/gaithersburg-md/mip/airpark-one-condo-assoc-pettit-465789152)

You might be able to reach them at that number, or their offices here:
http://www.pettitcompanies.com (http://www.pettitcompanies.com)

Property owners have opened up shops in the past to let owners reclaim their property. Might be worth a shot.

I'd also fire off a letter to the state's Attorney General, as well as the BBB, local paper, etc. who might be able to apply some pressure and/or raise the issue.

Good luck and keep us posted.

I know, 'tis what I said...on the other hand, I've seen people fight civil battles for years trying to reclaim property that was rightfully theirs. Not a lot of options when you're a victim, that's why it's best to avoid being one to begin with.

It's not that the cops don't want to do anything, it's that they can't.  

The law probably reads "taken WITHOUT consent".  It also usually mentions "with the intent to permenantly deprive the owner of the property".

I have had to tell many people this after they loaned their car out to a friend, who then doesn't return it upon the agreed upon time.

We did have a limit that if the car wasn't returned by X many days, then we would list the car as stolen.  Until then, there was nothing we could do except put out a BOLO (Be On Look Out) for the vehicle.

What you describe is pretty impossible to prove the "without consent", and "depriving" parts of the law.

If you gave it to the guy for service AND it is still sitting in the guys shop, there is nothing the police can do.  It is a civil case.  Police have little to no power when this happens.  They can't break the door down and get your property back.  Even if you could see it sitting in the shop.

Now if the guy is out and riding your bike after the shop has closed down, that is an entirely different story.

Great advice, My plan for today was to attempt to find out who the owners/property managers are and start with them, so you just saved me what would probably have been for me hours of effort. Thank you!

I totally get why it isn't possible for the police to do anything, but at some point, what started as service becomes theft if one doesn't have ones' property returned. At least, I would have thought that that was the case. According to the officer I spoke with, that isn't what happens. It becomes a civil case with disputed property. Great for the lawyers, not so great for me....

Lawyers - Bad
Thief - Bad
Victim broke paying lawyer - Bad

Boy I miss the good old days where you would just drag the guy out of his house and reclaim your goods.  I got burgled once in a little mountain town and managed to figure out who did it faster than the cops did.  The cops came to my house to take the info accidentally dropped a copy of the guys personal info, home address, drivers license and social on my desk.  That was after mentioning that they had little resources to deal with home burglaries.  I managed to catch and hold him for arrest, it was a little messy as he resisted arrest.....  Scumbags are scumbags and they should be dealt with on a level they understand.

*Disclaimer*  The above is not "advice".
     

;D

Mr. Mixer, I hope all works out well.

Indeed.  [thumbsup]

Should have "invited" him over.  [evil]

 [laugh]

conversion.

Value of s4r is district court stuff in MD.

 

UPDATE-UPDATE-UPDATE-UPDATE-UPDATE-UPDATE-UPDATE-UPDATE-UPDATE-UPDATE-UPDATE

Alex just called me. He has been out of town due to an illness in his family - I had been told this by the folks in the business next to his yesterday when I went by there to see what I could see, so I don't think it's B.S.

While there has been bad press from some people about him, once again, he has treated me decently. Everyone is different, and folks treated the same way will often perceive things in radically different ways. While I'm sure that issues that left a bad taste in some folks' mouths could have been handled better by Alex, overall he has treated me pretty decently. I wish I had heard from him about his business issues before getting the info from a third party, but I'm thinking things happened pretty quickly with the sudden health issue.

He offered to deliver my bike to me, as it currently isn't running, so I should have it back in my living room in a couple of days.

Thanks for all the advice and help you guys have provided.

Very glad to hear it worked out with having to employ a team of sharks and hunters.   [thumbsup]


In my experience people that are into motorcycles can be quite passionate.  We do not however always make the best decisions.  It is our nature.  Facts are that we ride a vehicle that in its natural state is already laying on its side.  We ride it between massive chunks of moving steel on a surface that is abrasive.  Just when that is going well we then try to get that bike leaned over to as close to it's natural state as we can.

Nope we don't always make the best decisions.   ;D