08/14/2026
A 4 AM phone call no rider expects to receive. 🚨
While staying overnight near Reims during a European road trip, one of our customers was alerted by Monimoto that his motorcycle was being moved. What happened next is a real-world example of why knowing about a theft quickly can make all the difference. 🔒
Here’s the story in his own words:
"In July 2025 myself and 3 friends were reaching the end of our annual European Road Trip which in 2025 had taken us over the Stelvio Pass and home through Northern France. Two of us had recently purchased BMW R1250 GSs, one a brand new R1300GS and one a Kawasaki Z1000sx. We stopped overnight on the outskirts of Reims. The hotel had what appeared to be a secure and well-lit gated car park with what we thought was the added security of 60 French riot Police who checked in at the same time we did.
We secured the bikes and bedded down for the night. As a background to this story one of my 4-year-old grandsons had been admitted to hospital in the UK with breathing difficulties and this was my first thought when my phone rang at 04.00. However, I saw that it was Monimoto calling, and alerted my roommate, who looked out of our first-floor window and saw people at our bikes. He shouted, but by the time we got out to the car park both 1250s had gone. I had an alarmed disc lock fitted, but I didn’t hear it and to remove it they simply cut a section out of the disc which was on the floor.
The night receptionist had a couple of friends in reception with him and he had seen the thieves, but they had threatened them not to take any action or there would be consequences. Also the bikes were not registered against our rooms so we couldn't have been alerted directly. Within minutes the French lads had called the police on our behalf and they responded quickly. I was able to talk them directly to my bike using the Monimoto tracking and positioning on my phone and the bike was recovered with minimal damage within an hour.
My bike was the only one fitted with a tracker. The 1300GS was fitted with a Litelok X3 which they had tried to remove but given up. My friends 1250 which was disc locked and chained was recovered a week later being ridden in Reims with French plates. The Z1000sx was untouched.
We have since learned from the French Police that the thefts were part of a major organised crime group responsible for the theft of around £800,000 worth of bikes in a year which they have now closed down.
I have used Monimoto since I had a bike stolen in the UK in 2022. This year all three of my friends also have them fitted. I like the fact that it is self-contained, easily transferable and I know it will alert me to the slightest movement of my bike. We have recently returned from completing the Route des Grandes Alpes on the same bikes and Monimoto gave us peace of mind."
