I'm an Idiot, got the Buell Impounded...

"Mercedes Streeter" (smart) 05/28/2018 at 11:42 • Filed to: Two Wheels Bad

0

40

I figured I’d be okay carrying my cert just to get the bike home from my storage unit. Wow, was I wrong.

First, a quick review:

The bike rides...well kinda messy if I’m honest. Second gear is sometimes iffy and the levers are so close to the footrests that I have to be on my tip toes to not accidentally throw it out of gear. I also would have needed to adjust the idle.

But otherwise, it’s a hilariously fun bike that turns heads! It pulls decently hard, even at highway speeds.

The petrol tank in this is interesting. You’ll get maybe 100 miles max out of a tank and there isn’t a fuel gauge, so the trip odometer is your best friend.

After about an hour fitting myself to the bike, I figured I should get it home and start my tweaks so I’m ready to ride it for reals.

Well, none of that really seems to matter anymore. :( When I was just ten minutes from home, a police officer started tailing me. He pulled my plate, found out I don’t have a M on my license, then pulled me over.

I was applauded for getting my cert, however village ordinance says that it’s gotta be on my license to actually count...

So he put me in the back of his car, searched my bag for imaginary weapons, then we sat for an hour for and talked bikes while a tow truck driver failed to figure out the clutch and just dragged it onto his truck.

I then found out what to expect. I should get out of the ticket in court because I’ll actually have my license amended by then.

However, the impound is pretty tricky. If I got the motorcycle out of the impound today, it will be $600. That number increases by $50 every day. I then can appeal the impounding and *maybe* get $400 back, however the bigger problem is that I don’t have $600 burning a hole in my purse that can disappear for two weeks or forever.

Further, $600 is like 60% of what I paid for the thing in the first place. *Sigh*

I don’t know what to do. If I don’t get it today, I will probably have to let it get auctioned off because the impound prices will go out of control. :( I’d rather get another bike than do a short term loan or whatever.

Well, I learned a lovely life lesson the hard way today. And by reading this, I hope you did too. I’m still just processing this nightmare I put myself into when I could have just waited a little longer.

duurtlang > Mercedes Streeter 05/28/2018 at 11:53

1

That sucks. Especially that it has to cost this much.

If I got the motorcycle out of the impound today, it will be $600. That number increases by $50 every day. I then can appeal the impounding and *maybe* get $400 back, however the bigger problem is that I don’t have $600 burning a hole in my purse that can disappear for two weeks or forever.

Sounds like a racket to me. Where I’m from they let you phone a friend to pick it up. Unless there’s a serious legal or physical issue with the vehicle, like when it’s stolen or intentionally unsafe, it won’t get impounded.

DipodomysDeserti > Mercedes Streeter 05/28/2018 at 11:53

3

It’s a lesson I’ve learned a few times throughout my life:

LOREM IPSUM > Mercedes Streeter 05/28/2018 at 11:53

4

$600 today, then you get there and they refuse to release the vehicle unless you have a properly endorsed license holder present... But they’ll tow it around the corner for you, for just another hundred bucks.

Not sure where this is, but $600 seems obscenely expensive. Remind me to not ever go there.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Mercedes Streeter 05/28/2018 at 11:54

5

This is bullshit. American traffic laws seem geared towards collecting cash rather than enforcing safety.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Mercedes Streeter 05/28/2018 at 11:57

1

Not sure how it is where you are (it sounds like my old town in the People’s Republic of Chicagoland), but in Georgia, you get the MSF cert, that *IS* an M class license, even if the Department of Driver Services hasn’t reprinted your license yet. You take the theory (written) and practical (riding) test at the school, you get a waiver (which means DDS doesn’t test you again), and the waiver counts as a temporary license.

And since the state is in charge of licensing drivers and riders, town ordinances mean exactly zilch. You know, like you would expect in the real world.

Also, if you want, I’d sell you my Triumph Sprint ST for cheap. Mainly because I want to move it and get a Multistrada or R1200GS-A.

Mercedes Streeter > LOREM IPSUM 05/28/2018 at 11:59

0

Thankfully if I show up with a trailer I could get it back without licensing issues. Though you’d think the officer would at least offer the chance for someone that is licensed to ride it the ten minutes to my apartment instead of impounding it.

The impounding is $400, with another $200 stacked on by the tow company used by the village. The city I live in isn’t as hardcore as that. If I made it another two minutes, I would have been out of their jurisdiction.

LOREM IPSUM > Mercedes Streeter 05/28/2018 at 12:03

0

Ah, yes, having a trailer and tow vehicle makes all of the difference. Sucks you ran into such a stickler, in such an expensive jurisdiction to get nailed.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > duurtlang 05/28/2018 at 12:07

4

Where I used to live (Outside Chicago in the People’s Republic of Illinois), it *is* a racket.

They do this because they’ve tapped out all the taxes that people are willing to pay and not just flat pack up and leave. In Chicago it also disproportionately affects lower income residents (who are also minorities), and the city knows this. They are doing it because the city books are so out of balance, and they are in debt, that they are doing this to cover the shortfall. (Seize car that was used in “crime”, even if the person is never charged. Then charge massive fees to impound the car, to the point that normal people would call it extortion. Minorities can’t fight back against City Hall, so the City then auctions the car off to make money.)

The rich people on the North side of Chicago have the money to pay the lawyers to get the city to release their cars. The middle class and lower class residents on the South and West side? Nope.

It’s officially called Civil Asset Forfeiture, and it is one of the biggest shames on the American legal system today.

EDIT: Report from the Washington Post about it, in the general sense: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/11/10/report-in-lean-times-police-start-taking-a-lot-more-stuff-from-people/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.0455fa84499a

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 05/28/2018 at 12:12

3

Of course they are. Can’t fund all those MRAPs for police departments without seizing property from the plebs, now can you?

fintail > Mercedes Streeter 05/28/2018 at 12:12

2

Nice revenue stream there, private impound lot owned by a city or local praetorian official or one of their friends or relatives?

Mercedes Streeter > LOREM IPSUM 05/28/2018 at 12:14

1

That seems to be my luck. lol The last time I got stopped (my infamous window tint ticket), the court costs were nearly twice as much as the ticket itself.

The village I got stopped in has a huge police presence for how tiny it is. I think I figured out how they pay for their massive festival each year.

Svend > Mercedes Streeter 05/28/2018 at 12:16

2

In the U.K. you’d of been checked and if the cert wasn’t on your licence but had been given, you’d of been allowed to drive off, even if no certificate you would still have the option to get someone to come pick it up within a certain amount of time.

But then again, the ANPR would of cross checked to say you were entitled to ride on the computer system and told to get your card updated.

Jayhawk Jake > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 05/28/2018 at 12:20

2

In fairness, the law isn’t exactly unclear about getting an endorsement before riding. I wouldn’t have known that the cert paperwork wasn’t enough, but I also don’t ride motorcycles so it’s not like I need to

Mercedes Streeter > duurtlang 05/28/2018 at 12:20

0

Oh yeah, the ticket itself has the ordinance written out that if the user of the vehicle is lacking in endorsements, then the vehicle has to be confiscated as an “Administrative Impound”... I have 30 days to pay $600 plus $50 a day or the bike gets auctioned or crushed.

Unless that tow truck driver ruined my transmission with his poor clutch work, it should be auctioned.

Mercedes Streeter > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs 05/28/2018 at 12:28

0

Omg omg omg that’s beautiful!!! Don’t tempt me! My brain is running a mile a minute and my impulse would be to gleefully say yes!

The MSF works out here like it does for you. The three days I just spent killing myself in the heat scores me a waiver from the written and practical exams from the DMV. All I have to do is walk in, give them ten dollars, then wait for my real license to show up.

From what I can tell, the cert does count as a temp license, but apparently some Illinois cities don’t accept it as such.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > Mercedes Streeter 05/28/2018 at 12:30

1

gaaaaah... well that sucks

still... probably best to get it back today (if you want to keep it and the tow driver hasnt ruined it)

bob and john > Mercedes Streeter 05/28/2018 at 12:30

4

When did you get a buell? I dont remember that post.

Mercedes Streeter > bob and john 05/28/2018 at 12:31

1

My motorcycle adventures have been running a mile a minute!

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/meet-neutron-1825949872

Mercedes Streeter > fintail 05/28/2018 at 12:33

1

Private impound lot used by the city. Must be nice to have an automatic stream of income.

itranthelasttimeiparkedit > Mercedes Streeter 05/28/2018 at 12:40

2

I don’t think cities can override state law though...might want to do a quick call to an attorney on this one, you should be able to get one of these free consultation guys to answer this in 2 mins. Look for one that specializes in motorcycles.

Mercedes Streeter > itranthelasttimeiparkedit 05/28/2018 at 12:44

0

Worth a shot, I’ll check...

Mercedes Streeter > itranthelasttimeiparkedit 05/28/2018 at 13:01

0

Alright, took the first one that is open today. Apparently, the MSF cert does count as a temp license in most states, however it does not in Illinois. The cert functions like passing Driver’s Ed does, you have to go to the DMV to validate it.

They also didn’t need to tow the bike, but if it is baked into their ordinances, they can do it.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Mercedes Streeter 05/28/2018 at 13:10

0

This is what you get for living in IL (possibly the worst state in the country). Just crossing that state made me nervous. It’s like Virginia, only scarier because I know how shitty their financial situation is, therefore they’ll exploit you every chance they get.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 05/28/2018 at 13:20

1

Yes, this is exactly how they’re designed. Traffic laws (anything to do with cars/vehicles/roads) are also treated as guilty until/unless you can prove your innocence, and your opportunity for proving it is in front of a kangaroo court that will deny every attempt at claiming innocence. It’s straight extortion and everyone involved in the system is scum, from most traffic officers through the kangaroo court system.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Svend 05/28/2018 at 13:23

2

I also swear that your police are focused on serving the community and your laws are more fair in many respects. They’re not wolves looking for revenue like ours.

WilliamsSW > Mercedes Streeter 05/28/2018 at 13:29

1

That’s just... bull shit.

Idiots are just tax collectors is all. Hope you fight it and win.

Decay buys too many beaters > Mercedes Streeter 05/28/2018 at 13:32

0

I had no idea you’d bought a Buell!?!

That sucks, best bet is to try and grab it today, those fees add up quickly

Svend > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/28/2018 at 13:39

1

Most are great, some are power monkeys.

Rule one, don’t piss them off, if you get arsey with them, they will respond in kind and enforce the rule of law and be less lenient and may even start being pedantic and look for things.

fintail > Mercedes Streeter 05/28/2018 at 13:51

3

It’d be fun to see how ownership of the lot is connected to city officials. You can be sure it is someone’s friend or relative. Maybe it’s time for an expose, get some out of town media or legal representation behind it. There’s probably some guillotine-worthy POS in your town making bank from it.

My area also has the no endorsement = impound rule, but I am pretty sure that once you pass the test, you’d be OK whether or not you formally have a new license, and in most areas, I doubt the cops would bug someone unless they were being foolish or dangerous.

E92M3 > Mercedes Streeter 05/28/2018 at 13:58

2

Cops can be assholes sometimes. I wrecked my motorcycle after my 90 day temp license expired, just a week before my test to get my M endorsement. I broke my arm and asked the officer if he might give me a ride to the hospital just 2 miles away, instead of having to take an expensive ambulance ride. He said “no”. As I was getting checked in, guess who showed up at the hospital to give me a ticket for riding with an expired license?

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > WilliamsSW 05/28/2018 at 14:32

3

Buell shit

Mercedes Streeter > E92M3 05/28/2018 at 15:10

0

This officer seemed to be a decent guy? Just, idk it seemed like there were more options between searching me (I don’t know why that was even necessary) then towing the bike. I mean, it’s not like the bike had to go far.

He also initially promised me that $175 would get me my bike back. Apparently the police department would just hold onto it for a day for reasons, I guess. Then when he finally gave me the paperwork, he was like “I am sorry, it does appear that it is a real impoundment. I was wrong in what I said earlier.” Well, crap.

Sam > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs 05/28/2018 at 17:01

0

They usually get the MRAPs for free/nearly-free, though. Because our military-industrial complex has gotten just that huge.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Mercedes Streeter 05/28/2018 at 17:14

0

EDIT: I should read better before commenting.

facw > Sam 05/28/2018 at 17:29

1

They get them cheap, but they still cost a lot to operate.

AdverseMartyr > Mercedes Streeter 05/28/2018 at 21:02

0

Well, that sucks. The only viable solution I see is moving from Illinois. Trust me, everything is better once you leave... Unless you move to California, don’t do California it sucks as well. I hear Florida is not so good also. Hawaii is great if you make 6 figures though. (Ok, it’s great even if you don’t make more than 4 figures, but then you can’t afford housing or food.)

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > LOREM IPSUM 05/28/2018 at 22:17

1

$600 is very very bad. My impound was 350-ish overnight.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Mercedes Streeter 05/29/2018 at 05:47

0

whoops!

Le Monjello > Mercedes Streeter 05/29/2018 at 07:42

0

Got to be pricy, lots of those local politicians have to “wet their beaks.”

nerd_racing > Mercedes Streeter 05/29/2018 at 08:46

0

Wait so you didn’t go to the DMV yet to present the cert from the MSF and actually update your license? If that is the case then you may be on the hook because that isn’t the same as doing all the paperwork first.