Isle of Man TT Fans Reunited With Their Stolen Motorcycles

What should have been a trip of a lifetime to the Isle of Man TT could have turned into a disaster, had it not been for the swift recovery of two stolen motorbikes recovered by the Merseyside Police.

The bikes were taken from Queens Drive, Walton, in the early hours of Tuesday 28 May, forcing the owners of the bikes, a Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin Adventure Sports and a Kawasaki Ninja 1000 SX, to continue to the event without them. Thankfully for the road racing-loving Germans, officers from Operation Needle were able to trace the bikes after a member of the public reported ‘suspicious activity’ in the Walton area. Once recovered, the bikes were then able to be transported to the Isle of Man so they could be reunited with their respective rightful owners.

Many visitors to the Isle of Man use Liverpool as a stopping off point on their journey, before catching the Steam Packet ferry from the port of Heysham to take them to the island. That means an increase in the number of bikes in the area, and a busy time for police across the region. The focus of Op Needle is to prevent theft of motorcycles, and to reassure motorcyclists and visitors to Liverpool City Centre that the police will identify, find and disrupt those involved in the theft of bikes. 

Speaking about the incident, Sergeant Craig Winstanley, Op Needle, (pictured) said: 

“It is great to be able to reunite two victims of crime with their beloved motorcycles over on the Isle of Man so that they can enjoy the rest the TT Festival.  

"This was only possible thanks to great partnerships we have here in Liverpool between Merseyside Police and the business community.

"I personally want to thank the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company for accommodating the two motorcycles on a later ferry and their assistance with reuniting the motorcycles with their owners in the Isle of Man once the ferry had docked.”

Images from Merseyside Police

Find all the latest motorcycle news on Visordown.com