AUSTRALASIAN BIKER NEWS

 

 

I bought my bike here...what a c!@@ of an act....

Harley shop owner 'devastated' by $1m ram-raid
By Jano Gibson
June 1, 2005 - 11:50AM
 




Firemen standing at the burnt out shell of the Harley Davidson business in Blacktown.
Photo: Dallas Kilponen
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Harley shop gutted
Shocked staff were tight-lipped today about why a prime mover was rammed into their Blacktown motorcycle showroom - destroying it and unique Harley-Davidsons.

About $1 million worth of damage was caused when the prime mover smashed through the front of the Harley-Davidson and Buell of Blacktown motorbike outlet in Sunnyholt Road before 3am today.

Police say it is too early to speculate if the incident is related to motorcycle gang violence, but it appears nothing was stolen.

A crime scene has been established but workers at the shop were remaining tight-lipped as they inspected the ruins of their workplace.

John "Tom" Browne, who has run the shop in Sunnyholt Road for 25 years told smh.com.au: "I'm that devastated I've just got no comment."

The gutted prime mover was pulled out of the showroom to be towed away for forensic examination. Its roof had been burnt off and its huge tyres had melted.

It was stolen from Smithfield on Monday night, say police.

The entire shop, as well as most of its collection of antique and modern bikes, was destroyed in the blaze that followed.


"A few bikes have escaped damage but most have suffered extensive smoke and heat damage," a police spokeswoman said.

"The early estimations of the cost of damage are around the $1 million mark," she said.

Bill Meek, Seven Hills fire station commander, told smh.com.au it looked as though the prime mover had been driven into the shop and then set ablaze.

He said there was a smell of petrol when fire crews arrived, even though the prime mover is powered by diesel. He said the original blaze melted the truck's diesel fuel tank, spilling its content to further fuel the blaze.

A security guard patrolling the street noticed the shop well alight and contacted authorities about 3am.

A number of people were seen fleeing the scene in a white Commodore, police said.

It took almost an hour for fire fighters to extinguish the blaze. Adjoining businesses escaped damage, police said.

The shop contained bikes that were the only ones of their kind in the world, police said.

Neighbour Danny Van Praag, 36, who lives opposite, said he was woken at 2.50am by a loud blast.

"It was just an almighty voom," he said.

"I came racing down to see what was going on and saw all these flames."

He said the flames were leaping about five metres over the roof of the shop.

He added that the shop was very popular with people who just wanted to see the antique motorcycles.

"It was like a museum," he said, adding that he used to take his eight-year-old son to see machines that one would never be able to see anywhere else.

 

ANTIQUE and late model Harley Davidsons were destroyed or badly damaged when a Sydney motorcycle shop was ram-raided with a prime mover and gutted early today .

A security guard reported a fire in the shop in Sunnyholt Road, Blacktown, in Sydney's west, about 3am (AEST) today.

Police say the prime mover, stolen from nearby Smithfield, was driven into the front of the shop and set alight.

Firefighters took an hour to control the blaze which destroyed the shop and caused considerable damage to its stock of motor cycles, although none were stolen.

Police say several people were reported to have fled the scene in a white Commodore sedan, last seen travelling north along Sunnyholt Road.

Meanwhile, police reported that more than $100,000 worth of motorcycles and equipment had been stolen from a dealership at Goulburn, south of Sydney.

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