Six motorcycles stolen from Colorado small business focused on rider safety education

Six motorcycles were stolen from a locked storage container in Colorado overnight. The bikes belong to an Aurora small business focused on teaching motorcycle road safety and the owner is pleading for their return.

Jim Wilson, the owner of Ride On Motorcycle Training, visited his storage containers outside Rangeview High School to prepare for weekend classes. When he arrived Friday, he noticed that the door to the storage container was cracked open.

"I opened it up, and I saw that in our 40-foot container, half our motorcycles were taken," Wilson said. "My heart dropped. I'm like, 'Oh no. Bikes are gone.' We have classes. We had two full classes this past weekend. We weren't going to have enough bikes to run class."

Despite the theft, Wilson and his team managed to make the necessary adjustments to hold classes. He says the theft of six motorcycles, valued at around $22,000, ultimately disrupts their mission as a company.

"We're trying to teach riders, build their skills up and things like that," Wilson explained. "We're trying to help the public. Colorado's had our motorcycle fatality rates gone through the roof. We had the highest year ever last year. We're here trying to change that, trying to educate riders, make them safer, increase their skills. So it hurts that, you know, these are taken and it's going to inhibit that a little bit instead of helping."

Surveillance video provided by Aurora Public Schools shows two people in dark clothing attempting to open the container late Thursday night. They were able to open the heavy-duty lockbox that contained the keys.

 Another angle shows a third individual walking with them, as they roll and ride bikes across the street. They'd return on foot, leaving with two more sets.

"I think somebody saw us out here doing classes. They knew we were keeping our motorcycles in these containers," Wilson said. "It seemed they knew what they were doing."

The six bikes stolen include:

2023 BMW 310R White WB30G4308PRA53492
2023 BMW 310R Black WB30G4305PRA53501
2020 SUZUKI DR200SE Black JS1SH42A0L7100197
2017 SUZUKI DR200SE Gray JS1SH42A1H2101749
2013 SUZUKI GW250 Black LCGGJ55FD1100606
2011 SUZUKI TU250X Silver JS1NJ4CA7B2101021

For the thieves, Wilson's plea is simple: return the bikes.

"You guys are doing a disservice to save people's lives," he said, emphasizing the larger impact of their actions. "Stealing these motorcycles was a disservice to the public. To those that wanted to come out and take classes and learn to ride these safely."

Wilson says APD has been able to recover one of the motorcycles. He's going to pick it up this week and hope it's still in good shape. If you have any information about the stolen bikes, please contact police.