A Hamilton Hill motorcycle shop owner has been left with a hefty damage bill after burglars targeted him twice in just over a week.
Perth Husqvarna was broken into and pillaged by burglars on back-to-back weekends in April, leaving the store’s principal dealer Erich Zwick to deal with the financial fallout.
The thieves broke in in the early hours of the morning on April 19, and then again on April 27.
“(The first time) they managed to get in and escaped with one bike, with quite a bit of damage to the building. Those two guys that broke in left quite a bit of blood behind and have since been caught,” Mr Zwick said.
“The second break-in that happened, I was a little bit more unlucky; they managed to get in this time and took four bikes, six helmets and about 20 pairs of gloves.
“They ended up dumping one bike just shortly after stealing it because I don’t think they could get it started.”
Mr Zwick said the damage bill was around $70,000 and was only partly covered by his insurance.
“Each bike comes with a $1500 excess and then there’s certain things that aren’t covered. Either way, I’m going to be left out of pocket quite a bit,” he said.
“At the same time, I’m going to have to now reinforce everything and put security measures in, I’m going to have to start putting more bollards and benching in and more bars.
“The last four months has been quiet and this was the last nail in the coffin at the moment.”
Seeing the crippling financial costs of the ordeal, Harley Davidson Motorcycle Club of WA president Thomas Hall set up a GoFundMe page to help Mr Zwick.
“Without the support of our community bounding together, Erich’s business will not sustain and recover in today’s climate,” Mr Hall said.
“Hard work, years of planning, long nights and risking all he has worked for has allowed him to open the doors of Perth Husqvarna and it would be such a loss for him to go down because of this.”
Mr Zwick said he was incredibly thankful for the gesture, which had raised just more than $2000 in the last week.
“It was quite a nice surprise, having a customer tell me he was going to be starting that up for me and doing everything he can to get me back on my feet. It was really, really touching,” he said.
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Source: Cockburn Gazette