KTM Canada has been the victim of a massive theft, with dozens of dual sport motorcycles and dirt bikes stolen from the company’s warehouse in Quebec.
The news of the theft came out on Tuesday, October 20, but the theft actually occurred on Sunday, October 17. On that date, KTM says there was “an unfortunate break-in at our motorcycle storage warehouse in Montreal. There were 57 motorcycles (KTM, Husqvarna & GasGas) taken from this warehouse.”
The notice to KTM’s dealers and employees says police are investigating, as well as KTM’s warehouse provider. The company’s internal communication asks people to “systematically report any claim, part or transaction that could be related to the new vehicle numbers (VIN) of the attached list (see below – Ed.). All of the 57 stolen motorcycles have been locked in dealer.net and noted as being stolen.”
If one of these bikes shows up in a shop, KTM asks the employees to notify one of the company’s reps. You can see the list of stolen models above—note that several of them are Factory Edition machines, limited-production, high-spec models that are worth far more than the average offroad motorcycle.
The warehouse involved in this situation is not KTM’s own storage unit at its Quebec facility, but a private company that stores bikes for several manufacturers, specializing in dealing with the Canadian government on imported machines. Don’t be surprised if we hear of other manufacturers also affected by this robbery.
What does this mean for riders?
Obviously, this is bad news for KTM, but it should be covered by insurance. What does it mean for riders, though?
If you were hoping to buy a 2022 Factory Edition from KTM, there might be a longer wait. Otherwise, this is definitely a kick in the pants for KTM, but it’s not a disaster for the company or its fans.
As for the bikes themselves, they may end up stripped down for parts, since selling them as running machines would probably bring a lot of unwanted heat in North America. Maybe they’re already headed to Eastern Europe, though, to be used over there? Montreal’s port is certainly known as a hub of organized crime, and even if the machines can’t be ridden or sold in in Canada or the US without eventually running afoul of the law, there are many other countries in the world where there would be little chance of getting caught.
