A US biker who has travelled thousands of kilometres on a round-the-world trip had his motorcycle stolen just hours after arriving in Dublin on Thursday morning.
Noah Horak (28) was horrified to find thieves had clipped the padlock on his 2010 KTM 690 Enduro R motorcycle in broad daylight, and made off with it.
Mr Horak has been travelling since last April, when he quit his job as an electrical engineer to take his bike on the road.
Feeling jetlagged yesterday, he went for a nap in Isaacs Hostel between 1.30pm and 4pm, having parked the motorbike at the junction of Talbot Street and Talbot Place.
He said that in other places he had visited, he had only to take the key out of the bike and leave the motorcycle parked.
He had put a padlock on the brake, but that did not deter thieves, who snapped the lock with a bolt-cutters and stole the bike.
Mr Horak said: “In most places I’ve been to I hadn’t needed to lock the bike.
“When you camp out in the Yukon, you worry about bears, not people stealing your motorcycle. I didn’t know it was a bad neighbourhood.”
The bike had been modified, and has a Minnesota plate, 1207 1MH.
The frame is orange, the engine black, the bodywork white and the names of the places he has visited are marked on the outside of the cockpit.
Mr Horak contacted the Garda, and was told yesterday afternoon that his bike had been spotted in the Finglas area.
He was unable to confirm rumours that a search warrant had been obtained by gardaí to search the home of a person whom they believe stole the bike.
A Garda spokesman said they would not be commenting on the case.
