Singaporean motorcyclist finds $1,000 brake calipers stolen during JB shopping trip

A Singaporean motorcyclist visited Johor Bahru on April 6, 2022, for a shopping trip and had his brake cables cut and brake calipers stolen.

Malaysian newspaper China Press Johor picked up the story after the man posted details on the social networking site Facebook.

It was reported that the motorcyclist parked his bike around 11 am on the ground floor of a shopping mall in downtown Johor Bahru. He returned at around 7 pm to find the brake lines severed and both calipers stolen. The South Johor Bahru District Police has confirmed they received a report and investigations are currently ongoing.

The bike in question is a first-generation Ducati Diavel which has four-piston Brembo radial-mount calipers as standard. These are high-performance brakes and can easily sell for $500 on the black market. A similar aftermarket set of Brembo M50 Brake Calipers from Motoworld Singapore costs $1,000 today.

A set of Brembo M50 brake calipers.

This isn’t the first instance of this happening – CarBuyer personally knows of a case where a Kawasaki ZX-14 (also using Brembo brakes) suffered a similar fate. Bike thieves target Brembo brakes especially because they’re a recognised brand name, and brakes are easy to remove (just two bolts for each caliper, and snip the lines).

What can you do to prevent this, and what if it happens to you?
We won’t say ‘Don’t go to JB’ but rather if you, and if you have the choice, do it on a bike that doesn’t have flashy/performance brakes. Alternatively, if you visit Johor for a fun day of riding, stay out of town and don’t let the bike out of your sight.

You could also try parking in an open area with plenty of foot traffic, or install an alarmed disc lock on the brake.

If it happens to you, (obviously) do not try to ride the bike back – motorcycles use their front brakes for the majority of stopping power. Lastly, make sure you have tow coverage and insurance that covers travel to Malaysia – always make a police report in order to back up your insurance claim.

Since the reopening of the borders between Singapore and Johor Bahru, visitors have seen no signs of slowing down. Perhaps riding into JB isn’t that safe for now, but here are five cars we feel are best to drive into Malaysia should you seek a getaway.

This article was first published in CarBuyer.