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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Five Harley-Davidson motorcycle enthusiasts from South Dakota who included Yellowknife as part of their bike trip across Canada are looking back on one aspect of their stay here with disappointment.

Jim Selle stands with his Harley-Davidson motorcycle at the NWT border while in the midst of a trip to Yellowknife. According to Selle, he and four other bikers had thousands of dollars in damage done to their cruising bikes while staying at the Explorer Hotel earlier this month. - photo courtesy of Jim Selle

Thousands of dollars in damage was done to their Harleys outside the hotel where they were staying on Aug. 9, said one driver.

"That was the only bad experience we had there," said Jim Selle, one of the motorcyclists and a frequent visitor to Canada. "For a tourist destination, there is so much potential (in Yellowknife) that appears to be untapped."

Selle said he requested Explorer Hotel staff allow the motorcyclists to park their vehicles within eyesight of the lobby, instead of in the gravel parking lot further up the hill. His request was denied with the explanation that the bikes would get in the way of pedestrians. Selle disagreed and said he would not pick a location where the bikes could be damaged by people or luggage. The staff insisted the bikes be parked in the upper lot and the motorcyclists ultimately complied.

As the tourists sat down to dinner that night they were notified by hotel staff that all five bikes had been tipped over while in the upper lot.

"I personally travelled 10,000 miles this year alone and we stay in hotels all the time," said Selle. "This is so unusual to have a hotel that will not let us park in a secure area in front.

"Most places understand how expensive these vehicles are."

Selle drives a 2012 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic Custom Vehicle Operations worth more than $40,000 and he estimates the damage to his vehicle was in excess of $5,000. Personal items such as suntan lotion, bottles of water and a bag of laundry were stolen out of the saddlebags, he said.

While Selle did not know the full extent of damage to the other bikes he said the total cost of damage was "well above $5,000." All were able to be driven out of town.

Selle's motorcycle suffered scratches to the paint and chrome.

The police were called and a suspect was arrested.

"Unfortunately there were no witnesses who saw him actually tipping over the motorcycles so a charge was not laid for that action," said Yellowknife RCMP Sgt. Brad Kaeding. "He was arrested for the usual, being drunk in a public place. Unfortunately there was no evidence and no witness and no surveillance video (of the area)."

Selle said he met with hotel management the morning following the incident and requested the hotel refund the cost of their stay, approximately $600. Selle said the Explorer representative he spoke to apologized but would not offer any compensation or provide information relating to the hotel's insurer.

"It was pretty obvious to me that they were sorry anything happened to us but not sorry enough to give us a refund," said Selle. "Basically they were pretty happy to keep a fat profit and pass us off with a 'sorry for your misfortune.'"

Jamie Bolduc, general manager at the Explorer Hotel, said the situation was a personal insurance and criminal matter, therefore not the responsibility of the hotel. Bolduc confirmed no security camera is in the area, and said he did not think a surveillance system would have helped in this situation.

"It's an unfortunate and senseless incident," Bolduc said. "I've only been here since May and this is the first time that this has happened and other people here will say the same thing.

"As far as we're concerned, because it was a police and an insurance matter, we wanted to stay clear."

Selle said he noticed loiterers and homeless people on the hotel grounds and occasionally in the lobby. He said hotel staff told him the loiterers weren't asked to leave because staff were not sure if they were guests or not.

Kaeding said the wooded area behind the hotel is often used by Yellowknife's homeless to set up tents. He said police do not get called to the Explorer Hotel often but when they do it's usually in regards to a homeless or intoxicated person passing through.

While Selle said not much is known about Yellowknife in South Dakota, he said he is aware of a reputation for high rates of property crime.

The image, he said, may be getting in the way of "untapped" tourism potential.

He said the otherwise friendly people and landscape of Yellowknife will likely bring him back to the city in spite of this experience.

"The people that we talked to and that we'd seen were all very friendly," he said. "Just real down to Earth nice people. I have nothing but good to say about the people of Yellowknife."

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