Man Recovers Stolen Motorcycle During Fake Purchase

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - A Sacramento man took matters into his own hands after someone stole his motorcycle. The bike was taken from outside Travis Holman's Midtown apartment last month.

"My heart dropped," said Holman, "I had all these grand plans for this thing."

Holman spent time and energy to restore the 35-year-old Honda motorcycle. He bought it in April after being inspired by Ed March, a video blogger who rides a similar style motorcycle to extreme locations.

"I just redid the seat," said Holman showing off the upgrades.

He fixed the bike, added some parts and got it running.

"He took that dream of seeing the world in a way," said Holman.

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Last month, the bike was taken from near his apartment.

"I felt like somebody stole my freedom from me," he said.

It's a unique motorcycle, a yellow Honda C70 Passport. A friend noticed it was posted for sale on Craigslist.

"I was like, yeah, that's definitely my bike," said Holman.

He put a plan in action. He set up a meeting with the apparent thief.

"If you do happen to stumble upon property that belongs to you we encourage you to contact the police department," said Matthew McPhail with the Sacramento Police Department.

Taking a different approach, Holman wanted to handle this himself.

"This jerk came to my place and walked away with my rad little bike," he said.

So they met. Holman recorded every step.

"I wanted to jump the guy," said Holman " I felt all this anger all at one time and I thought, 'No dude stick to your plan, stick to your plan.'"

He played it cool.

"I just kept a smile on my face, cool bike."

All while on high alert.

"My heart was pounding," said Holman, "I felt like there was a lot on the line."

And when the moment was right, he sped off.

"Even in the funky shape that this thing is in right now, I still outran him."

He took back what he says was taken from him.

"I love this little thing," said Holman.

Holman originally bought the bike for $100. The apparent thief tried to sell it back to him for $500.