Bob
13th July 2007, 00:37
When Chief Inspector Jurgen Klement had his beloved 1951 Harley-Davidson 1200 Panhead stolen, he had little hope of ever seeing it again.
So imagine his surprise when he went to withdraw some money from his local bank in Herne, northwest Germany – and spotted his bike on the bank’s poster promoting building society accounts!
Mr Klement said “The picture showed a biker in shades and leather jacket reclining on a Harley-Davidson. Looks great,” I thought. “Just like mine.” Then Klement inspected the image more closely, only to find it had all the extra personalised items he had added over the years!
Proving he is a detective worth his salt, Mr Klement managed to track the history of his bike since it was stolen. But sadly the end of the trail means that he may never get his bike back. The bike was sold on from Germany to Poland and then on to Latvia. And Latvian law makes no provision for the return of stolen goods, provided they were purchased in good faith.
“He’s (the Latvian owner) keen to sell but I don’t have the kind of money he wants” said Klement, adding that Harleys of this age are worth 25,000 Euros or more.
“All I want is my Harley back again,” says Mr Klement.
So imagine his surprise when he went to withdraw some money from his local bank in Herne, northwest Germany – and spotted his bike on the bank’s poster promoting building society accounts!
Mr Klement said “The picture showed a biker in shades and leather jacket reclining on a Harley-Davidson. Looks great,” I thought. “Just like mine.” Then Klement inspected the image more closely, only to find it had all the extra personalised items he had added over the years!
Proving he is a detective worth his salt, Mr Klement managed to track the history of his bike since it was stolen. But sadly the end of the trail means that he may never get his bike back. The bike was sold on from Germany to Poland and then on to Latvia. And Latvian law makes no provision for the return of stolen goods, provided they were purchased in good faith.
“He’s (the Latvian owner) keen to sell but I don’t have the kind of money he wants” said Klement, adding that Harleys of this age are worth 25,000 Euros or more.
“All I want is my Harley back again,” says Mr Klement.