Achim Gloger
Motorcycling
I took up motorcycling after Red Ken introduced the Congestion Charge in London when my daily commute to Canary Wharf became unbearable: from then, on most days the journey home took 1h15mins instead of the 50-55 minutes it had taken previously. I figured there had to be a better way and I did my CBT, then took a three day Direct Access course, at the end of which I passed my motorcycle test.
After four years of battling the traffic in Central London I decided it would be a good idea to get some advanced riding tuition - a wise move. I joined the Institute of Advanced Motorists and received extensive training from London Advanced Motorcyclists, my local IAM Group.
My first bike was a 1997 BMW R850R, replaced by an '02 R850R. The '02 R was traded in for a 2008 R1200GS when the ABS modulator became stroppy. That GS was a true Monday bike, the list of warranty repairs just fits on an A4 page. That GS was sold when it broke down one time too many (it suffered catastrophic brake line failure during my IAM Test), its place taken by a 2011 R1200GS Triple Black. That was a lovely bike but unfortunately someone else thought so too and stole it while I was on a business trip.
The insurance claim took a while to get sorted out as the insurance company's first offer was very stingy. In the meantime I had come to the conclusion that after two GSs I fancied a change and had found a very low mileage (1700 miles) K1300GT. I entered the age of the rocket ship: over 160bhp, 0-100km/h in 2.8 seconds (as fast as a Bugatti Veyron), with a top speed that I have never explored as normally I travel through Germany with my partner, which limits Vmax.
A couple of years ago we were ambling along the Autobahn past Stuttgart on our way to Lake Constance when Ali piped up via the intercom, "Achim, could we slow down a bit, please? It's getting a bit breezy up here and I'm having trouble holding on." I glanced at the speedo which indicated 145mph (230km/h). Ooops! "Sorry, Ali!" We settled on 200km/h as a comfortable cruising speed...
The insurance claim took a while to get sorted out as the insurance company's first offer was very stingy. In the meantime I had come to the conclusion that I fancied a change and had found a very low mileage (1700 miles) K1300GT. I entered the age of the rocket ship: over 160bhp, 0-100km/h in 2.8 seconds (as fast as a Bugatti Veyron), with a top speed that I have never explored as normally I travel through Germany with my partner.
A couple of years ago we were ambling along the Autobahn past Stuttgart on our way to Lake Constance when Ali piped up via the intercom, "Achim, could we slow down a bit, please? It's getting a bit breezy up here and I'm having trouble holding on." I glanced at the speedo which indicated 145mph (230km/h). Ooops! "Sorry, Ali!" We settled on 200km/h as a comfortable cruising speed...