Harley mystery: Biker receives several tickets from Holland – "I was never there"

Created: 01/16/2023, 08:40

Weighing almost 250 kilos, a good 70 years old, no indicators, no suspension... Rolf Kowalke's Harley is a real collector's item - and difficult to drive.

You can't even get them on without tricks.

“I drive it maybe 500 to 600 kilometers a year.

But definitely not as far as Holland,” says Kowalke.

©Michael Walter

Rolf Kowalke is said to have parked his more than 70-year-old motorcycle incorrectly three times in the Netherlands.

The man from Sörhausen had never been to Amersfoort at the time, he says.

He ignores the speeding tickets.

The beginning of an international paper war.

Sörhausen – Rolf Kowalke perhaps made the crucial mistake right at the beginning: he hadn't taken the post from Holland that he found in the mailbox seriously.

He should pay a fine.

Because he is said to have parked his motorcycle wrong in Amersfoort.

Kowalke thought that was a fake.

"I've never been there," he says.

So he ignored the mail.

Now he has a problem, as kreiszeitung.de summarizes.

The first ticket was followed by a second, which he also ignored.

Then several warning notices, in between a third ticket... The Dutch authorities are now demanding 1,500 euros – per incident!

And Rolf Kowalke sees himself in the middle of an international paper war with the judiciary.

It all started last spring.

Then came the first ticket from Amersfoort, a town of 160,000 halfway between the German border and Amsterdam.

On April 28 at 6:18 p.m., Rolf Kowalke is said to have parked his Harley Davidson wrong there.

The second ticket came shortly after: again from Amersfoort.

Allegedly parked wrong again: This time on June 9 at 6:25 p.m.

A third parking ticket is issued for May 21 at 2:43 p.m.

"That's not my license plate number that's on there."

Rolf Kowalke

Why the 54-year-old initially ignored all three sounds plausible: "I've never been there, and above all it's not my license plate number that's given there."

In fact, there is a small but crucial difference: the registration number DH-F 8 H is indicated in the traffic tickets and all subsequent letters from the Dutch authorities.

So a so-called "oldtimer" license plate for a historic vehicle.

Although Kowalke's Harley was built in 1950 and is therefore clearly a classic car, it does not have an H license plate.

But the very regular approval DH-F 8 - without H. "The machine was never deregistered," explains Kowalke.

"It's still the original number plate from 1991. Without an H, without the blue Europa stripes and in an unusual format that I had to fight for a long time to even get approval for it.

That's why I always kept it."

Kowalke also informed the authorities in Holland.

However, they stick to their opinion: The license plate – with an H – was registered to the Sörhausener.

So he should pay.

Kowalke can prove that he himself was not in Amersfoort at the times in question.

Not interested at all.

Because in Holland, the following applies across the board: the owner of the vehicle is always liable.

DH-F8 has been the hallmark of Rolf Kowalke's machine for over 30 years.

Without an H for "historical", mind you, as it says on the traffic tickets and fine notices from Holland.

©Michael Walter

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Rolf Kowalke hired a lawyer who appealed.

However, the judicial authorities in Holland stood by their position and rejected the objection.

Now Kowalke contacted the public prosecutor directly.

"According to their documents, my license plate with an H actually exists.

I would now have to prove that I'm not the owner," he says.

"But a photo of my license plate would not suffice.

I need certified information from the Federal Motor Transport Authority in Flensburg.

I'll take care of that next week.”

The question remains: how did the Dutch authorities record the license plate in the first place?

handwritten?

Or photographed?

Or videos evaluated?

Kowalke also wants to take care of that now and request the evidence.