The man and his motorbike

No one in Wittenborg can explain the beauty of motorcycling as well as Wittenborg's Trustee, Finance and Quality Manager Harry Maatjes. Like a man who has just discovered his second childhood, he feels joy and freedom in its purest form as he gets on his iron horse and explores the highways of the world, chasing the sunset. His deep and unconditional love for motorbikes goes way back. Just three days after getting his motorbike licence, he rode away on holiday to Italy. "We are talking about 1971," he says. "No mobile phone, no internet, very worried parents." In those days, though, he rarely travelled alone, as his friends joined him on his motorbike adventures across Europe: "We grew up as a group of youngsters, one after the other bought a motorbike and together we went out. Mostly day trips. Summer holidays were also used to travel further and further: Switzerland, England, Wales, Scotland, France, Spain, Portugal and Croatia, which was then still part of Yugoslavia."  

The motorbike became a crucial part of Harry's life. He always moved around on one, even for work. When he worked in Caracas, Venezuela in the 1980s in his position as a project manager for a Dutch company called Stork, he used the motorbike to ride from one metro station under construction to the next and to visit customers and suppliers. "This was pure necessity. Caracas is built in a valley, making expansion of the road network impossible, and traffic on both east-west links is stuck for hours every day, often difficult to get through by car," he explains. 

Excitement and adventure

Although his parents worried and his journeys were long, Harry knows what he is doing when the engines start. Everything went well and in the 20 years he rode motorbikes he had no accidents, "although there were the necessary technical problems," he laughs.  

According to Harry, motorcycling cannot be compared to riding a bicycle or driving a car, because motorcycling is about the fun: "It's about paying attention to the bike itself, the interaction between yourself, the bike and the road. Every corner is a challenge: how do I get through it as precisely as I would like. Even as you ride through the corner, an evaluation of how well you got through follows. If it is still possible, you correct the line you took. After the corner, a feeling of 'ok', 'wow' or 'better next time' follows," he says. Yet every motorcyclist's biggest fear is to fall. "The biggest scare you can get on a motorbike in a corner is gravel or an oil slick on the road: a fall with serious scrapes and/or fractures is almost impossible to avoid. Riding around bends is not the end of the road; you have to assume that other road users will not see you. You yourself have to be the most alert person on the road and pay attention to everyone. Motorcycling is a combination of being careful and seeking excitement and adventure!" 

The importance of quality

Harry is very interested in the relationship between man and motorbike. He sees his motorbike as an extension of himself rather than a vehicle or utensil: "Motorcycling shapes you and you the motorbike. What you buy is never perfect, there is always something that needs adjusting. Maybe just different and better tyres, maybe a windshield or a different exhaust." he says. Harry explains why motorcyclists carry out their own motorbike maintenance and repairs: "The motorcyclist not only learns how the bike is put together and functions, but the motorcyclist also learns how important it is to be very careful with safety aspects. Tyres, brakes and shock absorbers in particular ensure safe contact between man, machine and road."

Harry's perspective on motorcycling can be drawn much more broadly, as it emphasises what should be the basis for a successful business and what mindset is needed to achieve your goal. He refers to Robert M. Pirsig's description of quality, what nowadays we might call 'mindfulness', that quality is not just a description of something being good, but that attention and caution should be a mindset. It must be more than just a passion, there must be a need in it to maintain it. This quality does not stop at the connection of man and machine. "Quality applies to everything you do," says Harry. "In your profession, daily life, hobby, studying. Quality adds so much to activities, you end up wondering how you could ever live without quality."

Harley-Davidson Sport Glide

His urge for a motorbike lay dormant for a while, but the adventurous youngster who explored Europe on his vehicle always remained within him. He felt that spark again when he cycled through the Alps two years ago: "I saw several motorbikes parked at the pass height of Grimsel in Switzerland," he explains. "I was immediately captivated by the beauty of the scene. And I was lost - I wanted a motorbike again, after 30 years of abstinence. It took another year and a half, and then I found the one: a Harley-Davidson Sport Glide. It is a motorbike weighing over 300 kilos, all black and chrome. My personal chopping started with a higher windshield, soon some parts will be wrapped in a light, shiny blue."

These days, he uses his Harley Davidson only when it is sunny and the road is dry, as riding on wet roads can be dangerous and slippery. He also no longer travels in groups as he used to do. Sometimes with a passenger, but often alone. Is he looking forward to the summer to travel across Europe again like in the good old days? "I haven't planned a holiday for this summer yet," he explains. "Nor is that necessary, every ride provides enough positive energy."

WUP 29/7/2023
by Niels Otterman
©WUAS Press