Not-So-Easy Rider

German police officer Jürgen Klement has always loved motorbikes. He's owned several over the years and spent years riding one in the western German city of Herne's police force.

The cop's love affair with the sleek machines started in 1990 when he got a loan and bought himself a Harley. He then got parts imported from the United States and built a further customized Harley bike of the high-handlebars-thin-front-wheel variety. His labor of love produced a driving machine worthy of the film "Easy Rider," according to German news reports.

He called his bike "Pura Vida," a line taken from the motorcycle film classic, which stars Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson.

Despite taking special care of his beloved bikes -- he always parked a car in front of his closed garage -- in June 1994, the motorcycles were stolen. Thieves wheeled the twin bikes into a Volkswagen bus.

For three years, there was no sign of them. Klement then chanced upon an advertisement at his local bank that showed a man in a leather jacket and sunglasses sitting on a Harley. His Harley. He'd know it anywhere.

"That's my motorcycle," Klement told the bank manager. "It's stolen."

Lying low in Latvia

Drawing upon his skills learned on the police force, Klement tracked down the company which had rented the bike for a photo shoot. It had ended up in Latvia, a full 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) from Herne. A Latvian electrician had bought the machine in March of 2005 from an advertisement.

The electrician had apparently bought it in good faith, not knowing it was stolen. The only thing Klement could do was buy his Harley back.

While Klement was looking for a sponsor who could help him buy back the bike, the motorcyle was involved in an accident. It's now sitting in a mechanic's shop in Latvia, in need of a complete revamp.

Talk about a never-ending project!