{"id":8933,"date":"2025-11-27T15:58:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T14:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/?p=8933"},"modified":"2025-11-27T15:58:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T14:58:14","slug":"riding-strong-at-92","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/riding-strong-at-92\/","title":{"rendered":"Riding strong at 92"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nonagenarian Jakobus \u201cKoos\u201d Stam has a lifelong love for the open road and won\u2019t be hanging up his leathers any time soon<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Words by David Sexton<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age really is just a number, as many active Harley Owners Group\u00ae<\/sup> members and Harley\u00ae<\/sup> riders in their senior years continue to demonstrate. Sure, facing tough terrain in all wind and weather might not hold such an appeal, but there\u2019s still plenty of adventure to be found and community to be shared with fellow riders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One such rider is Jakobus \u201cKoos\u201d Stam, a Dutch rider who has just turned 92 years of age. He was inspired to write in to share his story after reading about Javier Quiroga<\/a> and his father \u2013 a 93-year-old experiencing a Tri Glide\u00ae<\/sup> for the first time! Koos is still an active rider, who continues to enjoy taking his 2001 Road King\u00ae<\/sup> and goes out for a spin almost every weekend, spending four hours at a time exploring the mountains of Costa Blanca, Spain, where he now lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy Dutch driving licence is valid until 2028, and at that time I hope to extend it for another five years (as are the rules in the Netherlands),\u201d he smiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Koos, riding wasn\u2019t just a passion \u2013 it began as a necessity. Back in 1951, aged 18, he earned his licence and bought his first motorcycles (a car was out of the question, financially). That bike carried him through his early years, even on his honeymoon trip to Paris in 1959.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fast forward to 2001 and, after decades devoted to business and raising six children, Koos finally fulfilled his dream of owning a Harley-Davidson\u00ae<\/sup>. His choice? The Road King that\u2019s still his trusted companion 24 years later. \u201cIt has never let me down,\u201d he says proudly. This year, he gave it a fresh look with Metzeler whitewall tyres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Koos didn\u2019t just buy a Harley \u2013 he embraced the lifestyle. He signed up for lifetime H.O.G.\u00ae<\/sup> membership the same day, wanting to feel part of the Harley family. Over the years, he\u2019s ridden through unforgettable landscapes from the Costa Blanca, where he now spends much of his time, to the legendary Route 66 in 2005. That 19-day adventure was one of many tours he\u2019s enjoyed, featuring rides through Mexico, Monument Valley, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon, where he even took a helicopter ride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Koos\u2019s love for solo riding is clear. \u201cI\u2019m not a club man,\u201d he admits, though he once belonged to the Alicante Chapter. \u201cI prefer to go alone.\u201d His philosophy? Age doesn\u2019t decide when riding days are over \u2013 confidence and control do. At 92, he still feels strong and plans to keep riding as long as he can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Life hasn\u2019t been without challenges, though. Two winters ago, near Alcoy at more than 1,000m altitude, fog turned the road icy. In a bend, Koos crashed into a ditch, his left leg pinned under the bike. \u201cAfter 20 minutes, two men helped me out. No wounds, only bruises, thanks to my Las Vegas leather and Road King crash bars.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Koos credits his vitality to an active lifestyle: swimming, water polo, jogging, a lifetime of playing tennis, golf (he plays twice a week), sailing, skiing, and moderation in all things. \u201cMy head is always empty,\u201d he laughs, \u201cand I never had a burnout.\u201d \u201cI still see a future with my Road King,\u201d he says. \u201cAs long as I feel strong enough to be in control.\u201d For Koos, the road ahead is still wide open \u2013 and that\u2019s exactly how he likes it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nonagenarian Jakobus \u201cKoos\u201d Stam has a lifelong love for the open road and won\u2019t be hanging up his leathers any time soon<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":8937,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[7],"class_list":["post-8933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-riding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8933"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8933\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8939,"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8933\/revisions\/8939"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hog.thecreativeplot.com\/en-eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}