Ken: A Photo Essay

  It’s a gloomy morning in Edinburgh, but Ken is already at his garage near the Meadows, working on one of his many bikes. The place is brimming with tools, but he tells me there are even more upstairs. So much more that it’s “scary.” Though he could be mistaken for a professional mechanic, he’s just doing it for fun, in his spare time.
  He’s a member of the Fat Bastards Pie Eating Club Scotland (FBPECS), an obscure moniker for a group of motorbike aficionados who have known each other for a while. Ken has been friends with some of the other members for over 30 years. They’re an international bunch, with members from Scotland, England, Canada, France, New Zealand and the Shetland Islands. They periodically get together and ride across Europe, helping charity by getting wasted. How does that work? They organise various events and donate half their earnings to local charities. The other half goes to biker associations. Some of their favourite destinations are Belgium, Poland and Germany.
  It was on one of the FBPECS rallies that Ken met his girlfriend, Birgit. When a German bar was flooded by a dozen of English-speaking bikers, she was called upon to help as the sole English speaker. She and Ken got together, and he got her into motorbikes. She has three so far and fixes them on her own as well.
  Three bikes may sound like plenty, but Ken owns a total of twelve. The one he’s working on now is a blue Suzuki Inazuma GSX1200. As he attaches the front panel to its sleek body, Ken tells me these aren’t available in Scotland so he had to visit Ireland to get one. He says it’s not a really powerful one – just 100 hp, going up to a ‘mere’ 150 mph.
  While it’s a well known fact that bikes can go fast, they can surprisingly also be pretty comfortable. The Suzuki he is fixing up has a satnav with phone connectivity and a wire for the crash helmet’s built-in headphones, while another bike has handlebar heating – the one he prefers in the winter.
  Bikes can be fast and comfy, but they certainly aren’t safe. Ken has suffered multiple injuries over the years. He has two pins in his jaw from when his bike hit a pothole and another one in his left leg from a previous accident. His body may have suffered, but his passion for motorbikes didn’t suffer the least.
  You can visit the Fat Bastards Pie Eating Club Scotland at [link].
  Ken's garage viewed from the outside.