Japleen Khera
The owner of Kaplan Cycles and New England Motorcycle Museum, Ken Kaplan, has grabbed eyeballs with his vigilante crimefighter role. His growing popularity and the idea of saving his hometown from bike thieves have landed him a television special on the Discovery channel. The show titled ‘Kaplan America’ has been named after the alter ego that he projects in his YouTube videos. In the video titled ‘Beware Bike Thieves,’ he forms a posse that vows to put an end to the reign of burglars who take away the simple pleasure of owning a bike from its rightful owners. It is no news that the Kaplan family is obsessed with vintage motorbikes but the patriarch has taken it a step ahead to protect his city, Rockville in Connecticut. His anti-theft campaign started a year after his own museum was targeted by thieves who broke into it and fled away with two dirt bikes.
Ken Kaplan’s Family
Now a Connecticut resident, Ken Kaplan was actually born in Clifton, New Jersey, and moved to Rockville due to his father’s transfer. His mother started working as a nurse at a local doctor’s clinic. Ken and his brother sent their adolescent years riding bicycles and dirt bikes around the landscape at the back of his house. His dad was as proficient and passionate about biking as his two boys and so bought a Yamaha GT80 for himself. He was in a motorcycle club and passed on the obsession to the next generation.
Ken started to become lazy in his studies and performed so poorly that he dropped high school altogether. Interestingly, Ken’s mom had to dangle the carrot of Suzuki RM25, his dream dirt bike, to bring him back on track. He completed his education and even graduated in high school because of the temptation. Kaplan America’s upbringing and family background play a huge role in the person he has become today and he credits his success to both his parents for it.
Ken Kaplan’s Wife and Kids
Ken Kaplan is having the time of his life by working on his dream project with his son, Ken Jr., of saving vintage bikes from the hands of looters. This has been showcased on a special series that aired on September 9, 2020. Along with this, he also has a pretty perfect family life with his wife, two daughters, and Kenny of course! His life partner, Christie Staiger, is extremely supportive of his dream and is a Motorcycle enthusiast herself. She is often seen posing with her husband riding a bike that has been restored and given excellent form again. She also plays the role of Miss Kaplan America and also dresses up for it!
Though venturing into fresh projects on the work front, Ken admits to feeling completely at ease with his family life. He has an elder daughter, Tayler Kaplan, who is around 23 years of age. The apple truly does not fall far from the tree as she too works as a national spokesperson for Honda and shares the passion for cars and motorbikes with the rest of her family.
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His younger daughter is still in her teens and is around 16 years old. Not much is known about her but she is still a high schooler. Ken’s son, Kenny, is a strong personality like his father and is participating in the family vision to turn their city into the “motorcycle capital of the world”.
