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charlie b · Mar 8, 2015

ex-police versions can be a good deal, as long as you get them from a smaller department.

Some CA Beemers are maintained by the dept. At an auction you can find yourself with a bike that has the engine from another bike and a tranny from a third. They run their own little junkyard and fix bikes from the leftovers.

WVRider · Mar 8, 2015

mikesim said:
I have to believe that the Jap PD bikes are much more maneuverable than the Harleys. Having said that however, I have seen some amazing riding done by those officers on their Harley's.

Mike

Yes like this guy ! Quite amazing.

http://youtu.be/0VdOFhkMPtg

JohnC · Mar 8, 2015

Warren said:
It's really a question of what the mission is," Banner said. "Harleys are used for escorts in parades and ceremonial-type things. There are needs for those bikes."

Suure. Translation: "They look and sound good and they match the U.S. public image (based on the old TV series "CHiPS") of what a police bike should be.

On the other hand, I thought about getting a police model of the FJR. The '13 would have been $1K to $6K more depending on equipment:
http://www.policemag.com/blog/vehicles/story/2013/04/yamaha-police-motorcycle-may-become-available.aspx

OK, I would not have been able to get the siren and emergency lighting, but the main things I would have been interested in were the paint and upgraded electrical system.

Ever notice that a brain dead cager can look directly at you, not see you, and hit you but somehow they never seem to overlook a police bike?

RedLdr1 · Mar 9, 2015

JohnC said:
Suure. Translation: "They look and sound good and they match the U.S. public image (based on the old TV series "CHiPS") of what a police bike should be.

Ah, the CHiPs guys road Kawasaki KZ1000 four cylinder police bikes...:wink:

DirtFlier · Mar 9, 2015

[the CHiPs guys road Kawasaki KZ1000 four cylinder police bikes...]

I had a friend in CA who worked for Kawasaki at the corporate office. He said that almost every time a police bike went down, it resulted in a lawsuit with Kawasaki being named, along with the state or local agency, etc. On a national fact finding tour, he was shocked to find little or no regular maintenance being done on the PD Kawasakis. He gave his findings at corporate.

Selling police bikes is mainly a prestige point but it has lots of associated perils.

charlie b · Mar 9, 2015

WVRider said:
Yes like this guy ! Quite amazing.

If they put those cones about 6" closer together he'd not be able to make it. He was dragging the footboards on every turn.

Wonder what would happen if they had a high speed version of the contest

Father-in-law used to like to get on his HD, put up the kickstand and just sit there. Low CG and wide weight distribution meant it is a very stable bike, especially at low speeds.

EX Winger · Mar 10, 2015

I never tried a extream bunch of cones as shown in the video, but I was a active member of a Sacramento Hd only club drill team, we did parades, Weddings and funeral escourt, had a 2 hour practice session every week . We had a mix of pan's and shovel heads and one Sportster.

I would imagine that trying to do the set up like that video would take a bunch of practice , and be a bit hard on the crash bars and riding suit padding.

Eldon

charlie b · Mar 10, 2015

The local PD used to allow folks to come in and take training for that kind of stuff.

The warnings were pretty severe. Expect to drop your bike at least 10 times. GOOD crash bars are recommended. Expect to burn out at least one clutch.

vzshadow · Mar 13, 2015

Miairhead said:
Michigan State Police test both cars and motorcycles for use a vehicles. BMW was faster, ready out of package, and less cost.
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/msp/2015_MY_Police_Vehicle_Evaluation_Test_Book_Compressed_479059_7.pdf

What did they pick?

vzshadow · Mar 13, 2015

WVRider said:
Yes like this guy ! Quite amazing.

http://youtu.be/0VdOFhkMPtg

We could all learn something by watching his head during this ride.

EX Winger · Mar 15, 2015

Thanks for posting the utube shots, My grand daughter the Harley girl, and I enjoyed them togather togather lst night. Shew wondered why they were ther and I let her brows some of the coment discussion on the forum. then the 9 year ols got curious and she watched them as well and got excited! LOL worked in place of a bedtime story

Eldon