quote:

I think Ponch and John rode Kawasakis.

In the original series. In the squeal they had BMW's as did the movie. The Kaw KZ sucked at high speed. My friend's bike shop always had the in and they had to be tested.

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Originally posted by PossibleZombie:

quote:

Originally posted by JR78:
Because the big, fat, lazy motor officers in my agency can't get their big fat legs up and over that high.

I truly believe that. When do you ever see a cop on a motorcycle that isn't grossly obese? I wish they had fitness and body composition standards like we do in the Army.

Umm, the one I posted about? I have no doubt he could’ve snatched one of those Bandidos right off his Harley and slung his ass over the median into oncoming in one swift move.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: P220 Smudge,

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Originally posted by stickman428:
In my neck of the woods they recently switched to BMW.

I saw a couple of those recently, while passing through your neck of the woods. Frankly: they were impressive.

 
HRK showed you the fast ride on page 1, "Police Officer Owns Motorcycle Skill Course". There are generally two competitions at these police motor rodeos. I attended this same one back in the late 1990's, as a guest of one of the county motor officers. Back then, the PC folks had made them change the name to "motorcycle safety competition". I see that they are now back to calling them rodeos. Good on them.
 
The two competitions are fast ride and slow ride. Here is a slow ride, at the same venue I attended, the Gaithersburg Fairgrounds. Not very exciting to watch, unless you can appreciate the incredible control and balance needed to take as long as you can on the course. Put your foot down and you're out. Slowest time wins.
 

 
Link to original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw1JCdMnE0Y

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Originally posted by rscalzo:

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think that motor has been sniffing too much in exhaust fumes. I've worked in Harley dealerships since 1999 and never heard of that before.

You're not old enough to remember the HD Servicar. It was designed to do just that. I friend had one in mint condition in his garage until he passed away.



http://theoldmotor.com/?p=171067

Oh I'm old enough to now about the Servi-car. Those were designed to be towed behind a automobile, not push one. Mainly pick up and delivery of customer's cars. That 45ci side valve was a "bit"on the anemic side. And I'm being polite.

It’s not like they are chasing people down with these Harley’s. About the only time I see a LEO on a motorcycle is doing basic traffic tickets or funerals.

Both the competition videos are impressive, but that slow ride is simply amazing. Incredible balance, control, and brake/throttle coordination. That is skilled riding.

The first department I worked for had a 1956 ?
3 wheeler tank shift foot clutch. Not the most comfortable thing to operate, used it to mark car tires to regulate parking.

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Originally posted by sigcrazy7:

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Originally posted by gw3971:
Police departments are tough to change. We get stuck in tradition. My Agency has been trying to get rid of the Harleys for the last five years. Resistance from city council, administration, and even citizens. After all so many citizens ride Harleys why do the police need something different? Ponch and John seemed happy with the big street cruiser.

Once the Utah highway patrol made the change the BMW's we did so as well.

My buddy retired recently from the UHP. He said the BMW's have been a joy compared to the Harleys. Superior in every way from an operations point of view.

They still retain some Harleys as ceremonial bikes. You'll see them when they ride detail on big events.

Yeah Our guys agree. The Harleys were terrible and spent lots of time in the shops. They are loving the BMW's.

I have a buddy here in Louisiana that retired last year as Police Chief and his dept has BMW. I think his dept was the only one around these parts with BMW.

His personal BMW has 305,000 miles on it. He loves BMW

My LLE uses adventure bikes. Even Virginia state police are riding sport touring bikes. Haven't seen a Harley in years.

lower center of gravity

cost of retooling maintenance / training programs

iow, inertia

rare is the williamson turn

A possible reason: they are "light on their feet" (easy steering and handling) at low speeds due to balance and low center of gravity. Riding up to an accident scene between rows of stopped cars is exactly where you need such handling characteristics.

quote:

Originally posted by rscalzo:

quote:

think that motor has been sniffing too much in exhaust fumes. I've worked in Harley dealerships since 1999 and never heard of that before.

You're not old enough to remember the HD Servicar. It was designed to do just that. I friend had one in mint condition in his garage until he passed away.

Yes, I am old enough to remember that, and no, this 'cycle was not used to push cars. When I was a kid, gas stations were usually service stations, with full service repairs and maintenance available. Many (most?) had these three-wheelers. When the service on your car was completed, they would attach one of these trikes to the rear bumper of your car and deliver it to your home. Your newly serviced car would be dropped off, and the delivery guy would ride the 'cycle back to the shop.

They were also used to travel to a disabled vehicle. Basic roadside service tools were stored in the "trunk."

I have never heard of any motorcycle designed to push a car, but when I finished active Navy duty in 1960, I returned to NYC. I decided to buy a scooter or lightweight motorcycle to get around, in the city. The Harley dealer showed me one of the two-wheelers that he was setting up for delivery to NYPD. The saddle bags held towing (not pushing) gear. If a disabled vehicle was blocking traffic it was much easier to get a motorcycle to the scene, than a tow truck. The Harleys were perfectly capable of towing a car away from a position where it was blocking traffic.

Earlier Harleys, like the 1947 model that I had owned, were equipped with foot clutch and hand gear shifter located on the left side of the gas tank. Even as late as 1960, NYPD was still ordering this arrangement rather than the more modern left hand clutch, foot shift, arrangement. If a motor cop needed to pause at an intersection to direct traffic, it was faster for him to use the foot clutch, leaving his hands free.

V-Tail, Your "saddle time" start was a bit before mine, I didn't start until 1967. Detroit Police still had some of the trikes in service in '68, I saw them when I visited the motor garage before I bid on a Big Twin that year that was there for inspection.

That towing setup must have been an exclusive NYPD thing. I never saw anything from the MoCo like that listed. There were a lot of exclusive police accessories and in that era two colors reserved for them, Silver and Birch White.

Our local dept got a few Beemers. They seem to do pretty well in pursuit.




Link to original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23i-BvSZqzU

Can't do a PIT Maneuver with a lighter bike?

Out here they ride Honda's and honestly, between the look of the bikes and their uniforms they look like storm troopers.

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Originally posted by GWbiker:


NOTHING is free. That's Socialist talk. Someone, somewhere, somehow has to pay for it.

yes I know we, the taxpayers paid for it.
but the money had already been spent and the car was already at the department...but because of how it looked, the department spent more money to send it back after having installed a buncha stuff in it-and then apid to have it taken out