Who says Harleys can't handle.....

[sbrguy]

when you practice as much as those guys do you can't help but become great and do stuff like that.

also they do the same thing on the bmw bikes in cali, and if you watch the whole japanese sportbike parking lot stuff they do that someone else posted one time you can pull just as tight of turns on a sport bike you just have to be willing to drag knees on those same courses, its insane what people can do if they practice hours every day.

[fastwin]

I agree about the riding gear. I know that their job requires things that normal riders don't have to deal with. And I am sure the issue of full face helmets vs the open face lids has been discussed over and over among police departments. But the only thing local motor cops in my town seem to have that is mildly protective are the tall boots. They actually look like the tall riding boots the horseback officers wear. Not sure how much protection they would offer in a bike crash. I would certainly think some sort of riding jacket with CE padding is possible. And considering some of the high speed riding they do through traffic to chase a speeder they are much more at risk than most of us are running errands or on our daily cummute to work.

[zarn02]

Yup. We've been over the issue at least once or twice, and moto-cop gear is pretty cringe-worthy when you think about a crash.

[derby]

when you practice as much as those guys do you can't help but become great and do stuff like that.

also they do the same thing on the bmw bikes in cali, and if you watch the whole japanese sportbike parking lot stuff they do that someone else posted one time you can pull just as tight of turns on a sport bike you just have to be willing to drag knees on those same courses, its insane what people can do if they practice hours every day.

yup... if nothing else, these guys know the limitations of their vehicle(s) and know how to set up for the next obstacle (or two) in advance.

[justinrhenry]

Who says Harleys can't handle...?

me.  A big bike might handle well, but only with the disclaimer "handles well for a big bike".  the same holds true for any big bike, not just harleys.

[muskrat]

 
Another "gear patrol" infiltration.  And, practice or not these guys know how to ride........period!

[fastwin]

I came back from a hot summer ride a couple of years ago and noticed the same motor cop working radar on a boulevard near my house. He was there when I left and still there when I came back hours later. I hit the nearby 7-11 to grab a bottle of cold water and thought what the hell, I'll grab one for the officer and drop it off on the way to the house. I stopped and gave him the water and he just about fell out. Said no one has ever done that for him.

Well that opened the door for some good bike conversation. He took a break from busting speeders and we stood in the shade and cooled down. Great guy! He admired the 999 and yes he actually knew what it was. Said he noticed me coming and going. He was a Honda Goldwing guy and had a shit load of miles on it and had been damn near everywhere! Deals Gap, the Rock Store, up Highway 1, Daytona, Sturgis, etc. A real bike rider who also gets to do it every day for work.

He said the bike division is one of the hardest to get into on the Dallas PD. He waited over 10 years! He said someone has to die or retire for there to be an opening. It's that popular of a division. And he also said they only have about 50 bikes all based out of the downtown station. I was shocked, I figured they had twice that many... or more. He said they wished. I figured a town this big could easily use 100+ motor cops. With all the shitty drivers they damn sure need it!

Anyway, very cool guy. If you ever get the chance buy one a cold Coke or bottle of water and shake their hand and tell them thanks. We both seemd to enjoy the chat and for a few minutes he wasn't just a cop... he was a fellow bike rider.

[zarn02]

Very cool story.

If one were to take a poll, I wonder what sort of setup most American bike cops would want, if they had their druthers?

Do they find the Harley the ideal tool for the job? What about the BMW K-bikes that seem to be the norm in Planet Europe? Commission a police bike version of the new Motus?

[fastwin]

My town seems to be moving toward the Harley cop bike. Not exactly sure which model that is. I see more and more of them. They have used the venerable Kawi KZ1000 type cop scooters forever and there are still a lot of them out there. The officer I chatted up was on the Kawi. We didn't even really talk about his bike. Just his Honda and my bikes and all the place he has ridden to with his wife on the back. Dude liked to rack up the miles for sure.

Harley must have cut the city a pretty good deal for them to switch brands. Like all towns mine is hard up for cash. In fact they just forced the police dept. to sell off their biggest and best chopper this past week. The chopper division chief is a friend of ours. His wife worked with my wife in the county's probation department. He is always pregnant doging about how they are squeezing him to death on expenses... like parts and maintenance. Ahhhh, isn't that stuff kind of important so the helos stay in the air? Wonder if the police dept. does their own bike maintenance in house or do they farm it out to the local Kawi and HD shops?

Anyway, I'd love to go see one of those cop bike rodeos. I can always appreciate great bike handling skills. Might even pick up a tip or two.

[muskrat]

Price and maintenance is the driving force along with it's "agility."  Three primary competitors:  BMW, Harley & Kawasaki.  Lately I've seen a couple of my clients get some hits from Honda too.
Nearby town has the beemer, stay away from Addison BTW.  They will stop you for three over the limit - I argued after being stopped and he still gave me a ticket so off to court..........and I won. 

[fastwin]

Shit! Three over? Damn. There's a town that's trying to get it's budget balanced! That's BS.

[justinrhenry]

..........and I won. 

how'd you win?

[zarn02]

Depending on speed, I imagine 3mph is well within normally accepted bounds for speedo discrepancy based on different tire sizes or profiles.

[muskrat]

Judge agreed that it was bullshit

[ungeheuer]

Another "gear patrol" infiltration.

I agree about the riding gear. I know that their job requires things that normal riders don't have to deal with. And I am sure the issue of full face helmets vs the open face lids has been discussed over and over among police departments. But the only thing local motor cops in my town seem to have that is mildly protective are the tall boots. They actually look like the tall riding boots the horseback officers wear. Not sure how much protection they would offer in a bike crash. I would certainly think some sort of riding jacket with CE padding is possible. And considering some of the high speed riding they do through traffic to chase a speeder they are much more at risk than most of us are running errands or on our daily cummute to work.

My local bike cops seem to manage to dress in appropriate riding gear whilst managing their policing duties...

And, practice or not these guys know how to ride........period!

No doubt about it.