smitty711
Member
CHP going to Harley's
- Thread starter smitty711
- Start date
twodogs603
Member
Good friend drives a BMW police bike and its expensive to maintain. Only gets about 3000 miles out f a front tire. I think the new Kawasaki police bike is the best bang for the buck, not to mention it looks good too. A local city here uses them.
exphillycop
Member
I've been a motor officer since 2000, I have ridden mainly Harley's and tested The BMW. But the motor I like is the new Victory....... Fast, maneuverable and has skid plates so you don't hurt all the important parts.
Looks old school !!! I wonder if this is what the majority of CHP officers wanted to go with? I'm sure they will be a lot more cost effective and offer a much more comfy ride.
smitty711
Member
I've talk to 4 CHP motor officers that I know. They are all disappointed. They don't like the kawasakis because they say that it's not comfortable. Not trilled about the Harley's because of the slow catch up speed. They much would of rather had BMW again
RyanZ71
Member
BMW Stands for Big Money Waster. Cars and cycles. Requires a lot of upkeep and very expensive parts.
Phillyrube
Member
twodogs603 said:
Newport News, VA has the Kawa Connies...they really like them. Our agency switched from Harleys to BMWs, but they have a deal where the maintenance was thrown into the contract. Good thing, they eat tires and clutches like crazy. Single plate dry vs. the Harley and Connie multi plate wet.
HILO
Member
I thought CHP had some Concours 14's, liked them and contracted only to have Kawasaki suspend sales for LE use. Something about a fuse blowing, causing the engine to stall. Michigan has not tested them in the past couple of years. The BMW is a fast bike, and handles great. The HD's do good, and have a quick response, (0-60 in 6.13 seconds is the slowest PMC). The CVPI proved that LEO's are not overly concerned with going fast, being the slowest PPV in recent times. I find the cruiser riding position more comfortable than the sport bike style of the BMW. Not to mention, a cruiser looks much better than a sport bike doing precision riding.
RyanZ71
Member
HILO said:
Actually how slow the Clown Vic was was the biggest complaint officers had. But they would rather have a comfortable vehicle then be crammed into a Taurus/Impala/Charger. Now that Ford Dodge and Chevy are all mid sized sedans they have no choice, other than the Exploder PPV offering decent room inside. (Pursuit rated)
HILO
Member
RyanZ71 said:
Exactly my point. The HD is a very comfortable bike, compared to the BMW. I'd expect the CHP Jockies will adapt to the HD's much like they did the CVPI.
When Dallas PD went from KZ100p's to the HD, it was an adjustment, but now they are happy.
PJD642
New Member
Watching the video, I saw there was a blue PAR-whatever on the front with a red linear right below it, angled slightly. Does that qualify as split-fail?
RolnCode3
Member
HILO said:
From a motorcycle forum where some CHP guys hang out - it sounds like CHP required the bike to be "factory certified", and the Kawi's were being built up by dealers (and the manufacturer didn't certify the bikes). So no go. Only BMW and HD are factory certified. But going off memory of what I read - but something along those lines.
Edit to quote:
"Originally the dealer we got them from defaulted on the bid. Then they started having electrical problems which prompted Kawi NA to put a stop on any dealer setting up police bikes.
So out department changed the bids to require any bike submitted be 'factory certified' which is only the BMW and Harley since Kawi is still working on theirs"
HILO said:
I've put tens of thousands of miles annually on a BMW motorcycle, and I find the upright riding position absolutely superb. Not only is it comfortable (more natural, like sitting in a chair) but I've found it also makes quick maneuvering that much easier.
Someone once told me that the motorcycle riding position reflects the historical horse riding positions.
American/Western Horse riding, just like the bike "cruisers" reflects long riding across wide open spaces. Leaned back, more casual.
European Horse riding, just like the "sport/touring" bike reflects the fox hunting through forests where it was important to weave in and out of trees and change directions quickly.
I suppose anything works as long as you get used to it, but it's been my experience that the BMW position is much better suited for LE work.
But that's just my $0.02
smitty711
Member
PJD642 said:
CHP loves the red for intersection lighting.Perfect examples is the patrol cars. Red on both side mirrors and push bumpers. They just love Red
arsenal10
Member
Reno911
Member
arsenal10
Member
Are those LINZ3's on the rear/side box? The rear light heads could do being separated to the edges a little more for a bigger footprint.
So CHP are still not ATGATT (all the gear all the time) when it comes to protective clothing for their motorbike officers.
They may look "cool", but shirtsleeves on a motorbike? They must be crazy. :bonk:
They may look "cool", but shirtsleeves on a motorbike? They must be crazy. :bonk:
One of the services where I am - I'm Air Force so it might be us, but I'm on an Army post so maybe them - requires anyone with a motorcycle to wear full protective gear whenever they ride, even if it's just a 10-minute commute. Then on the other hand, there's the CHP, who apparently has their guys on a bike all day long and doesn't require anything but a helmet.. :weird:Snibsey said:
...Then again, we've also got to wear reflective belts at pretty ridiculous times (which times depend on the particular service, we've got sizable numbers of all four here) so strict safety stuff is kinda big anyway.
HILO
Member
Snibsey said:
Every Texas PD with motors ride short sleeve in summer, long sleeve in cooler, and leather coat in winter. Tall leather boots and 'riding' britches. 3/4 helmets. Most wear riding glasses and gloves. Honestly, I've never seen LE motorjocks wearing full riding gear.
HILO
Member
Knight90 said:
Sure does look like short sleeves, britches, and tall boots in that photo...
I'd say it is very common for motorjocks to wear short sleeves nation wide. Even in Chicago and NYC. That is why I was a bit surprised at Snibsey's surprise that CHP does not ride full gear. It's even rather common to see motorjocks not wearing gloves, which I find odd as a rider.
In this video, every jock seen is in short sleeves. More importantly, it brings us closer to topic. You cant scrap on a BMW (you can, but if you do, your down)
nerdly_dood said:
Those pants look like breaches (sp?) which are designed for motor use. The boots are extremely good protection, and the vests also protect the body as much as any motorcycle jacket does. The only thing they don't require is long sleeves it looks like.
exphillycop
Member
PJD642
New Member
FireEMSPolice
Member
vonirkinshtine
Member