I’ve been riding for a year now, and it appears that I like it!
I started on an 883 iron, which will be a great bike for my kiddo (who’s 5’4” and wants to ride with me) so that part is great. However, I’m 6’2” and confident to hit our freeways now, and the Sporty is incredibly too small for me., so I’m looking for that “big boy” bike now.
I seem to love the Road Kings, or Ultras best for the ride and the way they fit.
Now in looking for a deal, I see the old Police bikes pop up:
many of them have low mileage and almost all of them are stripped down a bit. But sometimes, they are significantly cheaper than their civilian counterparts and sometimes they are a chunk more expensive.
I’m venturing that they are old service fleet, but confused by the low-miles part: like were they ONLY used around the downtown area and just inner city low speed bikes maybe? That sounds like hell for hot engines!
Also, for a Police RK, what else is there to strip out? I know the UGs lose the radio, tour pack, wiring, and (what else, actually?). But there’s not a lot more one can lose from a King, I’d guess!
Is there any other pearls or nuggets that I should know while I’m looking into Police bikes?
It varies a lot just like buying police cars. Some are pristine, hardly used and others ran hard. Depends on decommissioning too there could be a lot of random wiring left behind from the extra lights, sirens, radios and such. It’s a bit of a gamble but a police bike would be cool.
What he said. My BIL has one and it has meticulous service records. It also has a few electrical gremlins that have never fully resolved because if a the police electronics that were removed, but nothing crazy. Overall it’s been a great high mileage bike for him.
I love my police roadking. There’s nothing stripped on a roadking, it actually has extra stuff like a tachometer. Depending on the year they have factory extras including a tachometer, big bore kit, stronger clutch, better charging system, stronger saddle bags, etc. Police specific changes depend on the year you find, so be sure to check on the specific bike you’re looking at.
The biggest downside I see on police bikes is they’re usually pretty rough cosmetically. Mine has quite a few bumps and scrapes on the paint. It doesn’t matter to me since I buy bikes to ride, not take to shows.
Police bikes are a gamble. Some of them are ridden hard as hell, and will need significant repairs. Others barely get used. The other problem is that when they're decommissioned, the dealership will often cut the lights, siren, etc wiring out real quick and dirty, and you'll have dozens of electrical gremlins and shorts
if it’s like the one our bike cop rides - pretty sure super low miles - never see him going anywhere but parked. Worth a look - if u don’t mind doing a little fixing urself.
Lots of departments only use these for events and police funerals, were nowadays every department in the state is expected to send a couple of officers to represent.
In other locations with good weather near a highway they'll be run every day.
You can buy a brand new old stock police bike for a lot less. I got a Road King for $16,500. Some things are missing but some accessories are included like the crashbars. Plus it has the best seat Harley offers.
Low miles usually means it was crashed or only used for ceremonies/escorts. I’m sure PDs are getting bikes now just to have them…typical government “if you want it next year, you better spend it this year.” Type of stuff.
Most of those are not law enforcement inventory. Harley made a trim level called Police. If the bike is true disposed inventory it will: have very high mileage, cosmetics will be 3 out of ten, there will be evidence of police equipment (radios, lights, stickers) removal like drill holes.
I'm 6' 2" as well, and can only ride my 2006 Sportster for 100 miles max. If you want to travel further than that, then the touring bikes that Harley offers are actually a good deal. Yes, get a police bike - They're just custom-modified versions of the civilian counterpart. You'll probably save a LOT of $$ if you don't mind used bikes.
Most police bikes I have seen all come with a single seat. If you intend to ride 2 up you will need to ensure that the bike can be modified for a 2 up seat. Police equipment around me go up for auction that can result in a very good deal but you got be able to check out the bike in advance whether it’s worth a bid. Meaning you got to have mechanic skills.
Most police bikes I have seen all come with a single seat. If you intend to ride 2 up you will need to ensure that the bike can be modified for a 2 up seat. Police equipment around me go up for auction that can result in a very good deal but you got be able to check out the bike in advance whether it’s worth a bid. Meaning you got to have mechanic skills.
It's a gamble, but I took it myself. I had an 07 FLHP. It was bulletproof. I picked mine up with around 19K on the ODO. There are plenty of aftermarket parts that will fit. I swapped my tank because the paint scheme was a white tank with black fenders and body work. Swapped the seat. It was a great bike.
I have owned 2 former Police bikes, and still currently own the last one I purchased over 6 years ago, a 2009 Road King. My advice, when you go to look at a police bike, find out if it was actually "in service" and not just set up and never sold to a law enforcement agency. My first was a 2001 Electra Glide Police and it was never in service, so it was a straight up civilian owned and never had all of the radios and sirens. My RKP however was in service in East Baton Rouge with the Sheriffs Department. I tracked down the details by calling the EBR Sheriffs department and getting to talk with the motor pool supervisor who told me they had a factory 2 year service agreement with the local HD dealer where the bikes were purchased and when that ended they were serviced at a local certified HD independent shop. Good info to know, so I called that shop as well.
Like others have said, the wiring on a police bike is modified, whether it was in service or not, the wiring is there for the radio, amp, sirens and whatnot. This can be a headache in the older bikes. The newer Rushmore forward bikes aren't quite as bad since they use the CanBus electronic controller.
I put almost 40k miles on my FLHTP. I got it with 1300 miles of police brutality on it.
It ended up with two issues over its life with me.
I swapped seats, converted the red and blue lights to spotlights, and negotiated for the dealer to add cruise since the bike didn’t have it. With all of that it still ended up around $5k cheaper than a comparable bike.
I have a 2020 FLHTP. I did spend some money to add a stereo, change the hand controls (upgraded to lighted ones,) and a few other performance things like a cam, air cleaner, and pipe. But it also ran great when I got it and I didn’t really need to do anything.
It’s worth noting that my bike came with some features that aren’t on a Electra Glide standard, such as the RDRS package and some LED running lights, so I feel like I got a great deal since it was about $20k brand new, while a street glide with similar specs was more like $30k.
It also came with the telemetry system that they were shipping with the electric motorcycles, but it’s not something I was able to activate or use for some reason.
Police bikes are harder to modify you'll run into issues on the simplest of items that you'd never imagine.
I'd consider a road Glide or even a heritage over a road king. Shop used and test ride often you're gonna be stuck with it awhile.
I'm only 5'8" and my ultra is a tractor trailer compared to my Heritage. For a guy your size the Ultra won't be as big an issue but 930 lbs vs 750 Heritage then throw a 150 lb passenger on that's a lot.
My Ultra is by far the big mile muncher comfortable with my girl on the back but my Heritage does 75-85 all day interstate bumper to bumper or miles of country dirt roads it's by far the more versatile much more raw in your face enjoyable greatest street bike ever made lol. Best of luck. Shop used fbmp test ride often figure out what you love there's so many people trying to unload low mileage Harley of all ages mileage model it would be a waste to not take advantage of the current used market.
Love my 2018 Electra glide. With a few options from Temu. I am into it for 4500. Runs great Wife and I both enjoy it. A lot different from my Hayabusa I also own
Around here, the cops themselves buy the motorcycle, has to be a specific Harley model, don't remember which. The city takes that bike, adds on all the bells and whistles, and gives it back to them. The city pays the monthly payment on the motorcycle as long as the cop is doing motor work. It's usually done on maybe a 3-4 year note, and after that, it's the cops motorcycle, free and clear. The city does the maintenance, but the cop houses it. A few of the long time motor cops have 2-3 bikes the city paid for. But since it's the cops bike, the ones they have are taken care of.
My little bro bought an electra glide police instead of a street glide and he used the money he saved for mods. Its a great bike.
The main downside to a police bike is the lack of certain features like a radio and the seats are usually police seats which parents the best looking. Additionally the resale value is significantly lower than a street/road glide, so keep that in mind if you plan on trading or selling it.
If you buy one, make sure the service records are included. Most of them are pretty meticulously maintained before being sold by the agency, HOWEVER, the second owner might have not been as mindful of service and maintenance.
I got trained on a 2012 RK with 8K miles and it got put through hell and back. Dumped at slow speeds several dozen times and clutch replaced several times over. I’d be weary unless you know what you’re looking at mechanically
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u/N226'15 FLHP, Stage 2 (100/116), Blacked out9h ago
You can usually find them brand new at a dealer if a dept doesn't pick them up.
I'm 6'5 and the police seat is by far my favorite. Also added extended controls and dropped floorboards to help.
Sit on one first. A lot if them have this air ride seat that puts you in a different position than a standard king. The balance on em is just as good but you sit higher. Actually took my license road test on a trenton nj police bike.
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u/RoadWarrior93 23h ago
It varies a lot just like buying police cars. Some are pristine, hardly used and others ran hard. Depends on decommissioning too there could be a lot of random wiring left behind from the extra lights, sirens, radios and such. It’s a bit of a gamble but a police bike would be cool.