Riding ‘Shotgun’ on new Pan America ‘Cop Bike’
Yes, 1250 Specials also have flashing lights and sirens, so don’t act all surprised if you ever get pulled over by a cop on a trendy adventure bike.
It’s a pretty well-known fact that Harley Davidson has a long and illustrious history with law enforcement. For more than a century, the Motor Company has been building bikes for cops.
Those motorcycles have mostly been of the “big ol’ hog” variety. Now, however, you might in the near future see your local cops riding the off-road capable HD Pan America, complete with a place to stow that scattergun.
And yes, these 1250 Specials also have flashing lights and sirens, so don’t act all surprised if you ever get pulled over by a cop on a trendy adventure bike. You’re not in Europe. You’re in the good old USA.
Crammed with Cop Features
The idea came into being when the Harley-Davidson police and fleet sales team reached out to Laidlaw’s Harley Davidson in Los Angels for a concept bike. You might recognize the name if you’ve seen videos of their custom Harley bikes, or obviously if you live in the area.
What better place to introduce the bike to the public than the annual Police Motor Rodeo, put on by the Orange County Traffic Officers’ Association? That’s an event where “motor officers” get to show off their riding skills.
The Pan America itself is a relatively new but popular model in the HD lineup, and Laidlaw’s took it and crammed it with features motor officers need and want.
‘Bad Boys, Bad Boys’
The most noticeable feature about the Pan Am as compared to the old police bikes, of course, is its ability to go off-road. If you’ve ever watched the TV show “Cops,” you might have sympathized with those officers who had big problems when the criminals they were chasing lit out for the woods, desert, hills, mountains and even drainage ditches.
No more. The Pan Am was designed and built to exit smooth pavement and take on rugged terrain. The standard Pan America Special has five riding modes, and includes two off-road modes, soft and firm.
The “off-road soft” mode is designed to absorb large bumps and obstacles found on really rough terrain while the “off-road firm” is meant for speed for off-road conditions not as challenging.
Flashers Galore
For the cop bike, Laidlaw’s added bigger saddlebags to stow all the gear cops need to bust heads.
The new concept bike comes with red and blue flashers that those of us who have ever been pulled over know all too well, and they added the same LED flashers on the hand guards. Then they added even more LED flashers under the headlight.
This is a concept bike now, but if and when it becomes popular with police, that old excuse “I didn’t see you behind me” won’t pass the smell test with these bikes.
Built for Speed
When the cops get around to actually riding these bikes on duty, they will find radios and sirens installed, with separate batteries. And of course these motorcycles will also have shotgun mounts if their police riders run into criminals who need some discipline.
The bike is a natural fit for law enforcement. The Pan America has that liquid-cooled Revolution Max 1250 engine that puts out 150 horsepower and 94.4 foot/pounds of torque.
For a bike that weights in the mid-500 pound rage, that’s a lot of power whether you’re on the Interstate or some dusty dirt back road with your shotgun bouncing around. And for those long chases, Harley claims the Pan Am gets 43 miles per gallon.
Here’s a mock chase scene of the bike in action.
Photos: Laidlaw’s Harley Davidson
yes, these 1250 Specials also have flashing lights and sirens, so don’t act all surprised if you ever get pulled over by a cop on a trendy adventure bike.
