Vintage Harley Police Bike Becomes Treasured Keepsake
Treasured Harley Police bike from the ’70s receives the ultimate retirement gift – a full restoration!
All of us Harley-Davidson enthusiasts share at least one thing in common, and that’s the undying passion for our two-wheeled wonders. But that love of all things Harley isn’t limited to outlaws and rule-breakers. H-D and our boys in blue also share a long and storied history together. And those that ride on duty are known to develop an unbreakable bond with their bikes. Look no further than Tuscumbia, Alabama Police Chief Tony Logan and this vintage Harley police bike for proof.
Logan grew up in the small southern town back in the ’70s. And one of his most vivid memories is the unmistakable sound of this very Harley police bike rumbling around the streets of Tuscumbia with Officer Ray Poston on duty. And like we often hear, two-wheeled patrol vehicles tend to forge a bond between law and community.
“I remember when I was a kid and Mr. Poston was a motorcycle officer,” Logan told the Times Daily. “You could hear it coming a mile away, and all of us kids used to love checking it out. That was a way for us to get to know him. Even before community policing was a term, that’s what they did with that motorcycle.”
When Logan became police chief ten years ago, those memories got him thinking. What if the department could restore that old Harley police bike? Once he was able to convince the right folks, work began in earnest. But the 1974 model Harley required a ton of work after catching fire and sitting in the back of the local jail for years.
With the help of Natchez Trace Harley-Davidson, the old bike is better than new. And its first mission in retirement was a spot in the Tuscumbia Christmas Parade. With Logan at the controls, of course, living out his childhood dreams!
