I have a good buddy that's in law enforcement that found out that there will be a polics auction pretty soon in our area that will be having some police bikes/road kings for sale.

Questions to you folks are, has anyone bought from an auction, how well maintained do you guys think these bikes are in relation to the abuse wear&tear they get and any real horror stories out there about buying a said bike?

 

My understanding (and someone will surely correct me if I am wrong) is that H-D leases bikes to local PDs for $1 a year, and then gets them back when the lease period is over.

So if these bikes are at auction, they've probably had another owner between the end of their police service and the auction house.

 

It's very subjective, different municipalities and PD's have different purchase or lease requirements.



My CHP FXRP came with service records- and all services were done by H-D dealers, rather than by CHP
and the nature of duty was lots of highway miles, no parade duty.

The motorcycle was owned by the State and I bought it from the State of Ca.
No dealer involvement as may be found with returned lease vehicles.


Parade, display and city duty is hard on the drivetrain and clutches. Many motor officers are trained to use apply rear brake and slip the clutch in low speed operation.
This puts alot of wear on those components.
Motors may have been idled for long periods.
and who/where does services.
Some bikes are "pool" some are assigned to specific officers, some are used for training.

Cop Bikes are ideal for 1.) leaving them just as they are and riding, 2.) platform for a complete custom.

the in-betweens are difficult, less difficult if you are good with electricity and can rewire or adapt to what you want.

mike

 

There is no way they are getting them for $1/year on a lease. A) H-D is in the business of making money, not providing charity to LE. B) You sometimes see officers riding either Goldwings, or in the case of one of the local departments in central Ohio, BMW's. There is no way the city counsel would sign off on buying/leasing one of those when they can essentially get a H-D for free.

mikebaby

 

A police bike would have to be super cheap! Almost free...

Think about it like this, if you were looking at a bike and the ad said "This bike has had the $hit kicked out of it BigTime! and has been dropped on many occasions on purpose, but has had oil changes on time".

Would you be interested??

 

NOT here in FL. They lease them for 1 year at a good amount and all maintenance is included.

 

Actually, they are leased to departments for one dollar per year. HD has a history w/police bikes and continue to support that mission and their brand with the program. It is fantastic and cheap advertising for the MOCO. Then at the end of the the year or two year lease they sell the bike easily for a reduced price and allow someone to buy a former police bike that they otherwise could not own until after a police bike was registered to an actual police department or sheriffs department. You cannot buy a HD police bike new unless you are somehow tied to a police agency (in official capacity). The special edition bikes that are for fire or police officers are different bikes. So it is a program and it serves HD well. Good will with departments, selling bikes with a "history", keeping product in the public eye and being able to get top dollar for a plethora of yearly trade ins that people generally want for customization.

 

Ok, that's just not true. Some bikes are likely used very hard, but so are some owned by civilians. Most are well taken care of and a good value. There are a lot of threads here on these bikes if you do a search.

 

Different dealers have different lease arangements. There was a time when many PD's were leasing bikes for $1 for a year. My department leases our bike from a dealer in NH. They handle most of the motors in New England. We currently have a 2 year lease. At the end of the 2 years they strip decals, emergency equipment etc... from the bike and sell them. Most average around 2-6k for mileage. Some bigger agencies buy their motors. Mass State Police and Boston PD for example. They then trade their old motos in when the time comes to purchase motors.

For me, I ride my personal bike as hard as I ride my motor, but, the department motor is well taken care of. Our lease includes language that madates mileage specific maintainence intervals. I would have no problem buying my department motor. In fact. my Chief is talking about buying our motor at the end of the lease for himself. It can be a crap shoot. I do ride both of my bikes hard (personal and dept. motor). That is just the way I ride. Good luck!

Neil
RDMC

 

WRONG. Anyone can purchase a Police bike as long as the dealer removes the lights and decals. Radios do not come from Harley and are put on at the Police station. Brand new RKP available at HD of FTMyers at $16,999 asking tag on bike.