| Author | Message | ||
     Sparky |
I cracked up when I read why the City of Torrance is replacing their fleet of Harley police bikes with Hondas. It's not that this is Breaking News or anything but when you read it in the newspaper, it just puts that knowing smile on your face.  | ||
| Court |
Shame (Message edited by court on September 29, 2012) | ||
| Boltrider |
Well, the truth hurts sometimes. The maintenance costs alone should be a red flag. | ||
| Fb1 |
Geez, Sparky - EVERYBODY knows Harleys suck. My '06 FLHRI, same year as the cop bikes in Torrence, has been a royal pain in the ass, too. Sixty-five thousand miles, and can you believe it I've actually had to change the oil and filter MULTIPLE times! Knowing smile ------->  (DailyBreeze.com, eh? Not one but TWO pop-up ads, and the most viewed "news" story is Hong Kong tycoon offers $65 million to any man who can woo gay daughter. Hey, I wonder if he'd toss in a new Harley???  ) | ||
| Fb1 |
Damn thing, if it wasn't for duct tape, JB Weld and bungee cords, it wouldn't even be ridable:  | ||
| Geedee |
More photos please Fb1. Your fall colours out yet? Gary | ||
| Rah7777777 |
We have a fleet of 14 Road Kings. The moto-jocks LOVE them. We just got rid of the last 06 model, it was hands down the biggest POS on 2 wheels I've ever seen. Have seven 2007 models and only issues are clutches and charging systems. But these bikes are trained with a good deal and the nature of Police riding is lots of clutch dragging. The newer ones seem to be doing just fine. In the Police rodeos they hold their own very well. Now, with all that I will say I personally hate Harley :-) | ||
| Fb1 |
More photos please Fb1. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/681 7/283869.html?1348530874 We just got rid of the last 06 model, it was hands down the biggest POS on 2 wheels I've ever seen. I forgot to mention, I've had to replace the tires many times, too... | ||
| Hootowl |
Sheesh. What as POS. I suppose you have to put gas in it from time to time too. | ||
| No_rice |
in one spot it says the hondas were great, then for a few paragraphs it talks about how crappy the hondas were... | ||
| Fb1 |
I suppose you have to put gas in it from time to time too. Yep. Twice. Sparky, how ya been, it's been a long time. Hope ya don't mind me having a little fun on your thread. Ferris | ||
| Prior |
I read that article- it's poorly written, confusing and $8600 a pop in maintenance is a shitload of work- seems quite high for what they mentioned... Must be replacing floorboards and tires at the same rate Ferris is... (Message edited by awprior on September 29, 2012) | ||
| Sparky |
Hey Fb1, yeah, this thread is all about poking fun. And ya know, comparing your pristine RDK to those workhorses is more like comparing apples to, sorry, lemons. The thing that is not too surprising though, I'd guess, is that American Honda MoCo, is located in Torrance. Kinda surprising it took this long to changeover. | ||
| Darth_villar |
The police bikes in Grand Rapids michigan saw perhaps 500 miles per year. And as they lease new ones every year, you could get a used police bike for quite a steal. I wouldn't mind having one. | ||
| Fb1 |
I read that article- it's poorly written, confusing and $8600 a pop in maintenance is a shitload of work- seems quite high for what they mentioned... Must be replacing floorboards and tires at the same rate Ferris is... Alex, not so surprisingly the RK is one of the best street bikes I've ever owned as far as tire wear, a consistent 8k from the back. That's the beauty of a relatively-underpowered 800-pound motorcycle, I guess - I could (and often did) torch rear meats on the FJR in 2k. Floorboards? Every other oil & filter change. Hey Fb1, yeah, this thread is all about poking fun. Good; I was hoping we weren't gonna go all militant or something. And ya know, comparing your pristine RDK to those workhorses is more like comparing apples to, sorry, lemons. Sparky, dude, we've known each other a long time - I ride just as hard these days as I did back when you and I first met. Yes, the RK is pristine, but that's in spite of riding the snot out of it every chance I get. It is what it is - a very large, heavy streetbike that doesn't do any one thing particularly well compared to a lot of other motorcycles out there, but it has held up well, been very dependable, and has gone places and done things that a lot of folks who don't ride Harleys would find hard to believe. All that said, I love all motorcycles, and wish I had the coin for a garage-full of them. For now, the RK is my main squeeze, and I couldn't be happier about it. I've said goodbye to a lot of good motorcycles over the years, but I hope to ride the RK until my time here on earth is done. Good to visit, thanks for letting me crash your thread. Hi to Jen. FB | ||
| Ratbuell |
My old FLHP (a '96, 80" evo) was a real workhorse. Again - not an expert at anything...but good enough at just about everything. Floorboards? Yep, every season. And even with me beating the snot out of it...it held up well. When the base gaskets leaked, I upgraded the heads, compression, and cam...but that's it. I tell ya...if you want cagers to see you on a motorcycle? No better way than a retired City PD motor!   | ||
| Paint_shaker |
The article was confusing and poorly written. I'll say this; The jump from 06 to 12 (or even 08) must be something. I have logged over 30,000 miles over the past 3 years in the Florida sauna between 1 2008, 3 2010s and 2 2012s Police Road Kings. The only problems with some of them were minor warranty issues that did not cost anything to fix. Maintenence costs consisted of oil, tires and the occasional clutch or brake lever that got bent. Hard to "crack a smile" knowing an American Company is losing business to a foreign one... It may be "American Honda", but the end profit goes to Japan.... (Message edited by Paint shaker on September 30, 2012) | ||
| Crusty |
I'm sure that the article in the newspaper was factual and accurate. The fact that Honda's US headquarters is in Torrance would not influence either the | ||
| Court |
The one Harley, of many, that I've owned and really miss is my 1988 FLHTC. | ||
| Ulyranger |
Who the heck wrote that? If the switch is about saving money in this economy i can't fault the city, regardless where the product is made. Some of the data provided........maybe it has more to do with the writing than real costs/faults.... | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Just to put the alternative point of view, UK police forces stopped using the ST1300 a few years ago due to safety issues. From Wikipedia. "Evidence indicates the ST1300 can exhibit a weave instability mode at very high speed — known in the case of the ST1300 as Pan Weave. In April 2007, subsequent to the death of a police motorcyclist riding a single seat ST1300, the emergency service version of the ST1300, a British coroner announced he would warn all Chief Constables in England and Wales of the "serious threat" to riders' lives posed by the ST1300 and the "catastrophic result" of the high speed weave. Later safety checks resulted in one examiner sustaining several broken bones in a similar incident. UK police forces subsequently withdrew the ST1300 from police service. One force, even sold off some brand new bikes that had not yet been put in service, with sections cut from the frame so that they couldn't be put on the road, & the force held liable for a subsequent accident! To say that it's only european police models & that they were overloaded is somewhat disingenuous too. RiDE Magazine reported in October 2007 that a team replicated weave instability mode with a civilian Honda ST1300 — reproducing the instability at a speed of 110 miles per hour (180 km/h) under certain loading conditions. The rider noticed a rear wheel maximum yaw of 11 degrees per second, described as "a consistent and alarming sideways movement." The editors named the behavior "Pan weave". The intent of the testing was not to determine the cause of the weave, but to confirm its existence. Also, the article reported that 43% of surveyed ST1300 owners had experienced the weave. (Message edited by Mr_grumpy on October 01, 2012) | ||
| Court |
There are likely facts well hidden somewhere. The difficulty of conducting such a discussion on a brand-centric internet discussion board is that folks bring a lot of passion, personal preference and an element of that old need to reinforce buying decisions made long ago. I know top execs with both Harley-Davidson and American Honda. To sleight either, based on anecdotal evidence, would be short sighted. Both have and can produce world class products. There have been credible reports of both Harley-Davidson and Honda, pressed into law enforcement service, that have showed various models wanting at various times. To generalize upon any of those reports clouds an objective discussion. I will say that the last Honda I saw being ridden my an Officer in London was being ridden VERY impressively. Beyond that . . . I just listen. I'm not a cop, not buying a cop bike, will never subject anything I own to the type of service they do and find I tend to learn more of the writers than the content in these threads. | ||
| Strokizator |
I believe the current Harley Davidson upper management are a bunch of prix. However, I've never met any of them. I have had numerous dealings with my local HD dealership and they are great people (except that fat chick behind the parts counter who doesn't think I know what I'm talking about). I don't wish them or any other dealer bad luck. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
"....tend to learn more of the writers than the content in these threads." LOL yup | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
I thought that was the whole point of a discussion board, who'da thunk it!  | ||
| Firstbuell |
sshhh! | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Now it's a meta-discussion board. We can discuss discussions. Bikes don't even have to be tangentially involved anymore. I'm going to start a thread on firewood. | ||
| Strokizator |
Oak is too pricey. Eucalyptus too hard to split. Almond is the better value. | ||
| Court |
Finally . . . some facts. Thank you. | ||
| 86129squids |
Joe- how didja get to keep those blue lights?! I'm guessing that was a "before" pic, and you HAD to take them off... "I tell ya...if you want cagers to see you on a motorcycle? No better way than a retired City PD motor!" Had a buddy who said the same thing about his retired Kaw po-po bike- parts traffic like Moses and the Red Sea! I'd still like to get one just for that reason. |
