Dswartz

Service and maintenance on a police bike is the one thing you are NOT gambling on. You need to look at the agency the bike is coming from. If it is an accredited agency (which most that are large enough for a motor unit are) the city is required to maintain their vehicles at regular intervals. In fact most of the Harley police bikes are leased to the city for X amount of time. During this lease all of the services are performed by the dealer. After the lease is over the bike is returned to Harley where it is sold. Therefore all services have been performed by a Harley Tech.

However, just because the services have been performed does not mean the bike will be perfect. You need to look at the type of work that motor officers do. They are mostly responsible for traffic which involves traffic enforcement, wrecks, parades, etc. Imagine the wear on an engine during traffic enforcement on the interstate. Officer sees a speeding car and roars down the interstate to catch it, stops the bike. 10 minutes later same thing start, full throttle, stop. Imagine going from stopped to full throttle and stopped again all day long day after day. Now look at a parade where an officer is riding 5mph. That's alot to ask for an air cooled motor.

On the other hand a police bike is like a blank canvas for customizing. They are great candidates to be turned into really cool machines. They start out less expensive than the rest so you have some extra money to put into it. In the end it's all just a matter of what you like.

mecmtnsub

Retired police bike or not?

PRO: For pre-2012 bikes, the 103 Big Bore Kit is an expensive OPTION to a standard 96cid motor. A private owner will want dear money to part with his modified bike. However, the 103cid motor is part of the definition of a 2007-2011 Police Electraglide or Police Road King.

CON: Depends on use during the lease: milage, idle time (hot), and training. The training of Police officers includes pick-up after a static lay-down of the bike. So there may be scratches or gouges on the "ears" of the fairing for example - acceptable for me. The dealer (lease-holder) should give you good photos of the defects, and a use history (e.g.: which police dept the bike came from). Example: I wouldn't want a bike from the Denver Airport without a good discount, but I'd want a bike from a small town. Also don't expect the amenities of an Ultra; there are none. Want music? You'll need to install it. But the price is right & it gets you into the bike to modify subsequent.

I wasn't aware of the different low gear rations; I'll check that out.
I think that I did very well price-wise last year on a 7550mile, 2 year old, post-lease FLHTP from Grand Junction, CO - from the PD in Thornton,CO.

Paul /Maine

HD99

In 07 I bought a 06 rd king police from a local dealer with only 2600 miles on it for about 6000.00 less than a new 07 model came with factory warrenty and new tires. since then I have depoliced it and customized it to my likeing. Its been a very good bike with no issues at all. I have put 25,000 miles on it and am pulling a trailer.Also I have made a few friends at the dealership that tell me that when a police department buys a fleet of bikes they have a service agreement with the police department and a pre-determined trade in deal on said bikes , I love mine!

glimmerman

i'm the 3rd owner of my '01 rk police. the wiring was a hatchet job so i re wired it for civilian use. took 2 manuals and some time. i've had far and away less problems with this than my '10 ultra. check under the floorboards to see the mounts. are they ground down indicating hard cornering. my bike was turned in with 877 miles on it, i picked it up in '05 with 12,440 showing for $10,300 and the dealer paid my document fee since i live in another state. quite the steal.

DWBBigSteve

I recently purchased a '07 RK Police with the 103/6 speed and its a HUGE difference from the brand new '06 RK Classic I owned as far as torque and its responsiveness. I was real lucky to find this bike, all black with very little wear, sporting 40K on the odometer for under 10K. I feel I got a good deal...

Pictures soon come

doctor727

Most used police bikes are leased. That means that the service is ususlly done by the leasing dealer. If the department has a large maintenance division, they may do their own, but not likely. Idle time and heat would be my biggest concern, also has it been down, not the servicing. Just my .02

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