Road King Police Specials

[lorand54]

I'm a newbie on the site and don't have a HD...yet. Currently, I'm riding an old Norton Commando but these old bones are starting to protest. My next ride will be either a RK or RK Classic and am looking at an 04 FLHPI with less than 20,000 miles (I'm from the frozen north which amounts to approximately 30,000 km -- the bike has been imported from US into Canada and is at an HD dealership).
My questions are:
What kind of things should I be looking out for when testing / previewing and what kind of potential problems are there in buying a police special if any? It's a low mileage unit but has probably seen low speeds and lots of idling.

Any and all info including opinions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

 

[glider]

The biggest thing with buying a police bike that has been in police service is the extended idling they do. Give the gaskets on the motor a good look to see if there is any weeping and possible a compression test before committing to the bike. Check for any blue smoke out the pipes after it is completely hot and you rev the engine indication it's pushing oil from the extended idling or hard riding and abusive treatment. Also get it going a good speed and downshift a gear, let it coast down and watch for a blue smoke trail behind you. It's best to have someone in the know following you to check for this as you may not be able to see it in the mirrors. It would give you an indication of pushing oil (worn parts)

 

[Caper]

Pretty much same as checking out any used bike.Has it been civilianized? Do a comperession test , get service records, look for signs of being in a crash. Is the title clean or listed as Rebuilt? Will the dealer offer a warranty? You can pick up a used cop bike for a decent price,most times a little cheaper than a civillian bike , but if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
I probably left things out to check over, others can chime in with what I forgot, but your gut feelings are usually right.

 

[flh canuck]

Depends on what kind of service the police motorcycle was used for as well.

If its an ex-city police bike, good chance it has spent lots of time idling with emergency equipment going at intersections etc.

If its an RCMP Highway Patrol bike, it would have much less wear and tear on it for the mileage as it would'nt see the same type of severe duty.

Its a good idea to find out where it came from if you can.