Plan to buy police motorcycles in U.S. upsets Victoria retailers

[HighwayChile]

whoever wrote the description of the Victory might of been in on marketing the Pinto, an over weight turd, it was said to have "more road hugging weight"

I am a right tool for the job kind of guy. why are 100-1115hp, 7-800lb bikes being used in urban low speed areas ?
I'm not saying muni's should go to "noddy" bikes but DL650, Burgman 400/650 or the like would have many advantages ( over the current bikes out not the least of which is $$ savings which could be spent on staff. I do know this would not be popular with M.C., not because of the bikes ability and fit for the job but for more emotional reasons.

Ive seen DRZ400, etc ridden by MC in other areas, they get the job done just fine. ( although all day on a DRZ saddle would be cruel )

if 100hp is needed for a MC in an urban area shouldnt police cars have more hp? hey the new shelby puts out 1000hp.....

[Steve G.]

Originally Posted by HighwayChile

whoever wrote the description of the Victory might of been in on marketing the Pinto, an over weight turd, it was said to have "more road hugging weight"

I am a right tool for the job kind of guy. why are 100-1115hp, 7-800lb bikes being used in urban low speed areas ?
I'm not saying muni's should go to "noddy" bikes but DL650, Burgman 400/650 or the like would have many advantages ( over the current bikes out not the least of which is $$ savings which could be spent on staff. I do know this would not be popular with M.C., not because of the bikes ability and fit for the job but for more emotional reasons.

Ive seen DRZ400, etc ridden by MC in other areas, they get the job done just fine. ( although all day on a DRZ saddle would be cruel )

if 100hp is needed for a MC in an urban area shouldnt police cars have more hp? hey the new shelby puts out 1000hp.....

I sat one a few of them for a while. I cannot imagine anyone chasing anything except a bicycle on any of those Victorys. Slow speed, high speed, these things are nothing but parade bikes. Friggin' laughter will be the result on the streets of Victoria.

Steve

[HatesSnow]

I have seen other threads discussing the price difference between Canadian and U.S dealerships and its possible causes. I can't help wondering if part of the reason bikes, and many other things, are cheaper over the line is because people who work at the dealerships down there are underpaid as compared to their counterparts here. I have noticed wages for what would be a decent paying job here tend to be quite low down there.

[dukedinner]

I have seen cops in Kansas on Hayabusa's, but never up here.

Thanks to that!

I would really have to crank on the old KLR to get away from the police if they rode those in B.C!

[250senuf]

Originally Posted by dukedinner

I would really have to crank on the old KLR to get away from the police if they rode those in B.C!

Or turn off the blacktop. "Eat my dust and gravel"

[ScottDill]

Are police bikes intended as pursuit vehicles?

[HighwayChile]

Originally Posted by scodill

Are police bikes intended as pursuit vehicles?

I believe these are meant as penis extenders.
these over weight touring bikes in tight urban traffic are not the correct ride, they will take more physical effort to ride, less low speed ability, how much on high speed are they gaining? just because one bike costs 3x more then another doesnt make it the correct pick. guess what will happen when budget tightening hits? they are locked into the lease, so man power takes the cut. everyone wants police to have the best equipment but they should not piss tax payer money away just because they can.
In euro land honda TA's where the choice for ages.

to the local dealers, get off your butt, review the package that Vic PD bought, maintenance, terms ( & marketing BS) grab a mount from your show room develop it into a better mount, ( like a Tim's cup holder ). I've had this talk w/ local shop, the $$ is incredible , I'd be all over it myself if I was a dealer, they werent interested. watt requirements are less now with LED so big ass alternators are not needed as much as in the past.

if you knew the markup on LE/Fire equipment you'd puke. its big business.

[Mr. Canoehead]

Originally Posted by scodill

Are police bikes intended as pursuit vehicles?

Only in CHiPs and Holleywood movies.

Police motorcycles (at least in Alberta) are mobile speed traps and PR machines - they are in every parade. At the Calgary motorcycle show, the Motor Cops were showing off all of their speed trap toys (Laser/Radar, etc).

For those uses a 400c scooter would be a great choice - much more agile than a heavy cruiser-based machine and much cheaper to buy and maintain, too.

[H96669]

Originally Posted by scodill

Are police bikes intended as pursuit vehicles?

Back in my crazier days and a then brand new 85 K100RS, I met some guy on the ferry with a 750 Yamaha. Of course we got off the ferry first and hit the Pat Bay highway at some speed. At the "Town & Country" light the other guy veers left and disappears. Imagine my surprise when suddenly appears the flashing lights behind me.

Two brand new Harley Police bikes had been following us all the way from the ferry....their excuse for not catching up with me/us faster was........."Our bikes aren't broken in yet".

I refrained from my usual smirking or then smartass comments about their bikes. Good thing , never even got a ticket.

I never liked the Victoria Police when I lived there, had an encounter with 2 Female officers just 3 years ago downtown on my way to work because I forgot to turn my lights on for a block and they pulled me over after I turned them on. In the words of Frank Zappa....Ladies you can be an Asshole too!!!!

Plenty of other examples of the Victoria Police attitude toward the respectable citizens where I work somewhere downtown.

[Deuce]

Originally Posted by scodill

Are police bikes intended as pursuit vehicles?

No, that's what Marconi's are for.

[Pongo]

Originally Posted by Harleymoe

This is further to my earlier post. As I understand it the Victory was the highest bid of the 5 bids. As well, I am also led to believe that the Kawasaki beat the Victory in pretty much all of the testing of potential police bikes in tests conducted previous to the Victoria process. That would be braking, acceleration, reliablility, etc. So the question is why did this occur and exactly who gains to profit from this.??? The whole process appears to be underhanded and I'm sure they have already awarded a service contract without even consulting any of the competing dealers. That's another question that begs to be answered.

If I was one of the dealer principals that submitted a bid to supply the Victoria Police with their new motorcycles I would certainly look at taking legal action and in the very least expect a public inquiry into how this occurred and why.

Regards, Moe

Ya please, a 2 million dollar commission and 3 million dollar law suit to discuss the purchase of 200 000 dollars worth of motor bikes.

[OurBC]

Originally Posted by H96669

Plenty of other examples of the Victoria Police attitude toward the respectable citizens where I work somewhere downtown.

I have not had a problem after 17 years of living here. Luck?

[ktmpilot]

what gets me is the US has this 'buy american' clause in all their government tenders

we bid on a bunch of stuff and lost to US companies (with their stuff being made overseas)

why do Canadians roll over and accept things - why don't we have a 'buy canadian clause'

I believe in free market and all that but with free trade and open borders it seems it only flows one way

[swellguy]

I don't see how buying a Japanese or German bike is buying Canadian. Police bikes are a separate division in most companies, full of options regular dealers would never see. I bet there was no dealer markup from the four local shops because it was a tender for equipment they don't even supply. The Canadian component of this is the ongoing servicing of the bikes which will be done locally. It's just sour grapes from the losing bidders.

Drane will get the service contract because they're the only shop with non-metric tools and their manager is a former VicPD mounted patrol officer.

Originally Posted by ktmpilot

what gets me is the US has this 'buy american' clause in all their government tenders

we bid on a bunch of stuff and lost to US companies (with their stuff being made overseas)

why do Canadians roll over and accept things - why don't we have a 'buy canadian clause'

I believe in free market and all that but with free trade and open borders it seems it only flows one way

[squonker]

Originally Posted by ktmpilot

I believe in free market and all that but with free trade and open borders it seems it only flows one way

I'm interested in a Triumph Scrambler. Thought I'd look in the U.S. to see what the price difference was. U.S dealers are not allowed to sell new Triumph bikes across the border.