So, if some of you do not know, Timmythecop is not just a moniker, I am actually a policeman. I am a Sergeant with the Metropolitan Police Department, Washington DC. One of the jobs of my department is the movement of dignitaries and especially the protection of the President. This job is done by policemen on motorbikes and the department takes it very seriously. We are not like most departments in that almost all of our cops on bikes are used only for this, so you dont see much traffic enforcement or patrol bikes. After nearly 25 years of asking, I was finally sent to the "FLH Motor School" I heard it was hard, but I figured it was just a bunch of cones and a Harley. I was wrong. It was 40 hours of rules and administrative stuff and 80 hours on motorcycle mastery.
It isnt just cones. It isnt just slow speed maneuvers. I was taught how to totally and completely know what the bike was doing, and how to confidently make it do more. A lot of the time I was at full lock, floorboard on the ground, back brake on, throttle on, clutch feathered. I learned how to pick a line. This was important because usually, the cones were just inches wider than the turning circle of the bike. The dance between balance, throttle, clutch, brake. lean and look. Oh, the look. I thought I was good at looking into the turns. I was wrong again. I learned that you cannot glance, you must LOOK, concentrate, see!. I learned that there are no shortcuts, there is no cheating when the cones go up. I learned that the back brake has a use. I learned that steering inputs need to be quick and decisive. I learned to know where the bike is and trust in what I do to correct its attitude. I learned that Harley Davidson FLHTPI motorbikes do what they are designed for rather well, and they are really comfy. I went into the the training with an open mind, I knew it was going to be hard. I had NO IDEA it was going to be THAT hard. One of the toughest things I have done in my life. The mental aspect is profound. The emotional roller coaster was killing me. I went from "I am the man" to "I truly suck at this" a hundred times.
I am proud I made it through (the attrition rate is over 63%, 3 out of 8 of us made it), and I learned so much, I know I am a much better motorcyclist for it.
Keep your mind open, joy and learning is out there.
oh. I almost forgot to mention.. .....when I got on my VFR after 80 hours on the 1000 pound Harley, it felt like a CBR 250's little cousin. The VFR felt so dainty, refined and small. The bars felt sooooo close together and the brakes seemed impossibly good.
Great post - very informative and inspirational. I was taught to make U-turns by loooooking, using rear brake and feathering clutch and throttle by . . . .drum roll please: a motorpatrolman who rides a BMW for work! He logs a ton of miles each year for work and rides a 2014 Concours for fun. He gave the same coaching. Anyone can whack the throttle but slow speed work's where it's at. Even though I practice, he can easily out U-turn me on his Connie even with a passenger! It was very humbling. Thanks for sharing!
It never stops surprising me how talented the members of this forum are. Huge respect TTC, that's an achievement to be rightly proud of, and congratulations on making the grade. Makes us 'average' guys seem even more average :-)
Many thanks for sharing your terrific achievement, the photos, and reminding us of the enormous benefits possible when we.... "Never stop learning"
That's very impressive, but it makes one ask... why don't they use a bike better suited to the purpose? Is it just because that's the only American made option?
That's very impressive, but it makes one ask... why don't they use a bike better suited to the purpose? Is it just because that's the only American made option?
I'd say tradition because there are other "American" made bikes, or at least bikes "Made in America".
I never knew there was a special group with special training just for escorting dignitaries. I figured it was just guys with tenure who got a cool assignment. That's pretty awesome, congrats.
RDMcD That's very impressive, but it makes one ask... why don't they use a bike better suited to the purpose? Is it just because that's the only American made option?
My dad's department almost switched to ST1300s a few years ago, but Hardley dropped their prices and kept their customer. Money is a huge factor for any police equipment. They're not sport bikes, but they're probably better suited for highway patrol than most of us give them credit for. Stable, comfortable, very low center of gravity, lots of low-end torque.
As far as American options, it would have been cool to see some fleets of Buells back when they were around and affordable. Motus would be cool, but I'd like to know what the costs are for police model HDs compared to (hypothetically speaking, I doubt they have the production capacity and definitely don't have the service capacity) a Motus police package. Those Hardley baggers can cost about as much as a Motus, so they could possibly price competitively.
HD informed my department that they would no longer be producing sidecars. (we put them on in November and take them off in March, so snow and ice are not a problem). So, in comes the Victory salesman. He gives us 10 bikes to test for a week. All the motormen love them. The inauguration is coming up, and that is when we buy new bikes............
Then Victory hit us with the price: 68,000 bones for each bike+sidecar. They thought they had us over a barrel.
The Vice President of HD then personally came to DC to apologize and inform us that they will sub-contract a company to make us our sidecars. We just bought 40 bikes from HD.
I've heard that the training is extremely difficult, but knowing that an accomplished rider such as yourself confirm that is a bit surprising. Just curious, since you found it hard and you specifically mentioned the tight turning at slow speed, did you ever drop the bike? And if so, how did the instructors use that as a teaching moment?
Did I ever drop the bike? Man, I am an EXPERT ElectraGlide picker-upper. I had small, medium and large crashes. So glad I didnt fall off on the uphill grass section. I hear it is murder trying to get it on its wheels on a 45 degree grass hill. The rate of dropped bikes got higher as we went because we were trying to ride out a mistake instead of putting a foot down. Hell, I dropped ol' training bike number 5 just a half an hour before the final test. Sometimes, you knew you were a bit wide, so you would gas it a little and lean more, but the front wheel would clip those slippery as fook cones and on the side you went.
The only thing the instructors did after teaching you how to pick it up, was make sure you never got help doing it.
When we parked, the instructors would come out with a tape measure and see if we were 18" apart, crash bar to crash bar. This combined with exact wheel alignment is what they wanted. Each time we got it wrong, we had to duck-walk the bike about 100 yards.
That is so very freakin cool Timmy! I know the initial video on the range wasn't your class but very informative.
I like how you can hear the officer working the bike/clutch/throttle and especially how you can hear the metal meet the road on the tighter sections when the exhaust is not comprised of straight, open pipes.
Thanks for the reply Timmy. Another thing I would like to know; what do you think would be the "best" bike for the motorcycle cop? I don't mean brand bias or anything like that, but what bike would offer the comfort and abilities necessary to do your job? Or perhaps a better question would be what qualities would the perfect police motorcycle posses?
I would imagine low maintenance would top the list (e.g. shaft driven, hydraulic lifters, etc...), luggage to carry necessities, and ample power would be important too.
Looking at the gear the POs have to wear I'd say so too. Also the bikes are probably not washed before being parked in the garage, but groomed before being herded to their stables :happy:
But for the motorcade I'd say: stick with the tradition.
Part of mc training and exam for the mc licence in the Netherlands.
Not as "extreme", but riding a diminishing raduis, brake and swerve around a "wall" (made of orange pylons) from 30mph, straight line at walking pace, figure 8, slalom, etc must be demonstrated.
No, no, that's the procedure in the US. Take a quick test on the computer and do a figure eight in the parking lot, then ride home legally on your turbo Busa.
They almost always used K75 in European forces. The 750cc version was said to have almost the same power as the 1000, but was way smoother. I used to have a K100RS and I LOVED it.
So my first night out with my winged wheel pin and all the FLHs are off having the sidecars bolted on. I grabbed a Sportster and off I went. No joke, the very first motorcycle I encountered was a third gen VFR in white. Go fig. Work has gotten better...............
Been wanting to take a course for advanced riding for years. This only reinforce my desire to do so. I will look for a course locally and maybe for an old cheap bike i can drop and not feel bad about it.
Been wanting to take a course for advanced riding for years. This only reinforce my desire to do so. I will look for a course locally and maybe for an old cheap bike i can drop and not feel bad about it.
No, no, that's the procedure in the US. Take a quick test on the computer and do a figure eight in the parking lot, then ride home legally on your turbo Busa.
No, no, that's the procedure in the US. Take a quick test on the computer and do a figure eight in the parking lot, then ride home legally on your turbo Busa.
Where in the US? We still have road tests in NY. (Although, I'll admit there isn't much to it.)
The Winston Salem PD uses Kawi Concours 1400 and Charlotte was using the BMW R1200RTP. They sold the fleet a few years ago and bought new ones, I think.
I'm surprised they don't use CB650s or the Versys 650 LT to be quite honest. They could hire a full-time maintenance man to keep up the bikes for the cost of one of those Harleys and still have lots of money left over. Perhaps pay the officers more, too.
man, I came across this. The keyhole gave me fits for the first few days. So frustrating to make mistakes on attempt 564, 565, 566.........I remember how happy I was to make it to twice in a row. Then I took a break. Then I fell off the bike. Then I threw my gloves. Then I tried again and the instructor told me I looked like I was shitting out a motorcycle. He was the friendly one too. Also, he is doing it "left". I found this way to be easier, but it really doesn't matter because we were required it do it both ways during the test.
....and here, I found one that is virtually identical to the course I did. The final exam was you got 5 attempts to make 4 good runs. Tap cone=1 added second, knock cone down=2 seconds, foot down=3 seconds and drop bike=DQ. I missed my first run by 3 seconds, so I had to do 4 good ones in a row, 5 total. Boy was I tired at the end.
So , at these low speeds are you guys countersteering or just turning the bars?
Due to the really wide bars that are at full lock to either side, your position is sorta dictated anyway. Some leaned out more than others. I kind stayed put to simplify it a bit.
Due to the really wide bars that are at full lock to either side, your position is sorta dictated anyway. Some leaned out more than others. I kind stayed put to simplify it a bit.
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