Ex police bike good idea?

[TravisBickle]

Hi guys hoping for some advice here.

I'm in the market for my second big bike and have a particular model in mind. I've found one that seems exceptionally good value for money. It's a 14reg with 37k on the clock and is a good £1000 to £2000 cheaper than older models that tend to have roughly half that mileage on them.

Sorely tempting. Haven't gone to view it yet, hoping to do so over the weekend but wondering if anyone here has any experience of ex police bikes and whether it's a good idea?on the one hand I'm thinking it will have been strictly and routinely maintained. On the other hand I'm wondering if that mileage is something I should be worried about and has the bike been thrashed? Furthermore could there have been modifications that have been removed leaving butchered wiring?

All thoughts and input welcome and gratefully received.

[Feathers McGraw]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/08/banker-rode-police-motorbike-police-jacket-convicted-alleged/

[TravisBickle]

Fear not, I'm not in the POLITE force.

LOL

The bike I'm looking at isn't a BMW and looks nothing like a typical police bike. Having said that it is white and blue no chequer/batenberg or reflective vinyl though

[Polarbear]

I don't know about bikes, but a Met car driving officer I know says the maintenance is sh1t compared to 10+ years ago. They basically run the cars into the ground.

He said they can sit for hours with the engine idling so that's on top of whatever mileage they do.

However I stress that is cars, with bikes, who knows.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[B0ndy]

Link?
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[BTTD]

What is it? Pan European or am I decades out of date?

Probably cheaper because it has some holes where the radio and lights were fitted etc. Go take a look and judge on the condition it's in.
It could have been an escort only bike and spent it's life trundling about, or it could have belonged to a traffic copper who wrung it's neck every time he got on it.

[Ste]

Post a link to the bike to get the most helpful replies.

[MarJay]

Personally, no. Real bargains don't exist any more. A non police bike of the equivalent mileage sounds like it might be worth a similar amount anyway.

An (ex?) member on here once bought an ex police undercover Blackbird. It had done few miles but it had been butchered to fit radio and tracking gear if I recall correctly. And that was just an undercover observation bike.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[T.C]

Most bikes that go to auction these days have been canabalised to keep operational bikes going.

Back in the day, Police bikes were decommisioned at between 70 and 100,000 miles, but had been serviced every month regardless by the forces own in house workshops.

We knew who would be working on our vehicles and the workshop guys ensured that our bikes and cars were in tip top order.

Cars and bikes were also personal issue, so I used to ensure that my bike was put right as soon as something seemed amiss.

Now, bikes and cars are used by all and sundry (providing they have the right qualification). They are serviced and repaired by outside contractors who don't care as they get paid and it is difficult to prove if they have or have not doen the job properly (other than the obvious) and by the time they are decommisioned, they have been run into the ground.

I have brought an ex job car once, and that was my issue Ford Granada 2.8i which I had from new, I did 120,000 miles in it, and after being decommisioned, I purchased it at auction for just over £1K I did another 100,000 miles in it. I was lucky.

My old job bike (BMW) was auctioned off. When I changed to my new bike, the old bike was running perfectly. It was just the mileage that deemed it to be retired.

By the time it got to auction, the asking price was more than the civillian equivelant, the engine sounded like a tractor and the bodywork was wrecked (which is not how it left me)

Plain bikes can be a better option, but not much better as they have been often ridden harder and are also used by non traffic (but trained plain clothes bods) for surveillance and the like.

Would I buy an ex job bike? No, unless you can get it for peanuts and you don't mind spending time and money on it to get it back to a reasonable spec and quality.

There is one advantage. All the uniform bikes come with uprated electrics and alternators because of the additional electrical load, which of course does not exist when it is decommisioned.
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It is better to arrive 30 seconds late in this world, than 30 years early in the next

[MCN]

[stinkwheel]

They train police riders to ride in a much lower gear than most people will cruise at. The miles will be "harder" miles than normal.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[T.C]

[TravisBickle]

Thanks for all your input guys.

Was actually a bit reluctant to publish too much info about it or give a link in case it does turn out to be bargain of the century and one of you kind contributors beat me to it LOL!

Don't suppose it matters...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201909192387523

So I've taken onboard everything everyone has said. I'd still be interested to go look at it close up and inspect it for holes in the body work, maybe remove the seat and have a long hard stare at the wiring under there, round by the back lights and up by the yoke under the handlebars etc... maybe sit on it or take it for a ride to see how she runs. Other than what has already been said, looking at this bike specifically any comments or recommendations anyone can give about this particular advert please?

Much love!

[TravisBickle]

[TravisBickle]

[Ste]

If cruising around in a low gear then the revs will be high and gives the engine a hard life.

If cruising around in a high gear then the revs will be low and gives the engine an easy life.

[Easy-X]

Not massively high mileage for the year really and a good chunk was done in the first year or so. Looks okay from the photos. Best take it for a test ride.
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[stinkwheel]

Shite quality pictures for someone whos business is selling vehicles over the internet. It's almost like someone has run a blur filter over them...
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[WD Forte]

Hmm....
behind the times as ususal
I was thinking Velocette LE

Check out the state of the art comms equipment
real bakelite that is



https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Velocette_LE_Police_Motorcycle_%22Noddy_Bike%22_-_Flickr_-_mick_-_Lumix.jpg/1280px-Velocette_LE_Police_Motorcycle_%22Noddy_Bike%22_-_Flickr_-_mick_-_Lumix.jpg
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bikers smell of wee

[TravisBickle]

[MCN]

[stinkwheel]

[Shaft]

[Skudd]

I'd go and have a look, with all bikes you look at the points that are an issue with that model. Some low mileage bikes are thrashed some high are looked after. You can only look and decide once there. There will be other bikes so be prepared to walk away, or get it and be happy.
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[TravisBickle]