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[cyril]

Do police ultra`s have a tighter turning circle than standard or cvo bikes ?

[110tHunDer]

 
Nope.  They've just been trained how to take full advantage of it!

www.ridelikeapro.com

[jimsmith94]

I thought there was a voluntary recall to redo the fork stops and allow for a shorter turning radius for the new frames of the 2009s. Seems like it was specifically so the police bikes could meet their city's specs, but may have been available for civilian models too.

[Talon]

Changing the stops may help moving the bike around the garage, but I don't think I ever hit the stops when making a turn while riding, even at very low speeds.

Craig

[Ironhorse]

Do police ultra`s have a tighter turning circle than standard or cvo bikes ?

Work your circle down to a full lock, and then lean the bike inside to get it to turn even tighter. Stay in the friction zone slipping the clutch, keep the engine speed up and steady, and drag the rear brake. Head and eyes MUST be turned and looking over your inside shoulder and looking behind you. If you can see your tourpack you have a pretty good head turn. The head turn is the hardest part for a lot of folks.

Do NOT:
look down
look away
pull in the clutch
let the clutch all the way out
roll off the gas
take your foot off the rear brake
touch the front brake

If you feel like the bike is tipping over, e-a-s-e out a little more clutch to hold the bike upright. However any drastic change to the clutch, throttle, rear brake or head and eyes will make it more difficult. I suggest you practice on another bike if you have one. IF the CVO is ALL you have, take the bags off and wrap the crash bars in heavy protective garden or heater hose.

Donna Paladino told me that Jerry had to take his grinder to her new bike and cut the stops down to get it to turn tighter. Shortly there after HD came out with a change to the steering stops so the bikes can turn tighter at full lock.

[Talon]

Work your circle down to a full lock, and then lean the bike inside to get it to turn even tighter. Stay in the friction zone slipping the clutch, keep the engine speed up and steady, and drag the rear brake. Head and eyes MUST be turned and looking over your inside shoulder and looking behind you. If you can see your tourpack you have a pretty good head turn. The head turn is the hardest part for a lot of folks.

Do NOT:
look down
look away
pull in the clutch
let the clutch all the way out
roll off the gas
take your foot off the rear brake
touch the front brake

If you feel like the bike is tipping over,  out a little more clutch to hold the bike upright. However any drastic change to the clutch, throttle, rear brake or head and eyes will make it more difficult. I suggest you practice on another bike if you have one. IF the CVO is ALL you have, take the bags off and wrap the crash bars in heavy protective garden or heater hose.

Donna Paladino told me that Jerry had to take his grinder to her new bike and cut the stops down to get it to turn tighter. Shortly there after HD came out with a change to the steering stops so the bikes can turn tighter at full lock.

So you do ride at full lock? Just feels to tight for me, I'll have to try it out when the snow melts

[Chains]

No difference other than a well trained officer that can really ride.

[SBB]

No difference other than a well trained officer that can really ride.

We took a class put on by the NC Highway Patrol called Bike Safe.

http://www.nccrimecontrol.org/Index2.cfm?a=000003,000014,001583,001609

The instructors were NC Highway Patrol officers.

On the turning circle issue, I think there was a fork recall, not sure if it was just the police bikes or all.
One on the instructors riding a 09 Police Electra Glide was telling me that he had a recall done on the front forks.
He said before the recall was done it would not turn as sharp as his previous bikes.
After the recall he was scraping floorboards and was happy again.

Here is his bike.

click on picture to enlarge

[SBB]

On the picture of the 09 Police in the post above look at the floorboards, there's not much left.

                                                                                            

SBB

[Ironhorse]

So you do ride at full lock? Just feels to tight for me, I'll have to try it out when the snow melts

Yes I do. It's what I teach to other riders to make them better and safer. It's a good skill to have in close quarters like a parking lot or narrow street. If it feels too tight for you, it's just because you have not gotten used to it. I've worked with quite a few riders on this site and have gotten them down to a nice tight turn with a full lock with a good lean. Like EVERYTHING in life, it's a skill that needs some regular practice to maintain. It's best learned as part of a whole course. It's a multi step process where each exercise builds on the previous one. The ideal method is introducing the whole friction zone, throttle and rear brake in a slow ride and then culminating with a full lock u-turn from a dead stop. You should check out the RLAP DVD. It's very helpful.

And it looks like this....



Mark

[SPW]

Just take  the ridelikeapro course in LA and you will be able to take full advantage of you bikes turning circle .Its a day course and you will be amazed how much better you will  handle your bike Steve

[bandit]

since 1993 starting with my FXSTS, we always use our
own mototrcycles to do a training-course.

[bandit]

also with BSR on training.

[BAKRDS]

Some of the cops that escorted us on the Americas 9-11 ride talked about Harley cutting the fork stops back on their road kings so they could meet the 12' turning radius requirement.Don't remember which department,but they all enjoyed showing how they could handle their bikes.

[mavricktoo]

I work for a police department that has a few motors and as part of my job have taken the required motor unit class.  It is a bitch if you don't listen to the instructors and do what they tell you.  At first I never believed that I could turn a bike that tight and still not drop it.  But once you start to apply what they tell you you and learn to do five things at once, head turn, throttle, clutch, brake, friction zone it all eventually comes together. I dropped the bike numerous times and had many problems but I became a better rider for having taken the class.  Right hand turns were and are the worst to master but left ones seem to come more naturally.  I guess it's all in my head.

[erniezap]

I can vouch for Mark and his Ride Like a Pro class!  Tough class and you will learn a LOT!

[JCZ]

Changing the stops may help moving the bike around the garage, but I don't think I ever hit the stops when making a turn while riding, even at very low speeds.

Craig

Take Mark's course (Ride Like A Pro West Coast) and you sure will!