This question, “what kind of motorcycles do motor cops ride off duty?” was recently entered into a search engine and was directed to this blog, but to a post that did not answer that question.

I am not a cop, but I ride my motorcycle on group rides with some motor officers, and a close friend is a motor officer who rides a personal bike, so let me share some observations.

First, most motorcops do not own or ride a personal bike. Yep, sad as it seems, there are many motorcops who ride on the job but don’t ride off the job. Why? Common answers have been given to me when I have asked motorcops this question (answers as if a motorcop is speaking):

• My wife/family don’t want me to ride. It’s a safety issue. They worry about my safety enough when I am on the job, and don’t want to worry about me riding a motorcycle on personal time. (This is a frequent reply from cops who are married.)
• I have kids to cart around to activities they do, and I can’t take them on a bike. I had a personal bike but stopped riding it when the kids came along. (Another frequent reply from cops with children.)
• A motorcycle is a tool I use on my job. I don’t really want to ride one off the job as I ride all day. Operating any motorcycle is demanding (1000% attention) and I don’t want to do that when I’m not on the job.
• “I can’t turn off the job.” That is, regardless of what motorcycle I am on, if I am on a motor, I behave like I am trained and when I see a flagrant infraction while I am riding a personal motorcycle, I can’t make a traffic stop. That is frustrating, so I won’t put myself in the position of not being a cop on a motorcycle. (Heard from several officers who have said this one way or another).
• on my salary? I can’t afford a personal bike, insurance, and maintenance.

There ARE motorcops who own and ride a personal motorcycle, just not as many as one would think. My cop friends who own and ride a personal bike ride:

• a civilian version of a motorcycle similar to the one they ride at work. For example, cops who ride a Harley on the job often own and ride a Harley off the job. Same with BMWs. Not sure about other, newer, police bikes.
• other brands and models, too. Not all cops ride the same machine they ride on the job. Some appreciate having something different to ride — particularly those who have trouble “turning off the job.”
• sport or adventure bikes — including dirt bikes and ATVs. Again, just to ride something completely different.

In my personal experience, the (few) motorcops with whom I ride regularly while they are on their personal bikes all ride a Harley on the job and own and ride a Harley off the job. Most have the same model — for example, they ride a Harley Ultra on the job, and own a civilian version of a Harley Ultra for off-the-job use. But this is only my observation from my limited sphere of about 10 cop friends who do both — ride a motorcycle on and off the job.

Life is short: ride!