Who May Legally Ride a Police Motorcycle

Posted on by

I read an interesting internet search that landed a visitor to this blog (but on a page unrelated to this question…). The question was, “is it legal to ride a police motorcycle if your not a cop?”

Good question! And the answer is….

Yes! It IS legal to ride a police motorcycle if you are not a sworn peace officer provided the motorcycle is not equipped with working lights, sirens, or has official markings on it such as the name of a law enforcement agency or the words “police” or “sheriff.” (I guess I should add: don’t wear a law enforcement replica uniform while riding it, either.)

I have several friends who are not sworn law enforcement officers and who have purchased used police Harleys and ride them. When the motorcycle was sold or surplussed by the owning police agency, all markings were removed, along with the equipment (flashing lights, siren, radio, and so forth.) The running lights on the front of the bike were changed to clear lenses (instead of one having a blue lens and one having a red lens). The electronics were changed to make those lights stay on, rather than alternate to appear as if they were flashing. All LED lights along the sides and back of the bike that would flash when activated by a cop were also removed. Essentially, they returned the bike to look like its civilian cousins.

Funny, a while back someone in my motorcycle club who is part of a close clique who talk about me behind my back found an ad on an internet auction site that was offering a used Police Kawasaki that was the same make and model used in the TV show, “CHiPs.” He sent me the link with the implied suggestion that since I own a CHP replica uniform, that perhaps I would like the bike to go with it. Nope; I have one motorcycle, and I’m not into maintaining an old bike. Plus, I don’t have anywhere to keep it. This incident shows, in a way, what straight guys think about gay guys who like to wear replica uniforms from time to time. They just can’t figure us out.

Anyway, back to the topic. My Harley Road King is almost exactly the same as some police motorcycles, but it does not have the equipment that cops have on theirs. My buddys’ police Road King motorcycles look similar.

What makes a police motorcycle different is the equipment added on to it (lights, siren, radio), its markings, and (for a few model years), the engine size. Police Harleys had a 103cu engine (1688cc) since 2007, while other Harleys of that class didn’t get the 103cu engine as standard until the 2012 model year. There are also a few adjustments made to how the engine and transmission operates and the size of the tires, but those changes are not a big deal.

To summarize, it is legal to ride a police motorcycle if you are not a cop provided you do not try to impersonate one by wearing a replica uniform that looks like a police uniform while riding the bike (i.e., implying you are a cop), and that the official markings and police equipment are removed from the bike. Just like it is legal for a guy who is not a cop to wear police motorboots.

Good question! Too bad you landed on my blog post about the legality of wearing a replica cop uniform on Halloween! LOL!

Life is short: ride!

Cowboy Boots In Style for Men?

Posted on by

This kind of stuff makes me nuts sometimes, but when someone uses a search engine to look for an answer to, “are cowboy boots in style 2011 for men?” and lands visitors to this blog… I just have to comment.

Cowboy boots are timeless. They are in style all the time, year after year, summer, fall, winter, spring… any time of year in any year. If you have to wonder if boots are in style for men in any particular year, then in my opinion — you obsess too much.

Just put your boots on, stand tall, walk confidently, and smile.

If you cannot do that, or if you have to wonder and worry if what you are wearing on your feet is in style or not, then just put on a pair of sneakers and sell any boots your own on eBay. By thinking that is a serious question and worrying about whether cowboy boots are in style or not, then in my opinion, you have lost any authorization to wear boots. Turn ’em in, mister. Men who wear boots are confident, relaxed, and secure. They could give a shit about what’s in style.

End-of-story; end-of-rant.

Life is short: wear boots and tell the style-worriers to take a hike (in sneakers).

Not Going to the Wedding Reception

Posted on by

One of my nieces is getting married to a sweet guy. I am delighted for them. They have been dating since high school and throughout their college years. After college, they went their separate ways, but reunited a couple years ago when their respective jobs placed them back in the same town, and realized that their love for each other was meant to be. Now they plan to take the next step and get married.

The wedding invitation arrived the other day. I looked at it, sighed, and told my partner….

Yep, another family wedding. It will be good to have a positive reason for all of us to get together. But I don’t want to go to the reception.

My partner understands. He knows that I just can’t stand dressing up and going to wedding receptions. I can’t dance and hate to be in a situation to turn down requests to dance. I also don’t drink alcohol, which flows freely at these events. Plus, the wedding is in one town, and the reception is 30 miles away in another, and will run late into the night. Nope, I just don’t want to go.

This is a difficult conundrum for me. Most people look forward to weddings as a reason to dress up and call it fun to drink, dance, and socialize like that. I never got those genes. Blecchhh…

Not that I don’t love my family. I do, very much. I just don’t like wedding receptions.

So as I have done before, I will show up for the church service and say hello to the family before the service. Then after the service is over, I will go home while the others take off for the reception.

Fortunately, some of my out-of-town family will arrive a few days early, so I will visit with them casually in the days ahead. I will bring my gift to my niece beforehand, as well. I will let them know that I will not attend the reception. They would prefer that I suck it up and go, but I know in my heart that I’ll be miserable and do not want to be in that situation. I’m no fun when I feel that way.

This is a bit of a bust of another gay stereotype. Many think that all gay men love weddings. I’m not one of them.

Life is short: draw your bounds and stick to ’em.

Comfort Rating of Boots

Posted on by

Those who have studied my cowboy boot collection or my motorcycle boot collection have noticed that I rate each pair of boots for their comfort (C), look/appearance (L), and for cowboy boots, how they sound (S).

Recently, I received an email about my “C” — comfort — rating. The question was:

I wanted to know about the C rating you have. When a boot has a low C rating, what makes them hard to wear for long periods? What gets uncomfortable about the boot? Is it they are too stiff? Too hard on the bottom of your feet? The insides are too rough (unfinished leather)? Just curious about your rating system as I am looking for comfortable boots that can be worn for a while without the torture!

My response:

Thanks for your message! I appreciate the inquiry.

When I give a pair of boots a lower comfort rating, I am expressing an opinion about the overall comfort of the boots when I have worn them after they are well broken in.

Some boots are my size, but still do not fit well. Some of the more uncomfortable boots that I own are used boots that I bought on eBay. Even though the boots were my size, they still did not fit right.

One would think that used boots would be comfortable, because they are broken in. However, I have learned that boots conform to the original wearer’s feet and legs, and do not change when someone else puts them on. So if the first guy who broke them in made the footbed conform in a particular way to his foot, it could cause my foot to ache because the dimensions of my foot are different from his. If that happens, then I give the boots a lower comfort rating. Or, some old boots have narrower boot shafts than I require, so the boots hurt my legs by squeezing them.

New boots generally have a higher comfort rating. Particularly, boot makers are learning to install comfortable insoles and more flexible outsoles, which add to the overall comfort when the boots are worn for a long time. Also, some of my boots are custom made, and therefore they should be more comfortable because they are made to my size requirements. This is especially true for tall boots that I own, like those made by Wesco and Dehner.

Overall, the predominant reason that I may rate a pair of boots lower on my comfort scale is that the footbed is hard, inflexible, and there is not enough room inside the boot to install a gel insole. A good gel insole will make the bottom of my feet comfortable, but pushes the tops of my feet against the inside of the boot foot — and thus makes the boots uncomfortable again. This happens mostly with some low-end commercial boot labels like Cowtown, for example. (But it also happens to me with
higher-end commercial boots made by Sendra, which makes a smaller-than-average area for the foot to fit into.)

Again, the comfort ratings are my personal opinions about boots that I own. I know guys who swear by the comfort of some brands of boots that have been uncomfortable to me, and vice-versa. It is a personal thing, and quite dependent on your own feet (arches, metatarsals, bunions, etc.)

So that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Life is short: wear comfortable boots!

How Chippewa Boots Are Made

Posted on by

I found the following video made by Justin Brands, the owner of Chippewa Boots.  The video gives a tour of a facility where Chippewa boots are made and demonstrates the the combination of both human attention to detail along with machine processes to manufacture mass-market boots in the United States.

I have many pairs of Chippewa boots and have found them to be very well-made and comfortable.

Life is short: know your boots!

Out Riding Again!

Posted on by

Woo-hoo! I can’t believe it… Sunday, November 27, and it reached 70F! (21C). By early afternoon, my partner and I had done all we could do on our home project. He said, “it’s so warm and sunny, why don’t you go for a ride?”

He didn’t have to ask twice.

Then I got to thinking. Day before yesterday, a buddy mentioned in a comment on Facebook that he would be interested in going on a ride with me on my Harley, as he had never ridden on a motorcycle before. I called him (he shall remain nameless, but if you saw his face and lived in my county, you probably would recognize him). He happily said, “yes!” when I asked if he wanted to go with me on a ride. I went over to his house, gave him instructions on riding as a passenger, handed him a helmet, put my helmet on, then we mounted the Harley and took off.

Yep, two guys on a Harley. Oooohhh… some people get all tworked about two men riding on the same motorcycle. Sheesh… get over your hang-ups, stereotypes, and homophobia. My buddy is a happily married heterosexual. I am a monogamously-partnered gay guy. So what? My buddy and I have been friends for over 25 years. Sexual orientation has nothing to do with our relationship as friends. Riding a Harley as a passenger doesn’t, either.

We enjoyed a 40-mile ride along Maryland’s beautiful country roads and byways on what I term a true bonus post-season riding day. Smiles for miles…

Life is short: RIDE!

Out Riding

Posted on by

This post could have been posted yesterday, the day before, or even on Thanksgiving (Thursday). Man, we have had a wonderful streak of delightful weather.  I am sorry about seeming to rub it in to my biker buddies in locations where the weather has not been nearly as cooperative, but whenever I get a chance, I ride…

Thanksgiving Day was great… 101 guests along with 11 family members and my partner celebrated a ban on loneliness throughout the day. Everything went smoothly, and our guests had a great time. Cleanup was easy since my family and a few senior pals helped out at the end. All my partner and I had to do on Friday was return some borrowed chairs and tables and drop off a load at the dump (sorry, I forget. Here in Snoburbia, we call it a “transfer station.”)

After taking care of those chores, I hopped on my Harley and cruised by my dealership to have the bike’s battery replaced. The original battery was not holding a charge and it was time for a replacement. I bought a new battery last week when they offered members of our riding club a 20% discount. After the battery replacement was finished, I cruised for a couple hours to nowhere. I loved it. Beautiful late autumn day, sunny and bright w/o a cloud in the sky, with temperatures in the upper 50s (~14C). I wore full leather, Wesco boots, and a huge grin on my face.

Yesterday, Saturday, I had some chores to do at home with the partner, then with some senior pals, as usual. I did some minor home repairs for them, and took a few to the grocery store. By then, the temperatures had reach 68F! (20C). Amazing for this time of year. So once again, I leathered up and went for a ride.

When I rolled up to a stoplight, I met a younger guy from my club who was riding alone. We teamed up and rode together for a couple hours. We both had a great time!

Today probably won’t find me out riding, as much as I would like to be doing it. I have a rather major home repair that has to get done. My partner and I will be replacing the floor of our master bathroom shower, and caulking it in. Let’s hope it works as planned.

Life is short: RIDE! (when you can… it won’t be long before weather keeps even the most hardy bikers indoors and off their rides.)

Black Friday

Posted on by

Black Friday!  The day in the U.S. after Thanksgiving is known to be “the” day when stores offer many sales for Christmas. I shan’t say “to start the holiday season” because many retailers put up holiday displays back in late August. Bah, humbug.

Anyway, what I am I doing today?

NOT shopping. My Christmas shopping was completed in July. However, perhaps I will wear all black leather today, in honor of the name of the day, and also ’cause I like to wear leather. (giggle.)

Today, my partner and I are recovering. This post is a place-holder for a description of how our Thanksgiving went… but I may not update it before it gets posted. I wrote this post a few days ago.

So for now, I am sure that the morning began with a long, warm snuggle with my partner. Both of us have the day off work today. We will likely have to make a run to the dump with collected garbage, return borrowed chairs and tables, and do some housecleaning. Goodness knows, a few years ago we didn’t clean as well as we should have done after one of these Thanksgiving feasts. We discovered a couple weeks later that a turkey leg was, ahem, making its presence known under the sofa in the family room. How it got there, one never knows. Don’t worry, today we will be inspecting thoroughly!

Meanwhile, shopping is the last thing on my mind. Rest, recovery, and basking in great joy from our Thanksgiving is what I’m up to today.

Life is short: wait for Small Business Saturday (tomorrow) if you must shop. Tune in tomorrow for what that’s all about.