Harleys trail last in CHiPs-style tests

American police seem to be finally getting wise to the performance limitations of its traditional favourite patrol bike – the Harley-Davidson.

Michigan police recently carried out tests of four potential patrol bikes: the Kawasaki Concours 14 ABS Police (similar to our 1400GTR), BMW R1200 RTP, Harley-Davidson Police Road King and Harley-Davidson Police Electra Glide.

Where the Kawasaki managed to get to 100mph in less than 10 seconds, the Harleys were almost three times slower reaching their top speed of only 106 mph and taking almost 30 seconds to do so.

Not only was acceleration under scrutiny, but the braking distance from 60mph was almost 10 feet longer for Harley’s Electra Glide than for the Kawasaki.

The US coppers didn’t release any conclusions but it’s clear the Harleys didn’t perform to the standard of the other two bikes. If other American states begin to carry out similar tests could it spell the end for the CHiPs-ter?

Via: hellforleathermagazine.com