{"id":1858,"date":"2018-12-15T05:23:12","date_gmt":"2018-12-15T13:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/?p=1858"},"modified":"2026-03-29T07:36:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T14:36:50","slug":"motors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/2018\/12\/15\/motors\/","title":{"rendered":"Motors"},"content":{"rendered":"

We promised a series on police motorcycles, and this is the first installment.\u00a0 It’s an article that appeared in Rider<\/em> magazine in January 2010, and the research for it was a lot of fun.\u00a0 Police officers love to tell stories, and I think motor officers have the best ones. \u00a0 With apologies in advance for the fine print, here you go, folks…<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"I staged one of the photos above to show a couple of San Fernando Valley police officers stopping me on my Triumph Tiger.\u00a0 That was one of the most interesting parts of the research.\u00a0 I interviewed the two SFV officers in the police station and they were regular guys.\u00a0 Joking, telling stories, you know the drill.\u00a0 I was having fun listening to them and trying to capture it all in my notes.\u00a0 One of the officers suggested going outside for more photos, and with that, both of them put on their helmets and sunglasses.\u00a0 The transformation was dramatic. \u00a0 With their helmets off, they were two regular (and different) guys.\u00a0 When the helmets and shades went on, they became RoboCop.\u00a0 They were indistinguishable, all business, no room for nonsense.\u00a0 Serious.\u00a0 Emotionless.\u00a0 No more smoking and joking.\u00a0 The real deal.<\/p>\n

We parked the bikes like you see in that photo above, and one of the motor officers asked for my license, registration, and proof of insurance. \u00a0 All the fun and games disappeared.\u00a0 This was a traffic stop, and I was the object of it.\u00a0 Like I said above, it was serious.\u00a0 I knew we were doing this just to get a photo, but the tension was real. \u00a0 I felt like I’d somehow been caught committing a felony.\u00a0 Hell, had I remembered to bring my registration and insurance card with me?\u00a0 I couldn’t remember.\u00a0 I thought it might be in one of my saddlebags and I started to open it.\u00a0 Both officers’ hands instantly went to their sidearms.\u00a0 “Step away from the vehicle, sir!”\u00a0 Damn, this was scary business.<\/p>\n

After the above story ran, a series of letters to the editor appeared in the subsequent edition of Rider<\/em> magazine from several motor officers…<\/p>\n

\"\"Fun times, to be sure.\u00a0 I really enjoyed doing that story, and before we wrap up this blog, here’s another bit of trivia: I first saw “Motors” in print while recovering from a motorcycle accident (I got busted up pretty good and I had a lot of time to catch up on my reading).\u00a0 The first responder on that one was Jim Royal, a La Verne, California, motor officer.\u00a0 Just a few weeks before my crash I shot photos of Jim for this very story.\u00a0 One had Jim holding a radar gun; it’s the photo you see in the article above.<\/p>\n

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Want to see more articles from your blogmeisters?\u00a0 Click here for more from Joe Gresh<\/a>, and here for more from Joe Berk<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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