{"id":32898,"date":"2026-04-12T00:01:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T07:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/?p=32898"},"modified":"2026-03-31T13:02:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T20:02:50","slug":"the-wayback-machine-chips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/2026\/04\/12\/the-wayback-machine-chips\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wayback Machine:  CHiPs!"},"content":{"rendered":"<h6>By Joe Berk<\/h6>\n<p>In the 1960s and 70s, you couldn&#8217;t turn on a TV and flip through the channels without encountering a cop show.\u00a0 \u00a0Hawaii Five O, Kojak, and more.\u00a0 TV series had shifted from westerns to police drama, and TV was what many of us did in the evening.\u00a0 Basically, we watched what the entertainment industry brainwashed us into watching.\u00a0 \u00a0It&#8217;s no small wonder a lot of guys my age wanted to be cops when they grew up.\u00a0 Rick Rosner (a TV producer and one of the certifiably-smartest guys on the planet&#8230;Google him and you&#8217;ll see) was also an LA County Reserve Sheriff&#8217;s deputy.\u00a0 One night while on duty during a coffee break (a donut may have been involved), he saw two CHP motor officers roll by.\u00a0 That&#8217;s how and where the idea for CHiPs was born:\u00a0 Motorcycles.\u00a0 Southern California.\u00a0 Police.\u00a0 All the right pieces fell into place.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"CHiPs Rattlesnake Pursuit - S1E4\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ev2vQZ6VMjY\" width=\"956\" height=\"538\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>I had just returned from a year overseas (where I enjoyed nonstop good times during a 13-month party, courtesy of Uncle Sam) when CHiPs first aired in 1977.\u00a0 It was hokey&#8230;the music, the scenes, the premise of nearly every episode, but it was motorcycles, and I never missed an episode.\u00a0 The series ran for five or six years, and it featured two main characters:\u00a0 Ponch Poncharello (played by Eric Estrada) and Jon (played by Larry Wilcox).\u00a0 Their sergeant, Joe Getraer (played by Robert Pine) was also a regular on the show.<\/p>\n<p>Guys like Gresh and me know that running a Z-1 Kawasaki through soft sand, up and down stairs, and other motoshenanigans doesn&#8217;t make a lot of sense (<strong>EDIT:\u00a0 Maybe I&#8217;m wrong about this&#8230;see the video at the end of this blog<\/strong>).\u00a0 But we&#8217;re mere mortals.\u00a0 Ponch and Jon made the big Kawis behave in every episode.\u00a0 It was all part of the story, and it was all set in and around Los Angeles.\u00a0 That&#8217;s one of the reasons, I think, many of my early experiences in So Cal were like deja vu all over again when I moved here.\u00a0 I&#8217;d seen all these places in CHiPs before I left Texas and came to California: Angeles Crest Highway, Malibu, downtown LA, the Pacific Coast Highway&#8230;the locations and the motorcycle scenes were burned into my brain.<\/p>\n<p>Susie was putzing around on Facebook the other day when she found a local community bulletin board that said the CHiPs stars would be here for autographs and photos.\u00a0 Did I want to go?\u00a0 Hell, yeah!<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_17703\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17703\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-17703 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/20220618_0051-600-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"750\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/20220618_0051-600-1.jpg 600w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/20220618_0051-600-1-240x300.jpg 240w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-17703\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Larry Wilcox, aka Jon Baker, signing a photo for me. He seemed like a genuine nice guy. In real life, Wilcox was a Marine in Vietnam who served in an artillery unit.\u00a0 Wilcox is a year or two older than me.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The CHiPs show had a motor sergeant (Sergeant Joe Getraer) who was played by Robert Pine.\u00a0 Pine was there as well, and he was happy to pose for a photograph.\u00a0 Mr. Pine is 80 years old now.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_17704\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17704\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-17704 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/20220618_0052-600-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"838\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/20220618_0052-600-1.jpg 600w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/20220618_0052-600-1-215x300.jpg 215w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-17704\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sergeant Joe Getraer, played by Robert Pine, who had a full time job keeping Ponch and Jon in line. Pine, like Estrada and Wilcox, had a welcoming personality. It was a fun day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Erik Estrada was a central character in the show, the one who was always in some kind of trouble with Sergeant Getraer.\u00a0 Ponch (his nickname, as in Ponch Poncharello) and Jon no doubt influenced a lot of guys to apply for jobs in the real California Highway Patrol.\u00a0 The real California Highway Patrol had a real motor officer and a real CHP BMW at this event, along with a couple of patrol cars.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_17705\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17705\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-17705 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/20220618_0048-600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"823\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/20220618_0048-600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/20220618_0048-600-219x300.jpg 219w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-17705\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Susie and Erik Estrada.\u00a0 All three of the CHiPs stars allowed everyone to take as many photos as they wanted.\u00a0 There&#8217;s nothing pretentious about these guys.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There were a lot of things I enjoyed about this event.\u00a0 We had to wait in line to get up to the table for autographs, but the wait wasn&#8217;t too bad and the event wasn&#8217;t rushed at all.\u00a0 The weather was nice and it was a fun way to spend a Saturday morning.\u00a0 Pine, Wilcox, and Estrada chatted with everybody, and Mr. Estrada walked the length of the line several times apologizing for the wait and telling us they were going as fast as they could.\u00a0 There were a few people in line who were disabled, and Ponch helped them maneuver up to the picture-posing area (he was very friendly).\u00a0 All three of the TV CHiPs seemed to have the same personalities as the characters they played 50 years ago, with Estrada being the most mischievous (and, where the ladies were involved, the most flirtatious).<\/p>\n<p>I asked Estrada if he still rode and what kind of motorcycle he had.\u00a0 It was a topic he wanted to talk about.\u00a0 &#8220;Ponch&#8221; told me he sold his Harley Softail 20 years ago, and that he now owned one of the six Kawasaki police motors used on the show.\u00a0 &#8220;The Teamsters gave it to me,&#8221; he said.\u00a0 I thought that was pretty cool.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-17711\" src=\"http:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/20220618_0054-600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"527\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/20220618_0054-600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/20220618_0054-600-300x264.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The other stars in the show were southern California, the California Highway Patrol, and the Kawasaki Police 1000 motorcycle.\u00a0 I imagine CHiPs did a lot for CHP recruitment, and the Kawasaki police motorcycles did a lot for Kawasaki (in both the police and civilian markets).\u00a0 It was a brilliant bit of product placement before product placement became a thing, and it led to a nearly complete bifurcation of the police motorcycle market.\u00a0 Departments east of the Mississippi River stuck with Harley-Davidson, and departments west of the Mississippi went with Kawasaki (although that has changed in recent years).\u00a0 If you are wondering how I know that, I did a fair amount of research for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/1727673344?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860\"><em>The Complete Book of Police and Military Motorcycles<\/em><\/a> when I wrote it 20 years ago.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/1727673344?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-17715 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/PoliceMotorcycles.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"522\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/PoliceMotorcycles.jpg 400w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/PoliceMotorcycles-230x300.jpg 230w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 85vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/1727673344?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860\"><em>The Complete Book of Police and Military Motorcycles<\/em><\/a> is back in print and you can purchase a copy for a low, low $9.95.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Whoa&#8230;check this out&#8230;it just happened yesterday right here in LA.\u00a0 Who&#8217;d a thought?\u00a0 The CHP on full dress Harleys chasing down a guy on a Kawasaki KLR 650, and staying with him on the freeways, splitting lanes, on surface streets, and off road.\u00a0 These are CHiPs legends being created as this blog was being written!<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Authorities in pursuit of motorcycle in LA County\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DYiCTuxjHsA\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Whatever the two CHP officers&#8217; names are, you can bet they&#8217;re being called Ponch and Jon now!<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Don\u2019t forget to click on those pop up ads!<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Keep us going!<\/strong><\/p>\n<style>\r\n        .wpedon-container .wpedon-select,\r\n        .wpedon-container .wpedon-input {\r\n            width: 171px;\r\n            min-width: 171px;\r\n            max-width: 171px;\r\n        }\r\n    <\/style><div class='wpedon-container wpedon-align-center'><form target='_blank' action='https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/cgi-bin\/webscr' method='post' class='wpedon-form'><input type='hidden' name='cmd' value='_donations' \/><input type='hidden' name='business' value='ExNotes@ExhaustNotes.us' \/><input type='hidden' name='currency_code' value='USD' \/><input type='hidden' name='notify_url' value='https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-admin\/admin-post.php?action=add_wpedon_button_ipn'><input type='hidden' name='lc' value='en_US'><input type='hidden' name='bn' value='WPPlugin_SP'><input type='hidden' name='return' value='' \/><input type='hidden' name='cancel_return' value='' \/><input class='wpedon_paypalbuttonimage' type='image' src='https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/en_US\/i\/btn\/btn_donateCC_LG.gif' border='0' name='submit' alt='Make your payments with PayPal. It is free, secure, effective.' style='border: none;'><img alt='' border='0' style='border:none;display:none;' src='https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/en_US\/i\/scr\/pixel.gif' width='1' height='1'><input type='hidden' name='amount' id='amount_aa5361f838121b8b4f1d0360fbf01b6d' value='' \/><input type='hidden' name='price' id='price_aa5361f838121b8b4f1d0360fbf01b6d' value='' \/><input type='hidden' name='item_number' value='' \/><input type='hidden' name='item_name' value='' \/><input type='hidden' name='name' value='' \/><input type='hidden' name='custom' value='23447'><input type='hidden' name='no_shipping' value='1'><input type='hidden' name='no_note' value='0'><input type='hidden' name='currency_code' value='USD'><\/form><\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Never miss an ExNotes blog&#8230;sign up here for a free subscription:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wpforms-container wpforms-container-full\" id=\"wpforms-32730\"><form id=\"wpforms-form-32730\" class=\"wpforms-validate wpforms-form wpforms-ajax-form\" data-formid=\"32730\" method=\"post\" enctype=\"multipart\/form-data\" action=\"\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32898\" data-token=\"b95263b2ee25c02b63741b1f47d67079\" data-token-time=\"1776402662\"><noscript class=\"wpforms-error-noscript\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.<\/noscript><div class=\"wpforms-field-container\">\t\t<div id=\"wpforms-32730-field_1-container\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-text\"\n\t\t\tdata-field-type=\"text\"\n\t\t\tdata-field-id=\"1\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-32730-field_1\" >Email<\/label>\n\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-32730-field_1\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium\" name=\"wpforms[fields][1]\" >\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div id=\"wpforms-32730-field_2-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-email\" data-field-id=\"2\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-32730-field_2\">Email <span class=\"wpforms-required-label\">*<\/span><\/label><input type=\"email\" id=\"wpforms-32730-field_2\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][2]\" spellcheck=\"false\" required><\/div><script>\n\t\t\t\t( function() {\n\t\t\t\t\tconst style = document.createElement( 'style' );\n\t\t\t\t\tstyle.appendChild( document.createTextNode( '#wpforms-32730-field_1-container { position: absolute !important; 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<a href=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/2026\/04\/12\/the-wayback-machine-chips\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;The Wayback Machine:  CHiPs!&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32903,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[654,235,392,96],"tags":[2855,2853,2856,4913,4912,2863,453],"class_list":["post-32898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adventure-motorcycle-books","category-amazon","category-back-in-the-day","category-feel-good-stuff","tag-california-highway-patrol","tag-chips","tag-erik-estrada","tag-motorcycle-police","tag-motors","tag-police-motorcycle","tag-police-motorcycles"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Chips002-600.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32898"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32898\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32904,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32898\/revisions\/32904"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}