Hello all. I'm new to this forum. I am currently riding a metric cruiser but will be replacing it with a harley very soon. I'm looking at getting a roadking. I'm still learning about harleys. What is the difference between the standard roadking and the police edition...besides the color? Any difference with the engine, tranny, suspension, etc? I see that it sells for a few thousand less than the standard roadking. With my inexperienced eyes I cannot see any difference between the two.
Do you guys recommend getting a police edition for a few $$ less or stick to the standard?
Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

I went through this same issue a while ago, except with the ElectraGlide Standard versus ElectraGlide Police. If you do a search, you'll find quite a few threads with info on this topic.

Here's a few things for starters though:

Solo seat
No passenger pegs
Run flat tires not rated for passengers
Handlebar controls are different
Hockey-puck saddlebag lids
Clutch safety interlock (pull clutch to start)

Good luck.

Jeff

 

FLHTPjeff,
your reply is very helpful...thanks. I'll do a search to see what else I can dig up.
By the way...what did you end up going with...police or standard Glide?

 

Isn't the Police Edition just a paint job and decals, like the Firefighter and Shriner Editions? The Police Models are the ones they sell to municipalities, as police bikes, right?

 

police bikes are different , even the bags open bacwards to be opened while riding. other specs aside from the run flats and all the other things in the first reply. i am convinced the engines are a little better too.they don't overheat as fast.and my buddy's looks the same as stock but i've ridden his at 90 mph and it is sturdy and sure,not like myine.

 

I went with a Police bike, mainly because I found one cheap, and I happen to like white. I bought this thing as my "car" so it does daily commuting etc as long as there is no ice on the road. So I was not that concerned with shiny paint and chrome. The hockey-puck style saddlebags are great too.

I think that some of the ex police bikes are pretty beat up, so it would be wise to shop carefully and have an independant mechanic check it over before you buy, though I think that is good advice for any used bike.

To clarify, the items that I was talking about, and what I think you are talking about, are Police bikes not Peace Officer Edition bikes. The Peace Officer Edition bikes are cosmetically different (paint etc)and sold to cops and ex-cops for their personal use as JBBOOKS stated.

 

if you don't like the hockey pucks on the police bags, pushbuttons are available. i found Southco to be the brand and got a pair of keyed pushbuttons for $12.50. i was really lucky to buy a brand new 2001 FLHPI painted sinister blue and diamond ice that the city of birmingham, al decided they didn't need after it got to the dealer. the 2001 had higher compression and bigger cams. i have 55K on it now and it has only been in the shop for the circuit breaker recall and a speedo sensor failure that made the speedo inop. i believe the 2002 and up have the same engine as the civilian bikes. i don't know why there is such a concern over the runflats and a passenger.
i carried my girlfriend 10K miles on mine. the sidewalls are several times as thick as standard tires. i had to cut the tire off with a sawsall to get it off. you can run 80 mph with no air in them.

 

I didn't really say that there was a concern. I said that they were not rated to carry passengers, which is true. Dunlop made that call, not me, and I have no idea why they did. I assume they must have a reason, but you know what they say about assuming...

Personally, for the price of two tires, I wasnt willing to risk it, for me or my passenger, so I changed 'em.

 

I know on my 2003 FLHTPI the front forks have ZERO adjustment for rebound or compression. I am told the civilian version does.

 

I believe JBBOOKS is correct ( I am a fire fighter) the FF & PD special bikes are sold Only to FF or PD current or retired - paint is about the only difference with decals.. Now the bike Used as patrol bikes = that may well be a different story.. My Dealer sells both PD and FF bikes $1000 off MSRP. A killer deal - but when I bought my 04 bike the FF bike was still that red/orange and I hated it - then they changed to a Real Red - much better color but I had already taken my Smoky Gold/Black combo - I have made it My Fire Fighter Special. For those of you that are FF's out there - if you have Not checked out this FF and his site - go have fun $$
http://firemanjoes.com/