Ex police Bike

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Nobby

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Thinking of buying a ex police R1200rtp upon my return to the uk,thinking a lot of bike for not a lot of money. Anyone had any major problems, have they generally been ok with the exception of little bits and pieces playing up. Any feedback appreciated.
 
Our traffic division recently (in the last 9 months) got a new fleet of R1200RTP's and I believe that they are getting bounced up and down the roads of Ireland like crashes where going out of fashion!!
Think long and hard and have it independently checked over by an expert.

Sent from a OnePlusX
 
They get a hard life but in my experience were well maintained. Some police riders were mechanically sympathetic with their bikes, others were badly abused. I would have bought my old bike had it gone for auction, but it was trashed by a blind old biddy turning right across my path :(
 
Paging Giles ...... :shout

I once asked him if he'd buy an ex Police bike.

"God no, I'd never buy a 'Job bike"
 
Depends which force they belonged to , do some research, some forces have bikes on almost personal issue and in their entire life have only one or two riders and may be very well looked after , others have pool vehicles which are trashed by everyone as there is no percieved ownership or responsibility of care.

If you can find out which force owned them then it is often possible to contact the fleet management and most will tell you it it is a good one or not and also tell you something of its history.

it is also useful as police vehicles if over 3 years of age are tested in house (if the force has its own workshops) and they are NOT recorded on the DVLA MOT system and thus the first time they get a Ministry Test then that becomes their recorded mileage (not unknown for them to lose a lot of miles between the auctions and point of sale ).

Some vehicles are serviced by a Forces own workshops and therefore have no service book or record, others are serviced by the dealer network and will have a full manufacturers service record .

It pays to do a bit of reserch prior to purchase.

Also remember that the wiring may be substantially different from a standard bike and the police are quite happy to randomly knock holes in bits of bodywork to make the crap (sorry Home Office Approved Equipment ) fit.
 
Depends which force they belonged to , do some research, some forces have bikes on almost personal issue and in their entire life have only one or two riders and may be very well looked after , others have pool vehicles which are trashed by everyone as there is no percieved ownership or responsibility of care.

If you can find out which force owned them then it is often possible to contact the fleet management and most will tell you it it is a good one or not and also tell you something of its history.

it is also useful as police vehicles if over 3 years of age are tested in house (if the force has its own workshops) and they are NOT recorded on the DVLA MOT system and thus the first time they get a Ministry Test then that becomes their recorded mileage (not unknown for them to lose a lot of miles between the auctions and point of sale ).

Some vehicles are serviced by a Forces own workshops and therefore have no service book or record, others are serviced by the dealer network and will have a full manufacturers service record .

It pays to do a bit of reserch prior to purchase.

Also remember that the wiring may be substantially different from a standard bike and the police are quite happy to randomly knock holes in bits of bodywork to make the crap (sorry Home Office Approved Equipment ) fit.

I personally wouldn't. They are used hard, & sometimes unsympathetically. My old Force really did look after the bikes well, in a dedicated workshop, & the only time they went to the local dealer was if it was a Warranty issue. We had our "own bikes" & as in life, some riders lavished care & attention, & some didn't.
The last point is true; there is a supplementary loom, but as all BMW Authorities bikes for many years have come fully kitted out from Vehicle Developments in Andover, there are unlikely be any any "holes bashed in it".
There are so many RT's out there for sale, I personally just wouldn't risk it.
 
I looked at ex-police and ex-DVLA RTs when looking to buy, but I chose not to get one because of the concerns listed above. I think if I were after a 'cheap' £2,500 hack I would look at one, but not for a bike that I would trust on long-trips.

Also, the ex-police bikes have smaller panniers and no top-box plate/rear seat, and often no cruise control. And re-sale value is pretty bad.
 
What is this obsession with buying ex job bikes? Would you go and buy an ex taxi? or an ex dispatch bike?

Mine gets thrashed to within an inch of it's life ... daily! Yes it gets serviced regularly and yes nothing is repaired ie broken bits get replaced, but I wouldn't buy one. You're mad .... :D
 
Ha ha ... Thankfully i never actually started it ..... :D
 
Ok, Back to a 1150 it will be. Thanks for all the replays.
 
I bought one a couple of years ago and new at the time that the clutch would need replacing so I did that at a cost of about £70 for the plates and have to say apart from the final drive that needed replacing which as far as Im concerned comes with the GS/RT range the bike has been faultless and I am now at 80k regularly traveling to Manchester from London and all round the M25 fully loaded up.

When I got it it was already converted back to a dual seat with normal panniers.

What i would say is if you want a cheap bike for doing a lot of miles in all weathers and you can carry out the maintenance yourself then go for it as its cheap and effective for getting through traffic.

Good luck
 
I bought one a couple of years ago and new at the time that the clutch would need replacing so I did that at a cost of about £70 for the plates and have to say apart from the final drive that needed replacing which as far as Im concerned comes with the GS/RT range the bike has been faultless and I am now at 80k regularly traveling to Manchester from London and all round the M25 fully loaded up.

Good luck

Did anyone manage to read this paragraph in one breath?
 
I pulled my 'old' police bike one day..and the new owner had sprayed it metallic pink ! :eek:

He was quite happy with the bike ( never told him they are raced from the nick to a job without warming them up and that I'd stuffed previously it into a Ford Granada a couple of years earlier ! :augie ) Happy days :cool:
 
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