After I'd had the retired police bike for a few weeks the odometer had an additional thousand miles tacked on it. Mileage included day rides around New Hampshire and Maine, several highway trips between NH and New York City, and a few trips out to Long Island. During this period I've had a few observations that I'll cover subsequently.
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| Rick & Bill in Laconia NH |
I like this bike. It fits me very well; the ergonomics are good - other than the minor issues below - and it feels light and nimble enough to navigate around traffic but also strong and sturdy on the highway. I also like that it was a used, er, retired bike and so not dreading the first scratch or being too fussy about it's polish - I tend to ride em hard and put em away wet - thought I have to say this bike does looks pretty amazing.
Stiff clutch
The bike's manual clutch lever was painful to hold for an extended period. Initially, I'd thought it was just that my grip was out of shape due to a few years of not riding. After a few weeks, however, I still felt the burn - especially in NYC stop and go traffic. Turned out I wasn't imagining it. According to retiredpolicebikes.com the 103 cubic inch Police bikes had a heavier clutch spring (37807-03) which added about 30% to the pull - all others have the stock spring (37882-06). I had no plan to downgrade the spring but at least I didn't feel like such a wimp after seeing the issue documented.
Hot Pipes
I expected an air cooled 103 V Twin to produce some heat and so didn't over think the "hotter than a cheep toaster" experience. I even got my first ever "love bite" from a pipe - burnt so quick I didn't feel it. However, while viewing the retiredpolicebikes.com site I found that excessive heat was a known issue with the FLHTP 2010's due to new catalytic converters which caused more back pressure. Nothing I couldn't live with while the bike was under warranty - but good to know there were some options down the road.
Squeaky
Okay, noticed after a few rides I'm getting a very noticeable metal on metal squeak. Haven't isolated just where it's coming form yet, might be seat mount or suspension. The air suspension is maxed out for my weight. Need to investigate further, just mention it now as it's kind of comical as I mount up (squeak squeak squeak ...).
Stay tuned for further adventures in riding.
