Calgary cops get Vstroms | GTAMotorcycle.com

Calgary cops get Vstroms

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Calgary Police buying 8 Vstroms
Calgary police augmenting motorcycle fleet with sportier models | Calgary Herald

Calgary police augmenting motorcycle fleet with sportier models

Bryan PassifiumeBRYAN PASSIFIUME
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Published on: May 6, 2017 | Last Updated: May 7, 2017 8:22 AM MDT


City motorists will soon see a newer and sleeker presence keeping Calgary’s roads safe.

Considered a universal part of any traffic cop’s motor pool, the city’s fleet of 15 Harleys will soon be joined by eight brand new Suzuki V-Strom “adventure bike” motorcycles — a sportier breed of bike than the traditional road cruiser.

“It’s kind of your SUV of motorcycles,” said Insp. Ken Thrower, the city’s top traffic cop.

“It’ll go on-road, off-road, dirt, hill — wherever you want to go.”

Last year, CPS took delivery of two Suzuki V-Strom 650DLs to see how they fit into their existing motor pool, currently consisting of 15 police-package Harley-Davidson Road King and Electra-Glides.

Response from city motorcycle officers was overwhelmingly positive, Thrower said — especially among officers from the UK, who found the nimble Japanese bikes a familiar experience to those they rode back home.

Approval was granted to the Traffic Section to order an additional six bikes — upgrading the order to the larger-engined 1000DL models, addressing concerns the 650s were somewhat under-powered to meet the needs of Calgary police.

Police expect to have the new bikes on the road this summer.

Calgary’s one of the few police forces in Canada to add the Suzukis to their motorcycle fleet, a move Thrower said will add versatility to the city’s traffic unit.

“There’s advantages to that … having to go down gravel roads in the city, or having to go into parks looking for missing children, rescue missions, floods, any sort of disaster,” he said.

Calgary traffic cops had a chance to try out the new bikes during a pre-season skills session on Friday, and the response was positive.

“I love the bike — personally I prefer it on patrol,” said Const. Kevin Starblanket, a senior Calgary motorcycle officer.

“They’re a little bit more forgiving and easier to use — they’re powerful enough, they’re nimble enough, and we can go places we couldn’t get with the Harley.”

While impressed with what he’s seen of the Suzukis, Harleys hold a special place in Sgt. Dale Seddon’s heart — both as a cop and a rider.

“The Harley-Davidson’s the typical prototype for police motorcycles,” he said.

“It’s got that cool factor, so I really like that motorcycle, but I know the Suzuki’s got a bit more mobility to it — it’s lighter-weight so some guys might like that, but the Road King’s the bike for me.”

Aside from weighing nearly 400 lbs. less than the Harleys, the Suzukis are also half the cost — making the bikes a sensible addition to the fleet, Thrower said.

“At first, there was some head-turning going on, we had some guys who were staunch Harley-Davidson riders, but once they rode them for a bit, they were sold.” he said.

bpassifiume@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @BryanP assifiume

Suzuki V-Strom 1000DL
Displacement: 969 cc
Engine: 4-stroke v-twin, liquid-cooled
Transmission: six-speed
Wheelbase: 1,535mm
Weight: 236 kg (520 lb)

CPS motorcycle officer facts

All Calgary police traffic officers are required to be motorcycle trained
Uses include:

PatroTraffic enforcement
Radar speed enforcement
Parades and special events
VIP/funeral escorts
Search and rescue
Missing persons
Surveillance
Evidence collection

http://www.stromtrooper.com/dl1000a...gary-police-buying-8-vstroms.html#post4630497

Kudos to Calgary for some sense .....Ontario take note and save us some dollars....Stroms are cheaper and very reliable.
 
we had some guys who were staunch Harley-Davidson riders, but once they rode them for a bit, they were sold.

Doesn't surprise me. HD's are nice bikes, and cruisers in general are great (I ride one of course), but I always thought that using the MC equivalent of a Sherman Tank for a job that requires a 4WD Jeep didn't make much sense.

Want to evade a cruiser? Go off the ashphalt. Done.
 
400 lbs lighter? God. There is no good reason for that other than laziness and profit margin on HD's part.

Good to see a police force thinking with their brains instead of what's in their pants (last I heard, ford had sold none of the interceptor with the small motor because 305 hp was unacceptably low for a police car :/ ).
 
Either Vaughan of Richmond Hill have a small fleet of KLRs that their by-law officers ride, dude I was talking to said they really like them
 
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This is good news. I always knew that if J.A. Pan Motorcycle Inc. reverse engineered 400lbs onto there product it would not make the best policing tool. Good to see this finally confirmed. Now to deprogram the hooligans in blue.
 
Wasn't the real reason HD had such staying power in the police market was that they were pretty much the only moto with fleet sales?
 
Either Vaughan of Richmond Hill have a small fleet of KLRs that their by-law officers ride, dude I was talking to said they really like them
Vaughan for sure. Talked to a duo last year around the corner from me.

sent from my Purple LGG4 on the GTAM app
 
They were riding Harleys and are saying that Weestrom 650s are underpowered?
cc elitism at its best.
Basically.

Lets get them to look at power to weight ratio (well cc to weight ration) and then talk about underpoweredness lol.

On long shifts im certain the officers will feel more comfortable on a smooth vstrom compared to the boneshaking harleys.
 
Well, that's going to bust up a few teenage bush parties I guess, sort of. A 1000cc bike is still going to be a handful off-road though. Also, even at 1000cc (I would have opted for 600cc) the outlaw sport bikers will run away from it on the highway. But yeah, more nimble on the gravel roads. Seems that most times police do an experiment like this, they end up going back to Harley Davidsons after a few years. You just can't beat the big vibrating sofa.
 
Well, that's going to bust up a few teenage bush parties I guess, sort of. A 1000cc bike is still going to be a handful off-road though. Also, even at 1000cc (I would have opted for 600cc) the outlaw sport bikers will run away from it on the highway. But yeah, more nimble on the gravel roads. Seems that most times police do an experiment like this, they end up going back to Harley Davidsons after a few years. You just can't beat the big vibrating sofa.
I wouldve gone for the 650 if i were them too. More nimble in traffic, lighter, more capable off road and realistically the harleys or this bike werent bought to catch sportbikes... But in north america its all about the higher cc
 
I think it's a great idea. I honestly don't think they NEED the 1000DL, but I'm certain that after riding 1700cc+ Harleys they have been brain-washed to think they need the larger displacement. Same as they all seem to need big horsepower, big displacement cruisers. It doesn't make much sense because in the event of someone trying to evade police by trying to speed away, the safe practice is to back off and radio ahead anyways. High speed pursuit puts the public at risk. They seem to manage just fine over in Europe with 4 cylinder police cars just fine. There isn't much on the road that can outrun a high definition dash cam, a radio and a little patience on the part of the officer. From a financial point and from a worker fatigue stand point this is a no brainer. Saving 50% on each unit and having the officers be less tired from lugging the extra 400lbs around is a win win.
 
From what I've read, HD dealerships offer very attractive fleet leasing packages to law enforcement and police harleys have a certain visual presence (like Crown Vics) that remains desirable. Suzuki may be attempting to bolster sales using this method as well. Even a Vstrom 1000 isn't going to be chasing down sportbikes (they will load them up with gear, remember). They are probably better at loafing in traffic than the 650s, so I think that's what Calgary police department meant about them being underpowered. The future of traffic patrols will involve more hi-def camera networks, surveillance drones and RFID/GPS. Look to London, England. Even in the face of increasing motorcycle-assisted crimes, the policy is smarter policing, not high speed pursuit.
 
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Policing should to meet the needs of the community at large, especially the fringe elements. The 650's would be ideal on the transgender beat. Is there a better way to patrol public parks and washrooms? Bigger is not always better. Ask any tranny.
 
You just can't beat the big vibrating sofa.

The police aren't exactly doing cross country tours on their MC's, from what I've seen of ex police bikes being auctioned most are averaging only a few thousand K per year.

Practicality for the intended purpose needs to come first. I wouldn't buy a 'Busa for an Alaskan adventure.
 
Vstrom on the left and Road King on the right (with a CBR300 in-between).

My vote goes to the Road King

road%20king%20vs%20vstrom_zpstib0dq4a.png
 
My vote goes to the Road King

With a username like FLSTC, I find no surprise in that whatsoever.

I related news, members who's username includes the word "Suzuki" are likely to vote for the Vstrom.
 
With a username like FLSTC, I find no surprise in that whatsoever.

I related news, members who's username includes the word "Suzuki" are likely to vote for the Vstrom.
Except that I'm pretty sure that @FLSTC has a Suzuki dr650 as well. ?

sent from my Purple LGG4 on the GTAM app
 

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