New Motorcycles for Police Approved

The City Council has given the Police Department the green light to replace its fleet of motorcycles with sleeker, better-equipped and more expensive models during the next four years.

The five or so new bikes, which cost about $17,200 each, will be phased in as the department’s older cycles are retired.

The new models have an 1100cc engine, adjustable gear-shift lever, heated handgrips, anti-lock brakes and an adjustable seat.

There’s also an electronically adjustable windshield that can be raised to block the wind for highway cruising or lowered to cool down a rider when buzzing around town.

But aren’t those bells and whistles and that price tag a bit excessive for taxpayer palettes?

Not in the long run, say city staffers and police officials who have calculated the difference in cost to operate and maintain the three makes used by most police forces.

Each of the cycles Simi is buying is more than $2,000 cheaper to operate per year than its competitor now used by the department.

The trick is in the replacement program. Every three years, a Citrus Heights-based retailer will buy back the cycles from the Police Department for about $9,758.

In comparison, the current bikes cost about $8,500 to purchase, but cannot be sold at the end of their four-year life span for nearly as much as the new ones will be.

“This is a more cost-effective vehicle while at the same time providing a greater level of comfort and safety to the officers,” said City Manager Mike Sedell.

Police officers tested the new model last year and decided the bike is safer and more adjustable.

Ken Mobley, a motorcycle officer with the California Highway Patrol stationed in Moorpark, said the CHP is replacing its bikes with the same model Simi chose.