Cop bike question - Harley Forum

weaseljack · #1 04-23-2009, 12:04 PM

I'm new here but I thought this might be a good place to start asking questions. I recently bought an '06 FLHTPI with [then] 3200 miles, bone stock and haven't done a thing to it except put tires on. I was riding with one of my brothers and he made the comment that he couldn't keep up with me on his '06 Ultra and he's got slip-ons, air cleaner and power commander. My question is: Do they do anything different, engine-wise, to the police bikes? Is the mapping on the EFI any different? Cams? Anything? I had plans to do some stuff to it, but the way it runs now, I'm not sure if I want to fool with it. I can live with quiet and the performance is just fine for now.

milindh · #2 04-23-2009, 01:47 PM

Hey WeaselJack

You don't say where you and your bud's bikes come from. California bikes have more smog stuff than "49 state" bikes and are slower. I believe California police bikes aren't so choked down as their civilian counterparts. Check out the final drive ratios too. Those ratios make a big difference in acceleration. That info is in your factory service manual ( a must have for any Harley owner).

Also how do they compare weight wise. I know some of the Ultras weigh over 840 lbs dry. Dunno what a police bike like yours weighs but all that stuff on a fully loaded Ultra adds up. Might be as much as 100lbs difference between a plain clothes cop bike and a decked out Ultra.

Finally you might have just gotten a good one. Racers put a lot of time and money into blueprinting drivetrains to get every last bit of hp out of them. Every once in a while a bike will come through straight from the factory with all the perfect tolerances and dimensions right from the factory. That will be a sweet one. Sounds like you might have gotten one of those.

Happy Trails dude

weaseljack · #3 04-23-2009, 02:31 PM

I live in Tennessee, so I don't have the smog c**p on it. It's an Electra-Glide Standard, so with the exception of lowers, radio and tour pak it's about the same. I'm getting ready to order the Police bike supplimental manual. I bought the shop manual the day I got the bike and I've had one for each of the other 12 I've owned, so I agree it's neccessary. I'll have to check and see what the cop manual says about pulleys, etc., but I was thinking it might be in the mapping. In the old days [pans and shovels] the cams were a little hotter.
I've got to say that I never thought I'd like fuel injection, but this thing is sweet. No more carb cough when creeping out of the driveway. I have dropped a few in my 35 years of riding, because of that. Always embarrassing.

King Hogg · #4 04-23-2009, 03:31 PM

Riding a 05 road king police , changed pipes to D &D slip ons and added big sucker hi flow air cleaner from arlan ness and re mapped, consideral improvement completes stage 1 without power commander , you wil be pleased also d & D's sound great true Harley

milindh · #5 04-23-2009, 04:38 PM

Yeah WeaselJack, you might be right about the mapping. It's also possible the service manager that maintained the bike for the PD might have downloaded some cool map for their bikes. I'll bet you could find that guy and he'd be a good source of your answers. Might be fun to talk to him.

I'm with you on liking the FI. I have a Mikuni carb on my FXR and I love it but the newer Delphi FI systems are very nice indeed. So tune-able. I also think more noise doesn't always translate into more power. I don't know about your bike but the FXRP's(FXR police bikes) of the past came stock with hi-flow mufflers. More volume and just a little louder than civilian stockers. They had quite a few other performance improvements like higher floorboards and some (but not all) different engine internals. I also think they had some different gearing setups. Don't remember if it was in tranny ratios or final drive. I think some of the police bikes were set up specifically for parade duty.

texan321 · #6 04-24-2009, 11:32 AM

Before I did anything - I would put it on a dyno - to see what it is doing....might save ya some money.....