We've all seen them, either riding in formation, escorting traffic through an intersection or laying in wait with a radar gun.

I've often wondered what their job was all about, is it all sun screen and boot polish, or is it something else? Now I can finally tell you, straight up, that it is something else and that, no, it's not an easy job.


In April I asked Ontario Provincial Police Staff Sergeant Brad Schlorff, who's responsible for the Motorcycle and Marine Division, if it was possible to get an inside view of the workings of the O.P.P. Motorcycle Patrol. "Come on up and have a look around" was the cheery reply, so late in June, on a +35C day, I jumped on the Beemer and headed to Orillia, home town to Stephen Leacock, a monster casino and the Ontario Provincial Police Headquarters.

I asked Scott if anyone ever washes out of the program. "Yes they do," says Scott, "sometimes an Officer will come into the program and after the first couple of days will say that it's just not their cup of tea and so be it, but usually after the first few days, the new candidates are really into it, even long time riders will come away with tons of new knowledge and techniques". The Orillia O.P.P. Headquarters also trains members from other forces across Canada.

Just about that time a white truck and trailer pulls in, Brad waves the driver over, "This is Sterling", says Brad, "He one of two mechanics that keep this fleet running, he can pretty much fix anything Harley has to offer." I shake hands with Sterling who appears kind of sheepish about the "fix anything" comment, "well, I keep the old fleet running, another fellow takes care of the new stuff." He gazes over the fleet like he knows every nut and bolt personally, and probably does. "When we go on a long run I'll accompany the ride, anything that breaks I can usually repair it on site, if not, there's a good Harley-Davidson dealer network available if I don't have what I need on hand and yes, during the training session I'm kept pretty busy." Sterling gazes over his fleet and wonders what the next repair will be. Let's see, twenty new riders, pushing all their talents to the limit, yup, Sterling would be busy.

From there we wander into the repair shop that's first class by any measure; cars, trucks, vans being set up, repaired and being decommissioned all on a floor that would make any mechanic envious. Along one wall sits the motorcycle bays that have new machines fresh in from Milwaukee and others in for repair or set up. Brad points out the American difference of red and blue front facing lights along with various bits of stock signage like "Sheriff". I look at the blue flashing lights and agree that it could be a tad confusing. "Is it a Cop or a snowplow?" All of the American standards get reconfigured to Ontario requirements on site.

Sterling takes us through several 'works in progress', H.D.'s in various states of teardown and reassembly. While Glenn has Sterling's ear about some H-D 'how to' stuff I ask Brad, "How many machines do the O.P.P. have on the road?" "At any given time, minus the training fleet, we have around seventy machines with fifty five on the road. Some machines stay on the road year-round, like at the Downsview Detachment in the heart of the GTA, if it's a fine riding day it will most likely be in use." No rest for the wicked I thought; I also did a quick calculation on the fleet costs, which round out pretty close to two million bucks in H-D iron - impressive. By this time Sterling was back into the wrenches, Brad had to head out to another meeting and Scott Lawson was about to take us out to the testing grounds. Now the little guy that sits on my shoulder was screaming "Why Harleys? Why?" I told him to put a sock in it and be patient, my answer wasn't far off.

Glenn and I left the hallowed air conditioning and cut our way through the humidity to our respective Beemers, Scott was ready and waiting in the parking lot. You gotta admit, he was one impressive looking combination. White Harley, blue and gold accents, chrome just so, all topped off with a spit and polished rider. I felt positively rumpled in comparison.

A few minutes down the road is a large asphalt lot that's closed to traffic and used by the O.P.P. for various vehicle-training sessions. We park our bikes and get down to the every day "who, what, where and how" questions of motorcycle patrol. The first question out of me was, well, you guessed it, "Why Harley-Davidsons?" Scott had some pretty darned good answers and then he backed it all up with actually showing us why.

"The first thing you must realize with motorcycle Police patrol is that speed isn't the main concern, manoeuvrability is the key. Unless there is some extraordinary situation we would simply not engage in a high speed chase on a motorcycle, it's just way to risky for the rider and for the public, besides I've got a device on my bike that's much faster than any machine, it's called a radio and if I use it right whoever I need stopped will most likely be stopped by an Officer in a car. Where the Motorcycle Patrol shines is when we have to get through backed up traffic to an accident scene, or wiggle through tight spaces in order to get traffic moving again. Speed is simply not an issue. I need a machine that will take enormous abuse, be quick enough, able to handle just about any terrain out there, be bright enough to be seen, small enough not to be and allow the Officer to do get the job of policing done safely." Scott then showed us why Harley-Davidson.

Now before I tell you what Scott did to prove a point I have to confess some biases. I like the looks of H-D's, but that's pretty much it. I've ridden them, my best buddy owns one and I don't poke too much fun at him, I'm completely at ease with the 'Harley crowd' but in light of all the technology out there I couldn't help but wonder why so many people buy the damn things and why we would use them for the patrol role.

Scott fired up the white Hog, did a little warm up, then scraped the frame around me at about three kilometres an hour. Bars hard over, chug, chug, floorboards hard on the pavement and all the while carrying on a conversation. If I tried that on my bike I'd be laying on the ground wondering how much that mirror was really going to cost. I'm sure he knew that by this time I was doing some serious repenting to both the Harley and the Davidson clans. Then to add insult to injury he said "Watch this..." his bike was in fourth gear, stopped, idling. The hog happily chugged ahead with no added throttle at just a little over a walking pace. I guess cable operated clutches do have some merit. Hey, he sold me okay? Honest, I'm a big guy, I'll admit that I'm not always right and when I'm wrong I'll fess up. From where I stand, Harley-Davidson motorcycles are the best motorcycle for Police patrol. So there, I said it.

I asked Scott what a typical day in the O.P.P. Motorcycle Patrol was like. "Well, it could be just about anything, traffic, escort duty, assisting other Officers, general policing, every day it's a different flavour, our day to day job is full shifts on two wheels." That's where you start to get a picture of what the job is all about and where the inherent dangers lay. As a Police Officer first and foremost, your duty is to serve and protect. That in itself takes a special breed. Now, take away the crumple zone of a police car, throw in sun, heat, cold, wind, rain, gravel, blind Buicks, fearless Fords and crazy Chryslers and you start to get a picture of the daily grind. It's a full time job just to avoid the physical threats of being on two wheels let alone your primary duties and then comes the other part of the job.

When you're in a car you are surrounded by steel and glass, you're not really approachable to the general public. Once you're out of the car and sitting on a motorcycle guess what happens? You are now very approachable. People come up and ask questions from A to Z, kids want to see the bike, heck even I've yakked with motorcycle cops. So to put it in perspective, picture yourself in this position... You're a motorcycle cop in a congested area, you've just been thoroughly ragged out by some A-type personality in a routine traffic stop, where you've politely listened to the reasons why he should be allowed to talk on his cell, travel at 40 over, not signal, take three kilometres to notice flashing red lights behind him and somehow try to turn it all into your fault. You issue a summons, shake your head and then head off. Five minutes later you're parked and surrounded by three kids and Mom who want to see the shiny bike and the nice Police Officer. Mr. "A-type" better disappear real fast or those kids could be sorely disappointed with the image you portray. Multiply this scenario a few hundred times and you can see that it takes a special kind of person to do the "job".

The O.P.P. Motorcycle Patrol goes out of their way to find that kind of person because they know how important it is to have Officers talking to the public, it's a two way street of respect. These Officers are there to protect us, they are there to make our highways and byways a safer place, they uphold the law that is the cornerstone of our society and it's not always sunscreen and boot polish.

I asked Scott if the Motorcycle Patrol had women in the ranks, "Sure do," said Scott, "Great riders, we even have some that are in the Golden Helmets, which is the precision riding team of the O.P.P."

Glenn was busy behind the camera lens and Scott asked if he wanted to try some of the manoeuvres, Glenn, never being one to turn down a challenge, glued himself to the seat in a heart beat. After some instruction and warm up Glenn wound the Hog through the serpentine course and did pretty good too. Scott was able to pick out why some of the corners weren't quite right and suggested some changes in Glenn's riding position. I looked at what was happening here and I wanted to learn more. I've been riding since '72 but I honestly can say that I can't do what Scott just did, at least on the machine I ride. So with some arm-twisting I suggested that when the spring training session begins I wouldn't mind seeing first hand what goes on. Who knows, my respect for Harley-Davidson just went up by leaps and bounds and after being shown how to do it right I might even buy one of them. Jeeze did I just say that? I'll let you know what happens and promise that if I fall over during the session I will publish the pictures so that everybody can get a good laugh, well, except for Sterling.

The next time you see a Motorcycle Patrol Officer pulled over, go up and say hi, tell him or her that you appreciate what they do out there, I know that will make a tough job a little easier.

Thanks to Brad, Scott and Sterling, hope to see you in the spring. MMM

Ride safe! -Stu