Police Escort

[JeffOlson]

This afternoon, I rode my Norge from Olympia to my parents' house in West Linn for work meetings tomorrow. (My office is still in Lake Oswego even though I now live in Olympia!)

As I neared the Lake Oswego exit off I-5, I saw that I was following a Portland motorcycle cop. He took the Lake Oswego exit, too, so I followed him onto Macadam Avenue. At the first stop light, he motioned me to pull up next to him while waiting for the light to change. He was very polite and friendly and said he thought I was riding a Moto Guzzi! We then rode together down Macadam Avenue, stopping at almost every light and talking more. He knew about the Norge being an Italian police bike, and I told him I wasn't a cop but people in front of me still pull over and stop because they know they are speeding. He laughed at that. We both agreed it is great to be on a white bike with a white helmet in the fast lane on the freeway; people see you coming up behind them and get out of the way right now.

We rode together south into Lake Oswego, and I felt safe for the first time in a long time while riding! I was clearly visible to all of the sled drivers around us.

[Ncdan]

A white helmet offers more protection than an orange vest. It's very common for drivers to come speeding up to a stop sigh  with the  intent to go ahead and pull out, then slam on breaks and fasten their seat belts.

[SED]

Very interesting!
So is attention selective??

Thinking my next helmet will be white.  And I love the white Lemans and Monza... 

[ITSec]

I ride a silver and black Norge. I wear silver and black riding gear 98% of the time. My helmets are almost all silver. I have extra lights on my bike, both front and rear (including lights on the panniers). Since a number of forces out here ride BMWs, guess what the reaction is for me? Pretty much the same as for a white bike. 

[Socalrob]

My BMW GSA has led driving lights, and between those and the big cross section of the bike, and perhaps my white helmet, drives will mistake me for a cop, especially in the early evening.  Sometimes I will come down fast from an off ramp and pull up in the lane next to a speeding car and just hold about 50 ft off their 6.  Its amazing how fast they slow down to 65.

[Gliderjohn]

Living through hot Kansas summers, white is the coolest. It always amazes me when someone complains about helmets being so hot and of course their's is black.
GliderJohn

[Kev m]

Since purchasing a new Police RK (FLHTP) earlier this year I seem to notice both halves of the phenomenon.

Yes it seems sometimes people get out of my way on the highway. But sadly I also notice that some slow down to the speed limit (especially on rural 2-lane roads without passing zones).

So I guess I'll take the good with the bad.

Living through hot Kansas summers, white is the coolest. It always amazes me when someone complains about helmets being so hot and of course their's is black.
GliderJohn

Didn't we have a sales guy for a major helmet manufacturer post here for a little while and dispel that belief?

I should start by saying that I wore white helmets for that reason for a very long time.

Then he pointed out that helmets are basically the equivalent of insulated coolers and IIRC he put two otherwise identical hemlets in the sun (one black, one white) and took temperature readings over a period of time that were for all intents and purposes the same.

So I gave in and bought a black helmet. I cannot say that I've noticed it being any hotter.

[Gliderjohn]

From Kev M:

So I gave in and bought a black helmet. I cannot say that I've noticed it being any hotter.

Well, maybe so and I have never worn a black helmet so I do not have a direct comparison. However, even H-D branded coolers that I have seen are not black. Think it might make some difference if talking a short ride as compared to all day. Anyway I am sticking with white.
GliderJohn

[Lannis]

I'm thinkin' maybe a pretty red, white, and green one for the next helmet - I just realized that the Nolan N43 is 6 years old now, that's about 50 in helmet years.

Almost no motorcycle cops here where I live, so no one twitches if you're in cop gear or on a cop bike.

OR you could run into THIS sort of cop ....

http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2017/08/31/officer-gun-motorcyclist-zw-orig.cnn

Lannis

[Kev m]

From Kev M:
Well, maybe so and I have never worn a black helmet so I do not have a direct comparison. However, even H-D branded coolers that I have seen are not black.
GliderJohn

I've never seen a "Harley" branded cooler.

But I have seen:





even




Granted the Yeti's all seem to be White or a lighter color - but then again they are trying to keep ice and food cold for 5-6 days at a time. I'm taking my helmet off at the end of the day.

Think it might make some difference if talking a short ride as compared to all day.

Well, I did put in about a 12 hour / 600 mile day a few months back in about 90F. It really wasn't a problem.

Anyway I am sticking with white.
GliderJohn

Well, obviously I'm not telling you what to do, but you might not want to be too smug with regards to the guys not in white... they may not be any hotter, that's all I'm saying.

Just food for thought. 

[Scud]

I used tp get the cop-reaction all the time when I had a BMW R1100RT and white helmet. I still like a white helmet for visibility - and I just did a long stretch from Phoenix to San Diego this week - at least the first 3 hours were in about 105-degree heat.

My favorite police escort was the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride in Los Angeles. They had motorcycle officers block traffic at every intersection for the whole ride. I have never gotten through Downtown Los Angeles so easily. 

[Triple Jim]

I've never seen a "Harley" branded cooler.

You can change that in a hurry with a Google Images search.  Some are black, too.

[Kev m]

You can change that in a hurry with a Google Images search.  Some are black, too.

I'm good, but thanks. Some things can't be unseen.   

[TOMB]

And white helmet doesn't get as hot in the sun is a darker colored would so your head stays cooler and you may be able to ride longer with a cooler head
TOMB

[Kev m]

And white helmet doesn't get as hot in the sun is a darker colored would so your head stays cooler and you may be able to ride longer with a cooler head
TOMB

No you see that's the discussion that John and I are having. I (and it seems like many others here) always assumed that was the case. But there was a helmet sales guy here who I believe basically proved us wrong. It had largely to do with the fact that the Styrofoam impact liner bears a decent resemblance to the insulation of a cooler and is acting that way so that the color of the plastic shell may not make much or any of a difference in the temp of your head.

At least that was my take away. I think his static test showed small differences at best, and most felt they would mean nothing underway (with venting).

I suspect vent designs are far more important than shell color with regards to final temp of our noggins.

[jas67]

My white F800GT, which looks pretty similar to a R1200RTP (P=police) from the front,  seems to get the police bike treatment from time to time too, esp. when I have the tall windshield on for winter.   As Kev stated, sometimes people clear a the left lane for me, other times they slow down to the speed limit.   I should get a white helmet, and see if that increases the police bike treatment.

IMG_8400 by jay_snyder67, on Flickr

IMG_8412 by jay_snyder67, on Flickr

[davedude]

And the #1 white helmet and bike Moto Guzzi (hat tip to KevM's road king) combination that makes folks think for a minute that you might be are a cop is: CalVin*




*IMO

[Kev m]

And the #1 white helmet and bike Moto Guzzi (hat tip to KevM's road king) combination that makes folks think for a minute that you might be are a cop is: CalVin*

*IMO

Perhaps perhaps... this might be true.

But may I also point out that I might even be a little worse from behind. 

I've converted the turn signals to work as running lights and additional brake lights. So if you're coming up behind me I've also got a bevy of red lights back there. And if I hit a turn signal, the light on that side shuts off noticeably before it starts flashing (and repeats when I deactivate the signal, i.e. it shuts off noticeably before returning to the running light function).



Combine that with a large black tour-pack that doesn't appear very "Harley" probably confuses a number of drivers behind me.

[charlie b]

We did some testing a while ago with paints and direct sunlight.  The hottest was with a white paint that had aluminum particles in it.  Don't remember what it was made for.  White and black gloss enamels were the same which were both better than white or black flat enamels.

so, it boiled down to the surface and any metalic content of the paint, not the color.

Never figured out why Al content would matter, unless it is scattering the sun rays within the paint layer instead of reflecting back.

We did not try a chrome or mirror type finish.  Father-in-law was trying to figure out what paint would be best for a fiberglass part that was exposed to direct sunlight for long periods.

[davedude]

Perhaps perhaps... this might be true.

But may I also point out that I might even be a little worse from behind. 

I've converted the turn signals to work as running lights and additional brake lights. So if you're coming up behind me I've also got a bevy of red lights back there. And if I hit a turn signal, the light on that side shuts off noticeably before it starts flashing (and repeats when I deactivate the signal, i.e. it shuts off noticeably before returning to the running light function).



Combine that with a large black tour-pack that doesn't appear very "Harley" probably confuses a number of drivers behind me.

I'm with you! I'll always defer to a white police model RK in the "looks like a policeman, better come to a full stop etc" category.
I too have the run, turn, brake. Though the kit for the blinkers consists of older LEDs which form a ring around the 1157s(?), and are not that great in the daytime, the brake lights show up fine. At night, the running lights are very bright and don't really show as a ring of LEDs , but a solid red light; It's a funny thing, that. All this through amber lenses too. I should look into the availability of a newer kit for the old dog.