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Grey Hound
This from Wheels 24:
'Death bikes' for traffic cops
06/06/2008 11:37
The Cape Town traffic department's new fleet of bikes is being labelled "death on wheels".
The Honda ST1300 Tourer model is "scaring the hell" out of the men in blue, reports Cape Son.
According to Cape Son the City of Cape Town bought an entire fleet of these bikes which are described as apparently "dangerous".
It's not known how many bikes there are in the fleet.
Cape Son reports that its sources at the traffic department "don't trust" the safety of the ST1300 Tourer.
Allegedly at speed, this model starts to develop a speed wobble that could result in a crash.
Cape Son also quotes an internet article titled, "Honda ST1300 high speed weave". This article claims that several European police departments have withdrawn this model as a result of instability and high speed crashes that led to injuries.
Apparently federal police in The Netherlands withdrew the bike immediately when a member crashed travelling faster than 140km/h. The bike started wobbling out of control.
Allegedly there are even speed restrictions on the bike in the US.
According to Wikipedia, a British pathologist, Dr James Adeley, said in 2007 he would warn all the head constables (superintendents) in Britain about the police spec bike, which is life-threateningly dangerous for their riders, and the consequences of the "high speed weave".
This was after he investigated the death of experienced police biker Constable David Shreeve.
During testing a test rider broke a leg and both wrists due to the front wheel wobble.
The result was that some British police departments withdrew the bike from use.
It was also recommended that either old bikes like the Honda ST1100P get dusted off, or the BMW R1200RT or Yamaha FJR1300 be bought.
Reportedly some Cape Town traffic officials say they are scared of the Honda ST1300.
"How the hell are we going to do our work if we are too scared of speed on the bike?" one of them told Cape Son
They also dismissed as ridiculous speculation that the added paniers (carry boxes on the back for radios and other equipment) - which places extra weight on the tail and theoretically could lift the front wheel - are responsible for the problems.
"Why can you give a passenger of 60kg-plus a lift with ease, without wobbling?," one asked.
Cape Son approached traffic department spokesperson Merle Lourens for comment. She said her department got a fright about the allegations and are viewing them in a very serious light.
The size of the Cape fleet is not known, neither is it understood why this model was chosen over other models.
'Death bikes' for traffic cops
06/06/2008 11:37
The Cape Town traffic department's new fleet of bikes is being labelled "death on wheels".
The Honda ST1300 Tourer model is "scaring the hell" out of the men in blue, reports Cape Son.
According to Cape Son the City of Cape Town bought an entire fleet of these bikes which are described as apparently "dangerous".
It's not known how many bikes there are in the fleet.
Cape Son reports that its sources at the traffic department "don't trust" the safety of the ST1300 Tourer.
Allegedly at speed, this model starts to develop a speed wobble that could result in a crash.
Cape Son also quotes an internet article titled, "Honda ST1300 high speed weave". This article claims that several European police departments have withdrawn this model as a result of instability and high speed crashes that led to injuries.
Apparently federal police in The Netherlands withdrew the bike immediately when a member crashed travelling faster than 140km/h. The bike started wobbling out of control.
Allegedly there are even speed restrictions on the bike in the US.
According to Wikipedia, a British pathologist, Dr James Adeley, said in 2007 he would warn all the head constables (superintendents) in Britain about the police spec bike, which is life-threateningly dangerous for their riders, and the consequences of the "high speed weave".
This was after he investigated the death of experienced police biker Constable David Shreeve.
During testing a test rider broke a leg and both wrists due to the front wheel wobble.
The result was that some British police departments withdrew the bike from use.
It was also recommended that either old bikes like the Honda ST1100P get dusted off, or the BMW R1200RT or Yamaha FJR1300 be bought.
Reportedly some Cape Town traffic officials say they are scared of the Honda ST1300.
"How the hell are we going to do our work if we are too scared of speed on the bike?" one of them told Cape Son
They also dismissed as ridiculous speculation that the added paniers (carry boxes on the back for radios and other equipment) - which places extra weight on the tail and theoretically could lift the front wheel - are responsible for the problems.
"Why can you give a passenger of 60kg-plus a lift with ease, without wobbling?," one asked.
Cape Son approached traffic department spokesperson Merle Lourens for comment. She said her department got a fright about the allegations and are viewing them in a very serious light.
The size of the Cape fleet is not known, neither is it understood why this model was chosen over other models.
