John, Ponch Want New Beemers, Harley Wants To Sell Them Bikes

The California Highway Patrol is caught up in a bit of a snafu. For the last six years, the law-enforcement agency has been buying and riding BMW patrol bikes through a Roseville, California dealership. A Santa Cruz Harley-Davidson agency, however, submitted a bid reportedly a cool mil less in an attempt to score the lucrative fleet order for a mess of Hogs. In fact PA governor Ed Rendell submitted a personal plea to Ahnuld a couple of years back on behalf of The Motor Company in a bid to get California to buy the Electra-Glides, which happen to be made in the Keystone State.

Meanwhile, the test-riding cops don't particularly like the Harleys, saying that the bikes have a high-speed wobble, and a spokesperson for the agency says "We're looking for a bike that meets our specifications and safety standards at the lowest cost to the people of California." Harleys and Beemers are rather expensive bikes to both buy and maintain. We're wondering why they don't just go Japanese? More power, cheaper to fix, etc. After all if Japanese motorcycles were good enough for Poncharello and Baker, shouldn't they be good enough for the Chippies of today? [Thanks to Scott for the tip.]

CHP motorcycle purchase hits the skids yet again [Sacramento Bee]

Related:
Possibly The Most Amazing Episode of 'CHiPs' Ever Filmed [Internal]