On Two Wheels: Video Series

The On Two Wheels video series is here to celebrate riding motorcycles and all the fun it brings. From cruisers to dirt bikes to sportbikes and everything in between, OTW is serious about understanding and sharing motorcycles and all the adventure they bring, but never forgets to have a good time. Join host Evan Allen on his never ending quest to discover news things On Two Wheels.

How Hard Is It To Ride Like a Cop?

Evan Allen is a naturally talented motorcycle rider, he can ride just about anything at a high level. But in this episode of On Two Wheels, he finally meets his match. His match? 

Ever seen a police motor officer rodeo? It's a master class in precision riding, confidence and skill. Motor cops navigate a tight maze of cones, turning steering lock to steering lock, scraping pegs and floorboards, all while seeming cool and collected. They make it look easy. Is it? 

Evan heads to a motor cop training facility in Huntington Beach, California, with retired Redondo Beach motor officer and certified motorcycle instructor, Bill Turner, to learn to ride the same rodeo course as the motor cops. He’ll do it all on a real police bike: the Honda NT1100 Police, complete with lights, siren, bags and even a rifle holder. 

Trainees spend hundreds of hours on a cone course before ever hitting the streets, mastering the fundamentals of throttle and clutch control, body position, thinking ahead, and pointing your head and eyes in the right direction. It's a lot to think about, all at once, while riding—and trying not to dump the bike. 

Evan finds out quickly that even though the lot is flat and the surface is consistent, it's far more difficult than it appears. Even navigating the easiest of drills, like a simple figure eight, is much harder than he thought. Especially on a police cruiser. But he persists and progresses quickly, thanks to his years of riding experience. Ultimately, the training is highly effective. Would you believe many officers in the program had never even ridden a motorcycle before joining? 

After two days, Evan and Bill go head-to-head in their own police motorcycle rodeo. Who will be the quickest? Can Evan meet the high riding standards of motor cops? Watch, learn, and find out.

Evan Allen

Evan Allen grew up in Southern California under the heavy influence of motorcycles, surfing, and action sports. He began his motorcycle testing career riding and writing for Dirt Rider and soon after began contributing to Motorcyclist and Cycle World in words and video. In his role as associate editor, Evan loves riding and testing everything with two wheels from motocross to street to dirt track and has been known to wheelie once in a while. He also probably holds the record for longest jump on an XR650L (see OTW episode 2!).

Evan is a huge fan of learning more about motorcycles and riding, so we keep sending him out to try things On Two Wheels (see what we did there?!) he’s never done before–from food delivery to riding a 200-hp superbike at a racetrack.