How do you determine if a 2008 R1200RT is a police model.

I was looking over a 2008 R1200RT at a dealership and the salesman said he thought the bike was a police trade in. It had fairly low mileage for a police trade in (26K). Basic equipment without frills. No cruise control. no extra switching on the handlebars or fairing. The panniers were the odd thing. On the small side with top opening and an elaborate mounting system that held them oddly distant from the side of the bike.

paddlefoot said:

I was looking over a 2008 R1200RT at a dealership and the salesman said he thought the bike was a police trade in. It had fairly low mileage for a police trade in (26K). Basic equipment without frills. No cruise control. no extra switching on the handlebars or fairing. The panniers were the odd thing. On the small side with top opening and an elaborate mounting system that held them oddly distant from the side of the bike.

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Ask to see the title in their file box. It should verify or deny that the police traded it in. Or do a VIN lookup - I forget the site but somebody will come along with it I suspect.

Are there any negatives to the "Authority" bikes

Anything other than just the spartan equipment and maybe hard use/abuse? Lower gear ratios or other specifications? I have seen Marketplace adds say an RT has the heavier Police fan. Is there anything particularly heavy duty about the cooling systems?

First, get the last 7 digits of the VIN of the bike in question. As Paul says, there's a place to check the original equipment. Here's the one I use: https://www.bmwvin.com/ There are others. This one lists original equipment, color and production date.

I had a 2008 non-police RT. There was no fan behind the oil cooler. As a result, frequent stops on hot days in heavy traffic were part of riding the bike. The oil cooler is behind those two large openings in the front, usually with a silver body color around the openings. The oil capacity is expanded for this K26 bike. The clutch is a dry clutch (the current RT has a wet clutch). I think ABS was standard. I added Automatic Stability Control to my 2008 RT for about $400.

I put 50,000 miles on mine. Fuel issues which no one could figure out led me to trade it for a 2015 RT.

If I'm not mistaken, police models have two batteries and a cooling fan for the oil radiator

That's correct, but "most" of the time, that is all ripped out before the bike goes on sale (including the fan; there's a market for those). Depending on who did that task, it may be neat and clean or it may be sloppy - look for lots of extra wire hanging around the glovebox or near the handlebars, and maybe extra brackets that don't look like commercial aftermarket.

As far as other differences - not much; I believe the gearbox, cams, & exhaust are the same, and the cooling system is otherwise the same.

"Maybe" hard use? No maybe about it - guaranteed that they take off more quickly and stop more quickly than the average street rider.

Link to an expired 2008 RTP auction, with full specs and pictures at the bottom: https://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/auction/view?auc=938976

Items I think are unique to the authority model:
Solo seat with radio equipment box in pillion position.
Large front crash bars
Narrow, top opening panniers
Narrow rear crash bars to match the panniers
Usually have an accurate, calibrated speedometer, but no cruise control
Final drive is often (always?) a lower ratio, favoring acceleration over top speed and fuel economy
Auxiliary battery
Oil cooler fan

It can be difficult to work on the electrics of a used RTP. The original wiring starts with options for the ordering department, then their mechanics may add additional equipment which is often removed quickly (hacked off) at auction time. If the bike has been in a private owners hands, there may have been additional changes.

Converting an RTP to a civilian RT configuration can be quite expensive ($thousands), and still will not have cruise control.

Beware of salesmen who don't know their merchandise.

Ah, I forgot about the rear drive; didn't know about the shocks.

Thanks Ikraus

I know exactly what that bike looks like. Brea is right next door to Anaheim and I retired from APD in December of 2008. This bike I have been watching back here in TN appears to be neither fish nor fowl. Although it doesn't appear to be thrashed, it does have some marks of a working bike. Maybe it was an escort bike or something. The price on it has come down several K since I first saw it. Still there are lots of nice RTs out there to choose from.

lkraus said:

Link to an expired 2008 RTP auction, with full specs and pictures at the bottom: https://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/auction/view?auc=938976


Beware of salesmen who don't know their merchandise.

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+1 to that!