Harleys are beloved by those who ride them for a variety of reasons. They have that sound – and they are great for cruising. But there is a reason why you ought not to try to escape a cop if you’re riding a Harley, as the rider depicted in the video accompanying this article found out:
Harleys are slow. This doesn’t mean they don’t accelerate pretty quickly. They do. The big V-twin makes ample torque and that torque is what gives a Harley the seat-of-the-pants low-end pull many Harley riders esteem.
It means they are not fast.
The distinction matters – if you’re planning on trying to run from a cop.
Muscle cars – the original ones made back in the ’60s and ’70s – were pretty quick. But they were not very fast, chiefly because of the way they were made. They either had three speed automatics or four speed manuals and neither had overdrive. These transmissions were typically paired with final drive (rear axle) gear ratios designed to maximize the engine’s available power from a dead stop and make it through the quarter mile as quickly as possible. Which most of them did. But by the time they reached the end of the quarter-mile, their engines were screaming at or near redline and they could go no faster, for mechanical reasons. Their top speeds were mechanically limited to around 125 MPH; some less than that.
Which isn’t very fast.
In fact, it is slower than just about any ordinary car made during the past 20 years – including eponymously slow models such as the Prius hybrid, which will reach 120 if you give it enough time (I speak from personal experience).
Now, a modern performance car – such as the Hemi V8-powered Chargers commonly used by cops to chase down “speeders” – are both quick and fast. They can accelerate from a dead stop (as when parked by the side of the road, waiting for a “speeder” to pass by) more quickly than most ’60s and ’70s-era muscle cars could and have top speeds of 150 MPH or even faster than that. Even the V6-powered iterations of the Charger are faster than the V8 muscle cars of the ’60s and ’70s.
How fast is a Harley?
Not very.
They are heavy, not very aerodynamic and not powerful enough to compensate. Unless the bike has been modified, a typical Harley might reach 115 or so, all out. That is not nearly fast enough to put distance between the bike and a V8 Charger in Hot Pursuit, as the ride of the Harley in the video found out. He topped out his bike several times over the course of a highway chase, with the Charger in pursuit easily keeping pace. Eventually, the Harley rider figured out he wasn’t going to outrun the Charger on the highway, so he left the highway and nearly did get away, but not because he was faster. The two-lane secondary road he tried to lose the cop on gave him the advantage a motorcycle – any motorcycle – always has over a car. A bike can easily pass a car that would otherwise prevent a pursuing car from easily passing. A bike can exploit narrow shoulders and not-much-space in between on the road itself. A pursuing cop has to find room to get around a car in the way; if the car in the way doesn’t move off onto the shoulder quickly (or at all) the pursuing cop loses the advantage of superior speed as his prey increases the distance between them.
The Harley rider might have lost his pursuer if he’d turned off the two-lane he was on when he’d gotten out of visual sight of the pursuing cop. Once out-of-sight, you are almost home free. But you can’t let the fear give you tunnel vision and keep going on the road you’re on, because you probably only have a few seconds at most before the cop gets around the car that was slowing him down, closes the distance and gets you back in his sights. What you want to do – once you are certain you re out of sight – is take the second right (or left) but never the first as that is the one the pursuing cop is likely to (correctly assume) in most cases you took.
You want to confuse him with possibilities.
Most of all, you want to buy yourself minutes (not just seconds). The longer you are out of sight, the more likely it is you’ll escape. Take as many additional turns as you can and then find a place to lay low. You want the bike (and yourself) to be out of sight for at least a couple of hours before you even think about trying a Channel Dash back to safety. The best safeguard is to hide the bike someplace safe and make your way home some other way. Come back for the bike later. Ideally, bring a trailer. And a cover.
Even better, don’t try to outrun a cop on a Harley.
The right equipment for that is something that is both blindingly quick and fast. A sport bike, in other words. As quick and as fast as a cop car Charger is, there isn’t one made that’s as quick and fast as a liter bike. Nor as agile.
The sum and total of this is to remember the truism about not bringing a knife to a gun fight!
. . .
If you like what you’ve found here please consider supporting EPautos.
We depend on you to keep the wheels turning!
Our donate button is here.
If you prefer not to use PayPal, our mailing address is:
EPautos
721 Hummingbird Lane SE
Copper Hill, VA 24079
PS: Get an EPautos magnet or sticker or coaster in return for a $25 or more one-time donation or a $10 or more monthly recurring donation. (Please be sure to tell us you want a magnet or sticker or coaster – and also, provide an address, so we know where to mail the thing!)
If you’d like a Baaaaa hat or other EPautos gear, see here!
Nice video, and good article. That’s the route we take to the Mayflower AGFC range most Sundays, only he turned left a couple hundred yards too early and went into the hunting dog training area.
Back in the day, they did not have such sophisticated dash cams. Now, if they get you plate and its really your legitimate plate, you are not getting away.
It used to be great fun way out in the country, you go flying over a blind crest only to pass a cop going the other way. And you have to figure how long you will be out of his line of site, how long it will take him to turn etc.
What sucks is, once you commit to running you pretty much better keep running. I’ve never seen a YouTube video where the guy just pulls over and says, “Yeah, I, uh, changed my mind.”
Indeed, Matt!
I’ve done it a few times. If you do it, be sure you’re committed to it – and be sure you have a shot at getting out of the cop’s sight quickly and that you have an escape route. It is imperative to get off the road and into hiding as quickly as possible and then hunker down. This sort of thing is very doable on a sport bike, if you can ride. If not, just pull over.
115 for new harleys, if you have an old 5 speed from the 80s you wont break 100 stock. Guy could have slowed and gone up the hill to a secondary road, I saw no fences keeping people on the highway
NJ State Trooper Kills ex-Girlfriend, Her New Boyfriend in Murder-suicide
https://nypost.com/2025/08/05/us-news/new-jersey-state-trooper-lt-ricardo-santos-kills-veterinarian-ex-girlfriend-lauren-semanchik-her-new-boyfriend-in-murder-suicide/
See, peasants… this is why only the cops should carry guns, because only they are disciplined and mentally stable enough…
Stupid pursuit. Cops Beauford & Buzzard should have called it off in heavy traffic. Drivers they passed will do silly things at those speeds. Like stop,turn left etc. All over a speeding ticket. That is what helicopters are for.
Tori o: “That is what helicopters are for.” And those quaint black boxes called radios. But what is the fun in that?
Whoa, wait just a doggone minute. I thought lane splitting on two wheels was so de rigueur. Wasn’t there a conversation on this shortly ago?
It certainly is a fool hardy thing to do but, it’s not a criminal act. However, I’ve yet to meet a cop that wasn’t just itching to be in “hot pursuit” at the drop of a hat.
It **IS** a criminal act in US states that have laws against it. And many do. Lane-splitting is just asking for trouble sooner or later – trouble that can get you killed. It’s really dumb.
Nice try clover
Traffic violations (like lane splitting) are a civil infractions.
They are not a criminal offense.
Go troll elsewhere.
https://www.cottrelllawoffice.com/arkansas-motorcycle-laws/#Is_Lane_Splitting_Legal_in_Arkansas
“The statutes make no reference to lane sharing, lane filtering, or lane splitting in Arkansas.
Lane splitting (also known as riding the stripe or white lining) refers to the practice of driving a motorcycle between lanes of moving traffic. Lane filtering, a similar practice, describes riding the stripe between lanes of stopped traffic. Lane sharing occurs when two motorcycles ride side-by-side in a single lane.
Arkansas law does not explicitly allow lane splitting. While some states recognize lane splitting under certain conditions, Arkansas maintains a conservative stance and does not permit the practice.
Operators should always know the local laws for motorcycle operation and take every possible precaution to remain safe on the roadways.”
If he would have stopped it would have been an undefined traffic violation. Probably get a slip of paper making you forfeit some of your money.
It did turn into a more serious crime by alluding. Which is bullshit but the laws are written to give AGWs any reason to make a minor infraction or even no infraction at all into a criminal offense.
Stop Resisting!
I ran from a cop in my CB450 Honda, back in ‘73. The benefit to me the cop was already working on a traffic stop, I went by 40 in a 25. He turned and screamed “STOP” – no way porky! I took a total back road/neighborhood road route home whew home safe.
High school buddy was legend for outsmarting the town bacon boys on his single cylinder dirt bike. Unlicensed unmuffled dirt bike, the cop did a 180 the chase was on. What worked was the cops couldn’t go off-road so he had great fun, out on pavement, back in the woods two cruiser cops trying to get him. He knew all the trails thru the woods all the way home.
Never Run From a
CopG-man While Riding a Harley“I am proud to announce that Director Kash Patel has approved my request for the FBI to assist state and local law enforcement in locating runaway Texas House Democrats.” — Senator John Cornyn
State legislators failing to show up for duty is purely an internal state matter. And it’s essentially a civil matter, not a crime, as there is no victim.
Using the FBI praetorian guard to hunt down AWOL state legislators is a fresh degeneracy, as the Orange Hemorrhoid eviscerates the rule of law, while setting off a nationwide race to the bottom to gerrymander every state’s Congressional districts.
The R-party is still going to lose control of the House in the midterm election, as they richly deserve. No more will we be obliged to watch a slimeball Christian Zionoid like Speaker Johnson dine with an at-large mass murderer in an occupied territory.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-speaker-mike-johnson-dines-with-netanyahu-in-west-bank-settlement-of-shiloh/
Careful what you wish for. The Republicans are horrible, but Democrats are always worse. One doesn’t intentially vote for someone who overtly states they are interested in killing you. Only the other guy.
The Democrats have zero to offer anyone.
Your point is acknowledged. It’s an ugly choice between zionoid totalitarians and communist totalitarians. My policy is to confront and fight the one in power, while flinging feces at the other one to delegitimize it.
Death to the Uniparty.
The Effa-uh-Bee-uh-Eye is now in charge of any investigation that crosses state lines. What I want to know is why they have an office in London, England…Africa and elsewhere.
https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/international-offices
My guess would be that once the legislators cross state lines in their dereliction of duty, the “internal state matter” goes out the window.
And you really DO need to get a life. The “Orange Hemorrhoid” is the best thing that’s happened to this country in DECADES. Get a clue. Does it hurt to be so stupid?
“The Orange Hemorrhoid is the best thing that’s happened to this country in DECADES” seriously man I want to know WFT you’ve been smoking since that is the most delusional thing I have read on this site in quite awhile.
WTF do you find so wonderful about the Orange Turd? His relentless narcissism? His economy destroying tariffs? The fellatio he performs at the feet of Bibi while the genocide continues?
The only thing positive from him has been reversing a handful of Joey Potatohead’s more egregious executive orders but then he has issued many egregious executive orders of his own so that is at best a wash.
I agree that bikers should be given free rein in traffic. It’s fun to see their brains scattered all over a backyard. I had a clown on a bike run from me in a neighborhood one night. I wasn’t even after him, but he was drunk and panicked. Around the next corner, which was a T intersection, he went straight and ran into the dead end of a privacy fence head on. We found his helmet split in two almost down the middle about a hundred yards away, Half his head was inside both halves. Keep giving those cops a good laugh.. after all, its worth it right?
A law enforcement officer was attempting to stop a speeding driver evading the chase, parked on the shoulder with the stop strips on the highway, the speeding crazed driver rear-ended the Sheriff’s patrol car, the deputy was hiding in the front end, the impact killed the deputy instantly. That’s good for a laugh, eh?
Ever been at the scene of an accident where someone you know is in the ditch, ejected from the car and has fatal injuries?
The next day, your college classmate is dead.
You’re there to witness the aftermath, his best friend was the driver, another classmate, and has never recovered.
It ain’t that funny.
Bob: Thanks for the insight into your callous personality as a cop. Although, I can’t say I’m surprised that cops take pleasure in the violent demise of fellow human beings. Good fun, right?
You are a sick person who needs help but probably is beyond it. Go eat a donut and take some more roids. Beat a grandmother up.
You are a sick fuck, Bob
“Half his head was inside both halves.”
Seeing something like that would certainly change a man. How it changes you is the question. It seems to have changed Bob for the worse, making a monster out of him. He declares it to be “fun” to witness such atrocities. The brain’s coping mechanisms probably made Bob more distant and cold afterwards.
Hopefully he was using a bit of snark, and not seriously experiencing joy at the time. He may have felt a bit of responsibility for the outcome due to his presence being the cause of the rider’s initial recklessness, even though he “wasn’t even after him”.
I’d be curious to know whether Bob always showed signs of psychopathy, or if it only started after he became a goon of the state and witnessed/caused suffering to his fellow man.
Cops have to pass what is called the “MMPI”, or “Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Index”. It’s a test which we’re TOLD is mean to “keep crazy cops with guns off the streets”.
We’ve all seen enough to know that the reason given for the MMPI is absolute BS.
The REAL reason for the MMPI is they’re looking for people with 1: inherently low intelligence (ask any cop what else they’re trained to do – 95% of the time, the answer is “nothing”). People with low intelligence can’t grasp that the things they do are unlawful and morally wrong, and they will obediently follow orders, even ones most intelligent people know would be wrong. (Put on a mask or go to jail.)
2: The second thing the MMPI looks for is people with extremely low empathy. The last thing they want, or need, is a cop that might feel sorry for the lives they destroy “just doing their job”. This is actually reflected in their propensity for committing domestic violence – if they REALLY cared about their wives, they wouldn’t kick their asses for fun.
So, by their very nature, every single cop that has ever passed the MMPI is a low-IQ, low-empathy, obedient little drone. If your IQ is too high, or empathy score too high, you simply fail the test and can’t be a cop. Any cop that has ever passed the MMPI likely can’t pass any other test and was probably ex-military with low ASVAB scores.
The bad ones revel in these facts and enjoy causing misery. The ones that actually have souls eventually wind up killing themselves. This is why police suicide letters are revealed to the public – other cops might have a light go in in their little noggins if they woke up to the truth about who they actually are but are too dumb to realize.
When WE start controlling what they test people for before they become cops, we’ll hopefully start to prioritize intelligence and empathy, rather than what they do now.
This is why police suicide letters are NEVER revealed to the public.
An edit function would rock.
Also, it’s “Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory”, I always get the I confused with “Index” for some reason…probably because it makes more sense.
Methinks “Bob” is either: a teenager living in his mommie’s basement; the guys at Princeton having fun on the internet again. Don’t feed the troll.
I agree that coppers should be given free doughnuts. It’s fun to see their fat asses attempt to run across a backyard. I saw a cop run after me in a neighborhood one night. I wasn’t even faster than him, but he was fat and eating pancakes. Around the next corner, which was a T intersection, he went straight and ran into a dead end and did a face plant into the road headlong. The coroner found his aorta split in two almost down the middle. Half his blood was inside his chest cavity/. Keep giving those heart surgeons a good laugh… after all, doughnuts are worth it right?
You sound like a moron. Of course the doughnuts were not worth it…unless they were fresh out of the grease, still hot, and over-glazed to a point of obscenity…. then it would be arguable.
Yep, that was pretty dumb. Unless he just boosted the bike, he should have taken the lane split ticket and fight it in court. High speed chases are just what AGW’s want, hunt down a perp at 130mph on occupied public roads (the hell with public safety) and do the felony take down macarena. Not worth it but…
Back in the day in suburbia my brother and I, he on his 68 Suzuki 305 Raider, me on my 74 Yamaha 500, were driving 45 in a 35 when officer Dickman saw us driving coming from the opposite direction with his new radar. We both grabbed a hand full of throttle and split up. Both of us when out of sight of Dickman diving off the road into cover, while Dickman drove 100mph past my brother’s hiding spot. Got home an hour later and laid low. Oh, what fun it was back then.
I saw the law dog drive on the shoulders. Reckless speeding. Crossing the double yellow. Failed to signal. Following too closely. For what? A lane splitter? I bet the law dog got a pat on the back for all his law breaking to catch the “criminal”.
He passed an uninvolved motorcyclist in an unsafe fashion when overtaking another vehicle in front of him. Cop is in a cage with a bull bar on front.
But yeah, choose the right equipment. An apartment neighbor changed out the fairings on his sport bike for an all flat black look a month ago. I have yet to figure out why.
He got caught in the end, but David knows how to ride like the wind.
All the pigs had to do was follow Acosta until he arrived at his destination, then apply the law with not much trouble.
Over the top shark jumping is what you see.
I would have let it pass, not worth pursuing.
Coffee and donuts during your break, talk about it a little and give somebody a break, for gosh sakes.
The cop’s pursuit created way more danger to the public than the MC’s lane splitting. Retarded.
Retarded? Of course, and so is unprotected sex. Having done the pursuits, as well as the sex, I’d say it is a toss up.
Perhaps you lack perspective.
You can’t outrun a Motorola as the old saying goes. If their camera catches your plate they will just scoop you up later, so no, don’t think you can out run a cop.
Hi Peter,
It depends. It is damned hard to get a read on a plate from 20 yards away, especially if it’s a bike. And Motorola means nada if there’s not other cops near enough, fast enough. Of course, I live in the country and it’s easy out here to get out of sight. Once you are, you’re home free, if you stay out of sight.
All that snazzy new surveillance gear is even more impossible (if that’s correct grammar) to run from, too.
“ You can’t outrun a Motorola “
Well, you’d think so & I knew that one from back in the day.
In today times, not so much. We had a fatal gang shoot in our little central WA town. City cops were on it within minutes, witnesses described the getaway car and the road they took westbound out of town. Finally got stopped 80 some miles west on I-90, mom and sister only in the car somewhere along the way he bailed or they were decoys to start with. He wasn’t caught till months later.
So – in a hour plus getaway run you couldn’t chopper up, close all freeway access, obtain mutual aid from county, state, town/city police? We couldn’t believe it.
Meanwhile the days click by to Oct 31 when the second half of my $5k property tax is due. Also we pay an extra 1/10% on sales tax here for a “gang unit” not sure what that actually goes to since gangs are everywhere including the local jr high and high school. Disgusting gang tagging all over town.
I don’t care if it was a Harley or a Kawasaki crotch rocket. Bikers do stupid things like lane splitting or driving in and out of the traffic and medians like they own the roads. In New York State where I live lane splitting is against the law, but the two times I’ve been to Cali and they do any5hing they want to plus they don’t have to wear helmets.
One is shocked — shocked — that riding bare-headed is tolerated in the libertine West. /sarc
Helmet laws are applied in Cultifornia
So? How many accidents are caused by lane splitting and not wearing helmets? What is the cost to society? I would wager that it is the noise floor. Who cares what they do or do not do? Bikers are not the cause of many accidents, injuries and fatalities on the nation’s highways. Ignorant, oblivious and disrespectful drivers are. Drivers training, not traffic laws, would solve a lot of those issues
Meh, nowadays, people forget any “drivers training” they ever had soon as it’s over. Then, in their addled minds, is time to “rock ‘n roll”.
Get out on the road, pull out yer trusty smartphone, and get busy TikToking, “X”ing, texting, checking email … ANYTHING but DRIVING the damned car. And speed limits are for “other people” – we don’t need no steenkin’ speed limits – get outta’ my way, or I’ll run your ass over.
Car drivers now are arrogant, disrespectful, and totally oblivious of the risk they are to others. And you want “drivers training”…right. /sarc
Hi Vera,
Why should motorcycle riders be forced to wear helmets? Do you want to be forced to eat your broccoli?
Always funny to read the comments and see how many sheep beg for their own enslavement.
Worse yet, they can’t stand to see anyone that has even a smidge for freedom or courage than they have.
With respect to pulling a runner, you either know the score or you don’t.
I’ll add why should MC and trike riders have to pass additional testing & pay for an “endorsement” on the state driver license? What glaring hazard are we to the motoring public on a 400-800 lb rig?
Salt in the wound is some geezer can buy a class A motor home the size of a transit bus & off he goes, no endorsement for him! Said geezer ran a buddy, on his Harley, off the road on the 101 coastal highway in Oregon. Fortunately he banged up his elbow was all & bike was ride-able home to WA.
Morning, Sparkey!
Absolutely. The height of the absurdity is that you ride your bike to the DMV to take the “road test” in the parking lot. Unlike driving a car – which any ape could do – it takes basic skills just to ride a bike, at all. You have to be able to balance it, shift gears, steer by lean – all of that. If a person was able to ride their machine to the DMV, then they can ride. The whole thing is another kabuki performance put on by the government to justify controlling and mulcting us.
What business is it of yours whether one chooses to wear a helmet or not?
Helmet laws are applied in Cultifornia helmet laws applied
Sound like you have a case of The Vapors. You should probably restrict yourself to bedrest.
What a waste of tax payer funds. The cop should have let it pass . It was a safe lane split .
No such thing. Do it, and sooner or later, it’ll bite you in the ass, if it doesn’t kill you. Car drivers are NOT looking for motorcycles to begin with, much less motorcycles where they’re not supposed to be. And I’ve been riding for 68 years.
Long ago, I would lose cops by getting off of the road and going places they could not follow in a big car.
Police cars are modified in some ways. For instance the 2013 Chevy Impala with the V6 isn’t speed limited and can get to about 150 mph. This car also has 305 hp, heavy duty cooling, special police brakes, heavy duty suspension. You can buy them used but they are very spartan looking. The seats are made of plastic which are easy to clean if a perp decides to vomit his contents after a night of drinking. Best to find a police car that was used for administrative purposes.
From one of the greatest movies:
https://youtu.be/jKmuKjpKPIo
A old detective’s car is also a good bet.
Completely off-topic: US Air Force to use Tesla cyber trucks as targets
The comments on the article are priceless
https://www.twz.com/land/air-force-wants-tesla-cybertrucks-to-launch-missiles-at
I would like to see the effects of a small land mine on the battery pack.
I never had the balls to lane split. In California’s gridlocked traffic, I guess it makes sense. Anywhere and anytime else it seems an unnecessary risk.
Morning, MH!
I wouldn’t lane split, either. All it would take to ruin my day – and maybe end my life – would be for one Clover to decide to pull out suddenly. This kind of thing can of course also happen in traffic, but probably the overall risk is less because the traffic is usually more diffuse. Passing inches away from a dozen essentially pared cars on either side of you is too much for my comfort level.
True story: I was driving in south Florida one time with my father-in-law and brother-in-law and we saw the unthinkable. A Sentra or Altima (I can’t remember which) lane split in between an F-150 and a Silverado at 90 mph on I-75, with the mirrors of the Nissan maybe a foot away from the sheet metal of the trucks.
My brother-in-law said the driver had lifeless eyes, probably higher than an SR-71 on drugs.
Gee, I didn’t know SR-71s took drugs…
Kind of like being in a miata centered between 2 semis on the freeway.
It is best not to get between those 2 semis.
The funny thing is that lane splitting in Arkansas is “Not specifically prohibited in state law” putting it in a grey zone. So it’s legal but if the cop feels like it’s reckless driving he’ll pull you over. In other words the rider might have been able to beat the ticket in court; the odds of beating the tickets and charges he got after a high speed pursuit not so much.