The use of motorcycles can be invaluable for law enforcement fleets, providing an easier way for officers to navigate through heavy traffic, allowing for a rapid incident response, and because of their versatility. Knowing when to replace them can lead to a healthier fleet.

We broke down some of the basics of motorcycle lifecycles and what to ask yourself when creating a replacement standard for your motor unit.

What is the Mission of Your Motor Unit?

Motorcycle use cases vary depending on the needs of your community. The lifecycle of a bike for a motor officer traveling most of their shift on a highway will differ from that of one who uses mostly city streets with more idling.

Consider the operational demands of the motorcycle: will it be used for traffic enforcement, patrols, escort services, or other use cases?

You should also consider how often throughout the year that the units are used. Are they used in the winter, or stored away? If you do use them in colder temperatures, your gas mileage might be lower, leading to higher fuel costs.

These factors can heavily influence the lifecycle of a motorcycle, Denver Police Fleet Supervisor Jeffrey Navarro said.

“All of our marked patrol motorcycles are required to perform frequent escort duty for visiting politicians and VIPs.  During these motorcades, the motorcycles usually run at high speeds for long periods of time from our airport to downtown, or some other metro area locations. On the other hand, the patrol units assigned to our Downtown Motorcycle Unit idle for hours at a time and do tons of low speed driving all day long,” Navarro explained.

Denver police officers use their motorcycles year-round, as long as roads are not snow- or ice-covered.

What Are the Maintenance Costs?

As with any vehicle, motorcycle maintenance and repair costs go up over time. Monitor maintenance records to identify when the costs exceed the motorcycle’s value.

If you’re running older model motorcycles, ensure the parts you will need for preventive maintenance and repairs are still readily available and affordable.

These factors also vary between make and model. Where one model might do well as you rack up the miles, another may experience more downtime or have higher replacement part costs.

What Does the Data Say?

Determine the average cost per mile for your motorcycles, which includes factors like maintenance and repair, parts, and fuel.

Using your own agency’s historical data can help you gain valuable insights. How long have your motorcycles lasted historically before they needed to be replaced? When during their lifecycle did the downtime begin to increase?

Going off of industry standards may not always work for your fleet, since use cases vary so heavily.

“We found that sometimes the maintenance requirements and standards that fit generally into a classification of type of vehicle don't necessarily fit the way we work. We use a lot of historical data to come up with when that replacement cycle needs to happen for our vehicles,” Navarro said.

If you are creating a new motor unit from the ground up, don’t forget to store data on maintenance and repair and mileage for your fleet. This will be invaluable as you create a replacement standard.

What Are the Resale Values?

Keep an eye on the depreciation rate of your motorcycles to ensure you can retain some value before it’s time to replace them.

“Part of our fleet replacement funding is supplemented by vehicle resale, so recovering some of this cost is key,” Navarro stressed.

All of Denver PD’s decommissioned vehicles are sold through a third-party auction site to maximize the resale value.

The Bottom Line: Your Replacement Standard Will Differ from Other Fleets

For Denver PD, the replacement cycle is five years and 25,000 miles. This may sound low to some, but this includes all of the previously mentioned factors.

Santa Clara County, California, Fleet Manager and MEMA NorCal Vice Chairperson David Worthington reached out to other MEMA members to see what their motorcycle fleet lifecycles are. They varied from a low of three years to a high of 12 years and 20,000 miles to 96,000 miles because of the use cases, maintenance costs, data, and resale values. These numbers can — and should — change from time to time.

“It is a best practice to review replacement criteria on a regular basis and adjust it as necessary based on the latest data available to minimize total cost of ownership (TCO) while maximizing operational in-service times,” Worthington suggested.