�This exercise is known as the �keyhole� because the entrance gate and circle of cones look like an old-fashioned lock keyhole. The entrance gate is five feet wide, the 360-degree circle is 18 feet in diameter. Enter the gate cones then immediately lock the bars all the way to the right in full lean, switch to full lock left in full lean-slight scraping of the floorboards as you lean lets you know that you�re as far as you should go-complete the 360-degree turn, then exit through the entrance gate. Clip a cone or dump the bike and the exercise is a wash. Any questions?� CRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNCCCCCHHHH!

It�s day two of Police Motorcycle Operator training and the horrible sound of engine guards digging into asphalt doesn�t even draw the attention of the nineteen law enforcement officers in attendance any more. They�ve all mastered the art of picking up downed motorcycles after dozens of practical learning experiences on the results of sucking in a clutch or not maintaining proper RPM�s during slow-cone maneuvers. The old saying "If someone says they've never dropped a motorcycle, they're either incredibly gifted--or they're lying!" really comes into play in this course. Egos are quickly humbled after having to pick up a "dropped" motorcycle a few dozen times before learning the right combination of balance, and physical technique.

Later in the first week anxiety levels increase when the emphasis switches to speed and braking exercises.

�The �Brake and Escape� is next. Hit the entrance cones for the �braking chute� at 40 MPH-no more and no less. You�ll have 62 feet to combination-brake. At the end of the chute you�ll make two full-lock, full-lean 90-degree turns in a 5�x8� space, simulating stopping in front of and steering around an unexpected obstacle. Clip a cone, stall the bike, or put a foot down and the exercise is a no-go.� Even after half a day of emergency braking exercises, the yellow barrier tape at the end of the braking chute becomes a decoration on most of the bikes, and no traffic cone is safe during the first few runs of the exercise.

Later, students will learn to properly negotiate the �30MPH cone weave,� their speed clocked at the beginning, middle, and end of the exercise with radar guns. Flattened cones are tell-tale signs of a student who is trying to lean as he or she weaves instead of the proper �push-push� counter steering that is the only way to make directional changes at this speed and at this distance.

Nine exercises are tested at the end of the second week, none of which raises the �pucker factor� more than the �180-degree DECEL.� Incorporating all of the braking, steering, slow-speed maneuvering, and friction zone clutch manipulation that the other eight tested exercises teach. The 180 separates the big dogs from the puppies, requiring students to brake from 35 MPH in less than 50 feet, make two full-lean, full-lock 90-degree turns, followed with a 180-degree turn within a space that leaves just inches between the cones and a properly-guided Harley police motorcycle.

For fifteen years, the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety and Harley-Davidson�s Police and Fleet Sales Division have collaborated to present one of the most physically and mentally challenging law enforcement training courses in the world. The only police motorcycle training program that is Company-sponsored, a three-week "Instructor" course is overlapped with each two-week "Operator" course in a rather unique curriculum.

For the first week, Instructor candidates set up the exercises, practice demonstrating and lecturing the exercises, and focus on adult learning techniques under the supervision of staff instructors. At the end of the first week, the Instructor candidates must pass a very stringent practical exam--the same exercises that the Operator students will have to perform (if you can't do it, you shouldn't teach it). The second and third weeks, the Instructor candidates actually teach the Operator students under the close supervision of staff instructors, giving them a unique exposure to the instruction process.

The two-week OPERATOR class is designed for the police officer/sheriff's deputy who has been selected to be assigned to a motorcycle unit. Less than eight hours of the 80-hour program is spent in the classroom, the vast majority of the time is spent "in the saddle."

Two distinct skill sets are taught, mirroring the skills a police motorcyclist uses every day; very slow-speed maneuvers and traffic negotiation at medium- to high-speed. During the two-week course, students master slow-speed techniques, braking, evasive techniques, and the types of formal riding that would be seen in parades and Dignitary escorts by practicing carefully-designed exercises.

Nine of these exercises are tested as part of the practical examination at the end of the second week, and include slow cone weaving exercises, 360-degree turns, intersection negotiations, high-speed braking, evasive techniques (high speed braking followed by very tight, 90-degree turns to simulate stopping and avoiding an unexpected obstacle as well as instantaneous weaving to simulate avoidance of an obstacle under circumstances that do not permit braking), and others.

The course is extremely challenging, a frequent comment on class evaluations is "I've been a police officer for ten years and this is the toughest course I've ever taken, tougher than SWAT training, defensive tactics, anything!" The mental and physical stress of the training is compounded on "test day," and unfortunately, not everyone passes.

Because police motorcycle operation is such a high-liability assignment, many departments will not allow officers to even touch a department motorcycle without successful completion of formal training. A wide variety of students take the course, men and women with varying levels of training and experience. Typically, as many as half of the students in an operator course have either never ridden a motorcycle before, or haven't ridden in a long time, and half have as many as twenty years recreational riding experience. Interestingly, the success rate is actually higher for those with little or no previous experience as years of "bad habits" can be difficult to overcome.

There are approximately 18 staff instructors for the program, all of whom either have been or currently are Police Motorcycle officers. A typical 3-week set of classes will have two staff instructors, 10 Instructor Students, and 14-18 Operator Students. Police Departments or Sheriff's offices "host" the courses in exchange for a free seat in the class--providing a classroom and a suitable parking lot space (typically the size of three football fields).

The training program runs year-round, with roughly 45 weeks of training each year all over the country. In the winter months, courses are presented in Texas, Florida, Mississippi, and other southern states. As the weather gets warmer in the spring, the program moves from the east coast (New Hampshire, New Jersey) to the Midwest in the summer months (Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin) and then towards the west coast in the fall (Washington, California, Colorado) and then backs to the south for the cold months.

The program is an excellent example of how a major corporation can team up with an educational institution to enhance the safety of police officers. Harley Davidson Motor Company, through its Police and Fleet Sales Division, provides the motorcycles, parts, and a full-time mechanic for the program--an enormous financial investment. Northwestern University provides administrative support, curriculum development, and the instructors for the program. Together, the Police Motorcycle Training Program has trained over 2,500 police and public safety personnel in the fifteen years the program has been in existence.

There are a handful of similar programs around the country, but this is the only one with the corporate support of Harley-Davidson. What makes the program unique is that the motorcycles are provided for the students. The current fleet of motorcycles consists of half "Road Kings" and half "Dyna Defender" police motorcycles--identical to those motorcycles used by police agencies around the world.

By providing the motorcycles for the program, students can truly "push the envelope" without fear of damage to agency motorcycles. The bikes in the fleet literally spend half of their lives on their sides, as students learn how to lean the bikes while properly manipulating the clutch, throttle and brake. On rare occasions, a department will insist that their officer use the department-owned motorcycle for the training program. Typically, those motorcycles return to the agency with $1,400-$2,000 of cosmetic damages at the end of the two week program--an obvious incentive for departments to choose to use motorcycles provided by the program!

Students develop an incredible amount of respect for the capabilities of these Harley-Davidson police motorcycles, beginning the first day. By the end of two weeks, students are maneuvering these massive V-twins through exercises that most people couldn't do with a bicycle. And all are amazed by the durability and "toughness" of the Harley Davidson motorcycles.

The exercises taught truly do "push the envelope," requiring officers to operate the motorcycles at 90-95% of their capability. Officers who successfully complete the course take these skills with them, into policing environments where maybe 80% of the capability is required. In the law enforcement training "game," it's crucial for mistakes to be made under the controlled environment to teach the skills that an officer will apply in real life.

The course is restricted to sworn law enforcement personnel only, but Northwestern and Harley-Davidson is investigating the possibility of establishing a similar (but less-demanding) civilian course.

Additional information can be found on the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety�s website, http://nucps.northwestern.edu on Harley-Davidson�s Police and Fleet Sales website, http://www.harley-davidsonpolicemotors.com or interested officers can contact Northwestern�s Police Training Division at 847-491-7241.