Police Bike a good choice for touring?

Mark Olson wrote:
> Nothing bad to say about the KZ1000P, I've owned three Kawasaki fours
> and think they're good bikes. However, I think you would be better
> off with a used Concours if you want a budget tourer. I don't see
> special wheels and tires as a plus, by the way.

Hi Mark...

I've got a 2000 Concours and it is an excellent touring machine that I
enjoy very much. I had a '76 GW LTD Special Edition that I enjoyed,
too.

I just like the looks and 'feel' of the Police 1000 and the special
'run-flat' Dunlops appeals to me, anything I can use for safety and/or
reliability is a plus for me <g>.

Thanks for the feedback!

Best,

James
 >> Stay informed about: Police Bike a good choice for touring? 

James Prine wrote:
> After having seen some of the 'decommissioned' Kawasaki Police 1000
> motorcycles available at several outlets, I was wondering if anyone
> else had viewed them as viable choices for light solo touring?
>
> Most of these have mileage around 50k, and have extremely comfortable
> saddles, extensive crash bar protection, hard bags, heavy-duty
> electrical systems, decent fairings, storage, windshield, decent
> lighting, heavy-duty suspension, special wheels and tires, riding
> boards, etc., etc.
>
> In short, a GW for the budget-conscious <g>.
>
> Any thoughts or comments?

Nothing bad to say about the KZ1000P, I've owned three Kawasaki fours
and think they're good bikes. However, I think you would be better
off with a used Concours if you want a budget tourer. I don't see
special wheels and tires as a plus, by the way.

--
'01 SV650S '99 EX250-F13 '98 ZG1000-A13 '81 CM400T
OMF #7
 >> Stay informed about: Police Bike a good choice for touring? 

James Prine wrote:
> Mark Olson wrote:
>> Nothing bad to say about the KZ1000P, I've owned three Kawasaki fours
>> and think they're good bikes. However, I think you would be better
>> off with a used Concours if you want a budget tourer. I don't see
>> special wheels and tires as a plus, by the way.
>
> Hi Mark...
>
> I've got a 2000 Concours and it is an excellent touring machine that I
> enjoy very much. I had a '76 GW LTD Special Edition that I enjoyed,
> too.
>
> I just like the looks and 'feel' of the Police 1000 and the special
> 'run-flat' Dunlops appeals to me, anything I can use for safety and/or
> reliability is a plus for me <g>.
>
The K1000's here seem to be incredibly reliable. The police leave them
idling (!!) while trying to catch folks on the roads using their radar
guns. I've never heard of any air cooled which can do this. OTOH, police
bikes would, I suspect, have a lot of wear before they're put up for
auction or surplus sales. The police here have moved to RT's and I don't
know why. The RT12 has the 'death brakes' while the RT11.5 often surged
so much that it was un-ridable. Some RT11XX's had death brakes too.

I've run Tourances with nails in them for as much as 10 miles on the
sidewall alone (zero air pressure) making them somewhat of a run flat
tire, but I've not pushed it beyond that. I think that with modern
tubeless tires, the need for run flats for we citizens isn't too strong.
If it compromises the feel of the tire, I'd pass.
 >> Stay informed about: Police Bike a good choice for touring? 

James Prine wrote:

> I just like the looks and 'feel' of the Police 1000 and the special
> 'run-flat' Dunlops appeals to me, anything I can use for safety and/or
> reliability is a plus for me <g>.

I am not familiar with those tires, but if indeed the rims are special
ones that are made to only work with those particular tires, getting
replacements while on a trip might turn out to be a bit inconvenient.

It's not a problem for police use since the department will have spares
and the bikes aren't used for touring.

--
'01 SV650S '99 EX250-F13 '98 ZG1000-A13 '81 CM400T
OMF #7
 >> Stay informed about: Police Bike a good choice for touring? 

I saw an ex-police Kawasaki on a lawn in my neighborhood with a 'for
sale' sign on it a couple ofyears ago. I was curious about it so I
rang the guy's bell, asked him a few questions, and offered to post it
on ba.motorcycles and Craigslist for him.

He did funeral escort as a part-time job. He'd used the 1000 for
that, but now had a newer, better one. He said you get a lot of
respect on these bikes. He even had a 'uniform' that looked very
official.

I asked him about touring, that was my idea too. He said it was
lousy for touring. He had a Goldwing in the garage (an older, smaller
one, early 80s) and said that was MUCH superior for long distances.
He'd toured all over the state on the GW but couldn't ride the Kawi
for more than an hour or so. The Kawi was not especially
good-handling, he said, or fuel efficient. What was nice about it was
the power and acceleration.
 >> Stay informed about: Police Bike a good choice for touring? 

Blazing wrote:
> He did funeral escort as a part-time job. He'd used the 1000 for
> that, but now had a newer, better one. He said you get a lot of
> respect on these bikes. He even had a 'uniform' that looked very
> official.

Now, that is interesting. Here in Louisiana, no one but a commissioned
law enforcement officer would legally be able to perform escort duty of
that nature, especially with an official-looking uniform, which would
probably be construed as false personation of an officer around here.

I've always wondered why someone on the way to be buried *needs* to get
there as fast as possible. I'd rather that my last ride takes as long
as possible, but that's just me, I guess <g>. I do know of two New
Orleans metro area policemen who were killed in crashes while
performing escorts, and another local jurisdiction had an officer
maimed for life that way.

> I asked him about touring, that was my idea too. He said it was
> lousy for touring. He had a Goldwing in the garage (an older, smaller
> one, early 80s) and said that was MUCH superior for long distances.
> He'd toured all over the state on the GW but couldn't ride the Kawi
> for more than an hour or so.

Well, I've heard that complaint from riders who couldn't stand Kawasaki
Connies....they complained of 'the buzz', etc. I've never encountered
that problem, and besides, it can be easily rectified anyway. I can
ride mine all day without any complaints whatsoever, but then I'm an
addict <g>.

>The Kawi was not especially
> good-handling, he said, or fuel efficient. What was nice about it was
> the power and acceleration.

I do like the power and the acceleration, but from what I've
experienced, the handling is fine, for a machine of that design. Not a
sport machine, but not a glitzy underpowered cruiser, either. I don't
know about the fuel efficiency, though any bike I've ever owned was
much more efficient than a 4-wheeler.

Thanks!

Best,

James
 >> Stay informed about: Police Bike a good choice for touring? 

Timberwoof wrote:

> CHP officers I've spoken with do not like the Kawasakis. They say they
> are unreliable and need a lot of maintenance. The crash bar is to
> protect the engine, not you.

LOL...if the crash bar protects the engine, I'm satisfied. The Police
1000 has that breakaway windshield mounting system, too. But I'm
interested in that the CHP guys thought the Kaw was unreliable and a
maintenance hog. I want to check further into that; it piques my
curiosity.

> Otoh, I want a BMW R1100RT-P or R1150RT-P, the police version of the
BMW
> tourer. These get retired by the CHP after 60,000 miles and tend to go
> for ~$7k. People who ride them say they get an unusual amount of respect
> from cagers. I like the killer-whale graphics.

I have nothing but respect for the BMW machines.

Thanks!

Best,

James
 >> Stay informed about: Police Bike a good choice for touring? 

"James Prine" <jsprine.DeleteThis@aol.com> wrote

> I've always wondered why someone on the way to be buried *needs* to get
> there as fast as possible.

They don't. The motorcycle escort is there to stop traffic at intersections
so that the funeral cortège won't get separated on the way to the burial,
with the result that some out-of-town attendees might never find the
cemetery.

It's just a polite gesture of honor towards the departed; sort of like
lifting your hat to your wife's hearse as it passes the golf course where
you're playing.

Pete
 >> Stay informed about: Police Bike a good choice for touring? 

On 11 Sep 2006 13:05:11 -0700, "James Prine" <jsprine DeleteThis @aol.com> wrote:

>Now, that is interesting. Here in Louisiana, no one but a commissioned
>law enforcement officer would legally be able to perform escort duty of
>that nature, especially with an official-looking uniform, which would
>probably be construed as false personation of an officer around here.

You can tell they're not official, but you have to look carefully. On
the freeway, though, people recognize just the outline of the bike in
their rear-view and slow down and make way.

In California police Kawis have red and blue lights on the sides of
the front of the fairing. Civilians are not allowed ot use these
lights, and I understand bikes aren't allowed to be sold with them.
I've seen used bikes for sale with these lights covered up in
easily-removable masking tape. 8^)

>I've always wondered why someone on the way to be buried *needs* to get
>there as fast as possible. I'd rather that my last ride takes as long
>as possible, but that's just me, I guess <g>. I do know of two New
>Orleans metro area policemen who were killed in crashes while
>performing escorts, and another local jurisdiction had an officer
>maimed for life that way.

I was going to answer this but Pete answered it well enough. Funeral
escorts don't have any real legal power to stop traffic, so the
'official' look helps.

>Well, I've heard that complaint from riders who couldn't stand Kawasaki
>Connies....they complained of 'the buzz', etc. I've never encountered
>that problem, and besides, it can be easily rectified anyway. I can
>ride mine all day without any complaints whatsoever, but then I'm an
>addict <g>.

I have heard that some Connies can be de-buzzed with that adjustment,
but some can't. 8^) It does make a better tourer anyway, I'm sure.
 >> Stay informed about: Police Bike a good choice for touring? 

P.Roehling wrote:

> They don't. The motorcycle escort is there to stop traffic at intersections
> so that the funeral cortège won't get separated on the way to the burial,
> with the result that some out-of-town attendees might never find the
> cemetery.

That is a good point, though I imagine these days with onboard GPS and
cellphone and radio communications on many vehicles the escort
service's days are numbered.

> It's just a polite gesture of honor towards the departed; sort of like
> lifting your hat to your wife's hearse as it passes the golf course where
> you're playing.

Like Hell...she was the caddy. It's a little-known secret, but caskets
make GREAT ice chest/golf bag combos, and when one is wielding a
casket, playing through is virtually guaranteed.

Best,

James
 >> Stay informed about: Police Bike a good choice for touring? 

Blazing wrote:

> You can tell they're not official, but you have to look carefully. On
> the freeway, though, people recognize just the outline of the bike in
> their rear-view and slow down and make way.

In and around New Orleans, people tend to treat police motorcycles as
nothing more than garishly illuminated, noisy targets. After all, we
have drive-thru daiquiri shops where booze is literally (and legally)
sold by the gallon. One of the local sheriffs disbanded his motorcycle
division after too many injuries, totalled bikes, and civil suits made
it impractical. But then, those deputies were working weddings and
funerals as cash details, in preference to their official duties.

> In California police Kawis have red and blue lights on the sides of
> the front of the fairing. Civilians are not allowed ot use these
> lights, and I understand bikes aren't allowed to be sold with them.
> I've seen used bikes for sale with these lights covered up in
> easily-removable masking tape. 8^)

Yes, in Louisiana, no one other than a full-time, commissioned law
enforcement officer on official duty can possess, operate, transport,
etc., a blue police-type light, though there are exemptions for
dealers. They had too many pseudo-cops running around playing police
and finally had some legislation passed addressing that issue.

I distinctly remember a case where 4 New Orleans punks had stolen an
unmarked police car and made the mistake of making a 'traffic stop' in
Houston (before Katrina) and one of the people they stopped was a
plainclothes Houston police sergeant <g>.

By the way, sworn law enforcement or not, we are all civilians, unless
we're in the military and subject to the UCMJ. Most cops misuse the
term because they don't know the difference, either, particularly with
constant TV input to the contrary.

> I was going to answer this but Pete answered it well enough. Funeral
> escorts don't have any real legal power to stop traffic, so the
> 'official' look helps.

I just wonder if that practice should still be maintained? After the
number of real policemen I've seen killed or crippled performing
wedding and funeral escorts, I wonder if some genius will devise a
safer, non-traditional method for getting this accomplished?

Best,

James
 >> Stay informed about: Police Bike a good choice for touring?