It’s big. It’s ridiculous. It’s impractical. To borrow a quote from my wife, this nearly 30-year-old police motorcycle is “right up my Straẞe.”
I don’t know what’s wrong with my brain that I am attracted to large, old bikes that I probably am not skilled enough to fix, but this thing definitely has my heart. I mean, imagine showing up anywhere astride this motorcycle. You’d get all the girls.
And by “all the girls” I mean “all the old men with beards and a penchant for fixing things with duct tape.” But you wouldn’t care, because you’d know that being unique is cool. And by that metric, there are few bikes cooler than a 30-year-old police motorcycle. Especially if that 30-year-old police motorcycle is the same model that the T-1000 android uses in Terminator 2.
Sure, everyone remembers the Harley-Davidson Fat Boy from that movie, but, actually, the most impressive bike was this one: ridden up a flight of stairs and through an office window.
Outside of using it to launch myself at helicopters, I feel this would also be an excellent touring motorcycle. In addition to being comfortable (by the nature of its intended use, this motorcycle was designed to be sat upon all day), and equipped with panniers and substantial fairing, it would be a hell of a conversation starter. Which is what you want on a road trip; the best parts of a journey often come in the people that you meet along the way.
WHAT THE AD SAYS
“1995 Kawasaki KZ1000 Police. Imported to the UK in 2012. Good condition, reliable, super comfortable tourer. Almost new tyres. Legendary Z1000 motor. Bike will be supplied with both red/blue pursuit lights and clear running lights (see photos) White, 3 owners.“
The bike has 51,292 miles on the clock; an MOT check suggests that only 4,578 of those miles have been acquired since it was imported 12 years ago. So, less than 400 miles a year. If the seller were to argue that they are getting rid of the bike simply because they don’t use it enough, I would believe them.
The MOT check also shows the bike is currently roadworthy and has a pretty good testing history, with all but one of its annual tests passed with flying colors. In 2022, it failed because the registration plate light didn’t work. Hardly something to fret about.
WHAT IS IT?
The KZ1000P was produced from 1982 to 2005. Driven by the same air-cooled 998cc inline four-cylinder engine that powered the Kawasaki Z1000 (1981-2005), the five-speed KZ1000P had 102 horsepower and 67 lb-ft of torque.
It’s a chunky beast, with a curb weight of 270 kg, but I suppose that adds stability at high speeds? The bike is reportedly capable of reaching speeds in excess of 130 mph.
Assembled in Lincoln, Nebraska, the KZ1000P was used by a number of police forces across the United States, reportedly more so in Western states. East of the Continental Divide it seems police forces were more fond of bikes built around the Harley-Davidson FL platform.
If that’s true, I’d guess it has to do with attitudes more than anything else. I can see how people east of the Continental Divide might be, on the whole, more traditionalist in their thinking. Certainly I can’t imagine a KZ1000P being used in the small Texas town that my parents grew up in (though, one did show up in the TV show “Walker Texas Ranger,” ridden by none other than Chuck Norris).
Doing a quick check of forums, it seems the only consistent issue these bikes face is that they don’t like being sat still for long periods of time and they don’t love being run cold. To some extent, that’s true of every motorcycle ever, but it’s certainly something I would expect of a 30-year-old machine.
IS IT BETTER THAN MY CURRENT MOTORCYCLE?
No. No, it is not. Well, not by most metrics, at least. The liquid-cooled 1043cc inline four that drives my 2012 Kawasaki Versys 1000 is a direct descendant of the engine that powered the KZ1000P. So, whatever goodness that may exist in that powerplant has been enhanced and improved upon for my bike ─ more power, more torque, and better fuel efficiency. Additionally, I’ve got ABS, traction control, riding modes, a better chassis, less curb weight, and a passenger seat.
All that said, I’ll be honest with you: I’ve spent some time seriously considering this thing. I mean, how could you not want to ride around on a cop bike? Especially because it appears the siren is still installed ─ the 8-year-old in me would love that.
According to the internet, parts are 95% compatible across the whole of the KZ1000P’s 23-year run. Add that to the fact it obviously also shares parts with the civilian Z1000 and it seems safe to assume that finding spares for this thing wouldn’t be too hard.
But 51,292 is a lot of miles. Especially if the bulk of those miles were earned in the act of serving and protecting the public. This is a bike that will have been ridden hard now and again (I found one forum comment suggesting that cops liked the KZ1000P because it was easier to ride up curbs than a Harley). Other times it will have been stuck crawling through parades. So, possibly some of the first parts I’d be looking for would be those necessary for rebuilding the transmission.
What puts me off most, though, is the thought that the experience of riding this bike might not be all that different from what I’ve already got. I mean, I have a large, white, ugly, four-cylinder Kawasaki that is ideally suited to big miles. Why would I want another one that’s less refined?
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