The Kawasaki police motorcycles have been produced in four series: Z1-P - A 1975 Kawasaki Z1 900 cc motorcycle, modified through the addition of a shop-installed kit, then in 1976 available factory-built as a police motorcycle •KZ900 Police Special - The 1977 KZ900 motorcycle, upgraded for use as a police motorcycle •KZ1000C Police - The first built-for-law-enforcement model, intended to compete with the Harley Davidson, 1978 - 1981 •KZ1000P Police - The most common model, 1982 - 2005, commonly known as the KZP All series have been equipped with windshields, saddleboxes, pursuit lights, and folding floorboards rather than footpegs. All are a single-rider version of the Universal Japanese Motorcycle design popular until the advent of specialized motorcycle designs divided the market into cruisers, sport bikes, touring bikes and other specialized applications. All series are also designed to carry radio communications equipment and are wired for electronic sirens. All have inline, 4-cylinder, normally aspirated four-stroke, double overhead-cam engines and chain drives, and larger generating systems than similar civilian models. C- and P-series Police Specials were also equipped with tires designed to stay on the rim in case of deflation. These run-flat tires, supplied by Dunlop, were able to increase safety significantly by enabling the rider to safely slow to a stop if the tires are damaged in a high-speed pursuit. However, the very thick sidewalls on run-flat tires transmit a much greater level of road shock to the handlebars, increasing rider fatigue; and also generated excess friction/heat which resulted in above average tire wear, prompting operating agencies to migrate to standard high-performance tires. As a result, Dunlop discontinued production of the run-flats. The most popular replacement tires are provided by Metzeler.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 06:38:30 +0000
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