Talk:Kawasaki police motorcycles

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 3 external links on Kawasaki police motorcycles. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110707055003/http://1400gtrpatrol.com/images/GTR1400Enforcer2009.pdf to http://1400gtrpatrol.com/images/GTR1400Enforcer2009.pdf
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20100929213355/http://kawasakipolice.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=89%3Aidaho-state-police-motor-team&catid=38%3Akawasaki to http://www.kawasakipolice.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=89%3Aidaho-state-police-motor-team&catid=38%3Akawasaki
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20101129232402/http://ormondbeach.org/archives/41/10-08%20Weekly%20Review.pdf to http://www.ormondbeach.org/archives/41/10-08%20Weekly%20Review.pdf

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 11:38, 3 May 2017 (UTC)

Speedo Needle on Pursuit
I've read some crazy explanations of how the speedos worked. Most say that the speed at which the bike is traveling to catch the speeder is frozen to establish his mph. That's quite ridiculous because that is of the pursuit vehicle that must be traveling faster to catch the speeder...or alledged speeder. Any judge would find that insane, but that's the system they used. Personally, I find that explanation insane. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Longinus876 (talk • contribs) 06:29, 28 August 2020 (UTC)


 * Some jurisdictions actually require pacing to verify the radar reading for the radar reading to be admissible in court. What's more, it doesn't freeze the needle at the fastest velocity attained, it freezes the needle at the point at which the switch was thrown to turn the pursuit lights on. The switch in question is on the right handlebar, at the top of the side (not the ignition kill switch which actually on the top but just below that). It's a 3 way switch marked from left to right as P, M, and Off. M is the position that locks the second speedometer. Do note that it's a SECOND speedometer that is on the right side of the instruments, where a tachometer would normally go. The P position is Pursuit and turns the pursuit lights on. It also keeps the needle of the second speedometer frozen.
 * That way the police officer can pace the vehicle and flip the switch and then look at the second speedo when it's safe to do so. Note that taking your eyes off the rear bumper of the vehicle being paced to check the left speedo is less reliable than just pacing with your eyes on it and then hitting the switch.
 * Also while the second speedo was only present on the 1978 KZ1000-C, the M setting was present on the controls though to the 2005 KZ1000-P for some odd reason. Though only the KZ1000-C has the actual pin for it in the connector. That pin is visibly missing in the connector for the KZ1000-P. 2601:CA:8501:7C50:FDDE:CC4A:9133:F5A9 (talk) 02:43, 30 September 2023 (UTC)

Engine specs on KZ1000-P
I changed the listed KZ1000-P engine specs according to what is in the factory service manual for the bike. The specs that were listed are erroneous, and the same found all over the internet. As someone who owns and maintains 3 of these bikes as a hobby as well as for use by movie and TV productions filmed in the Atlanta area, I often find myself confronted with people who think they know better than Kawasaki's engineers do because they spent 5 seconds on Google.

Before anybody thinks to change the specs back, please consider looking up the specs for the KZ1000-C and the KZ1000-J. The C is the previous model of police bike and in fact it takes an expert eye to tell the difference between a 1981 KZ1000-C and a 1982-2005 KZ1000-P by looking at merely a photograph. Also the engine used by the KZ1000-P is identical to the KZ1000-J. The J started production in 1981, while the P began production in 1982. The C used the MkII not the J Model engine. Given the excact 1 year overlap there, and the fact that the '81 C has a nearly identical front fairing to the '82-'05 P, I suspect this is where the confusion started.

I am willing to provide access to my factory service manuals to confirm the modified specs if necessary.

Given that and the overall dimensions being off, I am pretty sure that the listed rake is wrong, but I do not know what the actual spec should be. I do know the castor is listed in the service manual as 63 degrees and the trail is listed as and I quote, "114mm (4.5)" Calculating the actual rake would probably be fruitless as it's dependent on the tire's diameter, and those tires are police run-flats that were never sold to the general public. I used to have a pair of them, but even if I still had them I don't have a caliper that big. Though if anyone wants to come out to the Atlanta area and take measurements of my 3 bikes (one is fully disassembled but that just makes measuring the angle on the neck easier), you're more than welcome to. 2601:CA:8501:7C50:FDDE:CC4A:9133:F5A9 (talk) 02:36, 30 September 2023 (UTC)