The next time you see red and blue lights in your mirrors, they might be coming from a police-spec Kawasaki Concours 14 ABS.
Kawasaki is re-entering the police bike market by wielding the potent Concours 14 against BMW's R1200RT-P and Harley-Davidson's FLHTP. The Connies are modified by Beaudry Motors and feature a tighter turning radius and custom law enforcement equipment including an adjustable speedometer, a second wiring harness with 12 fused circuits, and a separate accessory battery. Costing between $16,000 and $22,000 per unit, the Concours 14 ABS claims an initial acquisition cost that's $2,000 less than comparable BMWs and Harleys, as well as a complete clutch replacement cost that's $400 cheaper than the German and American competition.
I've shot the breeze with several motorcycle officers who have expressed a personal preference for Honda ST1300s and BMW RTs, but I'm guessing-- at least based on my impressions of the Concours 14-- that Kawasaki's high horsepower steed might win over more than a few LEOs, especially since the last Kawi to see law enforcement duty was a 2004 version of the Ponch and Jon-era KZ1000-P. Apparently, it's a good time to be a motorcycle cop.
Related:
- 2010 Kawasaki Motorcycle Lineup
- 2010 Kawasaki Z1000 Review
- 2009 Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Review
- 2008 Kawasaki Concours 14 Review
- 2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250R Review
Photo © Kawasaki; click to enlarge
I keep considering buying one of those retired Kawasaki Police 1000 bikes, which are fairly abundant here in California. Now, I’m lusting after the Concours 14-based cop bike. That will be awesome. Now if I can wait two years until there are used ones…
As an ST owner, my wife is quick to spot LEO ST1300’s and chat up the officer when we get the chance. Some points I’ve heard on the ST1300 are the built in engine guards and that 7.6 gallon fuel capacity. Plus the ST is has fairly simple maintenance and is overall pretty easy to work on resulting in low costs. One of our friends has an ‘09 Concours and it IS a well built bike but put them side by side and the ST just seems more solid but is is a dated design.
I’ve ridden the ST1300P (without the obvious ‘fun’ accessories) and it’s a very nice bike. The ACG charges at idle…unlike most street systems that don’t reach full charge till about 3500RPM. There’s a HP price to pay for that, but if you spend a lot of time in traffic, your battery stays up. The London (UK) 1st responder paramedics use their specially modified version and they love it….it’s saved a lot of lives.
I bet the Kawasaki is nice too..a friend has put almost 80,000km on his in 2 years and he loves it.
Gonna buy a used police bike? Serious? Why r u so cheap? The Kawasaki Concourse hauls ass and is a great bike! Just buy a new one.
There is another company called Probity Cycle Inc. out of Mesa, AZ that is also building the Concours into a police bike. Check out there bike on youtube under Probity Cycle and you can see it in action at a police rodeo and a drop test to show how well the “drop bars” protect the bike.