Two police special KZ1000s running great side by side.

The one on the left is the 1988 in my profile pic and that I've previously posted photos of. The one on the right is a 2002 that I bought back in March. The '88 had some issues that I've since resolved but I ended up buying the 2002 this last March and didn't lay a finger on the '88 since until today. I spent the entire day fixing everything wrong with it except that the tail light doesn't work. I'll work on that tomorrow.

Just thought I'd show how nice they both sound and how responsive the throttle is. The '88 is a bit cold blooded from having 60,000 miles on it, so it takes a bit of cranking to get it started, and a few minutes of idling to get it running smooth.

I still need to replace the gaskets and timing chain before I'm fully satisfied, but the bike's running good enough that I feel confident I can take it for short rides.

I mainly did this because my roommate, who has a Rebel 250, just blew up her engine by not making sure it's got oil in it. She's tall enough to be able to ride my police bikes, so I'm letting her ride the 02 since it's a lot more tame. The 88 is just evil... I'm not even joking. When you give her throttle she loves to turn it into race with you... That is she wants to leave you behind while she takes off on her own. That kind of acceleration despite the 60k miles and issues I need to have worked on.

Anyway, I'm also working on an early 80s KZ1100 shaft, as well as a rare two-speed Hondamatic 450. Neither of them are ready to show off yet.

Oh, the pursuit lights on the '02 only look blue when turned off. It's just blue tinted lenses to whiten the light from halogen bulbs. It's a mod I did to be able to install H2 bulbs instead of having to use PAR36 sealed beams. I pulled the H2 housings with their blue lenses out of a Miata with aftermarket light mod in a junk yard. I'm eventually going to throw some HIDs in there so I can have extra light when I need it. I almost always keep them off, especially when i'm behind someone or there's uncoming cars. It just doesn't do to have someone hit me because I blinded them.

And the gold star on the '88's tank is perfectly legal where I live. To make it legal i had to remove the "WEST BATON ROUGE SHERIFF" lettering from the tank. I also removed the Louisiana state seal from the center of the stars. There's no law prohibiting the star itself though, as stars are used by more than just law enforcement. And no, I don't impersonate, I just collect and ride the bikes. Also I live literally right next door to the local police department, they know about me, they know about my bikes, and they even have a few KZs still on the fleet. Their mechanic has chatted me up about where I get parts a few times.



Since my last post I've become something of a specialist regarding the police model. In fact, if it were someone else posting it, I'd be calling them out on the bike on the left because the fairing on that one is off of a 1981 KZ1000-C, not a 1988 KZ1000-P, as indicated by the fairing mounted mirrors. And if someone called me out on it I would say "yes, the old one got cracked in a minor accident involving an uninsured motorist running a stop sign and had to be replaced, but the frame's straight and after replacing the tank, crash bars, and fairing it's as good as when I bought it.

Sick!

They sound good. I love that "sewing machine on steroids" sound. How do you like riding them? Whenever I think about selling mine I take it out and think about building a bigger garage instead. 

wrote:

They sound good. I love that "sewing machine on steroids" sound. How do you like riding them? Whenever I think about selling mine I take it out and think about building a bigger garage instead.
 

I like riding them so much that I own 2 and I've got a third as a basket case in my bedroom's walk in closet. I'm missing most of the engine.
Basically, for the basket case I have a frame from 1989, 2 crank cases, a crank shaft, 2 fuel tanks, 3 fairings, 2 sets of fenders, 1 right hand control, and some misc bits and pieces. Right now I'm focusing on restoring this Hondamatic 450 I bought and getting the KZ1100 Spectre running.

SPEAKING OF WHICH... I need to ask a question in the engine forum.