KZ1000-P

Greetings. I'm new here. I'm a Kawasaki owner (VN750), but don't own a KZ.

I'm particularly interested in the KZ1000-P police bike. The KZ-P was widely used by many agencies here in California before they were abandoned in favor of the BMW R1150RT-P police bikes (at greatly increased maintenance and service costs, I am told by several sources).

As you might imagine, the law enforcement agencies' losses are our gains. There seems to be quite a few former police KZ-Ps on the market for a reasonable amount of $$$ ($1500-3000). I have not ridden one of these, but in view of the fact that the bike was designed for the specific purpose of having an officer on board all day and for a high level of reliability and minimal service costs, I'm pondering the idea of looking into buying one for local and possibly long distance rides.

I'd like to know if anyone here has a KZ1000-P surplus police bike. If so, what has your experience been with the bike? Are there specific problems or issues I should watch out for? Are parts and accessories available? How much wrenching do you perform on your bike?

I'd also like any general comments you can make about the KZ1000 police bike based upon your personal experience...good or bad....

Thanks in advance for allowing me to come aboard and for your responses!!

Bob

I have been in the market for an earlier kz 1000p, like on the show CHiPs, i want the version with out the full fairing just the winshield. Hope to hear what other kzr members have to say. I have heard that they are great and very dependable. They all have a minumum of 50,000 miles on them. That is when CHP de-comisions them at least.

I bought a 1990 in June , I have had no problems with parts even bought new fairing covers for side pockets , There are a couple Guys on ebay that seem to have about anything you might need , All the engine parts came from Z1 enterprises , The Bike is fun to ride even at 600lbs You see the Cop bikes on ebay all the time that is where I got mine also a guy in Cal.or Nevada buys them all up , He had a ad on the Classified awhile back maybe someone will remeber the nam of the business ? Hollywood Motors ? Run a search on the interent as there are a couple web sites .. This one being the best autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/kz1000p/

We have a member here z1rick who rides a 1000P, nice bike. Have ridden to Big Bear with him, very nice guy. I'm sure he'll chime in and tell you all about his 1000P!

The KZ1000P is known as "the pick-up truck of motorcycles" for the primary reason that most parts are heavy duty. As for mechanicals like brakes, engine parts, etc. everything is easily obtainable. As mentioned before, Z1 can keep you going.

Most P models were geared to be QUICK as opposed to fast. With that said, a different rear sprocket might be in order for freeway driving. The engine is basically a "J" motor but they generally run a bit less horsepower (about 85) than civilian models that may be up around 115.

The police seats are extremely comfortable. The floor boards are well placed (I'm 6 feet tall) and I really like a heel-toe shifter.

If you plan to customize (bob or chop) you can sell most of your stock parts on Ebay to help fund new goodies.

Jinglebob:
You mentioned that you're in CA....if you're in the LA area, you should look at Hollywood Motors in Canoga Park. The owner has (had) a contract with local cop stations to buy old P-models. He's got pretty good mechanics (IMO), and he sells reburbished bikes minus the lights & sirens. He's not cheap, but he's got a parking lot full of bikes to look at.

OK...Hollywood Motors is just exactly what I'm looking for. I'm in northern California, but I get down that way quite often and it would be worth a trip to fly down there, pick a nice KZ and ride back home on it...

Nice that that resource is available. I knew you would have the answer.

It's also good to hear that the police KZs are pretty heavy duty and reliable and that parts are available.

Bob

First, welcome aboard! I have the above pictured KZ 1000P, it is a '99. I bought it from Hollywood motorsports in Canoga Park:
www.hollywoodmotorscorp.com/index.html

It had 42,000 miles and I paid $3,000.00 for it. The only problems I have had was a broken speedo cable, and had to have the swing arm bushings replaced, a bit of wobble on the freeway. The bike is heavy, but comfortable. I rode it to Vegas for Bike Fest from Anaheim, No problems. Here are couple more links to check out:
users.crocker.com/~mwilliams/KZP.htm

users.crocker.com/~mwilliams/My_P18.htm

The bike comes stock with a 42 tooth rear sprocket, Z1E recommended a 38 tooth for lower R's and more top end. I have one, just haven't had time to install it yet. When I get it on I will post and let you know how it works.

Thanks, Rick...great websites and lots of good information.

I'm interested in finding out how the rear sprocket change affects the performance of your bike. The KZ engine seems pretty torquey and the transmission pretty bulletproof. My guess is that in exchange for lower RPMs at interstate speeds, you might have to slip the clutch a bit more than usual, but the engine should respond nicely.

Instead of changing the rear sprocket, might it be easier to change the countershaft sprocket by one or maybe two teeth instead? Might save you from having to alter or replace the chain...just a thought....

Keep us posted!!

Bob

Post edited by: Jinglebob, at: 2007/11/27 23:25

I think the counter sprocket change is like 1 tooth is equal to 5 on the rear. I only went down 4 teeth on the rear. Did not want to loose too much bottom end.

Now if I only had a lift like 4 R's got for his B-day...

no lift rick?? does that mean you have been a bad boy this year:P

Don't worry, I know where R4 lives:P