Zero Motorcycles is offering two new police-spec electric motorcycles for law enforcement agencies and security companies for 2013. The Santa Cruz, Calif., company has been supplying police versions of Zero DS in 2012 (following an initial trial in 2011 in Scotts Valley, Calif.) with but 2013, the company is adding a new model based on the Zero S.

The 2013 Zero S Police/Security joins the Zero DS Police/Security after Zero saw demand for a pure street-based police bike in addition to a dual sport model. Both models are based on the 2013 consumer versions, which Zero claims are 93% more powerful than the 2012 models with 62% more torque. Equipped with the ZF11.4 powerpack, Zero claims a combined highway and city range of 74 miles from the DS and a combined range of 102 miles for the S model. Both police models are available with the ZF8.5 powerpack which provides a claimed combined range of 69 miles for the DS and 77 miles for the S. Continue Reading »

Brazilian police made what they thought was a breakthrough in an investigation into a string of carjackings. The key evidence was a baseball cap bearing what police believed was the suspect’s name: Harley Davidson.

Sergeant Cunha, chief of police in the town Guapo in central Brazil, appeared on a television news station Goiania with an appeal to the public for help in finding a Mr. Harley Davidson after investigators found a black Harley-Davidson baseball cap and a gray T-shirt linked to the suspect.

“He left a grey T-shirt which he had used to cover his face, and also a baseball cap with a skull embroidered on it, along with the name Harley, and the citizen’s surname, Davidson, who is probably the miscreant we’re looking for,” Cunha told Goiania (as translated by the Daily Mail.) Continue Reading »

The Royal Malaysian Police has upgraded its motorcycle patrol squad with a fleet of police-spec 2013 Kawasaki Ninja 250 sportbikes.

The law agency’s Unit Rondaan Bermotosikal (Malaysian for motorcycling patrol unit) will receive 1000 units of the Ninja 250 which received a substantial update for 2013. Essentially, it’s the same as the Kawasaki Ninja 300 with ABS and fuel injection but with a 249cc engine.

The URB will use the Kawasaki Ninjas to patrol different hotspots around the country. The URB received an initial batch of 560 Ninjas from a total 1000 on order, and had a parade to celebrate the new fleet a few weeks ago (video below). Continue Reading »

The Hong Kong government is replacing its entire gasoline-powered motorcycle fleet including police motorcycles with electric-powered Brammo motorcycles.

The Hong Kong Police Force will use the law enforcement version of the 2012 Brammo Enertia Plus. Engineers from Hong Kong’s Water Supplies Department will also use the civilian version of the Brammo Enertia Plus to travel to service locations around the Chinese city-state.

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Honda is recalling certain 2009-2010 ST1300 sport touring motorcycles due to a risk of a brake fluid leakage.

According to documents released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the pre-formed hose supplying fluid from the rear brake reservoir to the rear brake master cylinder is routed in a way that puts it at risk of damage. When the Honda ST1300 is heavily loaded and ridden over rough surfaces, the rear suspension may bottom out, causing the hose to contact the swingarm.

Over a prolonged period, the hose may develop a leak, allowing air to enter the rear brake master cylinder, resulting in a spongy rear brake pedal and loss of braking performance.

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Okay, the headline sounds like the setup to a bad joke, but it pretty much describes the scene in the picture above released by the Piaggio Group.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is in China this month to mark the 40th anniversary of his secret diplomatic visit in 1971 which paved the way for formalized relations between China and the United States.

Last week, the noted diplomat went through the city of Chongqing, one of China’s largest municipalities and home of the Piaggio Zongshen Foshan Motorcycle Co., a joint venture partially owned by the Piaggio Group.

Piaggio Zongshen Foshan took the opportunity to debut the Chongqing police force’s fleet of 30 police-spec Aprilia Mana 850 motorcycles as Kissinger’s escort.

Powered by an 850cc 90-degree V-Twin engine, the Mana is equipped with an automatic transmission as well as a semi-manual 7-speed sequential transmission and three engine mappings. The police version is specially customized with radio equipment, sirens and other equipment.

[Source: Piaggio]

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You don’t often associate Victory Motorcycles with off-road riding.

That didn’t stop these police officers from taking their bikes off the pavement at a recent demo event for police models based on Victory’s Kingpin and Cross-Country models. Sure, they’re not hitting the whoops on those bikes, but it’s still interesting watching these officers have some fun and try to catch a bit of air. Warning: there is a bit of colorful language in this video, which isn’t too much of a surprise if you know a lot of police officers.

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Harley-Davidson Police concept Tri-Glide Ultra Classic which led the inauguration parade to the White House on January 20^th.

Lieutenant Scott Fear, Commander of the U.S. Park Police Motor Unit, led a dozen side car-equipped Electra Glides in a formation riding the heavily modified Trike, which was sourced by Harley-Davidson of Frederick.

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If contemporary society has taught us anything, it is that few things are held as sacred. Shameless film and television remakes are rampant while musicians sample (steal) any beats or mixes they deem suitable that will gain their crumby creation attention. In regards to motorcycles, there are times when retro-inspired modern engineered creations work, like the Triumph Thruxton for instance. Then there are times when they don’t, such as the case with the Confederate B120 Wraith.

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Current New York state law and Federal law prohibit motorcycles from emitting exhaust noise in excess of 80 decibels. In a move to enhance the enforceability of laws governing exhaust noise specific to motorcycles, the New York City city council has drafted a proposed law, No. 416-A, to aid various law enforcement agencies in what would effectively be elimination of many motorcycles from the City of New York.

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