Arizona Cops to Ride BMW
A number of motorcycle-mounted police officers in Arizona plan to swap out their Kawasaki models in 2006 for BMW’s RT 1150P. The Arizona Department of Public Safety plans to buy approximately 35 BMW RT 1150P models by next summer while the Scottsdale Police Department is expected to add 18 bikes.
The agencies are swapping out their Kawasaki cruisers, first introduced in 1978, after the company stopped building police motorcycles.
At $18,000 per bike, BMW was the next-best choice, both for updated technology and cost, officials said. They said, as opposed to the air-cooled Kawi, the liquid-cooled, ABS-equipped RT 1150P should be able to better handle the Arizona heat.
“The BMW is a beautiful piece of equipment, and it’s going to be fun for us to ride,” Lt. Tim Lane, a district commander for the DPS motorcycle program, told The Arizona Republic newspaper. “It will be an easy transition. We bought the safest motorcycle on the market.”
BMW has more than 8,000 police units in service nationwide. Both Honda and Harley-Davidson also produce models specifically for law enforcement.