You won’t outrun this one!

You guys and gals know that I occasionally get very cool photos of police motorcycles, and this weekend was no exception. 

No, I take that back…it was an exception.  I received the first ever photo (at least for me) of the new Kawasaki Concours 1400 police motorcycle.   This thing is a real rocketship, and as a full-sized police motorcycle, it’s gotta be awesome.   The photo came to me from the Newport News Police Department in Virginia, a department that has had a motor officer contingent since (get this) 1910!  That’s right…they’ve been on motors for a cool 101 years!

MPO Sonia Hale of the NNPD

More cool info…the motor officer on the Kawi in this photo is MPO (that’s Master Police Officer) Sonia Hale, and she’s been on motors for 8 years.   MPO Hale has been assigned to four different kinds of police motorcycles, and the Kawi 1400 has to be one of the fastest she’s ever ridden.   Gee whiz…it’s one of the fastest bikes on the planet!

Motor officers are pretty cool people, and they are pretty upbeat folks.   I once asked a motor officer in Dallas why they’re all in such good spirits all the time, and his answer was simple:  “We get paid to ride motorcycles, we serve the public, we’re outdoors most of the time, and we have fun.”  

Ah, if I was 18 years old and had it to do all over again…

The Sonia Hale photo above is great, and the good stuff from the Newport News PD didn’t end there.  The good folks at the NNPD also sent this absolutely wonderful vintage photo from 1911…it shows the Newport News PD a century ago with a bicycle and, wow, an Indian police motorcycle!

The Newport News PD, circa 1911

Our hats are off to the Newport News PD…the next time any of you NNPD folks are in California, please stop in for a visit.  Lunch, a factory tour, and a CSC ride up in the San Gabriel Mountains are on us!  Our California Scooters aren’t as fast as your Kawaskai 1400s, but there’s a very good chance we’ll have you smiling more!