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COPYRIGHT 2005 Ehlert Publishing Group
Who decides to become a motorcycle police officer? What skills are required? How are they taught and tested? To find out, I attended the Arizona Highway Patrol's motor officer training school. Phase I is a seven-day track experience at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR). Phase II consists of four days of structured street riding and hot-pursuit tests, and Phase III is four weeks on the job. Sergeant Larry Kenyon is the lead instructor, assisted by seven experienced motorcycle officers/instructors. Training begins at 6 a.m. on Thursday, not in a classroom, but at the edge of a vast expanse of asphalt parking lot at PIR in the shadow of the grandstand.
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As the sun throws slits of light onto the blacktop, traffic cones outlining various exercises glow like bright-orange light bulbs. Instructors lead prospective motor officers to a row of Kawasaki KZ1000 police training motorcycles. These road-weary work-horses retired from active use are missing fairings, saddlebags, radios, lights and sirens.
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All prospective Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) motor officers have been Highway Patrol officers for at least two years, have a clean record and a referral from their departments. "We want someone with a strong desire to ride a motorcycle and be part of an elite squad. We like to see prior motorcycle-riding experience. Good dirt riders seem to do best in the class," Kenyon explains.
PHASE I--THE TRACK
Instructor Troy Titzer explains the controls and the idiosyncrasies of these scratch-n-dent specials. Although 20-year-old technology, KZ1000s have good cornering clearance and a short wheel-base allowing excellent maneuverability. "Kawasaki's ending production of this bike after 2005 has forced us to change," Kenyon explains. "ABS is a mandatory requirement for all new police bikes and it will...
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