LKPD Hits the Streets on Two Wheels
Published on July 26, 2026
If you’ve heard a new rumble on the streets of Lawrence, it probably isn’t NASCAR coming to town. Most likely, the rumble is from a new police motorcycle.
The Lawrence Kansas Police Department will have police motorcycles for the first time in decades. The 2026 Harley Davidson Road Glides and the 2025 Harley Davidson Road Kings will be rumbling with that familiar Harley sound on the streets of Lawrence.
It was May 22, 1996 when then Chief Ron Olin showed off the BMW motorcycles the department purchased to the Lawrence Journal World. The four BMW’s would be replacing the four 1986 Honda motorcycles the department was using. The BMW’s were the last motorcycles the department would deploy until the new Harley’s were purchased this year. Doing some research on the history of police motorcycles, I was able to find that the city had them as far back as 1950. While there may have been police motorcycles before that, I wasn’t able to confirm it. I found an LJ World story from October of 1950 reporting that a police motorcycle caught fire at 19th and Massachusetts. According to the story, “Patrolman John Davis and Patrolman Arthur Shirk were returning to the station … after escorting a funeral procession…(when Davis’) motorcycle burst into flames.” Chief John Ingalls told the LJ World the motorcycle was purchased for $900. It was reported to be a total loss.
Police motorcycles date back to the early 1900’s to combat speeding automobiles that easily outran officers on horseback or bicycles. Detroit, MI and Evanston, IL are reportedly the first departments to purchase motorcycles in 1908. These early units were mostly Harley Davidson and Indian motorcycles. Their use was as a rapid deployment squad, getting places quicker than a car, and they focused mostly on traffic enforcement.
The department purchased three 2026 Harley Davidson Road Glides from Twister City Harley Davisson and two 2025 Harley Davidson Road Kings from the TEEX Motorcycle School. The Road Glides will be the primary motors deployed to handle police duties and the Road Kings will be primarily used for training. All motor officers complete a police motorcycle school consisting of 56 hours of advanced motorcycle handling skills, much of that training is done at speeds of less than 10 MPH. All officers are required to complete at least 8 hours a month of continuing training, using drills to reinforce the skills learned at the basic police motor school. The department has 6 trained officers and hopes to have more trained next year.
One of the most frequent complaints I receive is about speeding cars in neighborhoods and school zones. These are areas where it can be difficult for a police car to conduct enforcement. A motorcycle is able to conduct enforcement in these areas better than a car and will help make our neighborhoods safer for kids and pedestrians. We will also use them for team escorts for football and traffic enforcement around the stadium on game and event days. Community engagement will also be a focus for motor officers. We are already getting a lot of looks, comments and waves from our community since the motors were deployed this past month. In case you are wondering, our motor officers will give you the “motorcycle” wave.
Motorcycle Specs:
- 2026 Harley Davidson Road Glide (FLTRXP)
- Engine – Milwaukee-Eight 121cu in
- 115 HP
- Torque 139 ft-lbs @3000 RPM
- 6 – Speed Cruise Drive Transmission
- Weight 904 lbs
- 2025 Harley Davidson Police Road King (FLHP)
- Engine – High output Milwaukee-Eight 114 cu in
- 95 HP
- Torque 123.2 ft-lbs @3250 RPM
- 6 – Speed Cruise Drive Transmission
- Weight 805 lbs