between some radios that caused problems for the ignition system. In addition, the combined set of equipment mounted at the rear (and particularly the placement of the radio on the rear rack) caused high-speed handling difficulties.. That said, with a relatively light weight, comfortable seat, good cornering clearance and powerful engine, it remained so popular for the police market that it remained in production until 2005. Motorsport The Z1000 was successfully raced in European, Australian, American and British Superbike racing. A KZ1000 ridden by Reg Pridmore won the AMA Superbike Championship in 1977 and 1978. Pops Yoshimura first began to make his reputation in the mid-1970s by fielding fast, reliable Kawasaki KZ1000s in the AMA Superbike championships. Kawasaki Z1000s tuned by Mamoru Moriwaki were successfully raced in the Australian Superbike championships in the late 1970s by New Zealander Graeme Crosby. John Cowie riding a Z1000 for the Pecket & McNab team, won the 1978 British ACU Formula One championship for production bikes. Freddie Spencer rode a KZ1000 during the 1979 AMA Superbike Championship, winning two races and finishing third in the final championship points standings. Wayne Gardner and co-rider John Pace qualified their Moriwaki-Kawasaki Z1000 on pole position at the prestigious 1981 Suzuka 8 Hours, ahead of all the major factory racing teams. Also in 1981, Eddie Lawson won the AMA Superbike Championship for Kawasaki on a factory-backed KZ1000S1. Film and TV appearances The KZ1000C was ridden by California Highway Patrol officers Ponch and Jon of the 1977–1984 TV show CHiPs. It was also in the anime television series Great Teacher Onizuka, and ridden by Keanu Reeves in the film Chain Reaction. Fourteen of the motorcycles in Mad Max (1979) were Z1000s. The bikes were donated by a local Kawasaki dealer and modified in appearance by Melbourne business La Parisienne; one as a police bike ridden by 'The Goose', and thirteen for members of the Toecutter's gang, played by a real motorcycle club called the Vigilantes. The KZ1000P appeared in the 1991 movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Notes References KZ1000 Motorcycles introduced in 1976