The vehicles
Police motorcycles
Eighty-three entries, ten manufacturers, 2007 to 2026 — tested to the same standard as the cars, and beating them on almost every measure.
Michigan began evaluating police motorcycles in 2007, using the same procedure it uses for cars: acceleration, top speed, braking from sixty, and laps of the road course.
The results are not close. A police motorcycle has been quicker to sixty than every car ever tested, quicker to a hundred, and has stopped in a shorter distance at a higher rate. The only measure the cars still hold is outright top speed.
Motorcycles against cars
| Measure | Best motorcycle | Best car |
|---|---|---|
| 0–60 mph | 3.61 s (2026) | 4.03 s (2026) |
| 0–100 mph | 7.97 s (2026) | 10.63 s (2026) |
| 60–0 distance | 118.9 ft (2017) | 122.45 ft (2026) |
| Deceleration rate | 32.57 ft/s² (2017) | 31.62 ft/s² (2026) |
| Top speed | 147 mph (2020) | 160 mph (2000) |
Four out of five. And the two braking records belong to the same machine.
The three-wheeler that out-brakes everything
The Can-Am Spyder F3P appears in three tests, 2015 to 2017. It is not a motorcycle in the usual sense — two wheels at the front, one at the back — and in 2017 it stopped from sixty miles an hour in 118.9 feet, at a deceleration rate of 32.57 ft/s².
Both are the best figures in this entire archive, by any vehicle of any kind. The nearest car is the 2026 Mustang Mach-E GT at 31.62, and the nearest two-wheeler is not close. Its top speed was 121 mph and it was never widely bought.
The shortest stop ever recorded in a Michigan police vehicle test belongs to a three-wheeled Can-Am that almost nobody rode.
Every test
The fastest machine each year, with the shortest stop any motorcycle recorded that year. All eighty-three entries are in all 83 motorcycle entries, filterable to motorcycles.
| Year | Machine | 0–60 s | 0–100 s | Top mph | Best 60–0 ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | BMW R1200RT-P | 4.44 | 10.55 | 130.1 | 136.5 |
| 2008 | BMW R1200RT-P | 4.1 | 10.01 | 130.9 | 139 |
| 2009 | BMW R1200RT-P | 4.41 | 11.27 | 130 | 147.6 |
| 2010 | BMW R1200RT-P | 4.45 | 11.62 | 127 | 147.3 |
| 2011 | Kawasaki Concours 14 ABS Police | 4.5 | 9.7 | 131 | 141 |
| 2012 | BMW R 1200 RT-P | 4.41 | 10.75 | 131 | 139 |
| 2013 | BMW R 1200 RT-P | 4.38 | 10.9 | 128 | 143.9 |
| 2014 | BMW F800 GT-P | 4.99 | 12.1 | 139 | – |
| 2015 — books not located | |||||
| 2016 | BMW R 1200 RT-P | 4.42 | 9.94 | 137 | 122.4 |
| 2017 | BMW R 1200 RT-P | 4.31 | 9.85 | 136 | 118.9 |
| 2018 | Yamaha FJR1300 | 4.1 | 9.81 | 143 | 130.2 |
| 2019 | Yamaha FJR1300P-AB | 3.78 | 8.39 | 144 | 130.7 |
| 2020 | Yamaha FJR1300P-AB | 3.67 | 8.19 | 147 | 127.3 |
| 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 — books not located | |||||
| 2025 | BMW R 1250 RT-P | 4.25 | 9.46 | 137 | 143.5 |
| 2026 | BMW R 1300 RT-P Standard Pkg. | 4.35 | 8.57 | 141 | – |
Who actually turns up
| Manufacturer | Entries | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Harley-Davidson | 36 | the most of any make — and never the fastest |
| BMW | 25 | the benchmark for most of the period |
| Victory | 4 | 2012–2014 |
| Moto Guzzi | 4 | 2014–2015 |
| Can-Am | 3 | three wheels, two braking records |
| Yamaha | 3 | 147 mph, the fastest of all |
| Zero | 3 | electric, 2016–2018 |
| Kawasaki, Buell, Honda | 5 | brief appearances |
Harley-Davidson has more entries than anyone and has never recorded the fastest figure. Its best top speed across nineteen years is 119 mph, against 147 for the Yamaha. That is not a failing — a Road Glide is bought for presence, escort work and eight hours in the saddle, none of which Michigan measures. But it is worth knowing when the numbers are quoted.
The electric one nobody talks about
Michigan tested a Zero electric motorcycle in 2016, 2017 and 2018, reaching 102 mph and 4.8 seconds to sixty. That is seven years before the first battery-electric car appeared in the programme, and nine before Michigan had to invent a charging protocol to test one.
The electric police vehicle arrived on two wheels first, and quietly.
Where the records sit
| Figure | Machine | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 3.61 s — quickest 0–60 of any vehicle in the archive | BMW R 1300 RT-P, automatic | 2026 |
| 7.97 s — quickest 0–100 of any vehicle | BMW R 1300 RT-P, automatic | 2026 |
| 118.9 ft and 32.57 ft/s² — shortest stop and highest rate of any vehicle | Can-Am Spyder F3P | 2017 |
| 147 mph — fastest motorcycle | Yamaha FJR1300P-AB | 2020 |
The 2026 BMW figure is worth a second look: the automatic-shift version reached sixty 0.74 seconds quicker than the same machine with a manual gearbox, in the same test.