Winter mods for an Alaskan Drifter

[CDNRatMan]

on all my long trips I carry my 2 fuel cells and have room for a 2 gal fuel can , 2 gal is like 4 liters and the tank is 15 liters so almost half a tank then......

Really nice views, and here was me thinking you had beat me to the winter list.....lol......

[JagLite]

A beautiful sunny day required a long ride.

Gas stations tend to be far between in Alaska and I was worried I wasn't going to reach the next one so at 120 miles on the odo I slowed to 55 and hoped for the best.

Made it! (whew) and when I filled the tank I discovered I could have gone another 10 miles... maybe.

So I stopped at the hardware store on the way home and bought a 1 gallon gas can that fits perfectly in one of the saddle bags.
I won't leave home without it from now on.
Hopefully I will remember to actually put gas in it!

[CDNRatMan]

 now you just need a really cool shifter knob.......but things are looking good.

[JagLite]

I cut off the 1/75" tailpipe out of the muffler and tacked on a 2.25" piece:

Started the bike up and it sounds great!   
Since the muffler core is straight through I was concerned it might be too loud but it isn't at all.
Borla sure knows what packing works at absorbing sound waves and it lasts forever.

So I welded it up and gave it a coat of paint:

The next day I took it for a test ride and it sounds perfect.   
Not loud, not annoying, but a very deep throat rumbling that I can just hear over the wind and tire noise at speed.
Surprisingly my butt dyno tells me there is a real improvement in power from midrange up. 
I wasn't expecting any difference since I haven't improved the intake side but evidently the stock muffler and my original small tailpipe choked the gas flow enough that opening up the flow helped let the horses out.

Or maybe it just sounds so much better now that it feels more powerful. 
Either way, I'm happy. 
The Drifter isn't a hot rod anyway and is quick enough to be fun.

Here is a before and after shot of the tailpipe difference:

Before:

After:

Before going for my 2 hour test ride I checked the tire pressure by looking at the Ride-On Smart Caps and for the first time, one was blinking red.
Huh?   

I removed the cap and checked the pressure with my gauge and sure enough, it was down to 28 lbs.
Hmmm, a leak or what?
I added air and reinstalled the Smart Cap and so far it hasn't shown a loss.
I will check the pressure with my gauge before my next ride to see if I have a slow leak, or a very slow leak. 
They all lose pressure slowly, so I hope that is the case here since it is a royal pain to fix a flat on the Drifter. 

So, I am very glad I have the Smart Caps to let me know there may be a problem.   
No problem if you are diligent and check your tire pressure before EVERY ride, but for most of us, it is once a week, or once a month, and a few never check it.

And the hand shifter works great on the road!   
I practiced with it on my test ride and only once started from a stop in the wrong gear.
The foot shift allows me to feel the gears change but the hand shift is too rubbery feeling.
I am sure I will develop a better feel with the hand shifter over time.
Just like my old VW bus, it takes time to get the feel.

Fun to see the hand shift move when I use the foot shift too. 

[DC]

I have the hand shifter too.  Some people don't think the shifter actually works, but it works great.

I was stopped at a light in front of a biker bar last week and the guys out front looked like they were going to take bets as to whether or not I would use the shifter.  Their jaws about dropped on the floor as I drove away using the hand shifter.

[JagLite]

I installed my new hand shifter and tested it out.

Nicely made and it works great!

I do find it odd that the kit comes with SAE (American) bolts instead of Metric to match the rest of the bike.
No worries, just odd.

Shifting is easy and rather "rubbery" feeling like my old VW van. 
It is kinda fun watching the hand shifter move when I use the foot shifter.   
Only once did I start in second gear at a stop sign when I thought it was in first.
I can feel the gears move much better with my foot but I will develop the feel with my hand soon.

Excellent packaging for shipping protection too.
I wish all companies would make the effort to properly pack items.

I will give it two thumbs up on the cool rating 
And a 9.5 on the Ten scale, only losing half a point for not using Metric bolts.
Highly recommended!

[JagLite]

That's excellent!

[CDNRatMan]

  I wanted to keep the stock seat because there is times I ride 2 up, then on long trips I like my sissy bar pack as a backrest. But it was not comfortable nor good looking, so I took it to a custom seat maker. For less than $300.00 I got a gel insert added and memory foam, now it is super comfy and really looks good, I had the step steepened, slightly raised and then the leg areas shaved down a bit to make the seat narrower, and had my butt area sloped back a bit to make it more a bucket seat.

[JagLite]

Not sure if this makes sense to you, but the bike looks clean and crisp! Definitely a good thing. The only thing I do not like the the stock 2up seat made by Kaw. I wish they would have made it look a little cooler. Great job. Jealous of your skills!
Rob

Thanks guys!
Rob, I agree with you about that ugly seat!
But it is very comfortable for me alone, and for my wife if she is with me.
I am thinking of ways that I might be able to hide/conceal it with a bit of luggage.
Perhaps a small rack behind the seat with a bag always on it.

I usually have a roll bag on the passenger seat that I use as a back rest for long rides but that doesn't improve the looks of the seat hanging in the air back there...

[rawbz36]

Not sure if this makes sense to you, but the bike looks clean and crisp! Definitely a good thing. The only thing I do not like the the stock 2up seat made by Kaw. I wish they would have made it look a little cooler. Great job. Jealous of your skills!
Rob

[DC]

Looks like a very serious bike. . . almost like military, police, or S.W.A.T.

[mittico68]

Really a nice job and a cool result!
Mes compliments, mon amie!!

[JagLite]

Thanks, I'm happy enough with the new exhaust that I don't feel a need to change mufflers right away.
I think it might get a bit more volume as the muffler gets burned in.

I have a similar straight through Borla on my Miata and it is also not loud but sounds great.
I seem to recall that when I installed it on my car 14 years ago that the first week or so it was very soft then as it burned in it got a bit more growl to it that hasn't changed in all these years.

I just got back from another after work ride and I am getting more comfortable guiding the beast around.
It really does require a different style of riding compared to my light, tall, and instant response dual sports.

Now to plan a weekend camping trip...

[CDNRatMan]

  that came out really nice.

[JagLite]

Finally got the Drifter back together and went for a ride.
As always I rode first to a big empty parking lot and practiced slow speed maneuvering.

So HEAVY! But after just a minute or so I got the feel back and soon I didn't have to think about starting, stopping (hard and quick), turning or shifting. It is so different from my other bikes that I need to get used to it again even though I have been riding my other smaller lighter bikes. She may be heavy but she sure is comfortable to ride! 

The black pin stripe on the fender crease will probably wait until the winter project season stops my riding.
Same with the solo seat mounting I need to make. Right now I just want to ride.

Back from a short hour ride I took a few pictures.

With the tank bag on:

And with it off:

And all mixed up:

[greenbarn]

Jag, keep working on it if you don't like it....

If you want a glass pack, shoot me an email and I can see if I can get you one and ship it to you for a decent price.  I buy wholesale for auto exhaust....

[CDNRatMan]

   if it is quiet think of the wildlife you can sneak up on and get some really cool pictures...lol.......

a very different look for sure.

[JagLite]

Update time.

The weather here has been very unusual...   

It has been sunny, warm, and dry! 
That means I have been out riding my other bikes and not working in the shop on my bike projects.
But it finally rained on Saturday so I finished welding up the new exhausts system and took it for a ride.

I haven't painted it yet, I wanted to burn off any oil and contaminates before painting it stove black.
The flex tube is double wall with the inner being 1.625" ID and the outer is 1.875" ID.
I had planned to put pipe wrap over the inner tube (inside the outer) but there was no chance of that.
Maybe if I had been able to get 2" ID outer tube.

The muffler is a Borla with a 3" ID core and it is straight through, before I welded my own end caps I could roll a tennis ball through it.
(I think, I didn't try)
So I was very amazed at how it sounds.   

Quiet      

It is hardly any louder than stock!
Sounds much better, but it is soooooooo quiet.

I may cut the tailpipe off, cut a larger hole through the end cap and weld on a larger diameter tailpipe.
The tailpipe is 1.75" on it now so I could go to a 2.25" and try that.
I don't want it to be real loud, just loud enough that I can hear the exhaust over the mechanical engine noise.
But it does sound like a MOTORcycle now, just a quiet one.

I'm not real happy with how it came out.
The front pipe should have been 3" or so longer to have the connector farther back.
Not simple to cut and add length in the flex. 
The muffler is just too big in diameter to look the way I saw in my mind.

Experimentation continues (on rainy days) 

I am looking at what glasspack mufflers (3.5" OD) I can get (so many places won't ship to Alaska) and I may switch over to one, and mount it farther forward.

I also look at the hole left under the swingarm and think about what kind of storage box I could put down there.
I could weld up a removable auxiliary fuel tank, or a big tool box, or general storage, etc.
If I relocate the reg/rec from the left side to the front it would be easy access to the under swingarm storage.

Next winter project list. 

[greenbarn]

Nice looking bike, Jag!   It's coming together. 

[CDNRatMan]

   I tried really hard one winter to put tint in the inside of the windscreen and found it really next to impossible due to the curves and shape of the windscreen.
So I fell back on an old idea from fish keeping, for years I used to spray paint the outside back of all my fish tanks. Once it dries it looks really good. So I tried it......
I used gloss black paint to spray the inside of the windscreen let it dry for a few days and cure nice then replace the hardware and it looks really good, hides a lot of the clutter in the area and wires are hidden. I like the looks of it.

[mittico68]

So, I assume you did the same for that indian headdress, don't ya?
Really a good mod to think about...

[JagLite]

Thanks all, 

The blacked out lower part of the wind screen is Dip-It spray.
I wanted to make it easy to reverse if I didn't like the look.
I do like it so I may peel off the Dip-It and use satin black paint.
But it is holding up just fine so I am in no hurry to do it!

I wanted the satin black look so I painted the outside (front) of the screen.
If you want shiny, paint the inside.

I covered the air cleaner covers with the same black Dip-It spray and they are holding up perfectly too.

[mittico68]

Nice and cool result!
How did you black the bottom of that windshield? Is that just paint, or is it a sticker?

[Pilgrim]

Looks good man..I know what you mean. A one hour job usually takes me three because I spend two hours looking for tools and stuff That I laid down somewhere. Great job on the paint.

[CDNRatMan]

looks good....but needs some WWW.....lol.......