my first long ride on the Drifter....

[chief]

Your hand situation can be caused by a number of things... but one of them is vibration. Make sure the aftermarket pipes aren't improperly hard mounted to the bike. You should be able to move the rear of the pipes a bit and see the rubber mounting.

The other problem might be the reach of the bars and your neck... you can get to a more comfortable position by using a riser to pull the bars back a bit.
Lastly get a throttle lock... it will allow you to remove your right hand from the throttle for a bit to get circulation going again.

[CDNRatMan]

   Mine has an after market set of pipes I think but they are not loud because I do not like loud, my riding partners for the day did not say it was loud.
ok so I'll try the gear thing because I am going on a 500 mile ride this Friday.....
I'll try the realx thing for the hand, not sure why it has happened ...never happened before, going to get my physio guy to check out the shoulder next visit.
No this is my first Drifter. I have been riding for years and was a Dispatch Rider for the Military so I am used to a lot of diffrent road surfaces. Just I find the Drifter sitting position to be very diffrent then any other bike I have ridden in the past, and some of that is the body height from the machine, and the position of the feet on the boards.
I never got any out right comments on the bike but at the one stop a lot of people did the slow walk past and the slow turn to check it out. When we stopped to eat we went to a shady place to sit and eat then watch a guy walk over with his wife and they scoped it out and must have been an expert because he was comparing the Vulcan classic to the Drifter.
We also pulled into a Timmies (Tim Hortons) and there was a lot of locals there who were parked along the curb which was at the highway side. We pulled in and parked along the back side close to the washrooms. None of them came over but they scopped us from a far. It was cute, then they got up and left   about 15 mins later they came back in a group these are the coffee shop riders, leave home go to the coffee shop and drink for a few hours then ride home) and did the slow ride past us to check out what we had but none stopped to talk to us. But during the stop we had a bunch of other riders stop and chat with us and they just said nice bikes the normal stuff.
Up here we have a lot of rest stops in the woods along the back highways, and we used them quiet a bit to get off the main roads to stop and rest, and they were always a couple of riders in there relaxing resting and then riding on, everyone was freindly and polite.
Next Firday I am off to go south to  visit my sister who is sick and surprise her that I have bought another bike, she will love it. So it will be a good trip.
I lived in CO from 95 to 98 and it was the same as here after the snow and such , I normal never take my bike out till after we have a couple of really good rains to wash the road sand and salt away. I can wait that extra week or so rather then dump it and have to pay to get it fixed, never need to be the first one out.

[45 Bravo]

I am glad you had a good trip, 220+ miles will give you time to work out some kinks. (in both the bike and you)

My friend has a classic 800, with long shots on it, if he is within 50 yards of me i can not hear my bike (stock exhaust).
His wife when on the back with him, wears ear plugs.

On my 1500 4th is better on secondary roads, 5th is like an overdrive, best left to over 60mph.

I also suffer from the right hand tingle, and a numb thumb and first 2 fingers, but i think mine has more to do with the angle of my shoulder/arm/hand/grip than the vibration.
as i sometimes get the same feeling at my desk at work if i have my chair at a certain height in relation to the desk, and there i just drive a computer mouse.

When it happens to me, i just check around me again, pull in the clutch, and either let my right arm dangle for 10 seconds or so, or kind of windmill it to get circulation back.

I think you said this is your first bike, congratulations.

Gravel roads, are not something to be feared, but do need to be respected, and require special care in navigating.
I grew up riding dirt bikes, and on and off road bikes my whole life, and live in an area where gravel roads still today cannot be avoided.

If you have the option to ride dirt backroads (with the proper style bike) take it, the learning experience is invaluable.

I guess i was lucky to have learned to ride on gravel when i was younger, and really didn't care if i laid it over. But i can say it made me a better rider.

You are from Canada, in the spring you will have to contend with the left overs of sand/gravel from de icing in the winter.
I lived in Colorado for a long time, and after a snow, we had the same sand/gravel issue as they sand the roads and intersections.

BE CAREFUL, keep it slow, don't give it too much gas too fast, don't use the front brakes too much, and don't lean in sanded turns.

I am glad you like the bike,  say, did you get any comments (good or bad) about the bike on your ride?

45 Bravo

[CDNRatMan]

   Well today went for waht was supposed to be a short ride, while waiting for my new sprokets and chain, but due to some young lad who decided that the back highways of Northern Ontario was a good place to test out his new high performance Mustang. Seems he missed the curve and hit the rock cut and the Highway was closed for about 2 hours and we sat there waiting ...then we turned around and had to use our map skills and figur out how to get around that traffic jam on a paved road.....lots of gravel roads in the area.
Stock seat and it was tottaly comfortable not an issue. I spent last weekend about 2 hours isolating my windscreen from a rattle sound and it seemed to work...however today about 10 mins into the ride the noise was back...da^^ it....and no matter where I touched the screen the sound continued...I was getting really peeved..then it dawned on me, it was the noise from my buddies radio on his Vulcan Classic.. I am 5'11" and 245lbs so I set the windsheild to the top of the travel allowed to it and moved the shock to #6 and it seems to have taken care of most of my issues....
After 365.4 kms or 227.05524 miles, I really like my Drifter....had a while to figure out 4th or 5th gear which was better, the small tank was ok once I got the hang of it...and the couple I was with could get their smoke breaks in...lol...
Only issue I had or have is my right hand starts to tingle and then goes numb after about 75kms, but once I stop and get off it is normal in seconds and is good for the next 75 kms, not really sure why, but I might try anti vibration hand grips.
Over all I am really happy with the bike and really glad I bought it.