Am I late to the party?

[chief]

I've additionally spent the past 3 decades investigating accidents and injuries. As indicated most "accidents" are avoidable using reasonable strategies. If you drove commercially you are aware of the Avoidable Accident process.

Anyway my point is pretty simple. Any commercial driver of heavy trucks will tell you - driving a car does not adequately prepare you for driving a heavy truck. There is a different skill set you have to learn and you have to deal with emergencies in a much different way. Well, the same is true of motorcycles. My miles in various vehicles has not provided me with all the skills I need to safely ride a bike. These are new skills which must be learned.

So no one who is new to motorcycle should assume their years of driving adequately prepares them for what they will face on the road on a bike. Trucks don't fall over! <LOL>  It does help with hazard recognition, but your response to that hazard is going to depend upon your newly developed skills on the bike.  MSF courses help develop the right set of skills, IMHO.

[Varooom]

Last night, returning in a large Ford sedan from a bicycle party, I was being driven home by a friend.  We were about to enter a short tunnel under a bridge overpass that has two, divided lanes, divided by pillars.  We noted bicyclists coming at us from the left (approaching) lane.  Suddenly, a Civic with three teens in it, came barreling out of our entry tunnel!  They were avoiding the lane with the bicyclists and using ours!
A second sooner and we would have had a major head on with them as they were way over the speed limit.  My friend, a retired woman teacher and trapeze hobbyist, had the most amazingly quick braking response and didn't even lose our bicycles off of the strap hung bike rack on the back of her Ford.
We both were in minor shock, as the teens sped away, at how close we came to eating air bags.  I shudder to think what would have happened to a motorcyclist without ABS and on a lean entering the tunnel,
Varooom

[Goombah]

thats a good point Chief, however, I also did a little commercial drivin' in my time.Some where in the neighborhood of 6.5 million miles behind the wheel of a long haul semi for 38 years. I have to agree with the idea that getting the big picture,seeing some potentials for bad scenarios developes an awareness in the driving ability that some people never seem to get,I mean look at accident statistics. Look at how many of those are not really just accidents,but rather stupidity,and lack of attention,drunks,or other influences. I had the not so pleasurable oppertunity to see it on a daily basis,and countlessly,wondered,"how the hell did they do that" usually coming up with the same conclusion. No,reasonable explaination,just stupidity.After you get a few million miles under you,you seem to get a "sense" that is a benifit of all that. Those 6 mil+ of mine are free from any damaging stupidity. Totally.

[chief]

I've driven a lot over the years and taught defensive driving for a very long time. Driving defensively entails a lot of things. Seeing the hazard is half the battle. The other half depends upon the vehicle you are operating. The "proper" response in a truck is NOT the "proper" response on a bike. Sometimes its necessary to unlearn engrained responses and replace them with proper new responses based upon the vehicle. Don't be overconfident and be willing to learn new skills. A MSF course would be a lot of help.   

[Varooom]

Interesting; could you share some of your 'signs of trouble building' thoughts with us please?  Never hurts to hear other seasoned perspectives.
Thanks,
Varooom

[billster50]

Two rules to live by:
When on your bike, nobody can see you, especially the person behind the wheel who's staring into your eyes!
If you make it unscathed through 6 months of driving your new bike you'll probably be fine because it's during those first months you think you know what you're doing.  If you make it, you'll have built up enough defensive driving habits that you'll fare well.
Varooom

I'm a commercial driver. I drive Motorcoaches all over the place, mostly east coast and all points inbetween. My defensive driving habits are ingrained. I see things developing alot faster than most people, it just becomes habit.

[Varooom]

Two rules to live by:
When on your bike, nobody can see you, especially the person behind the wheel who's staring into your eyes!
If you make it unscathed through 6 months of driving your new bike you'll probably be fine because it's during those first months you think you know what you're doing.  If you make it, you'll have built up enough defensive driving habits that you'll fare well.
Varooom

[cochise]

Don't let the chain drive scare you. My bike before my Drifter was my 650 Yamaha that I rode for 35yrs. One side of the country to the other it never let me down. Chains need a little extra care like adjustment and lube. Mine runs smooth and quiet. Buy that Drifter and ride the wheels off it.

[billster50]

I did a craigslist site mash, meaning it searches C list by region. It was POLLUTED with Drifters probably within 300 miles of me. I was afraid I would struggle to find one. So real sob stories of why they were for sale, many simply don't have time to ride.

[chief]

The 800 is fine. It is older tech when compared to the 1500 - but it is reliable and you can do whatever you want with the final drive as you get used to riding. The size is good for a novice and you can't beat the looks.

[TC]

 I ordered my belt drive conversion kit ( 2 pullys and belt ) from Scootworks.
They said it would be two week till delivery. That was 6 freekin weeks ago
I'm glad I have a Nomad and the wife has an LT 900 to ride.
Geez Louise, it will be winter before I get the damn thing converted.

[billster50]

Okay did a quick search and see that the price for the kit is around $600 and I suspect that a shop would just about charge that much in labor to do the conversion.

[billster50]

Well after reading thru most of the posts on the forum in almost all the categories I saw a mention of the comversion of chain drive to belt drive and beyond the mention of a vendor there did not seem to be much further discussion. I'll try the search feature, perhaps an answer is buried in there. Reading is fundamental. Anyway if that is/was doable, then 50% of the so called detractors of the 800 are resolved. I most likely would stick with my decision to pursue an 800 because I really don't see me taking a passenger, I just would not want to be responsible for someone's personal safety at my hands.

[TripWire]

Billster - I am a member of your club or you are member of mine.  Just got in to motorcycles in my early 40s but I was previously into old school Vespas (shifters not autos).  I picked up a 2000 800 last spring with 35k miles.  I have only put on about 3k so far this summer but I am lovin every minute.  Using it mainly and a daily driver to work and riding with my friends on the weekends.   There are times when I wish I had a 1500 but that is mainly when my wife is with me on the bike.  I go about 260lbs and with my wife on board we push the rear suspension  to the limit.  My plan is to pick up a 1500 sometime down the road but I am hoping to keep the 800.  While I know the 1500 some better features, for me the 800 just looks better but beauty is on the eye of the beholder (and  beer holder).  I hope you find what your looking for and enjoy the ride.

[TerryG]

You can find drifters, mostly depends on what you're looking for but there's 12 for sale on Ebay right now.
I went with the 1500, wanted all the bonuses it provided (shaft drive, etc.) plus I'm a good size boy and thought I might need the power. Not sure of the last year they were produced, but I'm sure that info is somewhere on this site as it has just about everything  =)

I too just got back into motorcycle, I grew up on them. But got married and left them behind until now and the Drifter was the perfect choice, love the ol' skool look of the bike, and they're priced pretty reasonable. Mileage wise, you can get some extremely low mileage bikes, saw one with 243 miles on it and it was a 2005. When I was looking I didn't want to the bike to have over 10k miles on it but that was a personal choice. Kawasaki makes a good engine so I would think that 40-50k miles wouldn't be an issue.

Good luck! Hopefully we'll see you on the road

[billster50]

Motorcycles in general have not really interested me. Lately I have been thinking about riding one. Sport bikes, no interest. Full Dresser Harleys or Goldwings? Meh. Old school bikes? Bingo. Began poking about the net and discovered the Drifter. Wow, I can get old school looks AND mechanical reliability! Is my info correct that they stopped producing the Indian style in 2006? I called one dealer and he was only interested in talking about what he had to sell, and indicated that the Drifter was kinda rare and that not many were sold yet I found a used one nearby his shop for a reasonable price and low miles. Bikes are a HUGE attraction in my area, I could probably find a few more if I looked hard enough. Same dealer, I was asking about the potential detractors of the 800 (chain drive and carb vs shaft/inj) he indicated he would not own a chain driven road bike at this point and wished his Harley were injected. How much is the belt conversion job if done by a shop?

I guess I would be considered a newb rider and would not even think about buying a bike before completing a beginner safety course and any other training I could do. The Drifter 800 is calling my name, it may not happen this season but the seed is planted in my mind. I did ride a dirt bike as a kid and rode my college buddy's 350 Yamaha a bit and have a TON of bicycling experience(58mph top speed, routinely in the 50mph range) so not a complete novice to the balance on 2 wheel phenomena. The speed is NOT my goal, just riding safe and well within my abilities.

Final few points; I really like the pointy cadillac taillights and the amber/yellow spot lights mods. And mileage, what would be considered high miles for a motorcycle, miles per year in general?