"Nice Indian" compliments

[Cotton Mouth]

These bikes do get a lot of attention, it's crazy.  My most recent compliment was from a guy in a Lowe's parking lot.  I was getting ready to pull away, he got out of his truck, I could tell he was waiting for me to go past him.  He started talking to me, ripped his sunglasses off and said "that's the first one I've seen, it's the most beautiful bike I've seen".  He thought it was a new Indian.

He inquired about the color because he wanted to paint his Studebaker the same color, told him it was the Gooseberry.

[bikerbob5864]

I'm used to the crowd thing because of my custom Softail. For 15 years it's been drawing a crowd around here with offers to buy and picture takers. I can't wait to see what they say about the Drifter this Summer!
1st, I've always been associated with Harley's , and this white one at that............a red and black two tone Indian-type Kawasaki is going to cause a few heads to turn. Okay.........now don't get the wrong idea.....I'm not like the Big Cat Daddy around here.......or nothing like that!,.................I'm just seen alot..........and well known because I ride an unusual bike..... I like to stand out............Should be fun this year!!!!

[49Reo]

One year when I trailered it out to Montana to ride,(3 feet of snow at home at the time) some guy, a friend of a friend (Harley rider) eyeballed it up and down and all around, then asked, "is that the Power Plus or the S&S engine?" When I told him it was neither, it was the water cooled engine, I then had to explain it was a Kawasaki.....then he walked away....and stayed there....no great loss....to know him was to think this way by default. As a truckdriver he thought it was okay to pass on double solids lines with the semi, saying that oncoming traffic always got out of his way. I almost had to restrain my wife when he said that.

Hey, I think I just hijacked this thread!!!!

[Angel]

Ive gotten the "Is that a 40s Indian"......."its not a Harley but what is it"...... "what the heck is that"

or the Harley guy is so impressed on the setup but just cant figure it out
he'll ask "what is it" with amazement but when I respond I get no reply just
him walking away. lol

Most times at bike shows I get a crowd until they find out its NOT a HD.

When i park it at work (Brooklyn NY) most photographers like to shoot it from
different angles too.

[chief]

I've had mine confused with harley and indian. One lady thought it was a Swedish bike because of my Viking head decal. I've been complimented at red lights, in parking lots etc. I have ridden for a very long time and almost never had that happen on my harleys.

[jmbo]

I know a lot of guys say they get comments, questions, and compliments about their Drifters. I have to admit up to this point I might as well be riding and invisible bike.  I've been to s number of rallies and bike nights and nothing.  I'm not disappointed but whenever I see a rare bike like a Drifter,  at least I note the fact that it is rare.  But then I'm a bike enthusiast and the first thing I found out riding in Harley country is that most Harley riders are not bike enthusiasts, they are Harley riders. They are Harley enthusiasts. You ride an HD and they are all over it like flies on poop pointing out every little bobble, do-dad, and add-on. Takes something real special to get them excited about anything else. Each to their own.

Now that I have painted my bike Indian colors (two tone) I expect I might get more "is that the new Indian?"  from the uniformed.  We''l see if it turns the head of an HD guy.

[Ironraven]

Since mine's all flat army colors with 20mm ammo cans on the sides most folks think it's a Harley if anything... but mostly what I get is confusion.  "What the hell is that?" 

[Cotton Mouth]

Not really sure why anyone would be surprised people would think it's an Indian being it has Indian scribe all over it. BTW, it's a Kawasaki.

?

[Goombah]

Not really sure why anyone would be surprised people would think it's an Indian being it has Indian scribe all over it. BTW, it's a Kawasaki.

[DC]

Heh hehe. . . That's too funny.

It's mostly Harleys around here too.  After all, I live near Harleysville.   

[49Reo]

My son-in-law went for a ride one day, me on my Drifter, him on his Honda. Stopped for a coffee in a small cafe in the Pine Pass. Came out to leave, just as 2 guys are getting off their Harleys. The young guy stood with his back to us, the older guy says;

"How do you like riding your Indian?"

I smiled and said; "I like it."

He replied; "it's not really an Indian, you know."

Oh really? 

[gdrudd13]

The motor is essentially the same in the turbocoupe. The problem is body parts. So many differences between the normal fox bodies.

I've never had my drifter confused with a Harley, but some people look at it funny and you can tell they have no idea what it is. I've found a lot of people don't really remember the old Indians and don't know what they look like. Some don't even know they existed. Can't say I remember them, but I know what they look like. And have known long before I got my Drifter.

[jmbo]

Never had it called an Indian, but some people have mistaken it for a Harley. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing, heh.

Folks in this part of the country never confuse my '99er for a Harley and I doubt if many have seen any of the new generation Indians.  That's because everyone here rides a Harley. There is one exception.  That is at Milwaukee's Rockbox fest.  That's when all the Euro/Asian bikes show up. Seven city blocks of bikes, three rows deep, handlebar to handlebar.  Impressive for Harley country....and i've only seen one Drifter beside mine, no Indians, and only two Triumph "T"Birds (my former bike)  I expect to see at least one new Indian next year.

[pcarrell]

It's a blast. It is faster than the old 5.0's too although the owners of those either hate to or refuse to admit that (even if they just got beat).  The handling is amazing. Especially cool when you realize it was made in the mid 80's and can out handle many of the cars on the road today. Parts are a PITA to find though. You'd think I would have learned not to buy low production number vehicles because of that, and then I bought a Drifter...

A guy walking by my house the other day recognized the bi-level SVO spoiler and had to see if it really was an SVO. Then he saw the Drifter (and knew what it was) and kind of geeked out on me.

You can source some parts off of the Thunderbird Turbo Coupe of that era.  Many of the unique bits are interchangeable.

[FloridaDrifter]

My favorite story is a woman who came up to me in the parking lot of a grocery store.  Said "Nice Indian!  As long as its not a Harley!"  Turns out her grandfather worked at the Wigwam making Indians.  I'm a big Indian history buff, so it was great to talk to her for a while.

I eventually had to explain the whole kawasaki thing.

[ahernandez74]

Well if you look at the entire set up on your bike... I can kinda see why they mistake it as a indian LOL. Your saddlebags are a nice brown color too, never seen anything like that.

[Ricardo]

Never had it called an Indian, but some people have mistaken it for a Harley. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing, heh.

I do get the occasional compliment though, and that's always fun! One time I accidently drove by a crowd waiting for a exhbition procession of cars and bikes and I could definately see heads turning. I suspect they thought I was going to be a part of the procession, but actually...I was just on my way to pick up some groceries

[gdrudd13]

Those things were fast and because of the low weight over the nose, they handled like they were on rails!  Fun cars, huh?

It's a blast. It is faster than the old 5.0's too although the owners of those either hate to or refuse to admit that (even if they just got beat).  The handling is amazing. Especially cool when you realize it was made in the mid 80's and can out handle many of the cars on the road today. Parts are a PITA to find though. You'd think I would have learned not to buy low production number vehicles because of that, and then I bought a Drifter...

A guy walking by my house the other day recognized the bi-level SVO spoiler and had to see if it really was an SVO. Then he saw the Drifter (and knew what it was) and kind of geeked out on me.

[pcarrell]

I have a 1986 SVO (4 cylinder turbo from the factory).....

Those things were fast and because of the low weight over the nose, they handled like they were on rails!  Fun cars, huh?

[CDNRatMan]

  oh trust me....lol.....

I remember coming across quite a few of you that mentioned how people gathered around their Drifter while their buddies' Harley was being ignored. 

this happens on a regular basis when I am out riding with my Brother-in-law and he has a 2006 H-D Ultra Glide Classic.  Now the 800 is not as high or as big by any stretch of the imagination to his, but it is a lot better looking. This summer Ride For Dad in Kingston they ignored his bile and looked at mine.....
This past summer I was with him and we parked on the main street and were across the street in a eatery and the number of people that looked and then went for a second look at the *00 was amazing. Really started to bug the B-I-L...lol.....

[Cotton Mouth]

Before I bought my Drifter, I did a lot of research on these machines, mostly utilizing the search function and older posts on this forum.  I remember coming across quite a few of you that mentioned how people gathered around their Drifter while their buddie's Hardley was being ignored. 

[gdrudd13]

You can always tell the more informed people from the others because they get confused looking at it. They know it isn't an Indian, but have no clue what it is. Some people knew about drifters and had forgotten, while others get excited when they realize there is a way to get the Indian look without an Indian pricetag (new or old). There are always some though that think you just spruced up a vulcan to look like an Indian and regardless of what you tell them, they refuse to believe otherwise. I'm kind of used to those people though from my Mustang. I have a 1986 SVO (4 cylinder turbo from the factory) and have been told by countless people including some at parts stores that it doesn't exist or that it's an aftermarket kit. Overall though, the overwhelming majority of the comments on the Drifter are positive. It's just the ones that irritate you that stick out and that you remember. I owned mine for 45 minutes before I had a random person come up and talk to me about it. Take everyone's advice and just get used to it drawing attention. It will whether it has "Indian" stuff on it or not.

[mittico68]

A few weeks ago I was ridin' through my city when a biker (on a different jap cruiser) matched to my Drifter and said: "Hey,nice Indian!". I said: "YEEEEAH!", and went off. My bike has got NO Indian signs and the V mark still is on both sides of the tank...
As John wrote, I just let them believe what they want to believe: as someone else once said, the most important thing is that they keep on talkin' about it!

[greenbarn]

my last one was at a gas pump, I was filling up.  Gent pulls up in his car, blocks traffic beside me, rolls down the window, "hey, what year is your Indian?"  I said it's actually a Kawasaki Drifter.  "Oh, you just got Indian stuff on it?", driving off..... 

[John Hopkins]

I don't pretend my bike is an Indian although it has an Indian speedo, spirit of Indian on the tank and no Kawasaki signs anywhere..Many riders, I would say at least one in every group recognise the VN sitting underneath and the odd old gent that says 'I love the look of the Indians' or 'how long have you had this', or 'have they started making them again'? well I just leave them with their dreams so that they can tell their friends 'I saw an Indian today'.

John.