New-to-me Drifter Wish List

[Donkey]

That's one thing I know very little about is plastic bodywork (like I'm such a genius with everything else).  I will see what I get from eBay...  I wasn't smart enough to ask around here first, turns out I should have.  It's hard to gauge paint quality in eBay pics so I'm only cautiously optimistic, but I'm not afraid to buff light scratching.

That's the whole fender dilemma...  It's in relatively good shape except for the deep gouge and I'll have to get a pro on it 'cause that's not me.

[Troll]

That's not so bad. At least you have all the pieces, and it would appear that it's just a crack or two. A good bodyman, who's used to working on the new stuff with plastic parts can fix that up and you would never know it was damaged. Might not be cheap, but better than trying to find some unobtainium. Even a replacement wouldn't necessarily be the same color, so paint is always going to figure in.

[Donkey]

try to help here......

hope you find one before Sat. so you will have a nice bike........

You won't let me ride if I don't. I can tell.

(Pulled the trigger on one from eBay...  Cross your fingers!)

[Donkey]

My sadness...

[CDNRatMan]

try to help here......

http://www.ebay.com/itm/06-2006-VN1500-VN-1500-VULCAN-CLASSIC-10TH-ANNIVERSARY-LEFT-SIDE-COVER-/190629484483?vxp=mtr&hash=item2c626717c3

http://www.ebay.com/itm/06-2006-VN1500-VN-1500-VULCAN-CLASSIC-10TH-ANNIVERSARY-RIGHT-SIDE-COVER-/190629483957?vxp=mtr&hash=item2c626715b5

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/like/291266530743?clk_rvr_id=840289893270&item=291266530743&vectorid=229529&rmvSB=true

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/like/161312041430?clk_rvr_id=840316924660&item=161312041430&vectorid=229529&rmvSB=true

hope you find one before Sat. so you will have a nice bike........

[Donkey]

I'll ask.   How did it happen?  How bad is it?  maybe it can be repaired....  Got pics??

That's a shame to hear, but they can be found.   Ebay is your friend...

Being dumb...  Isn't that the only way to break your own stuff?

First of all, my garage is packed solid. I'm a small general contractor so that's my "warehouse"...  And it's pretty tight in there. I had the two bikes side by side, and at the time it was so tight the front wheels were straight just to keep the bikes from leaning too much because of the lack of room...  Shaking your head yet?

Down on my hands and knees, trying to pull the baffle out of the V&H Longshots just to see what condition the packing was in...  And it got stuck. So I'm pulling. Hard. I'm not well braced, it's awkward, and I'm already thinking this is dumb...

When it started to tip.

Didn't go far, but the right side cover lined up directly with the highway peg bracket on the 800, and punched a star shaped hole in the centre of it. I'll post pics...

It actually isn't horrible looking but it has to be fixed. I want to start fresh and make everything the way I want it and that can't stay...

And all that keeps me sane is knowing how bad it really could have been.

[pcarrell]

I broke my right side cover and I'm going to cry.  Like a little girl.

And that pretty much sums up my evening's catch up posts.

I sent you a PM about this.

[Troll]

Problem is that the cover for a 1500 is ONLY for a 1500. Classic and Nomad covers are different

[CDNRatMan]

  Ebay is your friend if you can afford the shipping charges.........

[greenbarn]

ok not going to ask about how or why.............

I'll ask.   How did it happen?  How bad is it?  maybe it can be repaired....  Got pics??

That's a shame to hear, but they can be found.   Ebay is your friend...

[CDNRatMan]

 ok not going to ask about how or why.............

[Donkey]

I broke my right side cover and I'm going to cry.  Like a little girl.

And that pretty much sums up my evening's catch up posts.

[Donkey]

You can only go wrong if you don't like it otherwise it is fine.....and you have lots of people to ask for ideas and opinions.

That is the truest quote that goes along with ANY mod!  I actually found that if I reach UNDER the clamp and undo the bag clasp, it's not so bad.  The shield bag, like I mentioned, is for "long trip essentials", so I can deal with the occasional inconvenient clasp.  And it's only an issue when the shield is actually ON, and when I actually NEED something out of it. 

[Donkey]

(Gotta remember to make that leather drive shaft cover soon!)

I have the bag for that...  any suggestions for mounting to the shaft cover most welcome!  I haven't really looked into how to do that yet...

[Donkey]

The Scootworks risers have a special stud in them - the bottom half retains the standard metric size, but the top half is SAE.  Maybe yours has a similar setup??  If you haven't already, check the size on the nuts under the triple tree to see if they're metric - the standard ones are 17mm.  .

Agreed that a little investigation is involved.  Man I wish summer was longer, it will be gone before I know it!  I was about to say I feel bad that I feel like I wasted winter, but I didn't really...  a lot of this comes from actually riding and getting a feel for what I want.  Winter is for searching, but I didn't know what I was searching for!

[Donkey]

BTW, I have a couple sets of OEM risers for sale in the "Classified" section...    a black pair and a chrome....

This I will keep an eye on for sure.

I just rotated my bars up as high as practical without twisted wrist syndrome, and I'll have to get some miles on her before I get a feel for it.  I have found that something so simple changes a lot...  I actually feel small on my 800 now after I get off the drifter becasue I did the same on that.  But black, short risers might fit the bill.

[pcarrell]

It's like having an Indian, without all of the insane prices and pesky maintinence issues.

It's a classic looking bike that you can just gas up and ride.

[Donkey]

Tribute...  ABSOLUTELY.  That couldn't be said any better.

In"met" my bike 3 years ago, but only got it his past September. I read a LOT in the mean time, including here (lurking, didn't join until I had something intelligent to contribute...  Sorry that hasn't happened yet) and that Wiki article. I also read the Denny Berg interview on here...  And as mentioned in my original post, have always loved Indian.

Now, because most people I know don't know too much about bikes, I will introduce mine as a Drifter but that might as well be Greek, so I quickly follow that up with "it's a tribute to a '47 Indian Chief", and then they start to get it...  It helps explain the valanced fenders which, since they can be love or hate, give them credence, purpose, definition, reason. Then, even if you hate them, you "get" them.

I will always honour Kawasaki and never pretend it isn't, but I respect and appreciate what they tried to do and did very well with and its a why this bike couldn't fit me any better.

And to make sure those on the border really "get", I keep this picture I found of a fully restored '47 Chief handy...  Beside mine. Then there is no argument. Im going to take the bags off and take more shots.

[bambam0099]

...  Me, I'd do this not to try to Indianize her, but to recognize the tribute she was meant to be...

" recognize the tribute she was meant to be"  - I've always tried to think of the correct verbiage to express my feelings about this topic and then you nailed it!

From wiki:
The Drifter was the result of a discussion between Ken Boyko, Don Emde, son of Indian legend Floyd Emde and John Hoover of Kawasaki. Retro motorcycles were becoming the rage and the question was posed "What would a modern up-to-date Indian look like and what kind of technology would it have?" They had Vincent Renaldi do a drawing and enlisted Denny Berg of Time Machines Inc. to build such a machine. They gave him a 1500cc Vulcan motor and the drawing and turned him loose. The final result was a motorcycle called the "Super Chief", which was taken to several shows in 1996/97 and was such a hit with the riding public that Kawasaki took the Super Chief to Japan and put it into production. Due to patent law they couldn't use the Chief moniker and up until its release the name had not been settled on. The Drifters are intended to be a "tribute" to the 1948 Indian Chief and so closely resembles the Indian Chief of the late 1940s that the uninitiated mistake it for an "old" Indian. The Super Chief was featured in several motorcycle magazines.

An article in Rider magazine quoted the creators as saying that "the object of the exercise had been to marry classic Indian styling with contemporary technology in order to create a motorcycle which one might have expected Indian to manufacture had it still been in existence at the time the project was launched". In replicating the nostalgic look of the Indian, the front fender light, rear luggage rack, and leather fringe were deliberately omitted. Three years later, the team revisited this theme by creating a classic-styled police motorcycle.

[CDNRatMan]

   I had a nice windscreen bag, but once I added the risers I had the same issue and so my bag was moved to the front engine guard, and I sort of like it and now want a second bag for the other side. I also filed the space with a set of speakers and now have tunes on a long trip. You can only go wrong if you don't like it otherwise it is fine.....and you have lots of people to ask for ideas and opinions.

[Donkey]

Love the ideas...  And the creativity...   I will answer the rest when I get a chance, but in the meantime, here's what the risers I have right now look like:

You can see that the latch holding my windshield pouch closed is jammed up tight against the riser clamp, and the riser clamp is one solid piece, not two pieces.

[pcarrell]

So Ratman put his tool box out on the fender, while I moved my rectifier up under the radiator and filled the hole with my tool box on a custom bracket.  Just proves how different and creative these bikes are, huh?  (Gotta remember to make that leather drive shaft cover soon!)

(click on pic to enlarge)

[greenbarn]

another thought....   IF your triple tree IS drilled oversized, you could still use a bushing to be able to use the OEM metric risers.... Just a matter of finding (or making) a set to fit....

[greenbarn]

Thanks. That's exactly what I thought. So now, like my 800, I assume the triple tree was bored out for the new SAE risers...

Which I guess is okay, just means I have to look for SAE risers.

Donkey, do you have a pic of your risers??   The Scootworks risers have a special stud in them - the bottom half retains the standard metric size, but the top half is SAE.  Maybe yours has a similar setup??  If you haven't already, check the size on the nuts under the triple tree to see if they're metric - the standard ones are 17mm.  I just had mine off (Scootworks Phat Risers) and verified the nuts fit the stock OEM riser studs, so that's how I know.

BTW, I have a couple sets of OEM risers for sale in the "Classified" section...    a black pair and a chrome....

[CDNRatMan]

  NCC boy here is my bag and it's location and my tool box, if you need ideas........lol you can see them in person on the 6th.....