What to look for on a 99

[Gooseberrie]

https://youtu.be/6lbqAdys8YY

Most of the options. I believe the Drifter originally came with rider saddle. Not with Indian fender light. I have both driving lights and starting immobilizer on the alarm. The adhesive on front is reflective.

[Gooseberrie]

Can send you a movie of mine.

From the forums: "The Drifter is a light-weight in the charging system department. It uses a single stator whereas most of the other models in the Vulcan line uses a double. The Drifter has a rating of 23amps at 6000rpm (D, E1 J and R models). The rest of the line - with a few model year exceptions - has a rating of 42amps at 6000rpm (E2-E7, G, L, N and T models)." Thank you! That won't make you a cup of coffee.

Not selling. People make the scratches. They do. Later models may have larger gas tanks (16 km/liter on average) and nice adjustable air springs on the rear end. I have them maxed out already and may hit the ground under more weight. Good luck.

[pcarrell]

The front forks on the Drifter are the same as for a Fuel Injected Classic, so if a fairing fits the F.I. Classic, it'll fit a Drifter.  Reckless makes a pretty nice one for reasonable money.  http://www.recklessmotorcycles.com/

There's also this: http://www.vulcandrifterriders.com/chuckfairing.html

[Angel]

What is also different is no one carries a full fairing. Emailed a few companies with no success. I don't have access to a machine shop or to make special brackets.

[Old Drifter]

BTW, since these bikes are getting harder to find, so are the add-ons.  The more you can get with the bike at sale time, the better!

X2! I had a difficult time finding add-ons and am still looking. I also had a speedometer cable snap (99) on a road trip.

[pcarrell]

BTW, since these bikes are getting harder to find, so are the add-ons.  The more you can get with the bike at sale time, the better!

[pcarrell]

Welcome Tinker!  Glad you could join us!

You're right in that no Drifter ever had the POG.  As for the differences between the different Vulcans, the Drifter is most like the Classic Fuel Injected model of similar years.  The front forks are basically from the F.I. Classic, as is the front portion of the frame & motor / tranny.  The exception there is the cam, which is Drifter specific.  It sacrifices top end horsepower for some grunt on the bottom end in the form of bucket loads of torque.  From the tranny back, the Drifter is unique.

What this means is that some parts sharing is possible, which helps a lot on a limited production bike like this.  For instance, do you need a new clutch spring?  One can be had!  As a matter of fact, the clutch spring from a Meanstreak is a bit beefier and is a drop in, so there's a free factory upgrade!

All of the Drifters are pretty bulletproof, so no real major worries.  The biggest issue I've had in my 60,000 miles was that clutch spring.  At about 25,000 miles I swapped mine out in the garage with handtools for a Meanstreak spring in a couple of hours and then went riding.  I never looked back!

The 1999 and 2000 model do have one other shortfall.  The speedo cable tends to bind and snap sometimes.  If you replace it with a Nomad cable, which is a couple of inches longer, the problem takes care of itself.

If I've missed anything, I'm sure someone will pipe up and let you know!

Happy bike hunting!

[TS Tinker]

Normally I like a clean chrome look but for some reason the blacked out 99 Drifter has me and I can't shake it off. The one I'm looking at has some cosmetic condition issues but they are not deal breakers. The reason I am here on the VDR is I know very little about the 1500 and from what I understand the 1500 Drifter was different from the Nomad And the Classic. Example no POG. What else is different and what should I look out for?