800 more valuable than 1500?

[Zoar]

That's Paul XR's bike. He's a fabricator and restorer. The left side exhaust is not connected.

NOT connected???!!!!! Why, that scoundrel!

[CDNRatMan]

 Ok from seeing that I can understand. There is not much room for a pipe to fit through there. Mind you it does look different.

[Troll]

That's Paul XR's bike. He's a fabricator and restorer. The left side exhaust is not connected.

[RockinRollin]

As Paul Harvey once said "And now for the rest of the story" It would appear that it is hand made and if you see the bike from the right side it looks stock?

[CDNRatMan]

      I went and looked at my 800, and wow, not a lot of room through there. First off you need to move the ignition set up to a new location. Then I went and looked on the other side the header pipe would have one ugly bend in it to make that turn. Unless they have turned the cylinder to put the exhaust on the back side. I am not sure but I'll have to check if there is any motion in that area with the shock and the swing arm. Very interesting.....I really would like to see the other side of the bike.

[RockinRollin]

You knew there had to be one somewhere, an 800 with duals - one on either side. Anyone know what make the exhaust is? If it's custom I would have it lowered a few inches and slap a set of bucos on it.

[CDNRatMan]

  Uncle Bob is such a nice guy, I wish I was closer to him to take advantage of his kind heart and gentle disposition. Not to mention his skill in metal........

Ronny if you find a Drifter 800 in ON below $4,500.00 it does not sit for long.....

GB you get cold weather that far down south...wow......lol.....wait till I tell Fred.

[greenbarn]

Yes it would be an interesting project that I would like to try, but unfortunately I can't afford 2 bikes right now. I did see one for sale on Kijiji for $3,900.00 but it sold fast. Building a custom exhaust wouldn't be cheap either even with Uncle Bob's help. But it would be fun!

Building stuff for the Drifters is as much fun as riding, IMO...  Or almost.   Especially in the winter - when it's too cold to ride.  It's a way to stay "connected" with the bike in the off season.

[RockinRollin]

Yes it would be an interesting project that I would like to try, but unfortunately I can't afford 2 bikes right now. I did see one for sale on Kijiji for $3,900.00 but it sold fast. Building a custom exhaust wouldn't be cheap either even with Uncle Bob's help. But it would be fun!

[CDNRatMan]

  I am sure if a person had access to a bending machine and welder they could make one but it would be a lot of trial and error. There is only a difference of 1.7" in the wheel base between the 2 bikes, but again there seems to be a lot of space under the 1500 vice the 800 and again the ground clearance of a 1500 is 4.9" and the 800 is 6.3" so you would think getting a pipe under the 800 would be easy but I look under mine and see a very limited space. Not being a exhaust specialist or knowing a whole lot about it I am now wondering what the difference would be in back pressure with the extra routing and then the bends involved.
This might be a really interesting project for someone with the skill and talent to try it.

[greenbarn]

... So I will say GB is close to living a perfect life. Fantastic wife, 2 really cool young men for sons,

Not quite "perfect", but definitely blessed!  The wife is nearly a Saint, and the boys are great kids (young adults now).  Heck, one is married and the other might as well be....    But I am truly thankful to God for all my blessings.

...and a really good looking 800 still on the lift, but soon to be ridable.

Man, I hope so...   It's getting a little closer anyway, and I plan to hit it hard between now and Christmas.

I, also, have never seen a 800 with a left-side dual.  I do not think there is room to run the pipe underneath.  Oh, I'm sure there is a way to do it somehow, but not easily.  Like Andy said, if you fabricated a square tube as a pass-through pipe, or even a narrow wide flattened-out pipe would work, maybe - this would be easier to adapt to the round header pipe - it just might work.

[CDNRatMan]

That is a 1500 in the picture and that  being said the drive shaft and the space is there under a 1500 that is lacking in the 800. The cross over to the left side would be a difficult part of the build.

[RockinRollin]

An 800 with a low pipe on either side and a set of buco bags on it.
Always thought the 800 would have been a better choice for this custom job (too much space between bags and fender due to shocks in the way) low dual fish tails to keep the bags lower.

[CDNRatMan]

 be interesting on the way you would have to route the pipes under the 800, and again it would not be able to be a large diameter, perhaps a square pipe to run under the bike would be an option. So perhaps square tubing for a set of exhausts, why are they round? Something more to think about over the winter.........

[Zoar]

I have not seen a proper dual exhaust for an 800 in any pictures I have been looking at. I have seen staggered on the same side. I will admit it was the hidden shock and the hard tail look that really caught my eye the first time I looked at the 800. Well that along with them big fancy flared skirts.
In a perfect world a 400, 800, and 1500 would be parked in the barn and ready to ride. So I will say GB is close to living a perfect life. Fantastic wife, 2 really cool young men for sons, huge shop off of the house, sun room too, and he has a really nice 1500, ridable, and a really good looking 800 still on the lift, but soon to be ridable.
Not sure who else has both bikes sorry getting old and can not remember anyone else. MikeakaFred and Driftingal they both own their own 800's, yes Racing mom and her husband both own between them a couple of each........

Agreed. I would prefer a pipe on either side down low low low.

When I sell get some real money two of the things on my list are:

1) Drifter 1500 in pearl white or two tone
2) Redo the pipes on my 800 so they go one to each side, and down low!

Great minds (or maybe twisted minds) think alike!

[CDNRatMan]

   I have not seen a proper dual exhaust for an 800 in any pictures I have been looking at. I have seen staggered on the same side. I will admit it was the hidden shock and the hard tail look that really caught my eye the first time I looked at the 800. Well that along with them big fancy flared skirts.
In a perfect world a 400, 800, and 1500 would be parked in the barn and ready to ride. So I will say GB is close to living a perfect life. Fantastic wife, 2 really cool young men for sons, huge shop off of the house, sun room too, and he has a really nice 1500, ridable, and a really good looking 800 still on the lift, but soon to be ridable.
Not sure who else has both bikes sorry getting old and can not remember anyone else. MikeakaFred and Driftingal they both own their own 800's, yes Racing mom and her husband both own between them a couple of each........

[Zoar]

The one thing I wish the 1500 had was the hidden mono shock like the 800. I had to heavily modify my bags to fit tight on the 1500 where the 800 it would have been no problem. But that being said I do like the shaft drive and fuel injection of the 1500. In a perfect world I would have one of each. Does anyone know if you can get dual exhaust for the 800? That would be a must if I owned an 800 (for me anyways).

I have two pipes on my 800 Drifter.

I have a BELT drive on my 800 and it is sweeeeet!

[RockinRollin]

The one thing I wish the 1500 had was the hidden mono shock like the 800. I had to heavily modify my bags to fit tight on the 1500 where the 800 it would have been no problem. But that being said I do like the shaft drive and fuel injection of the 1500. In a perfect world I would have one of each. Does anyone know if you can get dual exhaust for the 800? That would be a must if I owned an 800 (for me anyways).

[pcarrell]

For Americans, bigger is usually better, and for the most part, that's true with the Drifter.  When you compare apples to apples, the 1500 will usually draw a better price over the 800 mainly because a 1500 can haul 2 fat Americans and their gear better then an 800......yeah, I said it!

Does the 800 look better?  You bet!

Does the 800 look more classic?  Sure!

Does the 800 haul 2 200# Americans and their gear better then a 1500?  Not so much.

That being said, I'd love to ride again, and since I can't hold up a 1500 anymore, maybe someday an 800 will be in my future?

For now, I wait...........

[CDNRatMan]

  800 floor boards for the rear are different then the 1500 I think so sorry I will hang on to them......lol.......

[Trall]

This brings us to the question.....of ...... what is it worth to you.........

Ok so someone has a item for sale, so one can assume that it means nothing to the person, otherwise why are they selling it. What is it worth to you? Well perhaps you might really need this to finish a project, or, it is a rather hard item to find, so in reality it is priceless to you.
I can also make this a personal story, I wanted folding floor boards, next to impossible to find. Someone had a set and sent them to me and said pay me what they are worth to you. So I checked around and found the fair market value for folding floor boards for a Vulcan 800. We both came out good on the deal.
But to many people set a stupid high price on something because they think it is worth the high price because it is not easily found, or available.
So in short it is really only valued at the price you want to pay for it........

Just have to figure out how to leave Troll my 800 once I am gone.........

Am. That's very true. Now sell me those floorboards if they fit a 1500. There is still or was a rear pass chrome NOS for 360.  I passed just waiting it out.  If they were 260 I would of pulled the trigger.  On the other hand when I first got my Drifter and say those crazy old school factory solo set rails I wanted one so bad would of got a small loan if one came for sale at a crazy price but luckily waiting I bought a set of black saddlebags from a 1500 owner on EBay and afterwards just asked if he other parts he was going to sell and that's how I found my solo seat rail.  Also though it was a fair price at 400. 

[Zoar]

As you pointed out, it all depends on if you are buying or selling or keeping.....and what the insurance company will give you if crap hits the fan.  Somewhere in all these numbers there is a realistic value.

Regarding 800's being worth significantly more than 1500's.  Doubt it. NADA lists an '02 1500 at $3267 and the same year 800 at $2582. In my mind both are ridiculously low prices but then I have no plans to sell mine either.

One thing I found out when I was looking for my 800: NADA pricing is way off. You will not find an 8-- for $2582 and if you do it is a parts bike or has some major issues. I looked for months! I looked at a lot of bikes... I would say NADA is a solid $2K under what the market says. I can't understand why they do this with the Drifter, but they do.

[CDNRatMan]

  This brings us to the question.....of ...... what is it worth to you.........

Ok so someone has a item for sale, so one can assume that it means nothing to the person, otherwise why are they selling it. What is it worth to you? Well perhaps you might really need this to finish a project, or, it is a rather hard item to find, so in reality it is priceless to you.
I can also make this a personal story, I wanted folding floor boards, next to impossible to find. Someone had a set and sent them to me and said pay me what they are worth to you. So I checked around and found the fair market value for folding floor boards for a Vulcan 800. We both came out good on the deal.
But to many people set a stupid high price on something because they think it is worth the high price because it is not easily found, or available.
So in short it is really only valued at the price you want to pay for it........

Just have to figure out how to leave Troll my 800 once I am gone.........

[jmbo]

I don't care about resale value at all. I never plan to sell my 800 and I plan to buy a 1500 and I want to get it soon... I do not want these prices/values going up.

As you pointed out, it all depends on if you are buying or selling or keeping.....and what the insurance company will give you if crap hits the fan.  Somewhere in all these numbers there is a realistic value.

Regarding 800's being worth significantly more than 1500's.  Doubt it. NADA lists an '02 1500 at $3267 and the same year 800 at $2582. In my mind both are ridiculously low prices but then I have no plans to sell mine either.

[Zoar]

I'm at a loss as to why everybody seems to be worried about resale value. I have my 1500, and I'm just 74 miles short of 110,000 miles on it, as of this afternoon, and I really don't care about value...just reliability. Sure it's nice when people comment on how nice it looks, but nobody ever asks how much it's worth....to me, it's priceless, but I tend to keep things I like for a long time...it's a vehicle, NOT an investment!

I don't care about resale value at all. I never plan to sell my 800 and I plan to buy a 1500 and I want to get it soon... I do not want these prices/values going up.