custom tweak shopping and sourcing

mittico68 · May 06, 2019, 01:37:39 AM

Quote from: what_the?! on May 05, 2019, 23:10:41 PM
thanks for the replies. it's become too difficult to progress. so I sold the bike. I had no idea it would be so tricky to personalise.

Wow!
Let me tell you that maybe you've been a little impatient...
Me, it's been years now since I started to personalise ma-deuce! And the job is still going on...

what_the?! · May 05, 2019, 23:10:41 PM

thanks for the replies. it's become too difficult to progress. so I sold the bike. I had no idea it would be so tricky to personalise.

mittico68 · April 28, 2019, 04:41:33 AM

Quote from: what_the?! on April 22, 2019, 03:44:52 AM
im not a fan of the shape of the drifter headlight anyway.

That's why I just bought a vintage Indian headlight repro, but I'm still tryin' to figure out where to put all the cables and stuff that are kept inside the OEM headlight...

what_the?! · April 22, 2019, 03:44:52 AM

just an update...ive taken to cmsnl website and figure that items are compatible if they share the same base components..

it looks like the vulcan classic has the same triple/light arrangement at least as far as mounts go.

im not a fan of the shape of the drifter headlight anyway.

mittico68 · April 14, 2019, 02:56:53 AM

Quote from: what_the?! on April 14, 2019, 02:19:43 AM
a windscreen and lightbar would be a start....and light visors...

The lightbar I've found was a second hand one, with rust, scratches and holes... but it was cheap! So I bought it and fixed it up.
Then I bought a (second hand) 70's H-D spotlights, with dings and rust too: fixed them, then black painted and voilà!
About the right place to hunt for, I would recommend picclick.com ("Antique, Vintage, Historic" page).

what_the?! · April 14, 2019, 02:19:43 AM

Thanks Gene..

a windscreen and lightbar would be a start....and light visors...

Old Drifter · April 13, 2019, 19:56:10 PM

Welcome to the forum. As others have said, accessories are hard to find and are getting more scarce by the day. You must be patient, some of the accessories that you may want pop up from time to time. When they do, they are grabbed up quickly and can be a bit pricey. Good luck.

what_the?! · April 13, 2019, 16:49:12 PM

i guess the issue i have is that its not easy to tell what would look right without seeing items in situ.
ive checked out things such as shocks and light bars and its not readily apparent if theyll look like the ones ive seen in pics.
for example, i want a set of progressive shocks, but the drifter showa shocks look extra wide to the shocks ive seen on other bikes- my softail and other cruisers ive had. its not apparent if a progressive has the same can width.
for light bars - i see national cycle makes a chrome one, but black seems to not exist.
its certainly making me question my purchase now as ive spent my time tweaking my bikes in the past and i thought i could do the same with this one.

greenbarn · April 12, 2019, 21:38:51 PM

Tim, you've definitely come to the right place. There is nowhere else with more info on the Drifters.

Unfortunately though, like others have said, the parts are difficult to find. Like others have said --- Ebay stuff comes up now and again. There are a couple Facebook pages that folks sell stuff on.

On the seat.... Corbin still makes the solo seat to fit the Drifters. Probably can still get a custom seat from Heather's leathers, too.

mittico68 · April 12, 2019, 01:37:38 AM

Welcome aboard, Tim.
Unfortunately for you, quite all the nice adds you've been thinking about are very hard to find, because many of the manufacturing companies no longer produce them or even are out of business...
But you can look for accessories for the vulcan Classic, as they're good for the Drifter (more or less).
The 800 Drifter has got a central mono shock (instead of the two side shocks of the 1500), so no rigid rear at all...
And this Forum is the right place to be, for infos, specs etc. about our wonderful Drifters!

Bucko · April 12, 2019, 01:37:11 AM

Quote from: what_the?! on April 11, 2019, 22:34:32 PM
yes i know that its an 800, but i really thought that the 1500 would have the same parts or options.

specifically i was keen on the visored light bars, the windscreen and the solo seat- and it appears that this bike has been setup as a rigid as i cant see the shocks.

800 and 1500 Windscreen and light bars may be interchangeable but the seat definatly isn't.

Quote from: what_the?! on April 11, 2019, 22:34:32 PM
and it appears that this bike has been setup as a rigid as i cant see the shocks.

The 800 has a rear mono-shock suspension ~ the shock is underneath.

Quote from: what_the?! on April 11, 2019, 22:34:32 PM
i was hoping to get some advice on where i can acquire these parts for a 1500..as im not having much luck finding them myself.

eBay is your friend but a lot of the accessory stuff is rare these days and if you can find what you're looking for, it will be expensive. The Kawasaki Fire and Steel accessories were always ridiculously expensive and are even more expensive now.

what_the?! · April 11, 2019, 22:34:32 PM

Hi All - i have been mildly customising my bikes for some time and had an idea that if i purchased a drifter, i could snazzy it up with a solo seat, windscreen, light bar, and some new pipes..but now im not so sure and the bike is on its way.

i purchased a 1999 1500 and this link here is a pretty good example of what i'd envisioned.

https://youtu.be/BYD41MP6IWI

yes i know that its an 800, but i really thought that the 1500 would have the same parts or options.

specifically i was keen on the visored light bars, the windscreen and the solo seat- and it appears that this bike has been setup as a rigid as i cant see the shocks.

i was hoping to get some advice on where i can acquire these parts for a 1500..as im not having much luck finding them myself.

maybe this isnt the right forum?..if not, where would be the place to go?

perhaps someone has done similar things to the bike in the link and could share?

Cheers,
Tim