Are Drifters Suddenly becoming Difficult to Find?

[Hatchet54]

Under no circumstances would I ever consider the Drifters to be "easy to find" compared to other bikes. The relatively low number of them to begin with, coupled with the inherently collectible quality, make them sort of standouts when they do appear on Craigslist.

However that being said, I think I have to say, I've had easier times finding them in the last few years than I ever did when they were newer. When I was in high school, I found a total of 3 of them on Craigslist (and I went to school in CA, mind you - one of the biggest motorcycle hubs in the country). Of those few, they were highly priced. Hence why I put the Drifter on my backburner for many many years.

When I resumed by search in 2018, I found them suddenly much more transparent. I actually had the opportunity to look at two of them in the Rockies, and found several more on the coast with little searching. The bike I ended up finding was in showroom condition and I got it for cheaaaaap. That never would have happened in 2009...

So barring the generally uncommon nature of these bikes, in my experience I think I have to disagree. I've been seeing more of them, and more affordably.

The ironic thing seems to now be that with the bikes becoming more available, the parts for them are getting rarer and rarer. So many parts that I had bookmarked in high school are now permanently discontinued. I wish I'd bought so much of this crap back in the day and held on to it. Prime example is the Roadhouse exhaust...I'll take that one to the grave...
You just can't win!

[jmbo]

I have to admit that I see more Drifters for sale here in the states then when I tried to buy mine five years ago.  Back then it seemed like if you had one, you kept it.  Now I see more guys "moving on". I have to admit any parts specific to the Drifter are tough to find. Fortunately I haven't needed to to replace much on the bike.  That day may come. But, for now she is my one and only sweat ride.

[mittico68]

If I can chime in, I'll talk about the local market here in Italy.
As I'm used to look at the net, time by time, just for spare parts and NOS accessories for ma-deuce, I can say there are not so many Drifters for sale but I guess it depends on the relatively small number of sales back in the days when Kawa produced the Drifter.
But there's one thing that always hits my eyes: here in Italy, the 800's are much more priced than the 1500's.
I guess that's because of the cooler style of 800's...   
BTW; HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!! 

[Easy Drifter]

I'm in Clearwater FLA, just a few miles west of Tampa.

A quick search here shows 5 of the 800 Drifter and 9 of the 1500 model for sale within a 300 mile radius.

That's 14 within a 15 minute to 5 hour  drive from me.

What I've seen is there's a bunch for sale, then very few, then another bunch, a lot of times seeing the same bike relisted at a different price. When I found mine in August, it was only 1 of 4 that were for sale at the time within the same range, only it was 5 minutes from where I work so I got real lucky; I wanted an 800, I wanted it in black and relatively low mileage. I hit the jackpot.

[Troll]

Considering that the last one was built 14 years ago, and the normal attrition rate of motorcycles, the small number of them to start with, seems like a normal turn of events to me...Never were a lot of them around where I live, ever

[RockinRollin]

Is it just me or are there considerably fewer Drifters for sale than compared to 5 years ago?
I found my 1500 Drifter on Kijiji (in Canada) at which time there were approximately 6 in Ontario and more than a dozen in the Province of Quebec which is where I eventually found the one I presently own, I have been watching the resale market for Drifter 800's (in Canada) which I was hoping to buy someday in the future.
Presently in Kijiji , in all of Canada there are two 1500's and one 800 cc available up in Moose Jaw. There are none I could find in Auto Trader. Has anyone one else noticed the scarcity of resale Drifters lately? I notice there are more in the States than Canada but are they getting harder to find down there also?