Not many, and no Blue!

CDNRatMan · February 17, 2018, 15:07:36 PM

now from North Bay ON to Georgia for a free adjustment.................

The Bride · February 17, 2018, 11:45:11 AM

Quote from: CDNRatMan on February 15, 2018, 17:06:02 PM
So I have it set up that Zoar wil give a free pizza for all Drifter riders who show up at his Pizza wagon.......and you will give a free adjustment?........lol.......

...I'm sure we can work something out lol!

CDNRatMan · February 15, 2018, 17:06:02 PM

So I have it set up that Zoar wil give a free pizza for all Drifter riders who show up at his Pizza wagon.......and you will give a free adjustment?........lol.......

The Bride · February 15, 2018, 16:11:09 PM

Quote from: DC on February 13, 2018, 15:41:35 PM
Glad to hear you're on the mend!

Would you consider finding a 2000 in another color and then having it painted the exact color you wanted?

Thanks for the well wishes. I'm on my second week of reduced schedule now, and still healing. Had to find a delicate balance there and I believe this'll work. 2-3 more weeks and I should be back to normal.

We're not currently looking for another 800, 2beers (hubby) and I have one each. And we both have non-Drifter motorcycles, too, so the garage is kinda full Just keeping myself occupied while I wasn't good for much else, doing an internet search to see what's out there now, and finding out that Blue is more rare than we thought!

DC · February 13, 2018, 15:41:35 PM

Glad to hear you're on the mend!

Would you consider finding a 2000 in another color and then having it painted the exact color you wanted?

The Bride · February 04, 2018, 19:11:31 PM

Quote from: CDNRatMan on February 04, 2018, 15:03:10 PM
when the bike tipped over in the driveway, and the second one when it tipped over in the parking lot at work.....ok never been "dropped"..........

Ah, semantics in advertising!!!

Well, hopefully my try at going back to see patients tomorrow will work out OK. Saying a prayer! I'll try to erase my name from that daily list of ailments

CDNRatMan · February 04, 2018, 15:03:10 PM

That does suck travelling that far and not what you thought it was. Also not to take from the original thread here.....

But think of the average age of the members here and then we could have a seperate section where we could daily list our aches, pains and ills. It might wind up to be the most used section on the forum.

I think everyone who owns a Drifter has a tale of a misadventure in trying to find one. One of mine was to be told there was a Drifter near my sister's for sale so of course being in the area went for a look see. The ad was ok and in it stated "never been dropped". So this did start a huge discussion between my Brother in law and myself, about what constitutes the term dropped. Well he had made a U turn the day before and had to " lay" down his Glide, but he said he never dropped it, I said if you had to move away from your bike and it is on its side it is dropped....
Anyway get to the place, the bike is in a shed, stuff piled all around it and it is jammed in the corner. Can not really tell the colour as to the dirt and dust on it. On the side stand side of the bike 2 huge dents in the tank, so I asked the Owner about that smaller one was when the bike tipped over in the driveway, and the second one when it tipped over in the parking lot at work.....ok never been "dropped"..........

The Bride · February 04, 2018, 10:46:27 AM

And so to complete my report...there aren't a very many 1500's out there for sale, either.

Last year I fell across 2 1500's in FL, turquoise, blackouts, that were for sale at a (too great) price at a dealer. I called and spoke to him, got a whole mess of pics sent, and gave him a small (refundable!) deposit over the phone. 2beers and a friend with an enclosed trailer took the 8 hour drive with hopes that we'd bring 'the twins' home and give them the TLC they deserved...worst case would be making a really good one out of the two.

Well, pics lie. Can't really say the dealer did, as both Drifters were able to run. But the amount of work they would have taken to be anywhere near safe was beyond what we wanted to get into. Corrosion, rust, scary bad wiring...one even had a 'welding' repair done to the headlight housing and it was 'fixed' from that repair with spray foam insulation. Just imagine what the wiring inside looked like!

Guess we're not the only ones who have stories about returning home with empty trailers.

kw-retrorider · February 03, 2018, 16:38:24 PM

Bride: I am recovering, and trying to get thru the first tank of clean gas in my 2005...whenever the temp hits 40 degrees.

Carry on!

The Bride · February 03, 2018, 15:17:51 PM

kw-retrorider: Was hoping to hear you're recovering well from that oops. Keep at it! I've been grateful that it's been cold here when it's been sunny, I couldn't have bundled up enough to ride even if I'd been able.

When we decided we wanted a blackout, the first one we found headed us to TN to check out a Pearl. Brought the trailer and cash in case it was all it was said to be. All original. Low miles. Unbelievably leaky bike! There was oil and gas seeping from everywhere it could. Owner was smoking near it and making us nervous! Honestly, we didn't want it and didn't want to test ride it 'cause we were kinda scared Princess came to us in awesome condition, miles were a bit higher but she'd been taken care of. Blue was lower mileage and was found for a great price. At that time there were only three Sky Blue 2000's advertised in the US.

I'm gonna take some time in a bit and check out the 1500's that are for sale, my icepacks are waiting!

The Bride · February 03, 2018, 15:04:08 PM

Quote from: Ogri on February 03, 2018, 04:38:15 AM
Is this the blue you're referring to? It's a 2000.

https://www.gumtree.com/p/kawasaki-motorbikes/kawasaki-800-drifter-for-sale/1282215558

I'd be interested in buying it myself but I don't fancy going all the way to Northern Ireland to inspect it.

That blue looks almost turquoise...the Sky Blue of a 2000 is like 2beers'. And though we got one of our bikes from MD, the other from AZ...Ireland is definitely a stretch!

The Bride · February 03, 2018, 14:21:23 PM

Quote from: CDNRatMan on February 02, 2018, 18:08:30 PM
Well Get well soon and search for a pair of 99 Drifters in either colour and see how many are around in the states.....lol.......

Very difficult to lay about as I know arthritis in both ankles and knees, but seem to be getting somewhat better.....ride safe when you get back into the swing.......

Thank you, Andy. LOL we have two 2000 Drifters, you know those 99's have funny numbers on the speedo

Yea, this hasn't really been too much fun. It's not easy for you with chronic stuff! Tried to think of lots of things I'd do 'if I had the time', but didn't feel up to any of it. Lessons learned, just an odd set of circumstances that got me here. Part old injury, part new pillow. Don't even have a good story to tell!!!

CDNRatMan · February 03, 2018, 13:23:18 PM

also a unique front fender guard on that one.....

kw-retrorider · February 03, 2018, 06:55:03 AM

Bride: You are absolutely right about 2000s....and when you do find them, mileage is high or they have been abused. I was trying to make a deal on the pearl 2000 in MN advertised on cycle trader, but they wouldn't go down on the price, even though the previous owner had "tipped it over a few times" making essentially non-repairable scrapes in the fenders and tanks. So that's what made me commit to a clean low mileage 2005, even though I wanted a blacked out bike. Good luck with your recovery.....still doing PT after my little mishap.

Orgi: That's not the shade of blue she is talking about, but this is the second 800 you've posted with paint schemes normally seen only on the 1500s in the U.S.
See: https://www.vulcandrifterriders.com/historyp3.html

Bride is referring to the Sky Blue color. The color on the bike you posted, although it looks blue on the chart is the turquoise green on the 2000 1500 that we see here in the states.

You will also see there is no gooseberry on any 800s, which is the first bike you posted. Very interesting.

Ogri · February 03, 2018, 04:38:15 AM

Is this the blue you're referring to? It's a 2000.

https://www.gumtree.com/p/kawasaki-motorbikes/kawasaki-800-drifter-for-sale/1282215558

I'd be interested in buying it myself but I don't fancy going all the way to Northern Ireland to inspect it.

CDNRatMan · February 02, 2018, 18:08:30 PM

Well Get well soon and search for a pair of 99 Drifters in either colour and see how many are around in the states.....lol.......

Very difficult to lay about as I know arthritis in both ankles and knees, but seem to be getting somewhat better.....ride safe when you get back into the swing.......

The Bride · February 02, 2018, 16:12:31 PM

I've been spending the last two weeks recovering from a neck sprain, hanging around on the love seat and on ice. Some internet searches have helped me pass the time.

So, what I found out is that there are fewer 800's on the market now. And there currently isn't even one Sky Blue 2000 for sale in the USA on CL, eBay or CycleTrader. More and more rare, they are! So glad I found Princess, and 2beers found Blue, 5 years ago.

Good news is that I'm improving and, as a Chiropractor myself, I surely understand the difficulty with being a 'patient patient'. Between not being able to work, and not being able to ride, no less drive my Nova...this has been a couple of very quiet weeks for me!