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Posted by lurker66
- April 27, 2014, 12:22:50 PMWhy a Drifter? Because it's Cool and smooth and not hard to ride for a beginner like me.
Posted by jmbo
- April 27, 2014, 08:23:40 AMQuote from: John Hopkins on April 16, 2014, 10:43:16 AMThe Drifter is a great looking bike and pretty reliable on good roads, but I took mine on a 1 in 4 (25%) single track mountain road that had plenty of very tight hairpin bends..Look on Google maps and get directions from Abergwesyn to Tregaron in Wales, it doesn't show how steep it is but believe me, it is the hardest road I have ridden ..some of those hairpins are shorter than the Drifter and the drop beside the track is one that I wouldn't be able to walk away from..My Honda Shadow VT700 would have made easy work of it at less than half the weight and a lot shorter.
John.
I have to agree with John. While the Drifter handles pretty good for its size (better than a Harley in my estimation) it's not a road course bike. Heck, I can wax my Drifter in the twisties on any day on my old '74 Triumph 750. I'd grind my running boards to nubbins if I tried the same thing on my '99er but on the other hand when I'm on my Drifter I no longer worry that on a windy day the slip stream from every semi truck of mini van will blow me into a corn field. It depends on how and where you ride. For me the Drifter suits me needs just fine.
Posted by DrifteRizzo
- April 26, 2014, 22:09:07 PMMy first ride was a Honda Nighthawk 550, picked it up in high school and rode it till I found a shadow Vt700c in college, spent 20 yrs with that bike (in fact its still in the garage). When the time came to up size I looked long and hard for an Indian that I could resurrect (lord knows I couldn't fund a running one), and I came across the Drifter. Oddly enough I had looked at one back in '02 at my local dealer but never made the connection that it was in fact a Kawasaki, I never even asked the price thinking it was out of my league. After a few years of searching, and wearing down the other half on the idea, I finally found my Drifter 1500 about 3 hrs north of my house. I've been smitten ever since. It's only been about a year, but I can't imagine riding anything else.
Posted by John Hopkins
- April 16, 2014, 10:43:16 AMThe Drifter is a great looking bike and pretty reliable on good roads, but I took mine on a 1 in 4 (25%) single track mountain road that had plenty of very tight hairpin bends..Look on Google maps and get directions from Abergwesyn to Tregaron in Wales, it doesn't show how steep it is but believe me, it is the hardest road I have ridden ..some of those hairpins are shorter than the Drifter and the drop beside the track is one that I wouldn't be able to walk away from..My Honda Shadow VT700 would have made easy work of it at less than half the weight and a lot shorter.
John.
Posted by LarryInSeattle
- April 15, 2014, 22:03:42 PMQuote from: racinfan101 on April 06, 2014, 17:24:54 PMI had an 05 Nomad once up a time too. I only got 35 miles to the gallon on premium.Interesting thread! I had my Shadow ACE for several years and liked the look of it but started yearning for something bigger and settled on getting a Vulcan Nomad and had struck up a good deal on one at a dealer in Decatur IL. Just so happened they had taken a Drifter in on trade and it was in their showroom. (first one I had actually seen up close before) I sure did like it and thought about getting it in place of the Nomad but figured that I would never be able to explain to my wife how I ended up buying a bike with more miles and older than what I was trading in, plus I really wanted the amenities offered on the Nomad. Fast forward a couple years and thoroughly enjoying the Nomad but having seen just a few more Drifters out there and loving the classic look I started just casually looking for my around town bike
Popped on Craigslist one day and there she was a scant 30 miles away and at a price I could afford. That was last October so I have had limited seat time at this point but looking forward to some longer trips on it.
Posted by greenbarn
- April 06, 2014, 18:49:15 PM+1 on that - a "must do" mod on the 800, IMO.
Posted by CDNRatMan
- April 06, 2014, 18:02:17 PMracingfan101 if you do the sprocket swap after a couple of long trips you will be even more impressed......
Posted by racinfan101
- April 06, 2014, 17:24:54 PMInteresting thread! I had my Shadow ACE for several years and liked the look of it but started yearning for something bigger and settled on getting a Vulcan Nomad and had struck up a good deal on one at a dealer in Decatur IL. Just so happened they had taken a Drifter in on trade and it was in their showroom. (first one I had actually seen up close before) I sure did like it and thought about getting it in place of the Nomad but figured that I would never be able to explain to my wife how I ended up buying a bike with more miles and older than what I was trading in, plus I really wanted the amenities offered on the Nomad. Fast forward a couple years and thoroughly enjoying the Nomad but having seen just a few more Drifters out there and loving the classic look I started just casually looking for my around town bike Popped on Craigslist one day and there she was a scant 30 miles away and at a price I could afford. That was last October so I have had limited seat time at this point but looking forward to some longer trips on it.
Posted by hellboy7
- April 03, 2014, 13:22:01 PMFirst bike was a old rickity 250 ninja... after that... didn't ride for a few years befoer I found the drifter. Definitely the bike for me, no more having to be all strung out and I can just enjoy the ride.
Posted by moosewing3
- April 03, 2014, 09:20:00 AMA few years ago I was out shopping for a new ATV. I had decided on a Polaris and went to a dealer a few hours away to look, said dealer was also a Victory dealer, I had never seen one, I spent the next hour looking at bikes and not ATVs. I had not had a bike for close to 20 years but I had the fever again. My wife laughed at the thought of me spending that kind of money. About two years ago I got the brilliant idea that I would buy and sell some used bikes from the US until I had enough money to buy myself a Victory, after one year of flipping a guy offered to trade me a Vulcan 800 classic for a sports car I was flipping. After a week of looking at it in the garage I realized what I really needed was to ride. I kept it, it was free, my flips had more than paid for it, and I went to work making it what I wanted. What I wanted was a bobber but my wife wanted to come along to, so what I ended up with is what you see in my gallery. I was hooked on the Vulcans, after many long trips, joining the Blue Knights and not being able to keep up with friends I realized I needed something larger. When a fellow BK offered a really good deal on a Drifter I jumped at it. At first I thought, that is an ugly bike but it has everything I need. But the look has grown on me, this forum has had a lot to do with that. I now love it and even when it comes time for the "dream" bike I think the Drifter will stay in the garage. Previous bikes, V45 Magna (82), 750 Katana (84), 440 LTD (don't laugh it was given to me) and an 05 Speedmaster.
Posted by Reveen
- April 03, 2014, 07:35:06 AMIve always loved the look of Indian bikes and the rarity of them. On any given day in the summer, I can turn my head in any direction while driving and see at least one HD. I dont mind HD... they look sharp and most models are fun to ride. Not only can I not afford the one Id choose if I did decide to get one, I dont want the same bike that thousands of others in my town already have. I dont necessarily want the attention, as I'm kinda shy and prefer if the spotlight wasn't on me, but my love for the style of the bike mixed with the new technology is just way too up my alley for me to ignore.
I've only had one previous bike (1978 Honda CB 750k) that I bought for $700 in 2004 from a coworker. Rode it for to years and had a lot of fun, but the maintenance was too much for me as a broke college kid so I sold it. My Drifter is a huge upgrade from that old Honda in every single way. I cannot wait to get out on the road with it and cruise with style!
Posted by pcarrell
- March 17, 2014, 09:51:17 AMMy first bike was a Suzuki TC90. Learned a lot on that bike. Tore the engine down and rebuilt it a couple of times. I next graduated to a 1975 Honda 550SS. That was a fun bike! Then came a string of Harley's with the occasional Honda CB750 or Yamaha XS650. I'd never owned a Kawasaki though. A couple decades of no riding while the wife and I raised a family, and then it was time to get some wind in my hair again. I started looking at what was for sale in my price range and, liking all things vintage, came across the Drifter and was hooked. I looked and looked for the right bike, but it was my wife that actually found my Nadine (My wife teases me that I have a wife and 2 girl friends......my bike and one of my guitars, so she insisted that they both have names). Since that time Nadine and I have enjoyed many miles together, and the wife doesn't even mind that I have a couple of girl friends!
Posted by gdrudd13
- March 17, 2014, 08:25:09 AMA drifter is my first bike as well. I've always like older cars, and that transferred over to motorcycles as well. I knew that I'd never be able to afford a real (old) Indian any time soon because of the purchase price and repairs, and I wasn't too impressed with the other variations that had popped up since the original brand's demise. Plus they were expensive as well. So I just figured I'd end up with a shadow or vstar, or something along those lines. Then I stumbled across a Drifter on craigslist, and that was it, I knew what bike I wanted. It had the looks of the old Indians, but the reliability of more modern bikes. I especially like the blacked out 800 versions, but I originally wanted a 1500 because it was bigger and fuel injected. I would have been fine with either. They both look great, and have a classic look that no other bike has, even actual Indians, with the floating rear fender. Aesthetically, they are very pleasing. Even though I knew it was what I wanted, I almost didn't get a Drifter because I couldn't find one for sale that I liked and had a reasonable price. Then a 2000 beige 800 came up for sale in OKC with almost everything I wanted and a good price, and it is now in my garage.
Posted by draconarmy
- March 17, 2014, 07:19:17 AMThe Drifter is my first bike. Growing up my grandfather had Harleys and so did my stepdad, but i learned early on that more expensive is not always better. I knew for years i wanted to ride but it was so difficult to travel back to MI, from where ever i was stationed at the time to take the motorcycle test. when it came time that i had to renew my licence in person, i was in Alabama with my wife (she is from Alabama by the way) so it made sense to just change to an Alabama licence and do the bike stuff then. My father in law has had many bikes in the time that i have known him, but his Indian is by far the most memorable of them and he knew i loved it. So when i told him i was going to start looking for a bike so did he. Right around April rolling into June of last year he calls me and tells me he found me the perfect bike. just so happens his buddy that was doing his septic line had one collecting dust in the garage. i immediately got on the phone with the bank and had them cut me a check and send it to the FIL. Took my military mandated MSF and waited for it to show up in KS from Alabama. A week after it arrived and i got to get a little used to it we packed it and the FIL's back on the trailer and scooted up to stogies.
Posted by 2beers
- March 16, 2014, 19:47:17 PMAbout 2 years ago, I decided I had to have a bike again before I get 'too old', lol. It was a search that led me to find something that fit like it was made for me (the Honda Shadow Aero 750), while I fell head over heels for the obviously impractical (the Honda Rune 
). It took me about a year to talk myself out of that one.
Though I found many (many) Aero's in the area and in my price range, I just couldn't pull the trigger. Searching Craig's and EBay one night, the hubby and I fell across a Drifter. Typical reaction..."wow...look what someone did to a Kawasaki!" And then we found another, did some research and discovered the truth of the matter. We were beyond surprised that we hadn't known about the Drifter before then. In my budget, nothing cooler looking out there...the search for mine was on once I did a 'test sit' on an '02 800 that was for sale nearby. Loved the blackout years, so that narrowed it down a bit. And though the fit was not as good for me as the Aero, it was definitely workable.
Fast forward to some continued Craigslist shopping, and when I saw Princess there was just no turning back. I'm a sucker for the unreasonably large tires of a ProStreet, so it figures I'd wind up with a large fendered Drifter.
Former bikes for me were the CB200T Honda I purchased new in '76. Can't count how many friends and family members took that little yellow Honda for their MC license road tests! In '78 I stepped up to a Suzuki GS550E. Put a lot of fun and commuting miles on that bike, and sold it when I started chasing a new career and began 6 years of higher education.
Hubby's story begins with him realizing, after Princess was here for about 4 days, that he'd like to have his own Drifter. Blue came along soon after.
2beers didn't own a 4-wheeled vehicle until he was almost 30. His first and only ride for years was a '60 Panhead Harley that had been a Sheriff's patrol bike in NY State, purchased when he was just 16 years old. Yes, he took that Hog for his license test, too. He also owned a '78 Harley Sportster Cafe', which was ahead of its time style-wise back then. He rounded out his choices with an '87 Suzuki GSXR1100 that had a Stage III kit and a whole lot of other work done to it...fast was an understatement!
So here we are, many years later, starting to enjoy a life with motorcycles all over again. Neither one of us can imagine having something other than our Drifters, and as we get to know them better we find more and more to like about them!