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Posted by shaman258
- December 21, 2016, 16:26:40 PMQuote from: CARPE DIEM DRIFTER on December 21, 2016, 16:09:53 PMThanks for the heads up! I appreciate it. They look pretty low but I guess I will see when I go tomorrow to check it out.shaman 258, Just a heads up. The 800 Drifter with a solo seat sits high. I am 6' and 170. I consider myself average to lanky in build. My point is, that in normal thickness sole boots or shoes, my boots were not flat on the ground with the bike upright at a stop light. I opted for a Corbin seat that lowered ride height. Lowering springs are also available for our Drifters, but at a somewhat substantial price. Not trying to be a spoiler, but to give you honest info on the 800( as I see it). I love my Drifter in all ways. It is almost bullet proof, easy to work on and so unique that you will always be telling someone about it at the gas station or cruise night. Good luck on your purchase. CDD
Posted by CARPE DIEM DRIFTER
- December 21, 2016, 16:09:53 PMshaman 258, Just a heads up. The 800 Drifter with a solo seat sits high. I am 6' and 170. I consider myself average to lanky in build. My point is, that in normal thickness sole boots or shoes, my boots were not flat on the ground with the bike upright at a stop light. I opted for a Corbin seat that lowered ride height. Lowering springs are also available for our Drifters, but at a somewhat substantial price. Not trying to be a spoiler, but to give you honest info on the 800( as I see it). I love my Drifter in all ways. It is almost bullet proof, easy to work on and so unique that you will always be telling someone about it at the gas station or cruise night. Good luck on your purchase. CDD
Posted by shaman258
- December 21, 2016, 15:12:45 PMQuote from: CDNRatMan on December 21, 2016, 11:47:37 AMI'm with you 100%. I know what I want and what I'm looking for and from what I've read the drifter is the bike to give it to me. I'm 5'10 155lbs so I don't need a huge engine to get me moving. I had a little Honda 400 that was fun as hell and plenty fast for me! Big Harley guys always razzed me until they saw how fast I got going. An 800 has all the guts I need I believe. Thanks for your insight!shaman258 I bought my 800 for the same reasons as you have said, just to ride around the local area and to and from work. I worked really fine for that and it was really fun to ride. But I got tired of all the people with their big engine bikes telling me that the 800 was too small for any touring. Real sad but I can remember when the Honda 750 four was the big bad bike....I also remember my Honda 550 four which I rode near across canada one summer.
I have customized my 2 up seat on the 800 I now can ride for 8 to 10 hours without issues, and while the 800 runs really well at the 80 to 120 km range, this summer I ran in the 120 to 130 km per hour range for the full day and the bike never flinched,faltered, it ran strong and was a dream to ride.
It is all about what you can afford and what you can make due with.....my 800 fits all my needs and I make it work.....
It would be nice to have your bike under the tree xmas morning with a big bow on it........
Posted by pcarrell
- December 21, 2016, 13:15:39 PMI was merely suggesting the 1500 for touring because it has a 2 shock rear suspension, verses the monoshock on the 800. The 800 would certainly work, but I just thought the 1500 might be more comfortable for 2 people and a bunch of gear.
Posted by CDNRatMan
- December 21, 2016, 11:47:37 AMshaman258 I bought my 800 for the same reasons as you have said, just to ride around the local area and to and from work. I worked really fine for that and it was really fun to ride. But I got tired of all the people with their big engine bikes telling me that the 800 was too small for any touring. Real sad but I can remember when the Honda 750 four was the big bad bike....I also remember my Honda 550 four which I rode near across canada one summer.
I have customized my 2 up seat on the 800 I now can ride for 8 to 10 hours without issues, and while the 800 runs really well at the 80 to 120 km range, this summer I ran in the 120 to 130 km per hour range for the full day and the bike never flinched,faltered, it ran strong and was a dream to ride.
It is all about what you can afford and what you can make due with.....my 800 fits all my needs and I make it work.....
It would be nice to have your bike under the tree xmas morning with a big bow on it........
Posted by pcarrell
- December 21, 2016, 11:16:12 AMQuote from: shaman258 on December 21, 2016, 10:23:36 AMAn 800 will work great for that! I hope that the bike you're looking at is everything you're looking for!Yes, I should have clarified, I will only be riding rarely with my wife. Its primarily just going to be for me to cruise around town and go to work on. No rush on the dual seat. Really hoping that this deal goes through, Im going to look at it tomorrow (maybe xmas present? fingers crossed!)
Posted by mittico68
- December 21, 2016, 10:49:24 AMIt would really be a GREAT present...
Good luck!
Posted by shaman258
- December 21, 2016, 10:23:36 AMQuote from: pcarrell on December 20, 2016, 22:39:40 PMYes, I should have clarified, I will only be riding rarely with my wife. Its primarily just going to be for me to cruise around town and go to work on. No rush on the dual seat. Really hoping that this deal goes through, Im going to look at it tomorrow (maybe xmas present? fingers crossed!)The 800 is a great bike, and it can do many things, but I see that you mentioned riding with the wife. If it's just an occasional ride, no problem, but if you want to do some touring, like state to state stuff, a 1500 might be a better choice. The 1500, with it's dual rear shocks, is better suited to touring then the 800 with it's mono-shock.
Don't get me wrong. The 800 is a fantastic bike. It's just that you mentioned a passenger, and the 1500 is better suited to touring.
Posted by pcarrell
- December 20, 2016, 22:43:27 PMQuote from: CDNRatMan on December 20, 2016, 21:36:08 PMThat was a sad, yet happy day for me. Sad to see her go, yet glad she kept another Drifter on the road.Plus Indian_fan travelled from Jamestown ND to Ingalls IN to buy a broken 1500 for parts....
Posted by pcarrell
- December 20, 2016, 22:39:40 PMThe 800 is a great bike, and it can do many things, but I see that you mentioned riding with the wife. If it's just an occasional ride, no problem, but if you want to do some touring, like state to state stuff, a 1500 might be a better choice. The 1500, with it's dual rear shocks, is better suited to touring then the 800 with it's mono-shock.
Don't get me wrong. The 800 is a fantastic bike. It's just that you mentioned a passenger, and the 1500 is better suited to touring.
Posted by CDNRatMan
- December 20, 2016, 21:36:08 PMWell FYI I travelled 3 hours (one way) to go and get mine. I know MikeakaFred travelled from Nova scotia to Montreal to get his.......Plus Indian_fan travelled from Jamestown ND to Ingalls IN to buy a broken 1500 for parts....lol so we all do what we think needs doing......
Posted by shaman258
- December 20, 2016, 17:16:33 PMThanks! I'm in San Diego. I'm going to go and look at it for sure, its not very close to me (2hr drive away). I really hope all is well with it. I will definitely let you all know how it goes!
Posted by CDNRatMan
- December 20, 2016, 16:51:23 PMPosted by CDNRatMan
- December 20, 2016, 16:45:51 PM Ok so now I have to ask where are you located?
If you remove the item from the bike just store them and do not ruin them they are getting hard to find, windscreen and engine guard really getting hard to find originals.
Finding a 2 up seat will be difficult to find also but they do show up the odd times.
At this stage I think I would go and look at the bike and if you are well versed in maintenance on a bike or have someone you can take with you. It can not hurt to go and look at the bike check the oil look at the brake fluid, look at how things are and start from there.
Posted by Zoar
- December 20, 2016, 16:39:52 PMQuote from: shaman258 on December 20, 2016, 16:00:25 PMPassion makes us all do crazy things sometimes. I have 3 motorcycles. I don't have room for all of them. Geeee, you'd have thought I would have decided NOT to have 3 motorcycles until I had a garage sale OR thrown out the stuff in the other Bay so I would have room...But here it is DECEMBER with snow and ice everywhere and one of my bikes is still in the motorcycle repair shop because (quite frankly) I don't have room for it at home!Thanks! Its got engine guard, saddle bags and a windshield, but honestly I will likely take these extras off as I like my bikes as stripped down as possible. Love that back fender and don't like to see it covered up by bags for me since I wont be using them. Only has a solo seat so Ill have to get another dual seat so my wife can ride too!
its tough because the guy selling it doesn't speak English so his mother is doing all the translating. She said he has had it for about 4 months and needs to sell it because he doesn't have anywhere to store it. Weird. Didn't he think of that when he bought it??
The Drifter is a straightforward motorcycle with attributes of the Japanese precision and reliability with some old school attributes and easy to work on overall.