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Posted by slotcsx
- November 01, 2019, 13:04:06 PMCool looking large bike....always had great luck with Kawie's...sat on one, fit like a glove....had to have one !
Posted by RockinRollin
- October 20, 2019, 07:47:35 AMAfter a 30-year hiatus from riding I started off on a 750 Honda Shadow (I ended on 750 Honda 30 years prior) which is a fine motorcycle but uninspired. I loved the look of Harley Davidson's styling but not their reliability. Also, I was trying to decide what type of biker was I, the long-distance tourer or the retro rider. As I was pondering my conundrum a friend told me about someone, he knew who was riding an older Japanese bike that looked like an Indian, I was intrigued, did some research and knew I had found my next ride.
Posted by Bucko
- October 18, 2019, 03:02:01 AMAt the time when I was looking for a new bike back in 2001, I was interested in a cruiser but I only had one 'must have' - it had to be a shaft drive. I was tired of dealing with chains and sprockets (I still have two bikes that have chains and sprockets and they're still a pain in the ass). Started looking around and found that the Vulcans not only had shaft drive but also Fuel Injection and self-adjusting tappets - nearly maintenance free. One look at the Drifter and I was sold! Now in hindsight, I would gladly trade the hydraulic valve lash adjusters for good old fashioned shims if it got rid of all the valve train noise, but you can't have everything (maybe I should have bought an 800 - but the chain - ugggh - would love to have an 800 now though 
).
Posted by Hatchet54
- October 17, 2019, 22:21:38 PMThe Drifter is not necessarily an old man's bike.
I was in high school in the early 2000's. I always had an inclination towards mechanical things and especially motorcycles. At a certain point in school I started calling myself a greaser, listening to a lot of 50's music and developing a hot rod mentality in order to escape what I felt was a major oppression. Began taking my machines more seriously and started my first ground-up custom build, a KZ750 twin. That bike was my identity.
As the building and riding became more serious in conjunction with my choice of literature and musical influences, I decided I needed to focus my brain on a dream bike, an end-all motorcycle that I could set as a long-term goal for myself. My mind was a little overwhelmingly scattered at this time, and I liked having dreams that I could focus on for comfort. Sort of a Kerouac type of thing, I guess.
Coming out of the cafe racer scene I decided I needed a cruiser, and soon I started fantasizing about riding a big V-twin through the Southwest. I never liked Harleys, but I loved Indians. Something about that mid-century style was irresistible to me, and I told myself that I would style my new custom ride like one of the chiefs or scouts.
The funny part about this story is that at first I had no idea the Drifter existed. However I was aware of the Vulcan 800, and for whatever reason, I decided that was the bike for me. I loved the shape of the frame, especially the triangular side covers (I still do have a weakness for that spot). I had heard great things about the riding and performance and I liked the idea of owning another Kawasaki. So I somewhat arbitrarily wrote down my dream donor bike as a Vulcan 800. Soon, all the margins on my math papers were filled with doodles of potential builds.
At the time I was struggling to find any work whatsoever, and $7 an hour doing part-time as a janitor at a warehouse was about as good as I was gonna get. So the saving started...the slow, slow saving.
However the Vulcan ended up on the backburner shortly. At some point I made the conscious decision that my financial pace was much better suited to buying multiple cheap old barn bikes and having fun RIDING them, then it was saving for something I realistically couldn't afford and waiting for a long period of time riding less. And I uphold that that was the best decision I could have made, because in the time that I would have spent saving for the Vulcan, I ended up buying something like 7 additional bikes and I rode the piss out of all of them. I had the time of my life. Plus I became a considerably better mechanic in that time, which was also a benefit.
But I never forgot about the 800, and I had a big drawing of my build on the wall that I still looked at every day. And then randomly, at some point browsing around the internet looking at pics of the 800, I came across...wait for it...THEY MADE A VULCAN THAT WAS BASED ON AN INDIAN?!?
Well my brain just about exploded at that one. Needless to say, my dream bike suddenly evolved. LOL
In the end I spent something like 11 years (and about as many bikes) waiting to eventually buy my Drifter. I had a lot of money saved after last summer and casually started looking on Craigslist. The rest of that story is in my intro elsewhere on the forum.
But anyway. I've gone through what felt like a lifetime from that initial dream, but in the end, I made it happen and I'm so in freaking love with my new machine I can't even describe it. It might be over a decade later, but a high school hot rodder with a penchant for Indian motorcycles is finally happy.
Posted by Troll
- October 14, 2019, 19:09:42 PMThat's an interesting question. My story is unique. I was teaching Rider Ed. The first night of classroom, there is a video we show that features many different kinds of motorcycles. It's called "welcome to the ride". There is a 5 second shot of an '01 1500 Drifter in the video. One of the students yelled out "my brother in law has one of those!" I didn't think much of it. Later at a break, he told me it was for sale. Ok, fine. Next day, at lunch break, he hands me a cell phone..says it's his brother in law. I spoke to him...$1000. been off the road since 2006. The rest is history!
Posted by chief
- October 14, 2019, 18:18:04 PMLooking for a replacement for a Roadking that had modern tech. Browsing a bike magazine and all the bikes, especially HD, were simply boring... then I saw the 2001 Drifters... found one in Feb of 2002 at a dealer about 150 miles from here and bought a new 2002. Honestly had never seen or heard of one before that bike magazine.
Posted by Easy Drifter
- October 14, 2019, 14:56:32 PMIt was late 1999. I saw a Drifter and wanted one bad. Then BOOM. Divorce, custody fight. Fourteen long years later, I finally got all the kids through college ( I got custody thankfully as their mother is certifiably nuts),
got back on my feet and was making decent money again. Something made me look at the Facebook Market page. It was then I saw this original owner, 6800 mile 2002 VN800-E2 in the perfect color; black. Made a call to go look at it, bought it on the spot, and have been riding the wheels off it since. To me, I've got the Indian Chief look I always wanted, in the color all my bikes have been, with metric cruiser reliability. Unless I win the lottery, this will be the last bike I own because it's exactly the bike I've always wanted since I was a kid.
Posted by tj
- October 14, 2019, 09:59:03 AMSimilar story to greenbarn, looking for an older indian...even looked at "gilroy indians". When I saw a local ad titled "indian drifter", I had to have a look. Bought it, brought it home and spent the winter rebuilding and customizing the bike. The plan was to ride it to Sturgis that same year and then sell it when I returned home....I still have it today, 5 years later.
Posted by mittico68
- October 14, 2019, 06:05:38 AMIt was back in 1999, when it happened to me to see a red 800 Drifter standing inside a bike shop, in my city.
At that time I didn't even know it existed, so I firstly thought it could have been a vintage Indian...
I remember that I was driving my car when I saw her, so I stopped and immediately made a u-turn. I went inside the shop and so it came out that was a Drifter, made by Kawa etc. etc.
After a few days, she was MINE!
I've been keeping her absolutely OEM, for a long time. But 10 years ago, I started to customize her, and the job still goes on and on...
Posted by greenbarn
- October 13, 2019, 22:20:35 PMI had been looking for an old Indian for a while. Looking on craigslist, etc. Once in a while would find a basket case for $5000, "missing parts"...." Only needs XYZ"... I thought, if "XYZ" could easily be found, the seller would already have found it and would have a restored bike, not a box of parts..... Once in a while, looking for old Indians, would find an ad for a "Indian Drifter".... When I looked into it, I figured out it was a Kawasaki Drifter, and started looking for one - had never seen one around here in the flesh.
So then I started to look for Drifters, figuring I could get an Indian-styled bike I could actually ride instead of looking for parts (the jokes on me, LOL)... Bought an 800 first, and then later a 1500 - both of which I customized to my liking over the years.
Posted by jmbo
- October 13, 2019, 19:27:31 PMI had to have one! I never knew they existed until I saw this commercial on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mrbs10YiXDc&t=6s After that I decided I had to have one. I was riding a '99 Triumph TBS 900 at the time. Great bike but not exactly my style. Let's face it that a younger mans bike. I also had a '74 Triumph TR7 750. (and oil soaked pants legs to prove it)
I'm an older guy. I like older bikes. After riding a bunch of "classics" I got tired of all the "Wrench and Ride" business so like I said, I saw the Drifter ad and everything the ad mentioned made sense to me. Its a classic looking bike but built on a modern platform.
It took me better than five years to find my '99er. I live in Wisconsin (read: Harley country) I found the bike on Craigslist across the lake in Michigan. My nephew happened to lived near by so I asked to check it out. It was the real deal. Bone stock with pretty much every Fire & Ice option originally available and only 10 grand on the clock.
I quickly sold my TBS, hopped on the Lakeland Express and bought the bike. I rode it for the first time and knew it was meant to be. I ferried it back on the boat. I was late October so I only road it for a couple of days that fall. I have doubled the millage since then. Sweet bike. And now they are saying it is a cult classic. Fine by me.
What's your story?