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Posted by John Hopkins
- May 17, 2013, 05:31:01 AMYes..
The numbers are for the 1500 only..
one number for US Canada Australia.
Another for Germany, Switzerland Austria.
and another for General which includes Britain.
for the 1999 Drifters they begin
JKBVNA
JKBVNT
or
VNT50
It seems that after 1999 the VNT50 numbers were discontinued so maybe they amalgamated two markets or stopped selling to one for some reason..
It also seems that there are no listed numbers for 2000, possibly because they had overestimated the sales for 1999, if this is the case there will be more 1500's made in 1999 than any other year.
John.
Posted by pcarrell
- May 16, 2013, 08:48:11 AMSo it's country dependent? That is a strange system!
Posted by John Hopkins
- May 15, 2013, 19:27:46 PMMine is a J1 by the numbers it was built halfway through 2000, first registered in 2001 but is a 1999 model with FI, the analogue speedo and the 16 litre seamed tank..
But it was sold in Britain and our VIN is made up of a different sequence..
the first British VIN is J1 1999 JKBVNT50JJA000001
NOTHING FOR 2000
J2 2001 JKBVNT50JJA010001
R1 2001 JKBVNT50JRA015001
R2 2002 JKBVNT50JRA005001
R3 2003 JKBVNT50JRA020001
R4 2004 JKBVNAR1*4A010001
* DENOTES VARIABLE DIGIT..
my number is JKBVNT50JJA004527 and my bike was registered in July 2001 so it looks like it was the 4527th bike to be made for the British market..that seems an awful lot of J1's to be sold in such a small market, in fact it is probably more than they sold at any time in Britain.
Kawasaki have a very strange numbering system.
John.
Posted by pcarrell
- May 15, 2013, 16:51:29 PMQuote from: Troll on May 15, 2013, 07:29:58 AMBut the first two posters were both J models separated by a year.His is a J and mine's an R, so the series numbers will start over each time there is a change.
Posted by Troll
- May 15, 2013, 15:12:00 PMPrize? There was a prize? I never win anything....
Posted by 45 Bravo
- May 15, 2013, 13:46:36 PMMy 99 1500 is marked 03/99 and is number 1834.
Looks like I got screwed for the prize, even though mine was made in the first 3 months of 1999.
So, let's go the other way. who got the last one built?
(Definitely not me)
45 Bravo
Posted by chief
- May 15, 2013, 11:45:13 AMI will wager Denny Berg's Drifter is close to the lowest. Kaw gave him one of the first ones off the line.
http://vulcandrifterriders.com/photogallery/showphoto.php?photo=2841&title=1209sa2&cat=500
Posted by greenbarn
- May 15, 2013, 11:10:43 AMQuote from: Troll on May 15, 2013, 07:29:58 AMHis is a J and mine's an R, so the series numbers will start over each time there is a change. I wonder about the fact my "01 was built in July of 2000 and my W, which is a 2000 was built in May of 2000....
Every vehicle mfg. does this kind of stuff. I think they can switch model years any time they want to. I've seen cars built as early as the month of april being labeled as the following model year, e.g. build date 4/01, but 10th digit in VIN is "2", making it officially a 2002 model. It's almost a sure bet anything after about August, is the following model year. June-July seems to be about 50/50. This is all just from observation.
Posted by Troll
- May 15, 2013, 07:29:58 AMHis is a J and mine's an R, so the series numbers will start over each time there is a change. I wonder about the fact my "01 was built in July of 2000 and my W, which is a 2000 was built in May of 2000....
Posted by pcarrell
- May 15, 2013, 00:04:55 AMSeems a goofy system........
Posted by John Hopkins
- May 14, 2013, 21:27:34 PMIt might be because they use a VIN for all the VN1500s for each year which could include all the different models..so, VN1500 1999 starts at 001 whether it is the Classic, the Nomad or the Drifter...2000 they start at 001 again and as the years go by they add the mean streak and still start at 001..they may even include all the different size engines in the same run of VIN's although I doubt it because it is a Vehicle Identification Number.
Or it could be nothing to do with any of that..Kawasaki are very close mouthed about exactly how they use the numbers..
John.
Posted by pcarrell
- May 14, 2013, 19:05:24 PMSo how does a 2000 have a lower VIN then a 1999?
Posted by Troll
- May 14, 2013, 16:00:03 PMMy '01 was built in July 2000, and the vin is 099.
Posted by jkpq45
- May 14, 2013, 15:50:57 PMMy '99 1500 Drifter is #811--I'm sure someone's lower than me. Post the pics and your numbers!