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Posted by 49Reo
 - March 18, 2014, 16:47:06 PM

One year when I trailered it out to Montana to ride,(3 feet of snow at home at the time) some guy, a friend of a friend (Harley rider) eyeballed it up and down and all around, then asked, "is that the Power Plus or the S&S engine?" When I told him it was neither, it was the water cooled engine, I then had to explain it was a Kawasaki.....then he walked away....and stayed there....no great loss....to know him was to think this way by default. As a truckdriver he thought it was okay to pass on double solids lines with the semi, saying that oncoming traffic always got out of his way. I almost had to restrain my wife when he said that.

Hey, I think I just hijacked this thread!!!! ;D ;D

Posted by Angel
 - March 18, 2014, 16:30:12 PM

Ive gotten the "Is that a 40s Indian"......."its not a Harley but what is it"...... "what the heck is that"

or the Harley guy is so impressed on the setup but just cant figure it out
he'll ask "what is it" with amazement but when I respond I get no reply just
him walking away. lol

Most times at bike shows I get a crowd until they find out its NOT a HD.

When i park it at work (Brooklyn NY) most photographers like to shoot it from
different angles too.

Posted by chief
 - March 13, 2014, 11:01:53 AM

I've had mine confused with harley and indian. One lady thought it was a Swedish bike because of my Viking head decal. I've been complimented at red lights, in parking lots etc. I have ridden for a very long time and almost never had that happen on my harleys.

Posted by jmbo
 - March 13, 2014, 09:37:56 AM

I know a lot of guys say they get comments, questions, and compliments about their Drifters. I have to admit up to this point I might as well be riding and invisible bike.  I've been to s number of rallies and bike nights and nothing.  I'm not disappointed but whenever I see a rare bike like a Drifter,  at least I note the fact that it is rare.  But then I'm a bike enthusiast and the first thing I found out riding in Harley country is that most Harley riders are not bike enthusiasts, they are Harley riders. They are Harley enthusiasts. You ride an HD and they are all over it like flies on poop pointing out every little bobble, do-dad, and add-on. Takes something real special to get them excited about anything else. Each to their own.

Now that I have painted my bike Indian colors (two tone) I expect I might get more "is that the new Indian?"  from the uniformed.  We''l see if it turns the head of an HD guy.

Posted by Ironraven
 - March 13, 2014, 08:51:31 AM

Since mine's all flat army colors with 20mm ammo cans on the sides most folks think it's a Harley if anything... but mostly what I get is confusion.  "What the hell is that?" 

Posted by Cotton Mouth
 - January 02, 2014, 12:07:00 PM
Quote from: Goombah on January 02, 2014, 11:37:15 AM

Not really sure why anyone would be surprised people would think it's an Indian being it has Indian scribe all over it. BTW, it's a Kawasaki.

???????
Posted by Goombah
 - January 02, 2014, 11:37:15 AM

Not really sure why anyone would be surprised people would think it's an Indian being it has Indian scribe all over it. BTW, it's a Kawasaki.

Posted by DC
 - December 30, 2013, 13:44:32 PM

Heh hehe. . . That's too funny.

It's mostly Harleys around here too.  After all, I live near Harleysville.   :o

Posted by 49Reo
 - November 05, 2013, 10:02:00 AM

My son-in-law went for a ride one day, me on my Drifter, him on his Honda. Stopped for a coffee in a small cafe in the Pine Pass. Came out to leave, just as 2 guys are getting off their Harleys. The young guy stood with his back to us, the older guy says;

"How do you like riding your Indian?"

I smiled and said; "I like it."

He replied; "it's not really an Indian, you know."

Oh really????  ::)

Posted by gdrudd13
 - November 05, 2013, 07:41:23 AM

The motor is essentially the same in the turbocoupe. The problem is body parts. So many differences between the normal fox bodies.

I've never had my drifter confused with a Harley, but some people look at it funny and you can tell they have no idea what it is. I've found a lot of people don't really remember the old Indians and don't know what they look like. Some don't even know they existed. Can't say I remember them, but I know what they look like. And have known long before I got my Drifter.

Posted by jmbo
 - November 04, 2013, 09:30:43 AM
Quote from: Ricardo on October 28, 2013, 12:09:29 PM

Never had it called an Indian, but some people have mistaken it for a Harley. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing, heh.

Folks in this part of the country never confuse my '99er for a Harley and I doubt if many have seen any of the new generation Indians.  That's because everyone here rides a Harley. There is one exception.  That is at Milwaukee's Rockbox fest.  That's when all the Euro/Asian bikes show up. Seven city blocks of bikes, three rows deep, handlebar to handlebar.  Impressive for Harley country....and i've only seen one Drifter beside mine, no Indians, and only two Triumph "T"Birds (my former bike)  I expect to see at least one new Indian next year.
Posted by pcarrell
 - November 04, 2013, 08:13:39 AM
Quote from: gdrudd13 on October 26, 2013, 22:00:24 PM

It's a blast. It is faster than the old 5.0's too although the owners of those either hate to or refuse to admit that (even if they just got beat).  The handling is amazing. Especially cool when you realize it was made in the mid 80's and can out handle many of the cars on the road today. Parts are a PITA to find though. You'd think I would have learned not to buy low production number vehicles because of that, and then I bought a Drifter...

A guy walking by my house the other day recognized the bi-level SVO spoiler and had to see if it really was an SVO. Then he saw the Drifter (and knew what it was) and kind of geeked out on me.

You can source some parts off of the Thunderbird Turbo Coupe of that era.  Many of the unique bits are interchangeable.
Posted by FloridaDrifter
 - October 31, 2013, 19:43:26 PM

My favorite story is a woman who came up to me in the parking lot of a grocery store.  Said "Nice Indian!  As long as its not a Harley!"  Turns out her grandfather worked at the Wigwam making Indians.  I'm a big Indian history buff, so it was great to talk to her for a while.

I eventually had to explain the whole kawasaki thing.

Posted by ahernandez74
 - October 30, 2013, 10:24:28 AM

Well if you look at the entire set up on your bike... I can kinda see why they mistake it as a indian LOL. Your saddlebags are a nice brown color too, never seen anything like that.

Posted by Ricardo
 - October 28, 2013, 12:09:29 PM

Never had it called an Indian, but some people have mistaken it for a Harley. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing, heh.

I do get the occasional compliment though, and that's always fun! One time I accidently drove by a crowd waiting for a exhbition procession of cars and bikes and I could definately see heads turning. I suspect they thought I was going to be a part of the procession, but actually...I was just on my way to pick up some groceries :P

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