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Posted by Varooom
- September 13, 2010, 19:23:56 PMI've had auto mechanics come drool over the styling and then say, "And it's got the Vulcan drivetrain; bulletproof and so far advanced from the other V cruisers..." Wonderful feeling,
Varooom
Posted by annieoakley
- September 13, 2010, 11:22:21 AMHa!!! The Pretendian...too funny 
I like it!
Posted by amishart
- September 13, 2010, 11:12:10 AMThere are virtually no after market parts for the 800 Drifter and very few for the 1500. You make em look like you want to. It's not old school its real school. Each one is its own custom. 
Posted by badboy194
- September 13, 2010, 01:14:55 AMFunny story. I parked my 1500 Drifter at the local HD dealer, and when I came out 2 of the mechanics were drooling over my Drifter. I watched them for @ 2 min laughing to myself. When I walked up one guy said nice Indian. I smiled and told them it was a Kawasaki. They had the funniest look on their faces. Now these are guys wearing all the factory certified patched of Harley. I guess they didn't know Indian didn't use a drive shaft. My Drifter is bone stock with Kawasaki tan bags and seat.
Posted by topherloaf
- September 12, 2010, 11:28:41 AMQuote from: chief on September 08, 2009, 15:39:56 PMFender lights were on most of the big bikes in the Indian era. I've seen a number of harleys with old indian fender lights... 60's and 70's vintage. And, when I find the right one I'll put one on my drifter.
We do sell the Indian fender lights - they are big and they look good when appropriately placed on the fender.
I might say, I use HD stuff on my drifter too... if it looks good I don't care what brand it belongs to... LOL
Cheers.
That's funny because I'm almost done creating the brackets and mounting hardware for a Harley Davidson Road King sundowner two up seat. How's that for just plain weird??? 
By the way, 1/4 inch heavy steel, HARD to work with.
Posted by Varooom
- September 08, 2010, 18:14:11 PMWant your drifter to look like a real Indian? Leave it out doors and never wash it and, in about ten years, you'll have your wish! Those guys wanted cheap, fun transportation and anal retention and compulsive behavior hadn't been invented yet.
Varooom
Posted by khanawalt
- September 07, 2010, 12:15:23 PMI call my bike "The Pretendian."
Posted by topherloaf
- September 06, 2010, 20:24:20 PMMy reason is probably the same as everybody else, I like the look and to me it's a nod to the older Indians. I'll tell you what, I'm just lucky enough to have a motorcycle to call my own anyway. I'm a college student with SHALLOW pockets, half of the fun is actually building the stuff I cant afford or don't want to spend the money on. For instance, yes, i have the Indian badges that are hand made, Indian head fender light, an HD switch on the dash for MY convienence and because I think it looks cool, Indian floorboards, a belt drive in the works, a HD roadking sundowner seat I'm still making brackets for, and I am halfway through a tank bib that I'm tooling from leather myself. It's not about, "well it's an Indian" to me. It's just plain old fun and I like the looks. I tell people it's a Kawasaki, they're usually impressed at the work.
As a side note, I've only ever run into ONE HD owner who thinks you're lame, stupid, not cool, etc for owning anything but a Harley and when I asked him then to give me the money to buy one because I can't afford it, he stopped cold in his tracks, and said i had a good point. All the other HD owners I know just want everybody to ride on SOMETHING. Fun is fun. That's why we ride isn't it?
CPosted by amishart
- August 21, 2010, 00:27:56 AMI bought mine as a stock Kawasaki, and I've tried to make it look like an Indian ever since. My first three Harleys I made them look different to. If ya got to explain it to someone they just won't understand. So it's best not to try.
Posted by buzzard
- August 19, 2010, 20:23:53 PMi own 2 drifters a 2000 and a 2001 i also have a 02 indian scout and a sporty with a hack on it, and both my drifters are indianized , just like the look ..its more of a tribute to my 2 grandsons who are half onieda indian. my drifters are more indian to me than my ( indianized, harley ,s and s ,cmc , scout!!)
Posted by chief
- July 17, 2010, 11:29:11 AMIn my time, I've seen plenty of Indianized harleys! My Dad would have shot the owners, but its purely a tribute to the original IMHO.
Posted by roddman
- July 17, 2010, 09:29:03 AMHmmm...why indianize your drifter ?? ..well mine is and i got just as many folks thinking it was an indian when it was factory stock than with the wide whites and indian trim ....all the harley riders love it and i have to tell 90% of them what it really is and they still like it ... i also have a 40 ford streetrod and i love the retro indian styling with all the modern technology so i'm not stuck on the side of the road waiting on an antique part to get me rolling again ...my ford didnt come with a one piece windshield or an auto trans and a 300 horse small block chevy either .... like most folks here we dont like having the same thing everyone else has so we customize them ....and as far as i know i paid for the bke and the paint and indianizing so just quit lookin at em Chris !! lol...
Posted by chief
- July 16, 2010, 11:19:12 AMI think it wouldn't be such a contentious matter were the Indian brand not currently producing bikes. I think you would get the same comments if you were applying HD tank badges etc. to the Drifter.
Everyone has the right to do as they wish to personalize their bike. There are a lot of unique looking drifters around, many are "Indianized". If that is what you like and want, go for it.
Posted by tmassey
- July 15, 2010, 20:40:55 PMKawasaki made it to look like an indian...we are just personalizing them, just as a indian resembles an henderson and so on and so on.
someone out there has their boxers in a bunch.
Posted by klake1
- July 15, 2010, 19:56:08 PMI like the look of the indianized drifters better than the factory look. That does not mean that it is better, just that I like it better. That said, mine is indianized, I did not make it that way, that was how I bought it. Mine has a very exspensive paint job on it, I contacted the painter and they said that the same paint job would cost $2,500 today. If youy ane to see what my beautyful bike looks like go to the photo gallery and see it there, it is under "KLAKE1". If I would have bought a bike that was factory, I would just do a few things to it, probobly would put on a fender light , but not an indian head one, I deffinately would take off the Kawasaki badges and whitewall tires, other than that I probobly wouldn't do anything else.