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Welcome Tim, and you can never go wrong with red and black on a Drifter. I have a 99 Drifter 800, yes another 800 rider, now everything about the 800 is a reason to dislike it also. Long story short, due to medical issues with my left leg and ankle, I can not hold up a large heavy bike, so I had to go with something lighter and smaller. 
   Now the look and feel of the 800 are really awesome, very light and easy to handle, but also an issue the lightness on the highway in a strong wind. But I have done 3 8 hour days in a row and was not sore nor in any pain. Like some of the old people here like GB and DC, I remember when 750 was the biggest bike you could get....lol......
  So with a 1500 you will be fine and you will have a truly unique ride no matter were you go. 2 tone paint jobs are cool on a 1500, think they look really nice. Headlight and 2 spotlights make for a safer ride, and depending on were you reside it could save your life. I have my right spot light in the ditch actually, because Moose coming from that side can really ruin your night ride........

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Posted by Tim

- February 28, 2015, 11:11:29 AM

Hey cool guys thanks for the responses so far. I love the retro look so I would probably go for a solid Cherokee Red or maybe have the cream and red paint. I love the Indian head that the Zambini brothers do for the tank but I am not sure if its still available. They do a cool air box cover too.
I would go for the triple light and the Indian head light on the front fender also.
Cheers

Posted by mittico68

- February 28, 2015, 09:12:39 AM

Welcome aboard, Tim!
I've got a 800 Drifter: I bought her in july 1999 and I'm still in love with ma-deuce.
Obviously, the first thing I liked about my bike is its vintage look and, needless to say, the fact that she is quite similar to the earlier Indian's but without needin' all those attentions a very old bike deserves...
But I also like a lot the sweeeet riding' she can give
For its first 12 years, I've left her 100% stock. Than I started to customize her a bit, by chroming the (double) seat grab rail and adding black front and rear "crash" bars. This winter I'm on my way to make some more modifications, as: adding spot lights (finally last month I came across a couple of old harley's spot lights and, most of all, a black OEM spotlight bar - but it's in a bad shape, so now I need to de-rust it and remove the old paint, than powder coat it) and a spring solo seat, custom made (I've found an old tractor seat...).
I just can't believe that after more than 15 years I still love my Drifter! Geee, my wife should be very gealous about that...

Posted by Troll

- February 28, 2015, 08:15:28 AM

Probably before you were born, a guy I met told me that when you buy a Harley, all you get is raw material. It's up to you to make it what you want it to be. The same goes for the Drifter, but to a different extent. You can leave a Drifter 100% stock and still be able to find it at a big rally. When I bought mine, it had been sitting for years in a barn. I won't go into the specifics, but lets just say I got it home in Aug. of 2009 and got it on the road in March of 2010...I looked at it and the first thing that stood out was "touring bike"... I'm all about miles...BIG miles. Living in the frozen upper mid-west, out riding season is short, compared to some other places, so putting on 10-12,000 a year can sometimes be quite a challenge. I spent the first 10,000 miles tweaking and repairing hidden damage. Starting in Spring of 2011, and since, any mods I have made are purely "want to" rather than "need to". I started with a bike with 40,000 miles on it, and I now have 93,000. so far, so good.

Posted by Tim

- February 27, 2015, 23:05:56 PM

Definitely its the people that make something great. I would love to hear from different riders about what year they have and what they like about their bike, and maybe what modifications they have made. Cheers

Posted by chief

- February 27, 2015, 18:56:29 PM

You're welcome Tim. The folks on here is what makes the forum what it is. I have to say I truly enjoy the people on here. Some other places aren't quite the same. Cheers.

Posted by Tim

- February 27, 2015, 11:44:05 AM

Thanks Chief! Great forum.

Posted by chief

- February 27, 2015, 11:24:18 AM

99 and 2000 - smaller tanks, analog speedo, different cosmetics (seats, blacked out, etc). But overall the only differences after that were colors. They did update the clutch a bit, but we all can do that update. 2003 had an excessive oil pressure problem that they corrected with a weird oil filter set up for 2003 and fixed it after that.

Posted by Tim

- February 27, 2015, 10:55:16 AM

Hi All
Long time lurker. I am close to being able to finally pick up my dream bike - a 1500 Drifter. I had the dirt bikes as a kid and raced motocross, then a Yamaha FZ600 when I was 17, a CB750 in college then two FZ750s. I took a long break from riding but now that my kids are older I am itching to ride again! It never went away actually.
Forgive me if this has been discussed but I want to choose the right bike. I know the 99 has a smaller tank but what other changes were made year to year?
Thanks in advance and safe riding everyone.
Tim

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