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Posted by Zoar
- May 06, 2016, 14:23:06 PMQuote from: JagLite on May 06, 2016, 12:37:54 PMOh, I am hit. I bleed.A good question to think about.
Why?
The answer is that WE love the Drifter and others don't.
That will be $300. Send the check to:
Actually, the question that boggles me is the crazy money people spend buying a "custom Build" brat/rat/cafe'/tracker/scrambler.
They take a cheap used bike, strip it down, cut off the rear fender mount, make a thin foam covered plywood seat, bolt on parts from a wrecked bike(s), and then sell it for $15,000 and up.True, some of the custom bikes are excellent but the majority I see every day online are ugly and poor riding.
Then we have the beautiful Drifters with the classic look.
We march to a different drummer that's for sure!
How many of us would spend $250 for a flannel shirt because it is sold by one of the motorcycle "Lifestyle" companies?
Uh, I mean their lifestyle "Brand".
How many of us buy designer anything?I think more (all?) Drifter riders are independent thinking than all the lifestyle bikers who "do their own thing" put together.
Drifter riders don't need the name brand to show others how cool they are.
I think that's at least part of why our bikes are valued so low.
It has nothing to do with quality, usability, comfort, reliability, and style, Drifters don't have the hip lifestyle BRAND.Many riders will pay three times as much money for a used "Indian" even though it was a HD clone powered bike built by one of the earlier attempts at cashing in on the Indian name.
The name is the most important part of the bike to them.Which is fine by me since it allowed me to buy the '99 Drifter 1500 I wanted since first seeing pictures of Berg's Super Chief show bike.
And I hope to buy an 800 if one comes available cheap.I think eventually Drifters will go up in value but I don't see them ever becoming expensive collector bikes.
The new Polaris Indian is an excellent machine from all I have read, and is priced accordingly.
It will likely not be undervalued!
To be called 'NOT a Hipster'.
Out out damn spot!
Indeed, the Drifter rider likes the bike AND the attainable price tag.
Yesterday was one of those rough days. A lot did not go right... I took my Drifter out and rode. And rode. Evening turned into night. I rode it through the darkness and finally weaved my way home. As I got off the Drifter I felt like it was the best therapy session I could have paid for.
Posted by CDNRatMan
- May 06, 2016, 14:03:13 PMWell said.
Posted by JagLite
- May 06, 2016, 12:37:54 PMA good question to think about.
Why?
The answer is that WE love the Drifter and others don't.
That will be $300. Send the check to: 
Actually, the question that boggles me is the crazy money people spend buying a "custom Build" brat/rat/cafe'/tracker/scrambler. 
They take a cheap used bike, strip it down, cut off the rear fender mount, make a thin foam covered plywood seat, bolt on parts from a wrecked bike(s), and then sell it for $15,000 and up. 
True, some of the custom bikes are excellent but the majority I see every day online are ugly and poor riding.
Then we have the beautiful Drifters with the classic look. 
We march to a different drummer that's for sure!
How many of us would spend $250 for a flannel shirt because it is sold by one of the motorcycle "Lifestyle" companies?
Uh, I mean their lifestyle "Brand".
How many of us buy designer anything?
I think more (all?) Drifter riders are independent thinking than all the lifestyle bikers who "do their own thing" put together.
Drifter riders don't need the name brand to show others how cool they are.
I think that's at least part of why our bikes are valued so low.
It has nothing to do with quality, usability, comfort, reliability, and style, Drifters don't have the hip lifestyle BRAND.
Many riders will pay three times as much money for a used "Indian" even though it was a HD clone powered bike built by one of the earlier attempts at cashing in on the Indian name.
The name is the most important part of the bike to them.
Which is fine by me since it allowed me to buy the '99 Drifter 1500 I wanted since first seeing pictures of Berg's Super Chief show bike.
And I hope to buy an 800 if one comes available cheap.
I think eventually Drifters will go up in value but I don't see them ever becoming expensive collector bikes.
The new Polaris Indian is an excellent machine from all I have read, and is priced accordingly.
It will likely not be undervalued!
Posted by pcarrell
- May 06, 2016, 11:24:25 AMPoor Ratty.....so misunderstood......
Posted by CDNRatMan
- May 06, 2016, 10:30:20 AMYou miss the point of why people are buying Drifters, I am sure there is a few others that do all their own work and think nothing about it, and have the same level of competence I do, and we have wandered off the subject.
Posted by Trall
- May 06, 2016, 09:01:21 AMJust did........ 
Posted by mittico68
- May 06, 2016, 08:48:25 AMI think somebody should change the subject of this thread in: "Why are Ratman's mechanical skills so undervalued?". LOL...
Posted by pcarrell
- May 06, 2016, 07:23:32 AMRatman, you are more brave then I!
Posted by CDNRatMan
- May 05, 2016, 20:57:09 PMTrall, I keep telling people I have never had any formal or informal training as a motorcycle mechanic. But I like to work with my hands, and this bike is so simple to work on and we have people here who know their stuff. I will not bore you with the number of e mails I sent to either Troll or GreenBarn with simple questions and asking for a explanation in stupid so I can learn. I have all winter to do my projects and so i can take my time and just do it right......
Posted by Trall
- May 05, 2016, 20:28:02 PMYou got some serious skills to take the Drifter down to that and put it back together again. Hats off............
Posted by CDNRatMan
- May 05, 2016, 17:25:58 PM see you are not reading and comprehending again.......I do not know everything nor will I learn everything.....but....I know enough to be dangerous, but I feel confident in my ability, to get my own machine running and to get it home or to at least someplace I can get competent help to repair it.
Tweaking and tinkering on the bike during a long cold winter is a real mind saver, and so much fun.
Posted by pcarrell
- May 05, 2016, 16:58:46 PMQuote from: CDNRatMan on May 05, 2016, 15:09:38 PMSo what I'm hearing is that there is NOTHING that you don't know about an 800cc Drifter by now, since you've had virtually unlimited winter down time up in the great white north!I bought my Drifter for medical reasons. I actually used my disability pay out from Veterans Affairs to purchase my Drifter. This is my form of therapy. My logic here is that weather permitting, I need to go for a ride every day, and Wind Therapy is the best type of relaxation and recuperative system known to modern man.
Now before PC jumps in here.....winter time the Drifter has provided me with a lot of mental and physical therapy. Planning my winter projects, planning on how to make parts, fabricating parts, modifying parts to fit, learning about the bike so on a long trip if anything happens I can at least get to the next Kaw dealer to get help.
So this is my medical therapy and life saver machine.........
Posted by CDNRatMan
- May 05, 2016, 15:09:38 PM I bought my Drifter for medical reasons. I actually used my disability pay out from Veterans Affairs to purchase my Drifter. This is my form of therapy. My logic here is that weather permitting, I need to go for a ride every day, and Wind Therapy is the best type of relaxation and recuperative system known to modern man.
Now before PC jumps in here.....winter time the Drifter has provided me with a lot of mental and physical therapy. Planning my winter projects, planning on how to make parts, fabricating parts, modifying parts to fit, learning about the bike so on a long trip if anything happens I can at least get to the next Kaw dealer to get help.
So this is my medical therapy and life saver machine.........
Posted by Zoar
- May 05, 2016, 11:53:24 AMQuote from: Troll on May 03, 2016, 07:36:53 AMI derived so much enjoyment from riding my Drifter last night. I invested in rewarding myself!I've seen this question before, and my answer is still the same...Who cares? I bought my Drifter to ride, it's NOT an investment....
Posted by Zoar
- May 04, 2016, 08:28:33 AMQuote from: Tfrank59 on May 04, 2016, 08:23:25 AMAgreed. It is identified as a "replica" and that means "not the real deal". Harley's are identified as the real deal, so you over pay many thousands for them.To me it all comes down to one word: replica. It's why Drifters don't fetch much on resale. But like someone said, I bought my bike because I liked it and to ride it.
I also agree I bought my Drifter to ride it and am glad it was not 2 or 3 times the money it was.
I can't wait to ride it later today.