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Posted by indo
- July 21, 2016, 10:50:32 AMI have decided that when I remove the rear fender I will beef it up with biaxial glass and polyester resin. After reading the workshop manual on this site,-which happens to be the most informative manual that I have ever seen-it is a breeze to remove the rear fender. Also, after doing the IAT re-do I am getting 43 mpg vs. 33 mpg I was getting when I purchased the bike. Of course that is not completely correct as the speedo is 5 mph over. I also put two 1/2" holes in the bottom of the left side air cleaner cover to increase air flow. Seems to do the job of increasing air flow for a motor that needs quite a bit of air. Incidentally on another note, I had put a Howard Hegwer blown glass Indian head light on my Gilroy chief and I just noticed that he is still making them. The previous owner of my bike put in an original Indian light but must be grounded and since the fenders are plastic I soldered a wire to the mounting base but won't hook it to ground until I either pull the forks for oil or need to change the tire. But I will purchase one of those blown glass fender lights. They look awesome especially at night. Check 'em out...
Posted by DC
- July 18, 2016, 13:50:01 PMWelcome to the forum. Pics are always welcomed! 
Posted by mittico68
- July 18, 2016, 10:46:47 AMWelcome aboard, Indo!
BTW, did someone mention WE LIKE PICS? 
Posted by pcarrell
- July 18, 2016, 10:00:12 AMQuote from: CDNRatMan on July 15, 2016, 11:21:24 AMThat's a decent way of making butter!try this, get a couple cups of milk, some ice cream and put it in a jar, then tape this to the back fender and go for a ride. Instant milk shake....lol.....sort of.....
Posted by greenbarn
- July 16, 2016, 08:05:45 AMWelcome, Indo. Can't wait to see pics of your Drifter.
Posted by CDNRatMan
- July 15, 2016, 11:21:24 AMtry this, get a couple cups of milk, some ice cream and put it in a jar, then tape this to the back fender and go for a ride. Instant milk shake....lol.....sort of.....
Posted by indo
- July 15, 2016, 10:20:23 AMYou know I got rid of those brackets and the dual seat etc. Yes, I realize that the fenders are plastic and not fiberglass. I may have to do some strengthening of the fender with fiberglass on the underside for the rack. You guys make a good point that the constant up and down motion would put a strain on the bags as well as the fender. Back to the drawing board...
Posted by CDNRatMan
- July 14, 2016, 17:24:14 PMWelcome, yes you should ride behind a Drifter to see the fender move......
Posted by pcarrell
- July 14, 2016, 17:18:24 PMCongrats on the purchase, and welcome to the forum!
You might want to rethink the bag mounting setup though. The Drifters fender is plastic, so it won't hold much weight at all. Also, that rear fender is attached to the suspension, so it moves quite a lot while riding. Most Drifter bag mounting setups attach to the frame under the seat area, and that solves the issue. This might help you picture the setup: http://www.vulcandrifterriders.com/oemsbsetup.html
Posted by indo
- July 14, 2016, 11:38:55 AMHi guys and Gals! I just purchased a 1999 Drifter 1500 and am quite pleased. The reason that I bought it was because I have a serious sciatica problem and I was just in bad pain riding my other bike a BMW R1150rt. Sold that one and purchased the Drifter. No more pain for those long rides! Back in 2000 while I was living in Hawai'i I bought a 2000 Gilroy Chief but when I moved back to California I decided to sell it as I needed a bike that handled better and braked better. So, I went through several bikes during the interim. (Mostly high performance). Now at the ripe ol' age of 63 I am back cruising. I just recently tried the new Indian (Chief Classic) on a 60 mile loop that I do a few times a week. My thoughts on the bike...Well the motor is quite good, brakes excellent, and suspension very nice. But $20,000 out the door? Then you have to do stuff to it such as pipes, bags, etc. etc. Which brings me to the Drifter. Motor is great, sounds good, looks good, brakes OK, suspension not bad, shaft drive which I am used to and everything works as it should. I did however, put in a magnum performance IAT substitute, and a K&N filter. I just got some bags for it and will be ordering the original rack '47-'53 Indian and brackets from Starklite to mount them. When I get her dialed in I will post pictures.