My '99 1500 Drifter is #811--I'm sure someone's lower than me. Post the pics and your numbers!
My '01 was built in July 2000, and the vin is 099.
So how does a 2000 have a lower VIN then a 1999?
It might be because they use a VIN for all the VN1500s for each year which could include all the different models..so, VN1500 1999 starts at 001 whether it is the Classic, the Nomad or the Drifter...2000 they start at 001 again and as the years go by they add the mean streak and still start at 001..they may even include all the different size engines in the same run of VIN's although I doubt it because it is a Vehicle Identification Number.
Or it could be nothing to do with any of that..Kawasaki are very close mouthed about exactly how they use the numbers..
John.
Seems a goofy system........
His is a J and mine's an R, so the series numbers will start over each time there is a change. I wonder about the fact my "01 was built in July of 2000 and my W, which is a 2000 was built in May of 2000....
Quote from: Troll on May 15, 2013, 07:29:58 AM
His is a J and mine's an R, so the series numbers will start over each time there is a change. I wonder about the fact my "01 was built in July of 2000 and my W, which is a 2000 was built in May of 2000....
Every vehicle mfg. does this kind of stuff. I think they can switch model years any time they want to. I've seen cars built as early as the month of april being labeled as the following model year, e.g. build date 4/01, but 10th digit in VIN is "2", making it officially a 2002 model. It's almost a sure bet anything after about August, is the following model year. June-July seems to be about 50/50. This is all just from observation.
I will wager Denny Berg's Drifter is close to the lowest. Kaw gave him one of the first ones off the line.
http://vulcandrifterriders.com/photogallery/showphoto.php?photo=2841&title=1209sa2&cat=500
My 99 1500 is marked 03/99 and is number 1834.
Looks like I got screwed for the prize, even though mine was made in the first 3 months of 1999.
So, let's go the other way. who got the last one built?
(Definitely not me)
45 Bravo
Prize? There was a prize? I never win anything....
Quote from: Troll on May 15, 2013, 07:29:58 AM
His is a J and mine's an R, so the series numbers will start over each time there is a change.
But the first two posters were both J models separated by a year.
Mine is a J1 by the numbers it was built halfway through 2000, first registered in 2001 but is a 1999 model with FI, the analogue speedo and the 16 litre seamed tank..
But it was sold in Britain and our VIN is made up of a different sequence..
the first British VIN is J1 1999 JKBVNT50JJA000001
NOTHING FOR 2000
J2 2001 JKBVNT50JJA010001
R1 2001 JKBVNT50JRA015001
R2 2002 JKBVNT50JRA005001
R3 2003 JKBVNT50JRA020001
R4 2004 JKBVNAR1*4A010001
* DENOTES VARIABLE DIGIT..
my number is JKBVNT50JJA004527 and my bike was registered in July 2001 so it looks like it was the 4527th bike to be made for the British market..that seems an awful lot of J1's to be sold in such a small market, in fact it is probably more than they sold at any time in Britain.
Kawasaki have a very strange numbering system.
John.
So it's country dependent? That is a strange system!
Yes..
The numbers are for the 1500 only..
one number for US Canada Australia.
Another for Germany, Switzerland Austria.
and another for General which includes Britain.
for the 1999 Drifters they begin
JKBVNA
JKBVNT
or
VNT50
It seems that after 1999 the VNT50 numbers were discontinued so maybe they amalgamated two markets or stopped selling to one for some reason..
It also seems that there are no listed numbers for 2000, possibly because they had overestimated the sales for 1999, if this is the case there will be more 1500's made in 1999 than any other year.
John.
A 1999 Drifter 1500 with the VIN ending with 001215 here. According to what I can get this means mine was the 215th built?
My 2000 is 0571, built in Jan. of 2000. Did I win the prize?
Anybody here know what and/or where the build date stamp is on 1999 1500 Drifter's?
Quote from: kawasaki101 on October 26, 2013, 07:38:54 AM
Anybody here know what and/or where the build date stamp is on 1999 1500 Drifter's?
When I first got my R model, I didn't have an owner's manual (who does?) so I poked around and found this J manual. I have since found an R-1 manual....The labels are clearly marked, but they also say US only....
My VIN ends in 9xaoo4188 These are the numbers after the pre-printed characters on the sticker. not sure that means.....
Old thread, I know. But better late than never. Right? My '99 is 0076. Do I win a prize? (It'd be a first)
My 1500J is 663. It is a 1999 but was Kawasaki's own display bike so it wasn't sold and registered until 2002 here in New Zealand.
I have 1999 1500, number 588
From Lane Cove, Sydney, Australia - probably the earliest and biggest shipment to OZ -- 03/99 JHBVNAJ1 9XA002599
And who started this potential shit fight and why !!! :P
My '01 was built in July of 2000 and the number is 099
Mine is feb 1999 bike # 112
For those of you who are interested, the VIN system is described in an article in the January 2018 issue of "The Classic Motorcycle Magazine" which is now on sale.
- The VIN system was initially defined in ISO377 of 1977. The current revision is ISO3779 of 2009.
- The VIN does not tell you anything about where a bike was sold.
- Manufacturers start a year with a block of numbers. They do not necessarily use all of that block of numbers. The numbers are not necessarily used in sequence.
The System works like this:
Character 1: Where vehicle built.
Characters 2 & 3: Identity of manufacturer.
Characters 4 to 8: Identifies vehicle model, version of model, engine type (characters chosen by and for convenience of manufacturer).
Character 9: Security code (calculated by an algorithm from the rest of the VIN, it changes for each motorcycle, it can be 0 - 9 or "X").
Character 10: Year of manufacture.
Character 11: Identifies assembly plant.
Characters 12 - 17: Serial No to identify specific vehicle.
If your VIN differs slightly from this scheme it may have been allocated at a different revision of the standard.
why does everyone always use the word number with the acronym VIN....in essence you are say Vehicle Identification Number Number....just like saying PIN number....my rant for December..LOL :o
Sorry for saying VIN number Mr. language policeman Sir.........lol........
Quote from: OR Seedman on December 08, 2017, 18:53:25 PM
why does everyone always use the word number with the acronym VIN....in essence you are say Vehicle Identification Number Number....just like saying PIN number....my rant for December..LOL :o
Well, not actually everybody! :P
Sorry Pete...I should have excluded you from the grouping.... ::)
I finally got around to checking the VIN on my 2001 1500......000053 pretty low....but it was purchased by the original owner on July 30, 2002...so it sat for a while after it was shipped over from Japan....
My VIN number number is not a number... it is alphanumeric text. 8)
My 99' 1500 is 1515...don't think I win anything.lol
I know this is an old topic, but I thought I would put in my information.. My 1999 Drifter 1500 was built in December 1998. Says so right on the VIN sticker....My VIN # is 100105. In other words it was the 105th bike off the line for the 99 model year. I know that Denny Berg, (the Creator was given VIN 0048 by Kawasaki. He just sold it awhile back to his brother. Hopefully someone will win the prize for the oldest Drifter still up and running too!