Messages

My 2001 1500 fell over a few weeks ago because of wind and soft pavement.  The light bar along with left blinker got bent a bit; the crash bar and the windshield were scratched up some, but other than that the rest can be buffed out (no damage to paint) everything is OK.  I figured that I could try and bend the light bar back and if I mess it up I could just buy a new or used one.

I was curious and was looking for a replacement light bar but haven't found one. I think that the part number is K32001-006B and I even saw it listed as KAK32001-006B, would other light bars from others work (classic or nomad)?

I was possibly looking at going with a different vintage looking spotlights/blinkers with bar (Doss Teardrop) the bar is only listed for different HD's (FLST softail  1986-2003 and Road king 1994-2003)  http://www.wpsracing.com/docutespwivb.html

I love the way this looks but do not want to retrofit the bar to make it fit, does anyone know if any of those would work with very little adjustment?  Also if I go with these spot lights I would like to change out the rear blinkers to something more vintage looking does anyone have any ideas for the rear blinkers that would complement the teardrops?

I live in Bismarck, ND and there are two other Drifters besides mine, one is a white 1500 and the other is a black 800. There is also a 99 or 00 1500 with a side car at a town 45 miles to the north that I saw on a bike run as we we going through town, he had dog with him in the car with goggles on.

There are very few out there but not many and having two on the same block or patch of road at the same time is almost unheard of.

I have to drive on the interstate for my job and I always keep an eye out for Drifters I think that I saw one last year, but most of what I am seeing that could be Drifters are Indians (there is a dealer in Fargo).  There are not that many Indians out there either.

There have been alot of bikes on the road the past few weeks because of the Stirgis bike rally going on right now and those numbers will subside after this weekend, according the the lstest numbers six bikers have died so far this year, I alway say a prayer for safe passage as they travel the biways and highways.

Chief, if the seat you are talking about above came from me, here are two photos of it on my bike before I changes to a tan solo and yes the horseshoe bracket is included. Sorry, but I kept the back rest for my new solo seat, I didn't want to pay $160 more for something that I already had.

My opinion is that if that is what you like or want it to look like, do it.  I for one do have the Indian head on my bike on the tank and also the Indian head fender light but nothing that says Indian or even Drifter or Kawasaki. I for one do not like the Indian drifter wording, for one it is not an Indian, yes it is a drifter but a Kawasaki drifter.  I do not hesitate to tell people that it is a special edition Kawasaki honoring the Indian motorcycle. Although it may look like an Indian it is a Kawasaki.  If I was to put any wording on mine it would probably say Drifter of Drifter Indian.

As I started out it is yours and you can do with it as you want, you could even take the big flowing fenders off and put normal fenders on, you could make it a rat bike, you could paint it pink with polka dots, it is yours do what you want and if you don't like it change it.  You do not need my approval.

Are there any pictures of them? how about specs?

I would be interested, I live in Bismarck, ND.  My summers are usually cramed full of activities that I do, so to get lucky enough to have a drift in close to me on an open weekend would be rare but not impossible. 

Here is some additional info, George sent me:

Dear klake1,

Hello,
If you know a Vulcan Drifter 1500 owner who could come to me, I would be willing to take dimensions and get started on a jig appliance to produce Drifter 1500 solo seat rails. I am located in NJ 60 miles west of NYC. You can reach me at: (908)432-2641. Thanks,
George

I keep seeing on EBAY a seat rail for the 800 but none for the 1500, so I contacted the guy who makes them and asked about making seat rails for the 1500 and here is what he replied to me.

Dear klake1,

Hello,
At this point I have seat rails for the 800 only, but have received numerous requests for a 1500 rail. If you and your fellow interested 1500 riders would contact me at: geofitz@hotmail.com /// telephone: (908)432-2641 I will definately consider it. Problem is, there's a great deal of $ spent upfront for the design, jig appliance, etc- I would need enough orders to justify it. Thanks,
George

So it looks like if there is enough demand to make it worth his time to get set up to make them he will.  The ones he makes for the 800's sell for $199, much better than the occasional one here and there that show up for the 1500's on this site and EBAY for $325.

I for one would love to have one on my bike.

All of those who are interested, please contact George,let make this happen for all of us.

I like Bud light Chelada or Bud Chelada (both taste the same), and on those warm summer days Blue Moon (Coors) or Shock Top (Anhieser Busch). I have tried most of the rest but I like the light beers better than the dark beers.

I finally found something on the top speed on the Drifters at Bikez.com
For the 800 they have the 1999 listed as 93.2 mph and the 2000 and 2001 listed as 105 mph
For the 1500 they have the 1999 listed as 110 mph, the 2001 listed as 113 mph and for some reason they have the 2000 listed as 87 mph.
I have had my 1500 up to 95 mph and had a bit to go but was not gaining very fast, so reasonably one could get their 1500 up to between 90-95 mph in a short period of time if needed. I still prefer to ride mine around the 65-75 mph range.
You can check the info out at the following links:
http://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/kawasaki_vn_1500_drifter_2001.php
http://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/kawasaki_vn_800_drifter_1999.php

That jolly fat guy in the red suit stopped by my house on Christmas Eve. I just couldn't pass up the temptation of pulling my bike out and take a few photos of it. I live in Bismarck North Dakota where it has been winter for over a month. The temperature was about 20 degrees above zero and there is about a foot of snow on the ground. Merry Christmas everybody and a happy new year.

Thanks Annie Oakley, you are correct that mirror set is from J&P Cycles and it is priced at $270 and if you are a gold card member the price is cut down to $243 http://www.jpcycles.com/product/760-451 it is listed as an Eckcraft metal arts product so I looked that up also http://www.eckcraft.com/CyberCart/EC000105_Indian_Chief_Mirror_Set-details.aspx they have it listed for $249. They mention on their site that metric hardware is sold separately. I looked around and there is no listing or price for the metric hardware.

found this real nice looking Indian head Mirror on the internet a few months ago. I am considering getting a pair for my bike, the cost if I remember right is around $200 for the pair.  Now for the question, I do not remember from which site I pulled the picture from.
Does anyone know where this came from?

Does anyone know where to get a longer rear (heal) shifter lever?

I am 5'6" and when I put my feet on the floorboards my feet naturally come to or over the back edge of the boards. That doesn't make any difference on the right side but on the left side, my heal lands on or is just against the rear shift lever.

I would like to get one that is about 1-2 inches longer and looks like the existing one or get two new ones that are similar to factory.

Yes, I have thought of just talking the rear one off and my problem would be solved, but I ride mine mostly to and from work and I would rather not upshift with my leather shoes on.

Any ideas or suggestions are more than welcome.

Yes, I have seen an Ipod or MP3 attached to bikes.  I have seen the speakers attached to the crash bar and also so the handlebar. the Ipod was in a pouch on the backside of the windshield and I also saw one that was in a pouch on a tank bib.  One guy at my office has one and his speakers are powered from the battery.

I have given alot of thought to getting a speaker system for mine, but have not done that yet. I do not drive for long distances very often and I enjoy hearing the bike, the wind, and natures natural noises.

I wear earplugs when I drive on the highway to help with cut down on the wind noise and by wearing earplugs they actually help me hear other noises by buffering the wind slap and the muffler noise.

How easy is it to lower the front and back of a 1500?  I am 5'6" and the seat is just about 2" higher than I would like it.  to lower it, is just getting shorter shocks and fork disk?

If anyone knows how and the approximate cost please let me know.

I have had my 2001 1500 drifter for almost 2 months and I normaly just take it to work and about once a week I go on a very short ride of about 20 miles. Today I finally got to see how she handles on the wide open rode. I rode 146 miles most of it at 75 mph and I was wonderfully surprised at how well it handeled and performed. My bike is everything that I hoped it would be. Thank you Kawasaki for building me such a wonderful bike.  I hope to have many more wonderful experiences with my bike.

I 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.

With in a week after I bought mine (a month ago) from a Kawasaki dealer, I got a letter in the mail from Kawasaki Motors Corrp. U.S.A. that had the serial and engine numbers in the letter.  They also asked me to know of any address or ownership changes.

Maybe you can call them (Kawasaki Motors Corp. U.S.A.) 849-770-0400 they should be able to help you.

Does any one know what the top speed and 1/2 mile times are for both the 800 & 1500.

Now I probobly will not get anywhere near the top speed, I just wanted to know becasue I could not find it on the specifications.

When I purchased my bike 2001 1500 a few weeks ago, no owner's manual came with it.

Should I just order one or is there something better than the owner's manual out there?

I plan on doing only the very basic maintenance items myself and will bring my bike to the Kawasaki dealer for the remainder.

Should I buy an owner's manual, a service manual, or both?

What are the best places to purchase the item(s) besides EBay?

And all with out a windshield. He did say a little rain, ouch, that why I like a windshield

Some of you are missing the great segway that has landed in front of you. This is about the Drifter motorcycle use a little imagination.  Thought that you'd like the humor.
How about anything by the Drifters, Drift away by Dobie Gray or Uncle Kracker, Drifting by Enya, Drift and die by Puddle of mudd, Drift off to dream by Travis Tritt, Drifting by Sara McLachlan, Drifting by Andy McKee, Driftin' bu Earl Klugh, High Plains Drifter by the Beastie Boys.

I am a new owner of a 2001 1500 drifter and I have only filled the tank 3 times and each time that it says that it is empty, I have filled it but it only takes slightly over 3 gallons, that would mean that for my 5 gallon tank that there is almost 2 gallons in the reserve is that correct or am I missing somthing here.  I was expecting to put in around 4 gallons when I filled up but after 3 times it is almost always the same 3.2 gallons.  With me getting around 45 miles per gallon that would mean that I could go at least 65-70 miles more with the reserve without fear of running out.

What have others experienced?