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definitely lube the cables and adjust them so there is a little play at the throttle....when I got my 1500 the throttle would not turn back to idle on it's own because the previous owner had taken all the slack out of the cables.....they were so tight it was binding the throttle like Troll says....Lubed them and loosened them a bit and now it turns freely......

had Basically the same problem but made the bike unresponsive,left me feeling like it was a slow slug on the road,I thought for a 1500 it was  weak as pi55 ,,adjusted said cable left a little free play and it was a different bike .

Condolences to his Family and friends .best wishes from Australia

My shaft went at 161,000K. Have had a shaft go before (Moto Guzzi). A vibration and roughness , more so on left corners turning into a sidestreet and rising trottle, from memory. Pop your swingarm off with tyre on, it is not hard - have even done it single handed. When re-assembling roll the arm up to match the engine side (and as the box is in neutral) , rotate the engine side with your fingertips to align the press pin hole - that's the only trick to it. Good time to replace the rubber boot too. How many K on it ? 

Got 40000 its not really bad or anything just annoying ,Ill check her out

Sounds like your shaft drive is acting up.  Could be worn gear or u joint..

OR.
It could be your significant other whining your riding.     Hide her shoes.  The whine will disappear sooner

LOL

G,Day al,l I've developed a whine on the left hand side,it goes away if you take your hand off the throttle,so it happens only under load, anyone have an Idea? is there a bearing that could be on its way out,its at its worse around 120KPH   Cheers

Very Nice

Yep sure is, with just about every extra imaginable

Can you throw a pic up on here,? sure would like to see it.......

Hi I'm in Coffs Harbour NSW and have a 2002 1500 Drifter that I've owned for 8 years

G,day Mate ,,,2002 same year as mine is it black?

Very rare indeed,  I just picked up a 2001 model here in Brisbane,  only had it for a few days and loving it.   Still trying to work out how many are around.  I see from kawasaki that only 50 were brought into australia.  49 in 1999 and I in 2000.   So not sure where the 2001 model fits in.   I noticed only one other for sale in Australia last week.

G,day Bully70,It seems  getting fellow Aussie owners to reply is very rare, great to here of another owner....

looks good

Thanks mate

testing one two three just testing to see if I can load pics heres a rear rack I made that takes a top box,fairley simple to make if you wanted to give it a go? just an Idea

Very nice ,going to look great

Could also be the rubber cam bore plug. There is a fix for that without engine disassembly.

G,day Troll,yeah mate there's a leak there as well I've already done smear of Black goo, it weeps a little but nothing to worry about..replaced the the O rings yesterday ,Haven't taken her out for a ride as its raining buckets at the moment,not in the mood for getting drenched....so hopefully It wont Leak,cheers mate thanks for ya Input

I'm certain its the O rings on the sleeve that screw in where the spark-plugs are,no damage on it so it not the cam chain rubbing on the sleeve....cheers

Can you post a picture?

Ill give it a go,, cheers

G,day ,just wondering if anyone knows why my bike weeps oil from a tiny hole at the rear ,right hand side of the motor ,out of a little hole near cam-chain adjuster its just a dribble but leaves a mess,,curious if there is a reason??your help would be much appreciated ,I have done a search but nothing came up....cheers

G,Day realised I didn't give a up date on the 1500 ,she arrived,Yee fricken Ha it took roughly 6 weeks to get her here,but she did arrive and in good nick too,as soon as I work out how to upload pics I will,been busy,, made a back rest and luggage rack for the double up seat,and now I'm making one for the solo,and just about got my front engine/foot rest /guard, finished ..I've been on a couple of rides and Im still amazed I haven't seen another Drifter on the road ,800 or 1500,....shame really ....cheers

The Video was Fantastic give a different perspective,last time I was up Mildura way we nearly went to Broken hill,wish I had now ,oh well next trip

Sounds like a huge discount in the cost of shipping now for sure.......

Could mean more money for accessories ,but I'm guessing there not going to part with the coin

Ok feeling a little ticked off,fairdinkum,, when I was considering buying this Bike I looked  into shipping cost ,and the time it would take to get the bike  here...,just to  reiterate the bike coming form western OZ to Victoria,found a company that said yep we will have it here in just over a week,..cool.. ,price from sellers door to my front Door $800 smackeroos,cool,...so I go head make the deal for the Bike,ring transport company to organise pick-up and pay the fee,after all was said and done, and just about to pay with credit card ,transport company grabs me by the short and curly,s and says we need to tack on another 87 bucks ,I know not a Fortune but it is when ya playing with a tight Budget. But, I pay because my new play thing will be here in just over a week..

Yeah freaking ""right" the Bike was picked up on the 25th of Jan,I rang the transport company yesterday 10 Feb to ask,Hey where my Bloody Bike Dude.Oh hang on, we will have a look into it for you,O Gee we are so sorry sir, but your bike is still sitting in the yard in Perth western Australia,its been sitting in the Corner of some transport yard because a person couldn't do there job, neglected to enter it into there computer system,But no one was going to question why is that fine looking Piece of machinery sitting there??? ...I had a Quote from another transport company same money but they said it would be here on the 1st feb,but went with this other mob because they were meant to be $100 cheaper....good grief sorry bout the rant and long post...frustrated

Yep very funny guys. As I keep saying, videos are sped up due to time restraints. In Aus we ride / drive on the correct side of the road.

Re the engine bar, mine is one of the original equip ones. I will measure it for you over the weekend. I think I am up around 48- 49,000 kms. Again I will have to check. I just bough a 2017 Indian Roadmaster so my wife can hop on the back so been riding that more lately.

Cheers mate appreciate it.....

If yours is a 2002 model then it must be a private import based on the information Kawasaki Australia gave me. I have heard that a few have been bought in. Check out http://www.vulcandrifterriders.com/1500specs.html to compare your VIN to confirm which year yours is, mine is definitely a J1. The 2002 has the larger tank which is also an advantage, I usually have to fill up every 200 km though I have gone as far as 245 on a very good day.

Great info there,Mines a 2002 all Black with chrome in all the right spots ,but that will change....the per tank distance thing will take some getting use to as my pass bikes have gotten 350 400 k per tank..but I will get use to it...when you have time would you be able to give me the outside diameter of your engine protection Bars?really appreciate the Info...
Im Digging the old school look of your drifter and it looks to be in great condition...how many KLM have you got on yours?comfy ride?

There are at least 2 others around, I ran into one near Chadstone, I live near there. and another outside of Lillydale on a ride. Let me know when yours arrives and we can compared them.

FYI check out: http://www.vulcandrifterriders.com/forum/index.php?topic=18150.25

Here is an excerpt from page 2:

I have been trying to get a definitive answer on how many Drifters were sold in Australia. Kawasaki Australia sent me a response today which blew me away:

----------------
Dear Norman.

The Kawasaki Drifter was imported in to Australia for the 1999 Model Year. There were approx 50 units sold in 1999-2000. There was one 2000 Model Year unit sold, sales were slow of the Vulcan 1500 Drifter model and it was not imported again after 1999.

Thank you for your enquiry.

Kind regards,
Murray Sayle
Homologation, Industry Relations & Technical Marketing Assistant
Kawasaki Motors Pty Ltd
Unit Q, 10-16 South Street
Rydalmere, NSW, 2116, Australia

---------

Based on the above I own 1 of only 50 bikes in Australia. There are probably a few which are no longer on the road so this is indeed a rare breed.

Old Chastone ,my old stomping ground I use to live on Railway pde,good area....that really surprises me there isn,t  more Drifters around,but I guess they may not be everyone's cup of tea,mine,s coming from WA I think they maybe pushing it,or it could be im just being Impatient ...

Not many of us in VIC. Welcome. I only pop in every now and then.

yes looks like the Victorian Drifter rider is a endangered species ,very rare I see but I did figure that I still haven't seen a Drifter on the open road yet,that's why I bought one ,still hasn't arrived yet hanging out....well thanks for the reply see out there sometime cheers

Hey Brownie. welcome to the forum! Great bunch of Blokes here. You'll really like the Drifter. Oh, did anyone mention pics?

yeah mate pic will be happening as soon as the drifter lands in My state ,its coming from the other side of the country....I've got some mods in mind, which I'm sure others here have done and completed so nothing ground breaking but cant wait to get my hands Dirty..... cheers Old Drifter