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Many thanks for this video.

I understand that you don't have to remove all the fender bolts when you take off the tire? Is the speedometer cable easy to remove?

FWIW, I have a 1999 1500. I've removed the front wheel several times. I have never removed the bolts holding the fender to the fork. When the axle pinch bolt and and the axle are removed, the wheel will drop below the fender and roll out. (The caliper and speedo cable are removed at this stage.)
The video shows the wheel being removed while the fender is in place. I believe that he removes the fender for another purpose.
Yes, the speedo cable is easy to remove. It has a knurled nut that you can grip with a pair of suitable pliers to unthread it.

God Day All,

After many years of happy riding I am seriously considering selling my 2003, 1500 but don't really know where to begin. Is there a outlet for drifter specific sales? I see there is a page here yet see no listings, maybe no one is selling.

Thanks as always for the help.

Cheers,
Curt

There is a Kawasaki Drifter Group on Facebook. I've seen bikes for sale on there from time to time.

I don't know why that bleeder valve is there.  I've never used it.  Assuming the cooling system is full enough, it should self purge any air without having to use the bleeder screw - maybe using the screw allows it to purge faster, but in any case, any air should be purged after one heat/cool cycle.

Thanks. This one is so corroded that it's a wonder anything can come out of it. I neved knew it was there. It is not shown in the service manual that I have. At any rate, it's good to get a second opinion.

Tks, much Paul

I figure that I am worrying to much over nothing. I've had a few hundred km riding since I did the change and the level has not changed in the overflow reservoir.  No temp warning light and the fan comes on when needed. Maybe some day, I'll find out what that "bleeder" is.
Mine had chrome handlebar when I bought it. I blacked them. For the rest, the shock covers, headlight and most else is black. If I could afford it, I would get the exhaust done in black ceramic, but that's not on at least in the near future.
Take care. Keep the rubber side down.

Is this a J model '99 or '00 - Black chrome handlebars, fork covers , indicators .?

I'm sitting in the garage and can't visualise where that is !!!

Yes, it's a 1999 J model. You can see by my profile pic that it is not stock, so I don't know the answer to your "black" questions. In brief, this was the Kawasaki raffle bike at the 1999 Toronto Motorcycle show. So, the paint scheme is custom and it has a Cobra two into one exhaust. I am the 4th owner so I don't know all the details of what is custom, but from what I can see, the drive train is stock.
I hope that helps to clarify things.

OK, it seems that I now have a new issue. To back up, I had no problems with leaks or cooling. I simply figured that it would be good to drain and fill the system since I do not know when the previous owner did it last.
I started the bike, ran it for 30 seconds or so, then shut her down and removed the bleed screw from the water pump. If a drop came out, that was it. So, I squeezed the lower rad hose and a bit more came out. Great, or so I thought. I put the bleed screw back in but noticed more coolant on the garage floor than what came out of the bleeder. So, I squeezed the hose again and saw coolant dripping from behind where the lower hose enters the pump. It's really tough to see, but after a few attempts, I saw that it was not coming from the hose.
There appears to be some kind of plug or bolt behind the hose that inserts into the pump parallel to the hose, so perpendicular to the 4 bolts that hold the pump. I'm attaching a pic from the service manual. It does not show this plug/bolt. The only way to get to it will be to remove the exhaust and the lower hose.
The only time that it leaks is when I squeeze the hose.
Can someone tell me what this plug/bolt is, please?
thank you

Edit. I used a boroscope camera to take a pic of where I believe the "leak" is coming from. It  looks like there is a through hole in some kind of bleeder. It looks pretty corroded. Now that the bike is completely cooled down, squeezing the rad hose does not push any collant out.
Grant

I bled only a trickle, from just the water pump on my J. I'd start the girl and run her for 20 secs or so , then try again .  Then a run around & around the block to see if the Coolant light comes on .

Tks much. As soon as it stops raining, I'll give that a try.    

OK, I'm back. I drained the rad, the overflow tank and a very small amount from the water pump bolt. No worries there. Even I can figure that out.

I topped up the rad and the overflow tank. I loosenedd the bleeder bolt on the water pump, but nothing has come out. Same thing with the thermostat bleeder.

According to the manual, both of these should bleed a little before starting the bike. Is this correct? With no pressure in the cooling system is it only gravity that should push coolant out the pump?

Tks for any advice. I've drained and filled literally dozens of cars, but never messed with bleeding systems.

You must have a J model. The R model requires tank repositioning to access the filler cap. The opening you see with the cap does not exist with the 5 gallon tank.

Thanks much for this. It sure makes it easy. I like easy.   

Grant

I've read the service manual instructions on changing the coolant. I've also read the two articles here on doing it without removing the tank.

I've had the Drifter for 3 years and not changed the coolant so I think that I am overdue.

However, when I remove the dash and the speedometer nacelle, I can easily get to the rad cap and the thermostat bleeder, without doing anything more with the tank. Is there something I am missing on why the tank needs to be raised or removed?

thank you

Grant
Ottawa ON

The horns are hot all the time, the button provides a ground to complete the circuit. The horn system has it's own fuse and wiring harness.

Understood. I'm slow but persistent. The damn part about all this is that I have a clymer manual with a full colour wiring diagram. I forgot all about that until just now. I'm very sorry to have wasted your time, Troll.

Thank you much.

I found that diagram in the service manual after you replied. I don't know why I didn't see it sooner.

At any rate, the diagram shows that the horn button closes a connection between bk/y and bk/w. The diagram does not show where bk/y starts as far as I can see. I can follow it to its other connections, but not to its initial point. Is bk/y hot? If so, the button sends power from bk/y to bk/w, which is connected to the horns. Correct?

I accept your advice about a relay. I'm simply not sure how to wire it until I figure out the existing wiring.

edit. I've just seen a write up on mods on adding air horns to a Drifter. I'll read that and will likely find my answers there.

Tks again.

I have 2 fiamm horns from a previous bike that I want to install on my Drifter in place of the stock ones. The fiamm have only one terminal, getting the ground from the mounting stud.
Today, I put a continuity meter on the terminals of the right hand stock horn and both terminals had continuity to ground. I don't understand that. I would have thought that one would show no continuity and it would be hot when the horn button was pressed.
I can't find a wiring diagram showing the horns.
Can someone here help, please?
Thanks

I know that this is an old thread. Can you tell me how your passenger gets her feet on the rear pegs? Does she need to put her feet through the bars? Thank you

If Ted is no longer making these and if anyone is interested in getting one, Malcolm Wilson in the UK is still making them for both the 800 and the 1500 model. He can be found on the VDOG UK Facebook page. He is a great guy to deal with in my experience.

When you removed, cleaned and replaced the battery, did you, by chance forget to mount the "fall over" switch correctly?

Malcolm is the admin on the VDOG UK facebook page. You can reach him there.

I believe that you can simply send a PM to Chief, the administrator of the forum. I've not tried to leave, but he always replies to my messages.

I think I must have spark because when he sprayed the starter fluid it did "run" for like half a second.

If I didn't have spark, it would just crank and not ignite at all, correct?

Sorry, I understood from your first post that it never started. It just "tried to".

Chief has given you excellent information.

In reply to your question, if it ran briefly, clearly some spark is there. I would still check to see if all plugs are firing, though. It's an easy thing to check and you have nothing to lose.

Do you have spark?

I had a similar problem last year and it ended up being a problem with the bank's system. You may want to try the card elsewhere just to ensure your card is working. I can't think of an easy solution, but will keep looking.

Cheers.

Sorry, Chief. The card works fine. I've done 3 other online transactions successfully. None of them were US transactions, though. I have no plans right not to purchase anything from a US vendor, but when I do, I I'll use it and get back to you.

No joy, Chief.

Since yesterday, I have tried paying both through Paypal, using my credit card and by using my credit card directly. In Firefox, I get all the info in, then get a "temporary problem" screen. I've seen that before, though. It's not temporary.

So, I tried just now using Microsoft Edge browser. I get all the way through, entering all my credit card info in and this time I get a message saying that my card issuer has declined the transaction. That makes no sense, as I use the same card for all my online purchases - Canadian and otherwise.

Chief

I tried to pay for a year's subscription, but Paypal says that you will only take payments from people with a US billing address. I don't have one. I don't have a Paypal account, either. Any other options?

Grant

Thanks to you both.

I had downloaded that sheet, Chief, and read a few other articles on doing this. My "confusion" stems from the fact that Drag Specialties seems to make several these with varying prices and they all look the same to me. Clearly, there must be some difference, but it's not clear on the site, other than to list which Harleys they fit.

I will post if I decide to go ahead. At these prices and with the canadian dollar being in the toilet, I will likely live with what I have.

In 1999, when I had my brand new Drifter, I installed the ignition re-locate to the plate on the gas tank. I seem to recall that, back then, I ordered a plug and play switch and it came with the necessary plate.

Fast forward to the present. I would like to do the same on my current 1500 1999 Drifter. I've read the threads here on doing it and I have found this switch on Ebay

https://www.ebay.com/itm/284002823496?fits=Make%3AHarley-Davidson&_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110013%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIMRXI%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20201210111452%26meid%3D28892437ea7b4660b44bd9cb013f361e%26pid%3D101196%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D2%26sd%3D124112636766%26itm%3D284002823496%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DPromotedRVI%26brand%3DDrag+Specialties&_trksid=p2047675.c101196.m2219&amdata=cksum%3A28400282349628892437ea7b4660b44bd9cb013f361e%7Cenc%3AAQAHAAAA8Iq9Pd1eiueKRlho1pRz6mJKlVrsEIRY5XQbm0U3kwQMJU8uJXDTVuwq7I2vmmZBDwzwz1nWACo00Liam0kEoJ8hf1uNpT8G5KmPvViT1RWG1VKSBeIJJx1Ri33So%252BorEYnxK%252FD0kIsjfXvuPi0vOokZ5rTmZ6aIIkv43qju%252FDHKCeVI%252BVvzL%252F6KFKrMtWLlhwe%252F8rVoPj%252FBIUMIHyuKpi9T8MaCMEn5gKft0bLrmCXdjQpp%252BmozALZCZ2BD%252BM4RUjOXgciFoXOZh4mpIPhM0Vh%252BZlRgEinW83jst4ntfNh0bLlsaagTyfm3Ei4pGtHaoQ%253D%253D%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2047675&epid=202872311

The thing is that Drag Specialties, who makes this one, seems to make several. Some cost a lot more than this one and I can't see the difference.

Can anyone confirm that the one that I have linked to will do the job - always with the proviso that I need to solder in the 100 ohm?

Thank you