Thinking of purchasing a Drifter 1500 in the next few months.

[andrewdonald1]

buy a Nomad and convert to Drifter!!! IMHO

Much easier to change a engine and minor rewiring then hack the back of the frame off.

And I guarantee cheaper to purchase a engine then all of the nick knack cosmetic stuff.
Been there done that.

Engine change out is a weekend max.

Major cosmetic surgery is much longer to run down parts etc and back to possible custom machining etc.   Trust me I know.

This is a easy mod on paper.

[motosickle]

buy a Nomad and convert to Drifter!!! IMHO

[pcarrell]

I've looked in the past, and there are none listed specifically for my pipes, but they do list some.  Anyone know why they wouldn't work?  They appear to be the right diameter.

[andrewdonald1]

I'll check VH website on the fish tail options.

[pcarrell]

Ooooo, fish tails.....YEAH!

[andrewdonald1]

You can do fish tail ends on the back of the long shots can't you?
I know we did flames on the back of the wife's long shots on her Aero 1100.

[chief]

Tell yourself this is the link to that mod.

http://www.vulcandrifterriders.com/vhbag.html

[pcarrell]

*(Note to self.......look that one up again!)*

[chief]

Yep, its in the mods/tips area of the web site.

[pcarrell]

There's a post on this forum somewhere that lists someone making a dual exhaust from the V&H Longshots.

[Duffy]

I don't know if the Dooleys are still available but I'm hoping to get a set of RoadHouse 2-1's for the 1500 Drifter I just bought from my brother (99' with 7800 miles).  I'm just up north of you a ways (Burlington) so if you get up this way sometime let me know (I currently ride an 05 1500 Classic).

[andrewdonald1]

How about those Roadhouse Dooley exhausts?  Are they still available?
Either that or I go with Longshots and convert to Dooley with those, but I am not sure about the left exhaust hanger needs.

[andrewdonald1]

You might want to check with Guy at Sherm's. He modified a drifter (for a customer) stock setup by adding a nomad stator, etc. There were problems with the mod, but there was some indication he was considering a wiring harness for doing this.

http://www.shermscycleproducts.com/

Whatever you do, please make a photo record and write-up when you are finished.

Will do.  This will depend on life events over the next month as to whether I am a go for the purchase.

If it is a go, whats available in the market & market prices will determine if I feel like going with:
[1] a cherry one and just ride this summer as-is then do the engine swap next fall.
[2] find a moderate mileage one, ride it a bit, then change out the motor.

From previous builds that I have done (my last was a frame up frankenstein build -a 1986 Suzuki GSXR 1100 with parts from 86 thru 2002), its always cheaper & less time consuming to try and stay away from custom machining options.

My gut feel on this project:  1500 Nomad FI Engine & Drifter cam installation into the motor, reuse Drifter ECU, depending on condition of Drifter maybe a new wiring harness to minimize electrical gremlins (ie rogue inconsistant shorts, copper wire corrosion), rework electrical wiring harness connections for 2 Rec/Regulators and move to the front underneath the radiator, double check wire sizing on Drifter Wiring Harness (from Rec/Reg-to-Battery).
Actually the wiring modifications looks very simple.  If I go with a 2000 Nomad 1500 FI engine, I am feeling good that I suspect the connections for fuel injectors and everything should match up.
But this is all on paper right now.  Experience has taught me that reality can be different.

Andy

[chief]

 You might want to check with Guy at Sherm's. He modified a drifter (for a customer) stock setup by adding a nomad stator, etc. There were problems with the mod, but there was some indication he was considering a wiring harness for doing this.

http://www.shermscycleproducts.com/

Whatever you do, please make a photo record and write-up when you are finished.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

[pcarrell]

You're on it!

If you can't find a bike through this site or the usual channels, try this: http://www2.jaxed.com/cgi-bin/mash.cgi?cat=cpmoto&itm=kawasaki&loc=&fil=drifter&ys=&ye=&submit=++++go++++drifter  It lists all the for sales from a bunch of sites, all in one place.

[andrewdonald1]

Well, you could start by comparing part numbers and exploded parts drawings.  Ron Ayers has a great Fiche for this: http://fiche.ronayers.com/Index.cfm/Module/Main/TypeID/26/Type/Motorcycle/MakeID/3/Make/Kawasaki

Already did compare the fiche's.

Also purchased a Clymer manual for the 1500 series Vulcans and reviewed the wiring diagrams.

[pcarrell]

Well, you could start by comparing part numbers and exploded parts drawings.  Ron Ayers has a great Fiche for this: http://fiche.ronayers.com/Index.cfm/Module/Main/TypeID/26/Type/Motorcycle/MakeID/3/Make/Kawasaki

[andrewdonald1]

I can do some recon for you in the central Indiana area.

As for the electrical, I'd just boost the system on the bike already and call it done.  Matter of fact, if you come up with a good system for doing it, other owners would probably be interested.  I know there's at least one guy out there making a stator that boosts output like 10-20% or something like that.

And mileage.......these bikes will go a tton of miles before they need major work if you take care of them.  We have seveeral members over 100,000 miles on the original drivetrain.  You might have to swap the clutch spring once or twice, but thats about it for the bigger stuff.

Hi:  thanks for welcoming me to the potential new family.  And possibly donating some of your valuable time to help out a possible future Drifter owner.   

10 - 20% increase via a increased stator wiring density is not what I am after for an increase.  Typically these increase's are also buried up in the higher end of the RPM range where it is not very useful for day to day riding.  At least that is my experience with Stator Upgrades.  I want a nice electrical capacity upgrade to easily run the two spot lights, heated grips, electric vest and misc accessories (ie cell phone charging etc).

I am looking to take it up to the 520'ish wattage of the Nomad system, which is a sizable increase and I believe why the factory went with a 2nd stator & reg/rectifier system.

Being the 2nd stator (attached to the inside casing) is installed inside the rotor, I suspect the crankshaft length that penetrates into this area on the drifter will be too short.  Also, it appears they drive the counter balancer system on the drifter via a gear behind the stock rotor while the nomad I believe drives the counter balancer system from a different location.
With all above being said:  I believe it will be much much easier to just drop in a good low mileage Nomad 1500 FI engine (that's a day's work and maybe $1500 for the engine) rather than the unknowns above and the resulting IF you can do the modifications.

Taking this one step farther:  I am curious if a 1600 Nomad FI engine casing is the same.  I suspect moving to the 1600 FI Nomad engine will probably be too much of a leap.  Most likely it is different injectors, entirely new ECU etc.  The resulting electrical system modifications would probably not be a wise return performance wise for the sizeable increase in $ invested to integrate this motor into the drifter chassis.  I suspect the only way to do this one, would be to get a wrecked 1600 FI drifter, strip the 1500 drifter down to a bare chassis, install 1600 wiring harness/ECU etc. 

[pcarrell]

I can do some recon for you in the central Indiana area.

As for the electrical, I'd just boost the system on the bike already and call it done.  Matter of fact, if you come up with a good system for doing it, other owners would probably be interested.  I know there's at least one guy out there making a stator that boosts output like 10-20% or something like that.

And mileage.......these bikes will go a tton of miles before they need major work if you take care of them.  We have seveeral members over 100,000 miles on the original drivetrain.  You might have to swap the clutch spring once or twice, but thats about it for the bigger stuff.

[andrewdonald1]

PS:  Forgot to ask one more thing....

Can you still get Roadhouse Dooley Exhausts? 

[andrewdonald1]

Gents:  Couple questions for you all.  I may go ahead and purchase a 99 - 00 Drifter 1500 in the next fews months dependent on life events.

Question 1:

I am thinking of going for a moderate mileage one to keep the costs down, then drop in a low mileage Nomad 1500 FI engine so that I can get the extra electrical charging capacity.
I am more than capable to complete the swap out (rewiring, adding the extra voltage reg/rec etc).
Has anyone tried the swap here yet?  I believe the cams are different, so depending on the mileage of the drifter engine/cam condition most likely I would just drop in new drifter 1500 cams for peace of mind.  Since I would run the drifter cams, I would reuse the drifter ECU.

Question 2:

Depending when I enter the market (I am in Seattle WA area), if I find a bike that fits my needs (depending whether I go for moderate mileage option above or a low mileage 99/00):  would any of you have time if it is out of state and in your area to take a peak at it?

Thanks so much for your time.

Andy