800/1500 Drifter

[Spok]

Hi, newbie here. this is my 99 that i bought new. got 22,000 carefree mi on it except for the battery. seems i can only get 3yrs on both batteries that i've bought so far and i keep them on a battery tender. u guys have the same problem w/your batteries? Kool forum!

very nice...i have that exact same GPS

[zuzuman03]

man that thin looks sweet with the solo seat. who makes it? i took my bags off when i put the new tires on.....
speaking of maintance, when i have my bike in last week the guy told me there was a recall on the fuel lines on my bike. im not sure if this is for all years 800/1500 tho. just a heads up for anyone who hasnt heard anything about that. ive got to take my bike back in to have them replaced and my pipe mounts stripped and refinished. i put those new tires on and man, wow, what a differance.

[rosslato]

man that thin looks sweet with the solo seat. who makes it? i took my bags off when i put the new tires on.....
speaking of maintance, when i have my bike in last week the guy told me there was a recall on the fuel lines on my bike. im not sure if this is for all years 800/1500 tho. just a heads up for anyone who hasnt heard anything about that. ive got to take my bike back in to have them replaced and my pipe mounts stripped and refinished. i put those new tires on and man, wow, what a differance.

i already took care of that recall myself, just put a plastic coil around the hose where it comes in contact w/the frame. the seat is the original solo seat sold by kawasaki and made by corbin for the 2000 season. i got 1 of the 1st seats they made and then went to corbin in Daytona and bought the fringe for it. it's very comfortable. the pipes are the 1st set of dragpipes that hardchrome made for the Drifter, they got a nice sound but not too loud.

[rosslato]

Drifter owners seem to be a little more independent than other owners.

Some call us loners, but we know that we share a rare taste in a beautiful bike.

Love 'em or hate 'em, you can't ignore those bold fenders and sexy lines.

Drifters stand tall.

Taylor

Great lookn Drifter, like what u did to it. look on pg 3 of this thread to see mine.

[Spok]

any of you drifter guys take your bike out on multi state road trips? got any pics to show?

[zuzuman03]

well im a member of a riders club here in town and we take 1-2 day trips usually once or twice a month. we have a big 3 day trip coming up in may im going to try and do. its a ride around the bay. we start up here and go south and basically all the way around the chesapeke bay here in md/wv/va. thru the long bay bridge tunnel and across the bay bridge. we also take day trips all over the 4 state area so see/visit different places. probably not this year, but maybe next year i'll be riding to sturgis. im thinking about goin to the ocean city bike week so i'll be sure to take pictures if i do.





side note: has anyone seen the tan leather side covers for sale online? i know i saw them somewhere but i cant find them now. TIA.

[zuzuman03]

hey, what grade fuel are ya'll using in the 1500s? ive been using 87 but the MPG doesnt seem that good. if im just riding around town on short rides im only getting about 100 miles out of a tank. ive got the aftermarket pipes on it too. i know when i switched the pipes on my 600 and had the carbs re-jetted i had to switch to 93. same thing with the drifter? TIA

[rosslato]

hey, what grade fuel are ya'll using in the 1500s? ive been using 87 but the MPG doesnt seem that good. if im just riding around town on short rides im only getting about 100 miles out of a tank. ive got the aftermarket pipes on it too. i know when i switched the pipes on my 600 and had the carbs re-jetted i had to switch to 93. same thing with the drifter? TIA

kawasaki says to use premium, it was stenciled on the gas cap when new, i run 93. 100mi per tank is terrible. i get 45 to 47 a tank on mine. i've got the hard chrome dragpipes on mine, never rejetted

[zuzuman03]

well when i cruise out on the open road i get more like 200 which still doesnt seem right. i'll try some 93 when i fill up next time.

[bjones]

I have used regular and premium. with regular I get that nasty engine rattle and I don't with premium. The next issue is ethonal in the fuel 10% and they tring to pass a law in Wisconsin that all gas have at least 10% my manual says don't use it... but otherwise I get about 45 MPG. I use premium almost always.

[GODesigns]

I must agree... that is a sweet looking ride. I will post a new pic of mine later today. I added pipes and touched up a little paing. Also a new light bar.

[Coodeville]

I looked at a 2002 today. It has 771 miles. The front fender is scratched. Do the fenders come prepainted from kawasaki? It also needs a heel shifter. The guy sawzalled the heel off becasue he didn;t like it. BArley had to tweist the throttle to get this thing going. Ot has pipes and a fuel kit. $4500 bucks is the price. Looks just like the black one around here.

[AlSchilde]

If I go on a long trip I strap a backpack to the rear fender via the rails on the bottom of the fender.

[GODesigns]

Here is the latest pic of my Drifter. That is my buddy riding it. I put new Cobra Pipes and touched up to spots with some silver paint. I also got the light bar and visors up front.

[rosslato]

that is Beautiful, what kinda pipes r those? they're badass looking. whats yer bike weigh in at?

[GODesigns]

Thanks for the complement on my drifter. Those are Cobras and I believe she wieghs just under 600 pounds.

[zuzuman03]

ive seen those tank decals on ebay. they have a gold one with drifter written in the head dress. lookin good.

[Far916]

Hi all, I am new to these forums and a newer drifter owner. I bought my bike used and it has most of the after market things i wanted already on it, but i have a couple of questions... First off, how did you guys take the drifter embelem (sp?) off the tank? did it leave a mark on the tank after you got it off? The previous owner of my bike hand painted an arrowhead and feather on the tank but left the badge on, and i think it would look better with it... and second, (kind of a stupid question, but) how do the american rider treat you riding a metric cruiser? do you get any crap or is everyone real cool? how about at motorcycle gatherings? is everyone intrested in the unique-ness of the drifter or do the hd/american ider turn their nose up at you? Just curious. any ways thanks in advance...

[oletaterhead]

To remove the tank emblems:

Materials:
Fishing Line
Heat Gun or Hair Drier
Goo Gone

Procedure (or what I did, anyway):
Spray some goo-gone around the emblem, making sure that most of it is going between the emblem and the tank.

Use the heat gun or hair dryer to heat up the emblem, thereby melting the glue. I used a hair dryer. After about 10-15 minutes, the glue should begin to soften.

Cut a long piece of fishing line, wrap it around your hands like floss, and begin to work the line back and forth between the tank and the emblem starting at one end of the emblem. Slow and steady, the emblem will come off.

The residual glue left on the tank can be removed with goo gone + elbow grease.

After a few polishes, the shadow on the tank has disappeared.

Taylor

[GODesigns]

I ran into my first Drifter on the streets last Thursday. It was the exact year and model as mine. We said hello and turned in different directions. I hope to run into him again, I would like to have a drifter riding buddy.

Here are some pics from this Sunday's Ride www.lavroc.org . There was one Drifter but he only showed up for the breakfast and took off afterwards.