800/1500 Drifter

[Mercury]

Welp - i was looking at the roadhouse pipes, very nice but they sure are expensive!

They also sell a jet kit for about 90 bucks that I may buy if i get the pipes for my drifter...

Interested if anybody has any experience with the pipes or jet kit?

Thanks, Ken

[zuzuman03]

well, since yours has a carb, you'll have to get it re jetted for aftermarket pipes. i had to re jet my honda shadow when i put cobra pipes on it. i just leat the dealer do it b/c i didnt wanna screw something up. you have to drill out the jets and put larger(i guess) injecters into the carb. i saw the drill bit and was like nope, im not gona do it.

check out vance & hines or hard chrome for pipes. i put my baffles back in btw. i think i lost some power and mpg w/ them out for some reason. i think it sounds better with the baffles in too. it jsut didnt sound right w/ them out and it was extremely loud. people that i usually ride w/ wouldnt ride w/ me b/c it was so loud, so i put them back in the other night.

[Mercury]

welp for the 800 drifter its hard to find stuff however... im willing to do the road house pipes... they suiggested a K&N fintake - where can i get those?

And is there anybody elses opinion on jetting, i usually follow directions really well...

KEnny

[zuzuman03]

well i looked on a site that sells V&H pipes and they had some listed for the 800. the jetting kit comes with complete instructions, im ure it cant be hard. its just removing them from the bike and doing the work and putting them back in. ive talked to people who have done it themselves, and they said its just easier to take it to the dealer and spend the money to have it done right and they can tune and adjust the jets for the pipes also. but like i said, it can be done, but its just time consuming(empting, removing the tank, etc) i dont trust myself enough to do something like that just yet.

[Mercury]

you got the link to that site where they had the V&H? I wasnt sure if V&H had the 2 into 1 pipes...

I think it would be worthwhile to attempt the rejetting myself, if i dont feel I did it right I can have the dealer tweak it.

When people talk about intakes for these bikes, what models are we talking about. I know K&N just makes a higher flow filter...

whats a hypercharger? and where can I get one?

Thanks, Ken

[zuzuman03]

you can get those at a shop that sells vulcan parts. i know my local shop can get them in a few days, but id buy online. try here. thats the hyper charger for the 800. that is a great site and you can also read reviews from other people(even drifter owners), plus you might get free shipping. ive bought stuff from them before. they have just about everything, even tires and batteries.

[Mercury]

Thanks zuzuman -

So its final -

Im going to order a bunch of stuff after I build up the bank account:

1. Im going with roadhouse 2 into 1 pipes
2. Going with the hypercharger
3. Going with the jet kit

Question now is what jet kits should I be looking at?

Thanks for all the help - I love reserching before a big purchase like this

Kenny

[Mercury]

Ok... that stuff is not final

I did some more research, mainly with Wolf (Russ wolf that is - great website!)

basically im not going with the hypercharger, it gives power but i heard its not linear and its not really comftorable.

Roadhouse pipes are a definite - still reserarching air box etc..

Ken

[Lowend11]

I just got a 2002 Drifter 800, loving it so far. I'm looking for some cool studded soft bags and mounts...any suggestions?

Thanks!

[Mercury]

after pretty much giving up on the search i went with kawasaki bags, mounts and loops....

the mountiing bracket is on backorder

Kenny

[pcnorton]

I just got a 2002 Drifter 800, loving it so far. I'm looking for some cool studded soft bags and mounts...any suggestions?

Thanks!

Osprey Leather bags and mounts.


http://www.saddlebags.net/

Paul

[Mercury]

wow -- nice bags, i remember that site now - i wish i rememberd it before ordering all this stuff from kawasaki - oh well

kenny

[drifterguy2004]

thanks dave... i checked samson, they didnt have pipes for my bike...

Ive got to get into research mode, but i was looking for stuff for my truck lately too...

so many wants so little money

kenny

Kenny,

I have a 2004 Drifter 800. At 600 miles I removed the stock pipes, installed a stage 1 jet kit, swaped the stock air filter with a K&N one, installed the 2.5" American Classic Straights for 00-05 VN 800 Drifter. They are one anesome set of pipes. Loud but not that loud, great sound to them. Performance was not impacted at all. It was rather enhanced a little bit with the combination of pipes, K&N filter and jet kit. I still get about 47-48MPG. The pipes fit just fine without any modifications at all. I found them for $399 on eBay. CruiserCustomizing has them for $400 some dollars. They are worth it for looks, sound and performance. I have about 2500 miles on the bike so far. They still look like they came out of the box now. See the attached pic.
Thanks, Eli

[Mercury]

Eli - those pipes did come out great looking on your bike... how invovled was the stage one jet kit?

Im looking for a huge power increase - From what others tell me - if I went with roadhouse pipes, a good jet kit, and a nice aftermarket air intake I will see a huge seat of the pants performance increase.

I would go with two single pipes, but i think my bike with the 2 up seat just looks better with the 2 into 1.

check out this site for 800 stuff... i like it!

http://www.angelfire.com/ak5/russwolf/mods.html


Kenny

[drifterguy2004]

The jetting was done by a friend of mine. It took a few hours, it was a bit complicated for me to do. I heard good things about the Roadhouse 2 into 1 as well. Would be interested to know what you think of their quality if you buy them. I may one day consider them as I like their look. Stage 1 kit won't give you too much more power than stock. I heard the same things you mentioned "nice afttermarket air intake" etc, but they cost more than my budget allowed Plus at the time I couldn't find a complete jet kit like the DynoJet one, so I decided not to risk using all kinds of different parts. I know that Woodchucks has posted several things on jetting an 800 engine. Search this forum and get some ideas about jetting.

[Mercury]

thanks drifterguy - by the way your bike looks really good. How do you post a thumbnail like that?

Im going to see what Wolff comes back with, im not afraid to spend up to about 800 bux on this perfomrance upgrade - i figure it will be a learning experience. I also dont mind doing the carb mods myself - doesnt seem too bad if the instructions are good.

kenny

[drifterguy2004]

When you're posting a reply scroll down and click on "manage attachments". You can then upload a picture. Once you've done your mods, please share what you've done (parts, difficulties, pics, etc.) as it may inspire me and others to spend more $$$ There is so much you can do if you look hard for parts and ideas on the web. My trick for buying parts is search eBay all the time for the best deals. This is how I found the kawi light bar and HK pipes instead of the high retail price.

[Mercury]

good points drifter guy - thanks dfor the help with the pictures...

Ill post some more information up once I know exactly what im going to do

kenny

[Okie]

Here's some pics from my trip to Sturgis this year...

Okie's Sturgis Pics

[Mercury]

Okie- the link goes to the pictures but i cant view them....

Are you the same okie that came up with their own intake system?

Thanks, Ken