A Drifter hate letter to the editor of V-Twin. This oughtta make your blood boil

[sourdough]

Everyone has his own preferences. Too bad he had to share them. If he just wanted the editor to know how he felt he could have told him not to publish the letter but he obviously wanted everyone to know his feelings. To bad he couldn't keep them to himself.

[Coodeville]

Isn't imitiation the highest form of flattery?

[brian]

I think the guy had too much HD and Indian cool aid. get out and ride and let others do what they want with their bikes

[2WheelFun]

Originally Posted by Coodeville

Isn't imitiation the highest form of flattery?

Normally it is but sometimes ego's get in the way and companies just want to sue others. Go figure.

[DADDYO]

I used to own a red/black 2000 Indian Chief. It was a beautiful thing, lots of chrome, and I was one of the lucky ones as mine ran really nice. recall for leaky rear shocks it handled in 6 weeks and then fixed right. But the company went to crap real quick because they were unable to give good reliable dealer warranty support. As an early member of the Iron Indians group, I saw the writing on the wall and knew their demise was inevitable so I sold mine before they officially went belly up. Nice cycle...But two years ago I saw a new '04 Drifter 1500 at the Durango Colorado Kawa dealer..left over new stock I bought in July '06. ($8,500 with Samson Long Cannons thrown in!)It was not quite as pretty as the Chief, but you know what?... the Chief didn't have a gas gauge, clock or trip odo, it did not have fuel injection, it did not have air shocks , it did not have a drive shaft, the Chiefs blew oil out the carb and blew down the side of the paint job..messy. The Drifter 1500 is a better built bike and do you know the old original Indian Chiefs had drive shafts? I hate the rubber band drive. It chirped on the '00 Chief. I get 50 mpg with the drifter and this at 5000' above sea level.
So really, Why would anybody pay such a price for the Indian when they could have had real quality with a Drifter.
Daddyo

[Renegade900]

Dude... this thread is OVER 2 YEARS OLD!!!

[ImpactG]

Still, nice to hear your so happy with your Drifter. Everything you said makes good sense to me.

[SleekStreak]

Originally Posted by Renegade900

Dude... this thread is OVER 2 YEARS OLD!!!

Heheheh. Somebody learned the Search feature quickly and found all the old Drifter posts. Heh. Good point, though. I do somewhat agree with the intent of the original hate mail, although I don't think it should ever have been published. I don't like seeing Drifters painted up with every possible badge stuck to it and aesthetic added to fool people into thinking it's an authentic Indian. I think it's a cop out. I don't think any of us would take our other Kawi Cruiser models, debadge them and slap on a Harley badge on each side of the tank and other places to make people think it's really a Harley. Anyway...

[neb900custom]

Originally Posted by cjjtulsa

I don't know, the guy may have a point - up to a point. I don't really see the value in sticking Indian identification all over a Kawasaki, much like I wouldn't think it to be cool to stick Harley-Davidson emblems all over my Suzuki, trying to pass if off as something it's not. To each his own, but I'm not ashamed that what I ride isn't made in America, nor am I ashamed of the brand and style. I'm a bleed-Ford-blue kind of guy car-wise, and I'll admit that I get a little nauseated when I see GM engines in Ford bodies. They paid the money and it's their car, but it constitutes a ******* in my mind. If the guy wants to identify his Drifter as an Indian, more power to him. I just don't see why he'd want to. The Drifter is an awesome bike, and doesn't need to have the name of a how-many-times-bankrupt company stuck on the side. I think it's better without it.

I agree, why try and make something, something it's not. I can understand styling cues and whatnot, but not putting different brand badge names on.

[Ryguy]

Welcome to the site DADDYO.

Hey Carlo did you ever write into the editor of this magazine? What ever came of it?

[mikesr1963]

Yawn.

[trikebubble]

Originally Posted by Ryguy

Welcome to the site DADDYO.

Hey Carlo did you ever write into the editor of this magazine? What ever came of it?

Jeez Ryan, I can't even remember what I had for dinner last night, nevermind what I was ranting about 2 years ago.

[Ryguy]

Originally Posted by trikebubble

Jeez Ryan, I can't even remember what I had for dinner last night, nevermind what I was ranting about 2 years ago.

LOL I understand all to well buddy!!!

Hey you stole my license plate!!! Oh wait mine says ND on it hehehe

[trikebubble]

Originally Posted by Ryguy

LOL I understand all to well buddy!!!

Hey you stole my license plate!!! Oh wait mine says ND on it hehehe

Lets see!

I sent of the application last winter, and just kept my fingers crossed that no-one had taken it. I'm not sure anyone understands, but I like it.

[Scottie 46]

I think the whole brand name stuff is stupid anyways. Never cared for the redneck idea that some people have of "Harley Davidson Man" or Indian,Chevy Ford...whatever! Reminds me of high school crap. People customize thier bikes to look the way that they like them, and thats the way it should be. A friend of mine has a Kawasaki drifter that has a Indian light on it and it looks cool because it goes with the bike. A Harley rider approached him and basically threatened him to remove the light. What a moron! Grow up people! We all ride motorcycles because we love them. Who cares what you ride and what you put on it!

[RichLockyer]

Originally Posted by SleekStreak

I do somewhat agree with the intent of the original hate mail, although I don't think it should ever have been published. I don't like seeing Drifters painted up with every possible badge stuck to it and aesthetic added to fool people into thinking it's an authentic Indian. I think it's a cop out. I don't think any of us would take our other Kawi Cruiser models, debadge them and slap on a Harley badge on each side of the tank and other places to make people think it's really a Harley. Anyway...

+10,000

I do see it from time to time, and I always think to myself "If you wanted a Harley, why didn't you buy one?" as I shake my head.

Same for the "Drift-ians". There ARE Indian-Head tank decals available that say "Drifter" on them... a local 800 owners has them on his. It maintains the "purpose" of the Drifter, which is to be a tribute to a great bike, but without making it a cheap copy.

We all laugh when we see a Civic with a spoiler and "Type-R" badges stuck all over it. Putting Indian or Harley logos on a Kawi is no different.

[kingofwings]

Originally Posted by trikebubble

Lets see!

I sent of the application last winter, and just kept my fingers crossed that no-one had taken it. I'm not sure anyone understands, but I like it.

Buddy of mine has the New York version of your plate!

[captain Rando]

I have no respect for a bike magazine or it's readers that uses tits and a$$ to sell itself. The writer of that letter needs therapy. As if some sacred ground has been trampled upon. Please...it's a friggin' bike!

In my opinion the best bike mag on the market is Rider. I salivate each month in anticipation of it's thoughtful, informative and interesting articles.

[fritzi93]

Originally Posted by Spok

reading the indian rant, sound like somebody got his scalp in a twist.

"Loincloth" would be more apropos in that context than "scalp". No?

So, is the "Drift-ian" a tribute or deception? The guy might fool the general (non-bike-owning) public. But then again the pics were submitted to a biker mag. So I say tribute.

Bad taste though, IMO. I wouldn't do it. Nevertheless, it's no skin off my butt if someone wants to do something like that. [shrugs]

[Freedom1600]

Bikes should be fun!!! Whatever someone wants to do to their bike should be fun and enjoyed by all! An article like that should make us all think about how great it is to respect all bikers no matter what they ride or what they have done to their bike. I can think of two bikes I've seen that still make me smile:

One was in Rider magazine a few years back - the guy took a Honda V-45 (I think) and made it an "Out West" bike. It was all brown and he had a real buffalo skin seat! Many other cool mod's that made it "Western" like fringed, brown leather saddle bags, etc.

The other bike was a Roadstar (I think) and I saw it in person while I was getting new tires put on - but it looked like a Harley. I took a really close look at it and was just puzzled. It was a Harley tank and it said Harley Davidson on the tank, but was a Yamaha ... I looked more closely ...

It said "Hardly Davidson"!!!! How fun is that?!?