Spotted my first Valkie in the wild.

[Tim H]

I decided to swing by the gas station after working on some projects at my brother's house this evening and met a couple of nice gents, one with a Red/Black I/S.  I told him about the VRCC and hope to see him around soon.  I told him what a nice bunch of people you all are.  Okay, I had to tell him something to get him to check out the page.  He'll find out later how you all really are.   

[Tim H]

I wanted to show you his friend's bike.  It was a Kawi that's modeled after the antique Indian.
Very similar to this, light teal blue, with a tan seat.  Very cool ride.



While we were standing there a guy I waved at cutting through Kroger parking lot stopped for a quick top off.  Driving an Ural exactly like this one.



It turned into bike night at the Speedway.

[Big IV]

Unexpected bike gatherings can be the best!

[KY,Dave (AKA Misunderstood)]

Always liked the Drifters that Kawasaki made. 

[Cruzen]

My former fiancée had a 2000 version of the 800cc Drifter which was Champaign colored and everything else was black.  I added all the toys to make it look like an Indian then she got tired of living here in Arizona, or maybe she got tired of me.  Anyway she left the state and sold the bike.  It was a great bike despite the fact that she always used the front brake when moving in a parking lot and hence she kept dropping it but with the roll bars on the side it never did much damage.   This bike had a good low center of gravity and actually handled very well at slow speeds.

[hubcapsc]

Always liked the Drifters that Kawasaki made. 

I never saw one before... there's a few on ebay now. Apparently you could get bags
for them, but then you couldn't see the cool rear fender...

-Mike

[Jack]

Wild thing about the Drifter is the rear shocks/springs.  Watching one on the road, it appears to bend down in the middle when crossing bumps.  I hear they ride well.

[Cruzen]

Wild thing about the Drifter is the rear shocks/springs.  Watching one on the road, it appears to bend down in the middle when crossing bumps.  I hear they ride well.

That motion you mentioned on the 800cc version is caused by the fender being mounted on the swing arm.  As a result, it goes up and down with the wheel unlike being mounted on the frame as with most bikes.  That is why the passenger seat is attached to the drivers seat and it is cantilevered over the rear fender.  That arrangement plus the fact that the fenders are plastic makes it hard to properly secure saddle bags.  It also makes it hard to find dual rider seats that look good and most owners convert to a single saddle.

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

" Spotted my first Valkie in the wild " .

You need to get out more     We'll have around 50 or so in Robbinsville, NC this weekend along with a few other makes and model's....Come on up 

[KY,Dave (AKA Misunderstood)]

Always liked the Drifters that Kawasaki made. 

I never saw one before... there's a few on ebay now. Apparently you could get bags
for them, but then you couldn't see the cool rear fender...

-Mike

They had an 800cc and a 1500cc version. 

[Tim H]

" Spotted my first Valkie in the wild " .

You need to get out more     We'll have around 50 or so in Robbinsville, NC this weekend along with a few other makes and model's....Come on up 

There's a Harley plague around here.  2 dealerships in the city and they are in prominent locations.  All other bike dealerships are off the beaten paths that have been around for decades.  Harley does a better job of marketing their brand around here.

[fon1961]

cool looking bikes