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In December of 2012, I drove up to Philadelphia to buy this 1999 all Stock Drifter with just under 14K miles for $3,500. Basically everything but the motor was stripped down and torn apart. Both wheels were torn down, powder coated spokes-rims-spindles-axle parts then all put back together with new bearings. The black forks were also completely disassembled powder coated and put back together with all new seals and oil and Progressive springs. This completely stock Drifter had been transformed in 8 months time into a one of a kind everyday rider-show bike.
This Drifter is Now a THANK YOU VETERANS Tribute Bike. It will win most bike shows. It will grab attention from all who look at her, especially Veterans. I will list all the parts/accessories added as well as everything that got powder coated and painted. I know I will never get what I put into it, but that's life.
The entire bike was done up Black and Red for a reason. Black represents Mourning of all our Veterans lost. Dark Red represents Blood shed by Veterans of past wars. My Tribute Drifter Honors all Our Veterans from the Beginning of WWII---Pearl Harbor to Present day Afghanistan.
The Backrest is adorned with 5 Service Ribbon patches (Combat Veterans, Vietnam, Iraqi, Afghanistan, Desert Storm) and on the back of the backrest is the POW-MIA patch in Army Green. $20 all patches
PAINTED PARTS The entire paint job was $2,500. Tank, Side Covers, both Fenders, spot lamps, handlebars, crash bars, tool box and motor cover were painted Black fading into Dark Red. Headlight Housing, Speedometer Dash, Bar Control Housings and Bar Master Cylinders were all done in a Gloss Black.
Now I spent over 300 hours of research to find just the right pictures and sayings to use, many of them I had to get permission to use. I have somewhere between 150 and 200 Pictures, Sayings, Battles and Wars. One the side cover around the Iwo Jima Flag raising you will see the major battles of WWII....starting with Pearl Harbor. On the front fender you will see many of the major Vietnam Battles. Yes, there is Blue Star and Gold Star Mothers on the rear fender. It takes a good 5 minutes to walk around this bike to view all the pictures and read all the sayings.
It did take some time to find the right graffic designer to want to even attempt to do such a job. All the pictures were re-sized, some with borders put on, some with flag backgrounds, some put together. The did have to order a special sticker material. All the stickers went onto the new sanded down paint job, then was Clear coated a few times. The Graphics job was $800.
The CUSTOM LEATHER WORK..........That all ran me $2,500. It speaks for itself. I put 4 Iwo Jima Medallions ($12) onto the top of the saddlebags. There are also 4 In Honor of Fallen soldiers, 2 Stars, 2 God Bless America screw back conchos ($20) on bags and seat.
6 Authentic Indian Motorcycles screw back conchos on the mudflaps ($90). I had Heathers Leathers do all the leather work and tried something new on the Fender Mud Flaps. That fringe was designed with snaps put on them so when they wore out, I could order new ones and snap them into place on the under side. The seat is a Kawasaki Fire and Steel seat. It was originally covered in leather and gel pads were put into the seat. I did not like feel the comfort of the get and didn't like how the leather turned out on the seat (I am very picky), so I took the seat and backrest to someone local and had it refoamed and memory foam put into it ($150). Then recovered with a Red and Black marine grade vinyl.
Labor to do everything was ran me over $2,500. The Powder coating was included in that price. I actually UP-SHIFT by Hand and DOWN-SHIFT by Toe. You can use the toe shifter for all your shifting. I did remove the Heal shifter because I hate it and it was in my way, but will go with the bike.
POWDER COATING
The Dark Red actually is a custom made color and if you look close, you will see micro specs of Black in it. The Following parts were pawder coated Dark red: All parts of forks, Hand Shifter. spokes, Butterfly valves on Hypercharger, Harley Kicker, Passenger Pegs mounting brackets, Motor (lower) Cover Bolts, Rear Fender rail, Saddlebag Brackets, foot Brake lever and inner parts of the rotors.
Gloss Black on: Axle-collar-nut, Rotor Boltsm both Rims & Spindles, Saddlebag support brackets and a few other things.
Wrinkle Black on: Lower Motor Covers, Floorboard Brackets, Oil Filler Cap, Gas Cap, Light Bar-turn signal mount, Upper & Lower Triple Tree Fork Brackets, Kuryakin Highway Pegs and brackets, Backrest Mounting Bar, Bar Risers, Hypercharger, Kickstand and others I can't think of.
Black Chrome on: Triple tree Acorn Nut, Metal bands on Spot Lights and Headlight, Rear brake Master Cylinder Cover, all brackets-straps-nuts-bolts on the windshield.
I hate Chrome and did my best to powder coat most of it. Please understand that this is a FULLY CUSTOMIZED DRIFTER SHOW BIKE as well as an EVERY DAY RIDER.
PARTS, ACCESSORIES & PRICES
OK, now you all do the math with what I have in My Fully Customized THANK YOU VETERANS Tribute Drifter. I put it on the road the in August of Last year. There is presently 26,000 miles on it. No more road trips between now and who ever buys it. I change the Oil and Filter myself every 3,000 miles and use Castrol 10W-40 Semi-Synthetic Oil. I will throw in all the nuts, bolts, parts and everything I have associated with the Kawasaki Drifter.
I take very good care of my Drifter and always waxing on her. She runs great, no leaks, no smoke. I only use Premium 93 Octane Gas.
I have done my best to explain everything to the best of my knowldge in detail. I will work with any shipping company if you decide to go that route, but only after full payment in CASH or Certified Check has cleared.
Recently installed 2 new Tires & Tubes, Spark Plugs & a fan switch, rear brake pads (half life left on front ones), flushed out clutch fluid.
I'm Motivated to sell ASAP so I can get a 2010 or newer Kawasaki Concours 14. Can't afford to keep 2 bikes and can't buy one until I sell this one.
I can't understand why there's all these watchers and no one is making offers on this Custom One of a Kind Beauty. It wouldn't take much to put the factory bars back on this...I can understand that Tall Ape Hangers are not for most riders. This is probably one of the most photographed motorcycles where ever it goes. |