Hints, Tips, Mod's & Idea's...       ** Rab's Writeup **
This page is where all of those neat little tricks are shared.. Whether it's buying,
bolting or bashing anything to fit a Drifter. Got any tips you want to share..? ....
Then send em in.!!
Horns. The Drifter horn is a poor excuse for 'noise', so for £15, go to Halfords
for a pair of superb Fiamm Twin Tones.... 115 decibels.... Nice!.
Rev Counters. People have said it can't be done on a Drifter, but some of the US guys
have already fitted 'Drag Specialities' tachs without a problem. I'm in the process of finding
a supplier, so send me an email if you're interested.
Front Forks. Apart from the fork springs and damper internals, the front ends on both
800 and 1500 Drifters are as near as damn it identical... so what ever is designed to fit
one... will fit the other.! Ie, Screens, lights, fender tips and mud flaps etc.
Lowering the front. This is an easy 1-hour job, which involves removing the fork spring
retainers and taking out the spring spacer tube, which sits on top of the fork spring. By
cutting this tube down, it lowers the ride height. Dont go crazy and take off too much or
you'll have an evil handling bike, which grinds the footboards on every turn. Try 10-20mm at
first, then you can always go back and remove more if you want. Important. Always take the
weight off the front end or jack the bike up if you remove fork springs because the entire
weight of the bike is held through those fork spring retainers.
Lowering the rear. The 800 being Uni-Trak suspension has to have a modified linkage
to lower the back end. The only sure fire (and safe.!) way of doing this properly is to
fit one of Tweeks lowering kits from Scootworks in the US.
www.scootworks.com. The twin
shock 1500 can be lowered by changing the shocks for shorter units... but until I hear that
someone's done it successfully, I cant say what parts are needed. 'Progressive suspension'
has a range of custom length springs to fit their cruiser shocks just for this purpose tho.!
Again remember not to lower the rear too much either, not only will it handle like a pig and
drag the floorboards.. In certain conditions the rear fender could whack the underside of
the saddle.!
1500 two into two exhaust. If you want a balanced looking system with a silencer each
side, there's the excellent Roadhouse Dual pipe set-up, ..Or you can fit a Nomad 1500 system
straight on to the Drifter.
Baffles. If you want to be heard, there's plenty of info about removing 1500 and 800
stock baffles on the Drifter forums. Basically remove the tip from the silencer and whack a
few holes up the baffle plates.! But dont go crazy, you cant undo a hole up the pipe if you
dont like the sound.!
Exhausts. It's difficult to get confirmation from an exhaust manufacturer or
their distributor/dealers, that an exhaust system is 'honestly' designed for the Drifter.
In most cases, they come from other models in the VN range.. and the chances are
they'll fit, if you buy a VN system from a similar year as your Drifter.
Tyres and White Walls. These look great on a Drifter and you can get WW tyres in Drifter sizes
from plenty of tyre manufacturers ..tho getting them from UK tyre suppliers is another
kettle of fish.! Avon Venom's are available in the UK.. and with the white wall moulded in.
Alternatively, use white wall trims like the old vintage vehicle enthusiasts do.! Ive had mine fitted for
over a year with no problems.. Plus when the tyres wear out, I can fit whatever make I want..
and still have white walls. These trim inserts fit between the tyre and rim and are available
from Vintage tyres for around £25 for a set of 4. Visit their web-site at
www.vintagetyres.com/ or email Grant at
Vintage Tyres [sales@vintagetyres.com]
Mix'N'Match Loads of genuine and aftermarket accessories and exhausts aimed at the other
800 and 1500 Vulcan's will more than likley fit a Drifter because they all share a similar
chassis. If in doubt though, ask on the forum or another owner
Paint When I've sprayed the various parts on my Drifter, ive taken a panel down to Auto-color
paint supplies or a vehicle paint suppliers to the trade who can make up aerosol cans,
and just asked them to color match the panel. This way you actually get 'real paint'
in your aerosol and not just 60% thinners.! Cost's about £10 which is about half price
and you get twice as much as factory paint.