Drifter 1500
Drifter 1500
Kawasaki induldges in a little skirt-chasing
DAVID EDWARDS
VOLKSWAGEN HAS ITS NEO-BEETLE, MAZDA'S Miata is a Lotus lookalike, the Plymouth Prowler is a way-cool retro roadster. Now comes Kawasaki with, hey what's this!?!, a new-for-’99...Indian Chief?
If old is in, then meet the heppest cat in cruiserdom, the Drifter, basically a 1500 Vulcan with sweeping, skirted fenders added. And how’s this for a paradox? Thanks to lumpier cams, bumped compression and electronic fuel injection, Kawasaki’s crustiest-looking cruiser may be its best-performing. In impromptu roll-ons against this issue’s 62-horse Twin Cam 88 Road King, the Drifter stayed neck-and-neck, though admittedly the H-D was pushing a windshield and toting stocked saddlebags.
More homage to Indian than outright rip, the Drifter looks like a 1940s Chief seen through the (none-too-sharp) eyes of a wannabe Arlen Ness.
That kuriously kustom headlight doesn’t hold a candle (sorry) to Indian’s elegant Motolamp, and whoever drafted the Drifter’s rear fender-mounted to the swingarm so it moves up and down with the suspension-cranked in too much x coordinate and not nearly enough y. And yes, you are right, that cantilevered dual seat is all wrong, about as oogly as it’s possible for foam and naugahyde to get. Chalk that up to some skittish marketing type; originally, a solo seat was planned, but the two-up plank was seen as more saleable, especially with the oP ball-n-chain holding the purse strings. At least a solo saddle is in the accessories book.
Scheduled for showrooms in the spring of 1999, the Drifter has a little legal hurdle to clear first. Seems Kawasaki was slapped with cease-and-desist papers from the legal beagles trying to consolidate the various claims to the Indian name put forth in the past few years. This same group has bullied authors into including its copyright in book credits and even tried to squeeze money from the Guggenheim Museum for Indianrelated items used in promotion of “The Art of the Motorcycle” exhibit, all in an effort, presumably, to establish a paper trail that would substantiate its stake to the Indian trademark. That claim, far as we can discern, rests on the remnants of a convicted bamboozler’s bankrupt empire, a failed revivalist’s unworkable prototype and whatever rights are owed a spare-parts man who works from original factory blueprints. A shaky provenance it would seem. This same group unsuccessfully offered the Indian name for sale in 1997, noting that the $20 million (!) asking price in no way guaranteed that the buyer would be safe from further trademark trouble. Claiming rather sketchy “senior rights to use the trademark,” the notice of judicial sale went on to state that “the receiver and the trustee have not, however, received an opinion of counsel or any other assurances from any party to support this opinion.” Some deal.
Anyway, Kawasaki’s lawyers are on the case and production of the 1500 Drifter (as well as an 800cc version destined for the European market) is on. Indian didn’t exactly invent the skirted fender, after all-witness the 1922 Megola or the 1923 Mars-and the only real difference between the Drifter and its Vulcan Classic counterpart are those wraparound, tire-hugging pieces of plastic.
So, no, this isn’t the second coming of Springfield. But at a time when retro is all the rage, the Drifter may just be the most fun you can have with your skirts on. U
BEST-DRESSED DRIFTER: "We expect the Drifter to be the most accessorized cruiser ever." So says the man who should know, Ken Boyko, major domo at Cobra Engineering, top dogs in the Japanese cruiser aftermarket. The pre-production Drifter shown here has already been outfitted with Cobra's light kit, crash bar, solo saddle and slash-cut muffler tip, all available from your smil ing Kawasaki shopkeep. Complete exhaust systems, lug gage racks and saddlebags are also in the works. Chief-head running lights, anyone?
