My new bike

[attworth]

So I finally decided I needed a motorcycle again. Haven't ridden since I joined the Army because of all the rules and such. When we got back from Afghanistan I got enrolled in the courses I needed and started looking for a bike. Turns out a buddy was selling his little Honda Shadow.

A lot of people see this as a beginner bike, but I don't really care. It's comfy, fun to ride, and goes fast enough. I'm enjoying it! My plan is to Bob it out. So far I've ditched the windshield and sissy bar that came on it, and swapped the stock bars out for some drag bars. The tires were pretty rotten so I got some white walls. Keep popping the front tube so I'm going to seal the wheel and go tubeless. The back looks bitchin though I think.

This winter I plan to remove the fender and build a new smaller one that hugs the tire and is mounted to the swing arm instead of the frame. Also going to go with a springer seat. Then I'm going to chop the exhaust up and debating on the intake right now. Basically I just want it to look nice and sound good.

The paint is about a 6/10. It's a 2003 with only 6800 miles on it. It's basically been in storage since about 09 due to multiple tours to the desert.

Anywho, some pictures!!






Oh, please pardon my garage. I have way too many projects going on right now, haha..

[Blown F-150]

That is a fun little whip. It will get you around and put a smile on your face, I'm sure.

[Rollingrock]

Rollingrock don't ride no bike....but that looks pretty cool. 

who cares what others think...ride your rig and have fun...but be safe.

[Pockets]

Enjoy and be safe!

[attworth]

Started chopping the Mustang seat today. I didn't want to but no one wanted to trade so under the knife it goes!

Started by splitting the seam between the passenger and front seat, then popped the rivets. Pulled the foam out and removed the leather. The seat pan is plastic and fiberglass so I'll be cutting that with a cut off wheel.

I'm going to shave about an inch or so off each side of the rear of the seat, it's just too fat. Then I'm going to drop the height of the rear of the seat a bit.

[sscully]

People that think a given bike is a "beginner bike" can piss up a rope.

I know a guy that can pass people riding 900's, in a curve, on the outside line on the track on a 250cc ninja.
- Once they get stuffed on the outside, they usually stop talking smack about smaller bikes.

"beginner bike"  Don't ride with the dumbass that said that, he is an accident waiting to happen.
- I can just hear this jackass, " Hey I got a new bike, want to go out for an accident ?"

I do not know what sizes were in 2003, thought one of the guys had an early 00's that was 600 or 700 cc ??
Even if it is a 500, that is still more than enough to get the job done, unless your rear is the size of mine, then you need the Honda Civic engine ( GL1500 ) to get the jobdone.
- Then again you would not be in the army if you were my size.

[attworth]

You'd be surprised by some of the tubbies in the Army, Steve!

It's a 600. It's plenty quick for me. It gets to the speed limit and has enough left to pass somebody if I need to. Getting older, I've realized there's no need to get tickets anymore, haha..

The army is full of Alpha types, so you gotta have the biggest and best! I really couldn't care less. I've been riding since I was about 12 years old starting on the dirt, and have had my share of "fast" bikes.. I'm more about comfort and style these days. Now if only I could work on the style part of the bike, like getting rid of those giant turn signals, haha.

[sscully]

I wouldn't get rid of those turn signals.  I like cages to be able to see that I have them on.

I figured out how to get the Stop / Turn LED rings in with the turn signal added LED stop lamps to the sides fo the plate and converted the factory bulb to a Whelen LED light head.



Lots of large ugly light heads, but I know I am kicking out the light so a cage can see what I am doing.

That Whelen light head upgrade did the trick, it lights up the inside of the car behind me at stop lights.

[attworth]

Here's a rough mark up of where I'm going to chop the seat. This basically follows the line of the frame beneath the seat. I'm going to make a cardboard template before I start cutting.



Any thoughts? I'm also going to chop the top of the back support on the seat an inch or so, that way it doesn't stick above the fender so far. I may thin the foam a bit too. It's nearly 3" thick. Which is nice, but the bike is a soft tail so it's a little overkill.

[Rollingrock]

Making it your own....classic. Go for it Tony!!!

[attworth]

Well I finished my seat today. A few days ago I rough cut the foam down. I cut almost 2" off the width on both sides at the back, about an inch of thickness, and about 2" off the height of the back support. I trimmed a piece of 1/4" high density foam to try and get an even shape to the seat bottom. The leather was a good fit all around. It's a bit loose at the sides on the back but I think over time it'll take its new shape a bit better. I'm real happy with the way it turned out. 5$ worth of rivets and a 450$ seat later!

[Rollingrock]

cool man, you should have drove down to help us today....  :)

[attworth]

cool man, you should have drove down to help us today....  :)

Haha, 8 hours... nah. Good work though J. That's not easy to do.

[Blown F-150]

Sweet, the new seat looks much cleaner and I think suits the bike better. Great work!

[attworth]

Well I finally swallowed my pride and paid the dealer 55$ to replace my tube. And today I got the title so I put the bike all back together. I still need to fab a side mount license plate bracket so I can ditch the ugly thing under the tail light. And I've got some nice looking LED turn signals coming for the back. Hopefully I can get riding this weekend.