New spikey mirrors!

Hey all,
   For my birthday present my Mom-in-law got me a delightful gift certificate that I promptly used to get some spikey mirrors for my bike.  Thanks Mom 2.0!  They fit with my bike perfectly on my sort of batman-esque theme.  They installed pretty easy and look good.  They're smaller than my previous mirrors, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.  I took them for a drive earlier today in between rain storms and they held up well.  They didn't vibrate out of alignment, and I can see on them just fine.  I really like them a lot and I'm grateful for my latest new birthday addition to Shiki.  Hope you all like them.  Now for a photo collage!

Here are some more pics:

Saddlebag for my bobber!

Hey all,
   Sometime this last week I realized I need a small saddlebag for my bike.  While I can throw stuff in a backpack if I need to, I don't want to always have to do that.  Especially for stuff that I always want to have with me such as a tire repair kit and a mobile compressor.  So I decided to try to find a one side small saddlebag that will fit in the small available space on the bike, and help fill out the lines of the bike.  I also thought that the left side of the bike looked a bit off as the right side has the added bulk of the exhaust and the air cleaner so I wanted to add something to fill it out just a bit.  Here is what I found; the "312L Left Side Swing Arm Leather Solo Bag" from The Leatherworks in Stockton CA.  These bags should fit any honda shadow phantom and a variety of other bikes.  The listing can be found here.  The page lists the fitment for the various bikes it fits.  The idea is that it's a bag that will attach to the swing arm of your bike and fill out the little space beneath your shock and to the right of your battery box on the left side of your bike.  A really niche shape and size, but it worked perfectly for my 2013 Honda Shadow Phantom.  Check it out:

The bag fits in the formerly available space perfectly.  Attaching it was a bit imaginative, but I imagine with something so niche in it's application it's probably expected that some creativity be applied in installation.  The bag comes with four little belts that go in four little belt slots to attach the bag.  I hooked two belts together for each side and basically made one big belt for each side.  I wound this around the swing arm and then zip tied the top of the left belt to the top of my frame using a black zip tie to keep the bag from dropping down over time.  Hopefully it works out and holds up over time, but I don't foresee any issues with it.  I think it turned out great and it holds my compressor and tire kit with a little bit of extra room for a shirt or jacket.  Wifey also suggested that behind the seat is possible available room for maybe a small bag if I can find one that will attach to the brackets available, but that's a project for another day.  (Although a great idea.  Maybe a leather cylindrical tube bag or a small rectangular bag that could hang at an angle.

Stay tuned bikeaholics...

I bobbed out my Motorcycle!

Hey all,
   I know I've been a bit of a lazy bum lately and don't have anything new to post.  In fact I probably have a few comments to reply to as well.  Sorry to anyone who took the time to comment and didn't receive a response from me.  Anyway today I wanna post about the project I've been working on for a few months.   Bobbing out my 2013 Honda Shadow Phantom.  Here is what she looks like now.  I call her Shiki. 

I say I've been working on this for awhile as it's taken me a few months to get the money to buy all the parts and figure out how to install them.  It's never as easy as just buying things and putting them on is it?  Not in my experience.  For every modification you do there is a tool you'll need to buy, or sealant for rust prevention, or this or that.  It all adds up.  And thus the time frame for doing this all.  My bike is almost brand new as I bought it with just over 1000 miles on it.  Normally I think people wait until the bike is older to chop them, but when I make up my mind that I want something I go for it.  I am super happy with the results.  First lets start with a photo of how the bike looks stock.