Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Fundaments of change. (Mod. ethos)

Just a thought: why...and how...do you modify your bike? The why is straightforward-to make it ones own.
How do you go about that? Is it just a case of seeing something and thinking "Oh, that looks nice" and throwing it on? Or has anyone actually sat down with a stock bike and thought "I want my bike to look like this."?
I have an idea of what I want mine to look like, but I haven't got the money to just go ahead and try things. I'm just curious as to how others plan things and envisage how they may look. I suppose I differ slightly to most in that the mod's I have planned aren't the type you buy off the shelf. For example, my next change involves some frame re-shaping (as and when funds allow).

I think 90% of it is aesthetic: personal preference and personal expression. The other 10% is a variety of things like function (for example, upgrading an America to dual disc front brakes). Sometimes it's just "I like those aftermarket turn signals," or more likely, "I hate the stock turn signals." Sometimes, changes are guided by an overall theme, often the old school look or a modern custom look. Lastly, some changes are due to breakage during an accident or when pieces wear out. Getting a mild rear-end fender bender is an opportune time to hack the rear fender and add an aftermarket tail light and turn signals.

I didnt have a vision per say for the bike but I knew there were aspects of other bikes I had seen that I liked. Function is a big part for me followed closely by form.

I look at a lot of bikes, all makes, all models, all brands and I get and idea of what I like fixed in my head. Then I get an idea of what those things I like might do to the function and form of my ride. I've had some failures, rear sets come to mind, but generally I can "see" the mod before I do it.

I havent done much with my bike. The most visible are the pipes, but there are a bunch of subtle things I have done. I do have lots of ideas of things Iwould like to try someday. Where my ideas come from vary quite a bit. Some of my ideas have come from seeing other bikes, some have come from just looking through parts catalogs and imagining if that would look good or not. Some ideas come from not liking something or wanting to change something then thinking of a unique way to do it. An example of the last thing is my front turn signal relocation. I really wanted to do something with those pumkins, I think I spent several months thinking of different ways to do it until I came up with the LED on the mirror stem idea.

Soren

I tend to look at my bike and think of what I might want to do to it. Sometimes a see something done by someone and like it other times I have an idea all my own and at times I see a part and an idea springs to mind. It doesn't have to be a motorcycle part. My sprocket cover was made from a belt buckle and Wendys was made partly from a tribal thing I saw and a pewter blue dot for examples of my own ideas.

In my case, it's mostly function and necessity. When they were assembling the bike out of the box, I saw bare tank sides and knew that it wasn't at all right for a Triumph to have a naked tank, so the kneepads went on.
I needed saddlebags (panniers) occasionally and those brace things are ugly when you take the bags off, so on went the Easy Brackets.
The missus has her own bike and I like the look of a solo seat, so away went the P-pad. Rear pegs look odd with a solo seat, so they came off. That left the hangers with no function, so they came off. The side of the bike looked a bit bare with that empty gap, so on went a toolbox. The stock silencers were far too quiet and they looked a bit fat, so on went the Epcos.

Ok said this before but...there was very little about my bike 06 America graphite/sivler that wanted to change right out of the box.

But after riding a bit...stock pipes had to go.TORS are fine for me.
Yanked out the ai.
Needed sissy bar to make my better half more comfortable and feel safer.
Saddle bags to carry stuff( 2 six packs fit nicely into Triumph slant bags).
Light bar to make me more visable.

Then the purly "personaliztion stuff".
Home made choke knob that I still have not gotten around to posting a picture of. Made from copper with an English coin embedded in it.
Home made (out of titanium) speedo cable loop.Did that before the stock one broke as I hear they are prone to do.
Union Jack sticker on one of the side covers. And on break
resivour cover.(had to make the point the girl is British)
And my lastest is a Greatful Dead "Steel your face" patch
(same as my avitar) or whatever you call that thing.On my tank.(just doulbe sided taped on in case I get tired of it).
Realy cheap digital clock(again double sided taped on) so I know if I'm gonna be late for work.

Stuff I may get...
Tank pads.
New tires (I'm learning that the stock bridgestones do suck) have not decided what kind yet.
And I still have this fantasy of a 904 kit.
Wife still says shes fine with the stock p-pad so thats staying.

That's about it.

Why?
It gets me a honey-do reprieve. "Honey, I need to change these parts to make the bike (pick one) safer/more comfortable/last longer/get better mileage/increase it's resale/scare the deer away". "I'll probaly be in the garage most of the day, then I'll have to take a test ride... Gotta check this out, you know"...