As promised, here is a picture of what I have so far. This is the drive shaft cover and, the polished aluminum fork tube covers. As mentioned in my previous post, I will install these when I have a few more items in hand. Overall, I think what I have planned should continue along with the midnight theme, as well as, add a little more custom flair to the bike. I plan to post more later, as things progress along. I hope you enjoy your Holidays and, as always, ride safe.

New Ideas

Though I haven't added anything new to my bike lately, I figured I would list a few things I have planned for the future. One of the items includes something I happened upon by accident. Lately, I have been seriously contemplating the idea of adding a Harley front end to my bike. Not only will this give more options of wheel choice, but aftermarket triple trees are cheaper, allowing me to add some rake to the front end. The added rake is the eventual goal. Anyway, while looking around, I happened to find a set of fork tube covers on Ebay for only 20$. They are longer than what I will need but, for the price, I'm sure I'll think of a way to remove the extra 1/4 inch. The plan is to paint them black. This will leave only a small section of the front fork tubes showing. Also,while scouring the internet for options to rake the front end, I did find a few of sets of the raked triple trees that are made specifically for the Vstar 650. One is from Mortons at 699$, and comes with the needed tube extensions, as well as built in fork tube covers. Mortons offers 7 degrees of rake. PCS (Pacific Coast Star) offers similar trees at 6 degrees, only without the extensions, and tube covers, for 690$. Scootworks likewise has a set of trees, lacking extensions and covers, at 4 degrees for 499$, with a cheaper raw version available for 344$. The ones that have my attention are from Highway Hawk, found at biker.com. These offer 6 degrees of rake, and a price tag of 415$. In trying to find the most rake, at the cheapest cost, these seem like the best option so far. I will have to add in the cost of powdercoating them black but, that should be minimal. Along with my searching, I found a gloss black drive shaft cover for around 30 dollars from Ebay. It's wrapped up under the Christmas tree waiting on me. My plans here are to buy a solid wheel cover, which can be found at Scootworks for around 200$, powder coat or paint everything black, and virtually black out the entire rear end. So, as you can see, my next few mods will encompass a few items instead of just one. To start, I think I'll shoot for the cheapest route and buy a wheel cover to go along with the drive shaft cover. I still haven't decided if I want to black out the rims, or simply black out the rear hub and wheel cover, leaving the chrome rim. If I decide to black out the rim, I would likewise blackout the front as well. In the meantime, I will try to post pictures of the new items, as I recieve them, and update my progress. As always, ride safe!

A few more changes

After adding the rigid bar, and determing that the ride was acceptable, I decided to drop the bike down as low as it would go. A friend over at the CC & D shipped me a rigid bar that was drilled at 8 3/4 center mounting holes. This shorter bar placed the fender almost on the swingarm. Yes, now it is, as low as it will go. Also, while looking around on Ebay, I ran across a set of fork bullets that I simply had to have. Their condition was a used, and they were for an 1100 but, I knew with a little work, and a little paint, they would be perfect on my bike. Luckily, I won the bid, and only paid a fraction of what the new price would have been. I've sanded them smooth to get ride of some slight road rash, and painted them to match the rest of the bike. I 've also finally added the small LED taillight that was purchased some time ago. I made a bracket from a peice of metal purchase at a local hardware store, shaped it like the original Yamaha bracket, and bolted it right up.Well, that's it for now...Ride Safe!

I’ve been contemplating my next mod for sometime now. Though I enjoyed the lowered stance offered by the Baron’s lowering shock head, I have admired and longed for a bike that was a little lower. The approach I decided on was to change the set up of my bike from a single shock to rigid. Again many thanks go to the great people over at the 650 CC &D forum for all of their help and advice. To achieve the lowering of your bike by running it with the rigid set up, you begin with a one inch square or round piece of ‘stock’ bought at most any place that carries steel. You’ll need a piece only 10 ½ inches long, then using a ½ inch drill bit, drill two holes approximately 9 ¼ inches from center to center. I’ve spoken with some who have lowered their bikes even further by moving the holes. However, this distance was just right for me. Unfortunately, during the process of completing my project, I was caught in a rain shower. I persevered and finished last night. Due to how late I finished and the rain, the pictures could be better. As always, ride safe.

Harley Horn

Well, I finally finished my "honey -do" list well enough to have a little time for my bike. Despite the 100 degree temperatures, I took full advantage of my time off, and installed the Harley horn. Though I previously read the instructions, there was still some guess work regarding the measurements for my Custom Vstar. Once all final measurements were determined, and the appropriate length bar was cut and drilled, I simply bolted everything together. The Harley horn offers a louder and deeper tone that, with luck, will help announce my presence to the other vehicles.This addition not only dresses up the side of the bike, but also adds to the facade of riding a Harley. Though I'm content with my Vstar, it is always fun to see the look of some folks, and even have some unwittingly make the comment of "nice Harley". Until my next mod update, ride safe!!!

The newest addition was simply a little paint. I decided, with all the black, why not paint the front clamps and signals,as well as those on the rear, to match the new headlight. While I was feeling creative, I tried my hand with the little protective plastic tabs located on the forks. Using a Dremel tool, and a pattern I made to insure each would be symetrical to one another, I cut both into a point and painted them black too. The tail light did arrive, however it looks as though I will need to design a new bracket for it to custom fit under the fender. Also a word to the wise, always check measurements of parts you intend on ordering. The tail light was much smaller than I had anticipated. I'm presently waiting on an 1-1/4 frame clamp I ordered from Phat Performance. When it arrives, I will use it to move and replace the stock horn with the Harley horn and locate it as close as I can in the position of a Harley Motorcycle.Until then...Ride safe.

From the beginning, I have always strived to create a bike that was unique. My recent addition of a new headlight definitely emphasizes, and exibits,this fact. The Wave or E.T. headlight, as it is sometimes refered to, offers a stand alone look for any bike. However, a black powder coated version, was in my opinion, a perfect match for the Midnight Vstar. Offered through Ebay, at 75.00 plus shipping, this purchase I simply could not resist. I'm patiently awaiting the arival of a second Ebay puchase which, hopefully, will add a little more personality to the rear of my Vstar.This time around I decided to go with the addition of an LED taillight designed more for the street/speed bikes as oppose to the cruiser style. With luck, it will accomplish the desired look I'm aiming for. Last on the list is a modification that I would like to thank all the great and wonderful people at the 650 VStar CC&D forum for. This is the horn relocation mod through the use of an Harley Davidson horn and cover. All of the directions for achieving this can be found at http://www.650ccnd.com/ . Again I searched the treasure trove of Ebay for a Harley horn. After finding one in good shape, I had it powdercoated gloss black, and am now waiting for clear skys to begin the modification. Due to the weather lately, picture opportunites have been few. I took a couple between down pours to let you see what the new light looks like.