As I expected now that school has started, I have far less time for my VStar. Though I haven't been able to do much to complete the current project, I will go ahead and post a picture of what it looks like with everything drilled and bolted down. I intended to powdercoat the license plate I made, along with the fender struts. Unfortunately, the powdercoat business I've been using is up for sale. I guess I will have to find an alternative place, or simply paint them. All in good time though. For now, I still have to mod a small section of the fender. The OEM Yamaha fender has a slight divit for the seat to rest in, so looks like I'll have to do a little trimming on the new fender to get the seat to rest flat on the frame. All that is left after that is just a tad bit of wiring, and painting, but I plan to give better details later so I will stop for now. Ride safe....

New Fender for the VStar

Though I haven't completed the task at hand, I'll go ahead while I have time and update my status. I decided after finishing up with the side mount plate that I would go another direction. The previous design did not look well with the tail light I'm currently using, so I decided simplicity would be best. Relying on my past, I dredged up skills I haven't used since first grade. Though tracing a license plate and light are somewhat different than making hand shaped turkeys at Thanksgiving, the general concept is the same. Yes, making the side mount plate was truly that simple. After a couple of minutes with the jigsaw and a little sanding, it was done. I've also re-routed and zip tied the wires to the swing arm. I will detail more on that later. Now, the fender, as I mentioned before, was going to be cut short. However, after a better look, and a brief mock up, I've decided to leave the fender long. I did modify the struts for a better fit. The small extensions that the bolts pass through were cut, and ground down evenly with the rest of the strut. Now the struts fit firmly against the side of the fender, without the need for drilling oversized holes. I may still shave just a little, no more than an inch or so, off the bottom of the fender for a bit of individual style. I've always been one to strive for that unique look, and refuse to have a straight out of the box bike. For paint, I've looked into ordering the 2007 Yamaha Vstar OEM black from the ColorRite website for just the fender, but have also considered having the tank, along with the fender repainted with a black other than the stock color. I guess time, and the availability of extra money will tell. I will try to finish the install, and get a few more pictures up by this weekend. Unfortunately, I can't have it painted that fast, but at least the pics will give you an idea of the new look. Again, I will certainly try to share more details of this project as time permits. Until then...ride safe.

Out with the old...

And in with the new! Now that it's the start of a new year, what better time to change a few things out on my VStar. As I've mentioned, I've been debating on changing the fender, and adding a side mount plate. Well, progress has finally starting moving in that direction. I purchased a new steel Roller fender from a seller on Ebay. It was very reasonably priced when compared to buying a used Classic fender, but even more so when considering the other new fender options that were available. I paid less than $120 shipped. You can see from the pics, though it's not mounted, and merely resting on the tire, that it is a full fender which allows for many different design options. I currently have a few that I'm thinking about, but really don't have an aversion with leaving it as it is. I will have to decide soon, as my winter break is over, and school is starting next week. This is my Senior year, and college classes have become really intense, so I'm sure my time will be limited. However, the time I've had this weekend I spent cutting out my side mount plate design. I sketched it out on paper, cut it out, transferred that design to sheet metal, and used a jigsaw to cut it out. I had to make a trip to Home Depot this evening for a couple of cut off wheels for my Dremel tool so I could clean it up a bit. The jigsaw left a few places that were a bit hard to get to, so the Dremel will come in handy for those. I've resolved to use the previous tail light due to the issues I've had with the one that was recently purchased. It's not that there is anything wrong with the light, but adding a different light that performs the same function as the old one, entirely defeats the purpose of swapping them. Besides, the older light was much brighter. As the wife pointed out, it's also much safer. The seller admitted that there was a mix-up, and the wrong light was sent. Though I will lose some of what was spent for shipping, I will receive a refund for the light. So for now, I will use the same lights that I've had. I do have another idea in mind, but I'll save that for later. My plate is full enough as it is, don't think I'll attempt to add any more until I manage to finish with some of what I've started. I do plan to make time to post a few more pics with the current progression. Until then...ride safe!