WINKJ Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 (edited) Hi all, Not wanting to mod my 370z too much I have now looked at my bike in a different light. I am starting to spend time, money and effort (by way of learning new basic skills) to mod the bike the way I want. Some of you may remember when I put the first post about getting a harley for my first bike, and all the concerned comments about how i will drop the bike and find it difficult to ride. Happy to say after nearly 3 years I haven't dropped the bike (yet! ) and find it really easy to ride, so would encourage anyone to get a sportster. As the bike looked from standard with a few additional parts from the factory. Namely the Vance&Hines short shots, Screamin' eagle heavy breather and the side license plate mount. What I don't like about the bike as standard is the lack of rake. It sits more like a cafe racer style bike than a "bobber" which is the look I am going for. My plans are to replace the rear shocks with 112 progressive suspension which will drop the bike right down and give it a much better stance. Cut 75% of the rear fender and frame to expose more of the rear wheel. Replace handle bars with something that has a more aggressive position and install mid foot controls to bring my feet a bit further forward. Also I will install an axle plate holder. One thing I can't decide on is whether to remove the belt guard (yes its belt driven!). Most of the american/uk Harley sites say they've ran their bike without guards for X years without a problem, but I am not 100% happy with exposing that belt when going down the motorway! Bike as standard: Axle plate holder installed: .. the lights work! ] re-wiring the indicators (first effort of splicing/connecting etc I have ever done!) Finally remouted the breaklights/rear indicators for the frame to be cut (this will be cut from the light backwards, which will also be where the fender is cut. so now the fender will end where the lights are located, exposing the wheel). Rode the bike like this over to an engineering firm to cut the frame an fender ... happy to say I made it there alive. Picking the bike up later on . Hope you enjoyed the read and i'll keep the thread updated if anyone is interested. I have ordered the progressive suspension, should arrive this week and i'll give fitting it a go. It should be a doddle!! Edited November 9, 2015 by WINKJ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetpilot Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 A buddy of mine had an 883 sportster when we were biking, he did a retro flat track look, looked awesome, absolutely hideous to ride though Looks good, need to break up the black a bit imho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonlap Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Nice hog WINKJ, mine is black but I went for the bling bling look, 1200 STAGE 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ioneabee Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 your road tax is out of date Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonlap Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 your road tax is out of date Yup, I sold the bike to get the X Trail, sold the X trail to get the Jag, bought the 350 on the card then got another X trail and kept the Jag, still got the K1100 RS, in fact, I have too many vehicles. Nearly forgot the MG ZT 190+ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humpy Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 (edited) Love anything Harley Keep the pictures coming and I will wait for Moped Mark to bring his pictures Only picture I have of my old man's Harley vrod 100th anniversary edition 1300cc. So much chrome on this thing it was lovely. Keep up the good work Wink Edited November 9, 2015 by Humpy 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mopedmark Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Thought you mite like these ones Keep up the mods on the Sportster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will370z Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Nice pics mark 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humpy Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Mark you are looking hot buddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mopedmark Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Nice pics mark I know the Humpster likes them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martybhoy Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Very nice I love the iron 883 such a BA looking bike! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WINKJ Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 Nice hog WINKJ, mine is black but I went for the bling bling look, 1200 STAGE 1 Thanks! a serious amount of chrome here! how do you keep it so clean! I struggle with the tiny amount on my bike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WINKJ Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 (edited) Love anything Harley Keep the pictures coming and I will wait for Moped Mark to bring his pictures Only picture I have of my old man's Harley vrod 100th anniversary edition 1300cc. So much chrome on this thing it was lovely. Keep up the good work Wink lovely looking vrod! again more chrome than I would dare go near good to see we have more harley fans in the club! Thought you mite like these ones Keep up the mods on the Sportster MM, amazing bikes and pictures of course! there goes my feeling of achievement with my iron . amazing bits of kit. have you still got them both?.. and the the bikes? Edited November 10, 2015 by WINKJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Excellent stuff. Word of warning though, tweaking your bike soon gets expensive. Since I bought my Ducati 996 2 years back, I have easily spent as much on the bike modding it as it cost me to buy initially. However it is very rewarding though when you can feel the difference the mods make and you turn what is already an excellent bike into something even better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonlap Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 WINKJ, I took it out in the rain once, never again, took me two weeks to get the water marks off the hot chrome parts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Surprising how little Sportsters have changed apart from the drive and motor options, and even then not so far different, couple of pics of my old bikes, the Sportster is actually red, its just the old pic that makes it a bit pink. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WINKJ Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 Surprising how little Sportsters have changed apart from the drive and motor options, and even then not so far different, couple of pics of my old bikes, the Sportster is actually red, its just the old pic that makes it a bit pink. some amazing looking bikes there! you don't still have the sportster by any chance do you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Thanks! unfortunately not, that was back in the 70s, the 45 is from the same era, and the Triumph from the 80s and the Z650 from the 90s, that's just a few of the bikes I have built over the years, some I don't even have pics of. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimboy2 Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Big fan of the sportsters, all going well I will be getting a 48 for next summer. Need a licence first but that's just a small hurdle lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Cool bike, looks well Steve McQueen Great Escape 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WINKJ Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 Big fan of the sportsters, all going well I will be getting a 48 for next summer. Need a licence first but that's just a small hurdle lol. you buy my Z, now you want a sporty! this is just too much to handle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WINKJ Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 (edited) Managed to complete the chopped fender install... the only outstanding thing is to get rid of the visible cable tie you can see attached to the frame, currently waiting on a delivery of cable tidys! New suspension vs Old. 11" Progressive 412. freshly cut, "rattle can" sprayed and pot rivet'd rear fender test fitment: all done! old new I am happy to say the ride is vastly improved too!! , I can actually go around a roundabout at speed! Edited November 17, 2015 by WINKJ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Looking good, just don't ride it in the rain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodyboarder81 Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 (edited) I love the look of it !! What does one of these bikes set you back ? Really want to get my license next year and get a bike Edited November 18, 2015 by Bodyboarder81 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WINKJ Posted November 18, 2015 Author Share Posted November 18, 2015 I love the look of it !! What does one of these bikes set you back ? Really want to get my license next year and get a bike I can't remember in detail now but the base bike is around £8k, however I had a Stage 1 upgrade which is a Vance and Hines short shot exhaust system, Screamin' Eagle heavy breather filter and Screamin' eagle ECU remap which was circa 1500-2000 if I remember correctly! It's my first bike and I absolutely love it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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