Hello, I'm Ryan "F9", and this is how I would customize my motorcycle for under $50.
Let's start simple and go up from there. The easiest way to mod a bike is to throw stickers on it.
But, that's kind of lame, and it shatters the resale value. Unless,
You use one of these. Now this is a Progrip tank pad,
everyone and their grandmother has one.
I'd throw this on the lower portion of my tank to prevent my belt buckle or a jacket zipper from scratching up the paintwork.
Now the fact that it looks cool is just a bonus.
This is a faux carbon-fiber weave.
Now obviously that's not what it's really made from. I'm told that it's some kind of thermal molded resin.
It's really flexible so whatever contours your bike tank might have, this will bend to fit.
No worries about size either.
I measured this thing eight and a quarter inches at the very tallest point,
and five and a half inches at the very widest point.
So even on a little 125 it should fit no problem.
of course if you're concerned about protecting a large area of your paint then the small size is actually a bad thing.
Installation is really simple you just peel off this back paper, and then stick it on your tank.
It's kind of a one-shot deal so I would probably really clean my motorcycle beforehand,
and then mark out the edges with masking tape just to make sure that I put it on straight
Anyway, the Progrip tank pad is 19 bucks at Fortnine.ca right now. So it's the cheapest mod on my list.
And by the way, you can remove one of these with a blow dryer and a bit of patience.
The second inexpensive mod on my list ...
Grips
Now these are Renthals Kevlar Road Race grips that cost 24 bucks at the moment,
and in my opinion they're the best option on the market.
It's not just a layer of Kevlar in here, the compound itself is actually infused with Kevlar resin,
and so that means that every single depth no matter how much I wear away the grip,
there's always going to be millions of tiny Kevlar particles at the surface.
So it's always really durable, and it's always really tacky.
Renthal claims that this is the softest material they've ever produced.
And at the same time it lasts three times longer than their previous soft material.
So basically it's better than every other grip, in every way.
Unfortunately the miraculous compound, comes out in this gross, faded, yellow color.
At best, It looks kind of raw and factory fresh. At worst, it's ugly.
But the quality is so good that I still see these grips everywhere.
Normally on GSXRs for some reason. Of course you could throw them on any 29 or 32 millimeter bar you want.
Motocross, super-moto, cafe racer, whatever.
They're also open-ended, which is really great if you run hand guards or bar ends.
A third way to modify your bike on the cheap...
Handlebars
Even more so than tank pads and grips, a handlebar can drastically change the appearance of a bike.
So if I'm going after that customized look this is a great mod to make.
Easy on the wallet, too. Now this Emgo Drag Bend is only 27 bucks at the moment. And it's not even on sale.
Of course It does make sense that handlebars are cheap. Most of them are just molded steel tubes.
I love this mod because it's such a great chance for me to get to know my machine.
See a handle bar switch normally involves taking all this stuff off,
switching out the bar, and then putting it back on again.
And I always find that the best way to understand something mechanically is to take it apart, and put it back together.
So in that sense, a handlebar swap is like the perfect learning experience.
It's not very difficult either. I know a few guys who swap their bars out every month just for kicks.
I have to be a little careful when choosing bars.
I mean obviously I have to make sure that the diameter is the same as the one I'm replacing.
And then I also have to pay attention to center width.
That's this part here, and that's where the bike is actually going to clamp onto the handlebar.
So I need to make sure that there's enough flat pipe here for that to actually work.
After that, it's just a question of overall width, rise, which is zero on this bar, and then pull back.
Now depending on those things my cables may or may not be long enough to reach the new location of my grips.
If they aren't it's just just a question of ordering some different length cables. Or maybe an extension kit.
Another inexpensive and fairly simple mod: flush mounts.
The idea is really simple. OEM turn signals look kind of dorky.
So we remove it and then we sit this flat light into the hole where the signal used to poke out of.
Ergo, it sits flush with my fender and the whole thing looks a lot sleeker.
Obviously not every motorcycle is going to have the same shape cut outs.
You need to find a flush mount that fits your particular bike.
Hotbodies has a bunch of models for various motorcycles.
This one here fits a bunch of CBRs from the early 2000s, and it costs 45 bucks. That's about par for the course.
Installation is pretty simple on flush mounts, because 95% of that original wiring is going to be reused.
It's just question of removing the OEM turn signal, snipping the wires that lead to it, and then threading them onto these ends instead,
linking it up with the little links that Hotbodies provides,
and then I set the flush mount into the hole where the OEM turn signal used to be.
Could be a job done in 10 minutes.
Be aware that you do sacrifice some safety with these.
They are actually super bright. I was surprised by how much this lit up even with the tinted glass.
Still though it's obviously not as prominent as that OEM indicator.
I guess that's kind of the point though, isn't it?
My fifth mod has a similar idea. Take a pesky legal thing, like these bunny ear mirrors.
And replace them with something more minimal.
This is a bar end mirror. Specifically a CRG Blindsight, and in sale season it can creep down below 50 bucks.
So it's pretty cheap way to customize your ride.
Installation is like a zero out of five.
I mean you just undo these two allen screws, slide the guy onto your bar end, and tighten them back up again.
Job done. It'll work for anyone whose bars are 7/8 of an inch in diameter.
And if that isn't you, you just have to buy CRG's adapter, that'll open up a wider range.
You might not have noticed but the posters of cafe racers and sport bikes that we gawk at, well none of those bikes have mirrors.
And that's why our real-life machines never look quite right until we throw a pair of these on.
But safety is an issue.
This CRG is convex so it maximizes field of vision and optimizes magnification.
It's coated in an automotive tinting that reduces sun glare.
And it's seated on a little rubber o-ring so handlebar vibrations are going to be transmitted to the glass.
But all the cleverness in the world still can't hide the fact that this is tiny.
Legality is also questionable. It's a bit of a gray area on a national level.
And then it's 13 shades of grey across every province and territory.
So far as I can tell many provinces are cool with bar ends, some of them only require a left-side mirror to begin with.
Now Transport Canada, they do require two big ones. But that's for any bike entering the country, so they probably won't have anything to say on a daily basis.
So that's it for my top mods under 50 bucks. Tank pads, grips, handlebars, flush mounts, bar end mirror.
Now I could do the whole suite for about 200 bucks, and have a seriously customized ride.
As always product links are right down there, and thank you guys very much for watching