I am lucky enough to have a loving wife. In August of 2002, I saw a black bike on the side of the road for sale. I went to look at it and it was in good shape. It had highway pegs, saddle bags, and a good paint job (all black with no tank badges). For Christmas of 2002, she got it for me. And as a friend put it, I've been riding it like it is stolen ever since.

 

As with anything we tend to get our hands on, I could not leave well enough alone. I started modifying things, a little at first. If you go to my Links page, you will find the web addresses for just about every place I got parts or information.

 

In the pages to follow, I'll show off my ideas, my tricks, and my add-ons. I hope this helps everyone.

 

I'll start by showing the bike "almost" as I got it. When these pictures were taken, some changes had already been made.

 

 

 

You can see from the pictures, I have changed out the amber lense covers to clear and I have changed the stock mirrors out. The previous owner had the highway pegs installed, and had saddlebags mounted. Right now, I am toying with the idea of leaving them off. They damaged the paint job, and I am re-painting the bike March 2004. I don't want to damage the new paint.

 

Just my ideas on the parts. I'll start with what the bike came with, the highway bars. I like the added comfort when on the highway, the only issue with these bars is they can move. When you're ridding at 70 mph, and your peg moves, it kinda un-nerves you. So I am looking for a way to stop them from moving. I plan on this when I have the bike torn apart for painting.

 

The saddlebags are a nice addition for storage. It is kinda hard to store stuff on a bike for trips. The major downside, in my opinion, is that ones installed on this bike damaged the paint on the rear fender. I may re-install them after the paint job, but only if I can keep them from damaging the paint.

 

Now for the stuff I installed. I have changed out the grips from the stock. You can see the model I went to at Cruiser Customizing (along with the other accessories I have bought). These went on real easy. The throttle grip came with the throttle sleeve, so change-out wasn't so bad. All you have to do is to looses the throttle cables, and slide the old grip off. Remember to remove the kill switch housing. The left side, just slice off the old grip with a box cutter, and slide the new one on. I realize this may seem kinda brief, but Blacktop's SA750 website has got great instructions for just about every aspect of the bike.

 

I also did not like the look of the "Mickey Mouse" mirrors that are stock. So I got a set of mirrors I did like. Again, you can see them at Cruiser Customizing (along with the other accessories I have bought). These went on real easy. The only issue is to make sure when you buy your mirrors, they come with the adapter studs for the Honda Shadow ACE. I ended up getting my adapter studs at the local Honda dealer. Just unscrew the old mirrors and screw in the new. I realize this may seem kinda brief, but Blacktop's SA750 website has got great instructions for just about every aspect of the bike.

 

Had to make the bike look as cool as it can, so to match the black lines, I decided to accent it with clear lense covers. Made a world of difference. Again, you can find them at Cruiser Customizing. These went on real easy. Remove the bottom screw, and pop out the old and pop in the new. Done. Also, you can't see it in the pictures, but I enhanced my lights on the rear with red LED bulbs and on the front with blue Xenon bulbs. I know it sounds weird on paper, blue fronts and red rears? But unless you know, and are looking real hard, you'll not notice.

 

Another addition is the 45ACE forwards. I have the plans and additional info here.

 

And I HAD to get the personalized tag. If you haven't noticed from the rest of the website why...you need help.