Shadow 600 1995 by chopping newb

[onenine]

Hi!

My name is Markus, live in Sweden and i am new to this forum, at least as a member. I have been reading a lot of build threads on this site and I recently decided to get a project bike to chop and share with anyone interested!
I am new to the chopping culture, i've been riding bikes as long as i can remember but i have never made any major modifications to custom bikes, so most of the stuff I plan to do I will have to learn as I go! Feel free to share if you have any suggestions or critique

The subject is a Honda shadow 600 from 1995, i got a really good price and it was more or less in stock condition.





The key modifications i am going for is:
*Custom fabricated sporty tank
*Welded hardtail
*Custom rear fender
*Custom handlebars

I am currently in welding school on week days, and working weekends at a local brewery so my spare time is pretty limited, and therefore this project till take a little bit of time. But i hope it will be worth to follow anyway.

[onenine]

Rear frame cut, im not really sure how i will proceed from here, i really want to hardtail it, but i think i'll make a pan to mount the seat to until i hardtail it.



Got my springs for the seat and risers today. The stock handlebars are the worst piece of crap i have ever seen and used, so i fabbed a quick set of bars today that i can use until i've decided on what style bars i want to run. I made them really simple and low so i wont have to extend my cables yet. I might cut the bars and re-weld them with a bit of angle towards me, but im not sure since they are temporary. Im gonna do a little bit more sanding on them and hopefully i can mount the bars tomorrow.

[motoboy]

I'll be following close as my boy and I are cutting up an 05.

Why are you going hard tail?
I dig the bars. I agree, the stock ones are shit.
I picked up a Sporty tank and have abandoned the idea because of the dble backbone of the Shadow. And the petcock placement wasn't favorable. I think we're going to mod a different tank.
Check out the other VLXs here. Definite inspiration.

[onenine]

I want to hardtail it so i can get it as low as possible, and i love the look when the backend is cleared of crap, as seen on a lot of the houston retro bobbers. It is not my primary bike to ride, i ride a xvs1100 when going for longer trips, and this will mostly be used as a show bike and for riding around town.

Im taking a manual metal work class this fall in school, so the plan is to fabricate a customized sporty looking tank. I would rather like to single bone convert it, but i've seen some really good looking bikes with dual mounted tanks too, so i think i'll try that on this bike.

[onenine]

Today i sanded and clear coated the handle bars for fit up, and they seem to fit the bike and current cables better than i expected, i got really lucky because i made them without any measurements



As if the stock handlebars were not bad enough, the new bar really accents the square fugly ass rear view mirrors, i need to get them sorted out soon as quick as possible.



I cant belivie how much potential there is in these cheap ass bikes, it looks so cool without the handlebars, i have to make low handlebars for a vlx600 in the future!

[JetBlackII]

Welcome aboard, yeah if you aren't brand minded, any shit can be customized to your taste on the cheap especially Japanese, Harley has a loyal base when it comes to choppers because they were among the first to get chopped... the name is part of the factor in cost on those, if Harley branded feminine hygiene products many would buy them, simply on brand loyalty alone. When there's a loyal fan base like that, quality is usually 2nd place in the decision about it which naturally, causes a higher cost in the market place for whatever product. It's why Apple charges on avg. 100 bucks more for whatever device ahead of their competitor, even if a competitor blows them out of the water... they know their fan base cares about the name over function, so they bump up cost on them. Kinda funny when branding supersedes function in my opinion, but to each their own.

[onenine]

Thank you! I agree, I have never felt the need of owning a Harley, sure there are some nice bikes out there, but i think Jap bikes are so much bike for the money!

[deathmetaldan]

the only reason i ever considered an HD was because you can get parts pretty much everywhere (even though the price is more than it should be)

some jap bikes have the same thing going for them now, its a nice thing to see

[motoboy]

Love the jap bikes too. Easy. Dependable. Cheap. Fun.
But when I'm riding my Harley.....
Something about it.....

[onenine]

Today i made some preparations for building the tank, im might be able to fabricate it really soon, otherwise i'll have to wait until the fall, eitherway i am making it so i might as well build the buck.



Fit up, looks pretty clean. I really need to get rid of all the air box crap.



Buck almost done. I deserve a beer. Buck will be finished tomorrow.

[onenine]

Buck done!

[Hotel]

Gas tank is looking interesting. I cut a 83 shadow So ill be watching this one. Kind of suprised to see its chain drive but that's the best for what you wanna do.

[onenine]

The summer has been kinda slow on the chopping side since i dont have access to all the welds and equipment fron school, but i have welded the frame holes shut (from cutting the frame), made a seat bracket and mounted a cheap La Rosa seat with springs, and i installed a hardtail strut to get it low and to get a feel for the hard life. I was pretty amazed how soft the bike felt even with the hardtail strut, i is really not bad at all! I am now sure i want to weld the frame to a permanent hardtail! I am currently working on a rear fender.