Cheap Accessories

After buying my new (to me) 2004 Shadow there were a couple of accessories I really wanted. The first was some kind of storage as the bike didn't come with saddle bags. I decided on a sissy bar bag because (1) I don't need much storage room and (2) I wanted to make mounting/dismounting the rear of the bike as easy as possible for Karen. I looked at commercially available bags ($$$) and decided on a more frugal (French for "cheap" I think) approach. So I went to a Goodwill thrift shop and found a leather backpack for $6. I sewed on (by hand) a new velcro closure strap and modified the shoulder straps to wrap around the sissy bar frame and then velcro to the back of the bag. I think it came out pretty good!

After that project I decided what I needed next was some kind of clock. I don't wear a watch anymore and pulling my iPhone out of my pocket while riding just isn't a great idea. Again I looked at what was available commercially but didn't want to spend the money. A couple of posting in the Honda Shadow forum that I frequent gave me the idea of using a cheap Walmart watch. I picked one up yesterday for $11 and used velcro to attach it below the speedometer. I like the analog watch as it goes with the classic styling of the Aero.