When you buy a motorcycle you look at that bike and probably think one of two things; 1. This bike is beautiful or 2. this bike will be great when I do x, y, and z.

For me, the time I spent researching what I wanted out of a motorcycle paid off when I found my bike at a shop. It was the exact paint and chrome I wanted. I was happy to keep it stock for a while then, once I had a few trips planned, I picked up some accessories.

I got a windshield, some saddle bags and put on crashbars. Still enjoying the look and feel of my ride, I kept it like that for another season. But, like most bike owners the time had come to make some modifications to better suit me.

I started to notice a few people on a bike board I frequent had used a custom lowering kit to drop the back end of their motorcycles an inch or two and it really made the bike look better.

So, I bought a lowering kit last season and decided to tweak the bike. Unfortunately I don’t have access to a garage so this would be an outside job in the parking lot. But we had crappy weather, family obligations and my man had to have surgery. All of those added up meant me not being able to get anything done. This year I won’t let anything hold me back.

I will learn to love tools.

The thought of modifying my own bike is a bit daunting at first. It could mean ruining a perfectly nice manicure-ha, just kidding. Seriously, I’m no mechanic–how am I qualified to work on my own bike? I’m qualified because it’s my bike and I’m a fairly smart chick. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to run out and rebuild my clutch. I’m starting small and working my way up.

This isn’t some “I am woman, hear me roar” thing, it’s a simple matter of cash. Why pay a guy $300 for something I can do on my own (hopefully) in an hour?

This past weekend I picked up a Torin Big Red 1500lb Motorcycle Jack which I hope to put to good use. I already have the tools, so my first wrenching will be lowering the bike. I’ll take some before and after photos and you guys can let me know what you think.

My second project will be removing my stock pipes and putting on some clean, light weight after market ones. I figure that with the bike lowered 2 inches my stockers will now be scraping the ground when I take a hard corner (plus I love these turned-down pipes!! They are sweet! ).