Here's a photo of my bike that was taken the day after I bought it. Please note that I was not hitting the road just yet when the photo was taken. I'm an all the gear, all the time kind of gal. UPDATE 03/30/11-Apparently you can track a person's exact location from smartphone photos, and I was at a friend's house so I'm replacing the photo of me riding my motorcycle with this stock photo of my bike. I'll take a new photo of my bike with the GPS off.
I purchased the bike from the second owner. It's a 2004 Honda Shadow Aero 750. The original owner bought it and before leaving the shop had them do quite a bit of customization. The engine block was added along with highway pegs, the grips were replaced with cushy ones, the sissy bar was added, saddle bags were added, the rear view mirrors were removed and a tiny round one was put on the left, the stock exhaust was replaced with Cobra pipes and the baffles were removed, the carburater was messed with so the bike would backfire more and sound "spiffier," and the handlebars were switched out so that instead of having the standard straight bars that come on the Aero, it's got the kind that bend back. There's also some tribal emblems on the tank and fenders, but the paint job is stock.
I have already taken off the tiny rear view mirror and put two large teardrop shaped rear view mirrors on. The highway pegs have been removed. I couldn't reach them with my stubby legs, and they are ugly. It was very funny, if I put my foot up on the highway peg, it could just barely reach the peg and slide off! I've got the baffles on order, and hopefully when they're put in, it'll be enough to soften the bike noise for me. If not, I'll have to trade out the pipes and hope I can find a used set somewhere. As far as the handlebars go, the only way I could get an aero was if somebody had already switched out the handlebars since the standard Aero handlebars leave my elbows locked because my arms are too short!
I love this bike. It's larger than my old bike, a 1995 Yamaha Virago 535, although nothing will ever be as beautiful as the sleek lines of my Virago. I took this photo in New York (see my pretty lillies in the background?), posted it on facebook, and it ended up all over the internet - I was particularly disappointed to find it on bikezz listed as the wrong bike! Apparently, I'm not the only person who thought my Stella was the most beautiful bike out there. That's all stock, bay-bee. Oh, it's in the process of being sold in upstate New York if anyone's interested.
My new Honda is easier to ride for me as a very short woman, though. It's got a larger engine, and it weighs more. However, I'm so short that the Honda's lower center of gravity leads to easier maneuverability. If I was taller, it would make no difference. It also had a battery problem - the battery constantly ran out of juice. I know of other 1995 Virago 535s that had the same problem.
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