Do-it-yourself Motorcycle Mods

Don’t call us cheap...it’s more like “innovative.”

Let’s take custom to a whole new level here. There’s nothing like learning how to polish a motorcycle, remove rust from chrome, doing the hard work yourself and saving a buck or twenty in the process. Here are some crafty do-it-yourself motorcycle mods for all you DIY fans out there. Stay tuned for more travel and riding tips, and be sure and drop your favorite DIY motorcycle mod in the comments! I might even feature your custom ride innovation in my next article.

Ammo Box Saddlebags

Sometimes finding good, waterproof saddlebags for your bike can be a pain in your you-know-what as well as your wallet. Getting waterproof storage, number one, is expensive. So, instead of just sucking it up and throwing money at a vendor, some crafty riders have come up with an alternative: DIY motorcycle saddlebags out of ammo boxes.

You can find ammo boxes (sans artillery) pretty much without any trouble. Army surplus stores are usually the ticket; they have tons of cases in almost every size you can want. Depending on the style of your particular ride, you’ll be able to find your fit for probably only ten bucks a pop.

After some modifications (which you can find instructions for here), these awesome, affordable, waterproof, sturdy and lockable saddlebags are ready to lock and load.

Make Your Harley Louder

It’s not all about finding the best aftermarket Harley exhaust in order to get that sound going. There are ways to do this yourself. A popular way to make a motorcycle louder is to remove the baffles or switch out the carburetor. Check out this article to see what other riders did to get their rumble on.

Darkened Tail Lights

Depending on the laws in your state, darkening tail lights can be a pretty cool mod. Be sure and check the tinting laws in your state before considering this motorcycle DIY tip.*

Ok, so tinting is legal in your state? Let’s move on with this DIY hack. While there’s lots of films and lenses out there that are meant to give your tail lights that badass smoked look, some of them suck. Sometimes, even after dropping a pretty penny on some smoked tail lenses and darkening film, it doesn’t really give you the look you want. Instead, let’s take it to the backside of the light. By removing the silver coloring on the inside of the light, you’ll get that smoked look for a lot less, and won’t lose any of your reflection in the process. This can be easily done just by pulling off the silver with tape.

*Disclaimer: General DOT laws state that lights need to be visible from 500 feet, and that you should be able to see a change between normal and braking from that distance. While this hack is a great way to look cool, just be sure you aren’t causing any safety hazards. Make sure your lens still reflects, or this hack could just be a fast and easy way to get pulled over.

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