I spent a couple hours today tearing down my newly purchased bike to see exactly what I’m working with. Luckily the engine is sound and will only need some basic maintenance before riding season this summer. After some work and research I have summed up my 5 biggest constraints.

1. Time: Time is the biggest factor for a project of this size. I truly don’t think it will be possible to finish so I have decided to narrow my project to focusing on just the seat and handlebar unit. The rest I will work on finishing if I complete the previous before class ends but it will definitely be an on going project through the summer.
2. Money: Dealing with customizing bike parts involves money. I am on a college budget and do not want to spend more than I have too on this bike. It will be a bike I will be riding for a long time and something I have always wanted to do so I will be dumping some money into quality parts but mainly things I need not want.
3. Experience: A lot of the pieces of this project involve experience with motorcycles. Well this is my first bike so I definitely don’t have that. I will be relying on some friends with similar bikes and the savior “Goggle”. I am pretty crafty and resourceful so I think I can figure it out in the end.
4. Wiring: After tearing the bike down I realize the wiring harness is a mess. I wanted to have this completed by the end of the semester but realistically it might have to wait until summer.
5. Paint: I eventually want to paint the frame again but that will involve stripping the bike down to the engine so I will most likely have to push this until the summer unless I have lots of time when I return from spring break.