FORWARD CONTROLS
And the final of the three, must-have items for a cruiser
(the first two being the seat
and the handlebar risers) is an extension to the forward controls. The stock
controls are ok, but when you legs are long, these really come in handy.
There are a few different styles available, and some are very expensive ($600).
These "premium" models are impressive, in that they are made of solid, chromed
aluminum, and replace your existing controls. Mine were made from a machinist
nicknamed toadfrogracing who sells them regularly on Ebay. They are made of
polished (though not chromed) aluminum. The cool thing about
these is that they are actually bracket extensions that work with and fully
re-use your existing controls, effectively
pushing them forward about six inches. This is probably the single-most effective
modification you can do to your Shadow to make your long legs feel great (and by
long I mean 32" inseam or longer). The even cooler thing about these is that
they were just over a hundred dollars.
And below you can see the shifter side. It's mostly the same as the brake
side except for the inclusion of the shifter extension, which feeds directly
into the transmission.
One thing here, and the design kinda fell short here. Left alone, the shifter
extension bar rubs against the pain on the frame. I alleviated this problem
by installing a small piece of UHMW (ultra-high molecular weight) plastic
tape on the affected area. As with any adhesive of this nature, clean the
area first, swab with alcohol and let dry. Skip any of those steps and
it'll come unstuck far sooner than you want it to.