MY RIDE- Ian Mitchell- Yamaha 1100 VSTAR Custom

Ian Mitchell's Yamaha has changed a bit since he purchased it last May.

"I started customizing it immediately," he explains. Among the alterations: "The suspension has been lowered two inches, the back fender has been 'chopped and dropped' so it hugs the wheel closer, and I added some radius drag bars so your legs get to stretch out a little bit more."

This is his third motorcycle, and the 26-year-old Mitchell says it's his favorite so far.

"It's the one that I've made the way I wanted," he says.

Friends often compliment the custom paint job black flames on maroon but Mitchell says the bike hasn't attracted a certain type of attention.

"It's not like girls jump in front of me asking me to stop so they can jump on the back," he laughs.

And if one did, would he let her on?

"Maybe," he muses. "But it's a one-seater."

A one-seater that won't be his for long.

Since he's leaving Charlottesville in May to attend automotive technician school in Rancho Cucamonga, California, Mitchell has decided to sell the bike and start customizing a new motorcycle once he makes it out west.

"I'll do it with every bike I ever own," he says.

Ian Mitchell