6 Custom Motorcycle Accessories You Can 3D Print

Owning a 3D printer opens the door to all kinds of creative possibilities. Once you have one, you will quickly realize that you can use it to modify and customize a lot of cool 3D-printed things you’d probably never thought to try before. If you also ride a motorcycle, then you may have wondered if there’s anything that you can print to add to your bike.

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You probably don’t want to 3D print anything structural. PLA and most other 3D printing filaments (depending on the kind of printer you have) don’t really have the tensile strength to withstand that much force, and the low melting point that makes them easy to print with should also be kept a fair distance from the heat of your bike’s engine. That said, there are plenty of different 3D printable accessories that you can make. Maker sites like Thingiverse are full of 3D print files that can be downloaded for free and used to create a whole host of different items that you can use to improve the style and functionality of your motorcycle, like a mount to attach a watch to the handlebars, or a stand pad to help prop up a bike in the mud or snow. Some of these custom-designed parts may be model-specific, as makers often make them with their own motorcycle’s dimensions in mind, but several of them are universal, and others may simply require a bit of minor modification in your chosen slicing program.

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One of the handiest things that you can put on a motorcycle is a phone mount. It can be hard to feel it vibrating in your pocket when you’re sitting on 500 lbs of vibrating steel, and you might want to be able to glance at it when it’s ringing so you can see when someone is calling, but the biggest advantage of a phone mount is that you can see your phone’s GPS. Audio instructions are all well and good, but actually seeing the map in front of you can make a world of difference. There are a number of budget-friendly motorcycle phone mounts out there you can buy, but you can save even more money if you print your own.

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There are a few different designs, and most of them are customized to the dimensions of a specific phone. There are designs for the iPhone 6 Plus, Nexus 5, Galaxy 9+, and several others. It might be better to get one of these custom-fit options, as these will likely offer the most secure fit for your device. Don’t worry if there isn’t one for your specific phone, though. There are also several universal options available that offer broad compatibility. These can also be a good solution if you have an unusual-sized phone case that makes the more custom options awkward. Just make sure that whatever option you choose is truly secure before you trust it to hold your phone while you speed down the highway or wind through a canyon road.

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If you ever like to ride in the chillier months, then you’re probably familiar with how cold your hands can get while gripping the handles. A quality pair of riding gauntlets can certainly help keep the feeling in your digits, but it’s hard for body heat alone to contend with the icy airflow when riding at high speeds. Just like a good windshield can help protect most of your body from the worst that the wind has to offer, a set of handguards can deflect a significant amount of the cold air away from your hands. Best of all, you can make yourself a pair right on your 3D printer.

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Motorcycle handles come in a variety of different angles, shapes, and sizes depending on the make and model of the bike itself — even if you don’t account for aftermarket modifications. There are model-specific patterns on Thingiverse for the Vstrom 650 and the Honda CB500X that are fitted to the specific dimensions of those bikes, but this is another instance where you can find designs that are intended to be universal. One of these designs is available on Cults, another is on Printables, and there is a third on Thingiverse (which is actually a remix of the Vstrom 650 model). If none of these patterns fit as is, they each also have licenses that allow you to remix their designs to better suit your specific bike.

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Commuting on a motorcycle is all well and good, but one of the best things about owning a bike is getting to take it on weekend rides past scenic vistas or long cross-country trips. It used to be that the only way to document these adventures was by pulling over, taking off your gloves, and snapping a picture. Now you can attach an action camera to your helmet or the handlebars of your bike and record the entire trip right from the saddle.

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GoPro is one of the most popular action camera brands on the market. There are some great alternatives if you’re looking to save a bit of money, but several makers have taken the liberty of making mounts that are specifically for GoPro cameras. These are designed to allow you to attach the mini cameras securely to your bike.

There are a few types of mount designs on the 3D printing file-sharing sites. Most are simple clamps that attach to the handlebars of your motorcycle, and have a three-pronged mounting mechanism at the top that you can attach a camera to. These appear to be the sturdiest and most reliable options. There are a few that have a similar camera mounting mechanism, but that are made to attach to the mouthguard of a full-face helmet rather than the bike itself. These offer less stability and support but have the benefit of allowing you to change the camera angle by turning your head. Thingiverse user t4obrien also made a mount that is designed to hold the Osmo Pocket GoPro gimbal.

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The best kinds of accessories are the ones that make your bike safer. Ask any experienced motorcyclist, and they’ll tell you that one of the most important things to have as a rider is a thorough awareness of your surroundings. Mirrors are an important part of that awareness. You may not have realized that there are several kinds of mirrors, though. A lot of bikes only come with the standard flat mirrors that show what’s directly behind you. Wide-angle mirrors are curved, like the ones that allow you to see around corners in the grocery store. You often see them on the side view mirrors of cars, but they tend to be less common on the smaller side view mirrors used on motorcycles. Wide-angle mirrors can warp perspective a bit, but they give you a broader field of view that helps to account for some of your blind spots.

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There are a few different 3D printable files online that you can use to add these small, rounded mirrors to your bike and help improve your range of vision. One project made by wifixcort on Thingiverse clips onto any 12mm support bar holding up a bike’s existing mirrors. Those bikes that don’t utilize those kinds of support bars might need a different solution, however. Another maker called FunkyCatJr designed a set of mirror supports that fit into the endcaps of the handles of their Kawasaki Z125.

You never know what might happen on the open road. Even the most well-maintained and reliable motorcycles can occasionally run into mechanical trouble. This might happen in town if you’re lucky, but it can also happen miles away from civilization. In these instances, it’s good to have a few reliable tools in a travel tool kit that can help get you back to civilization. You can always keep them in a saddle bag, but some people might prefer a dedicated container.

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Thingiverse user grumpy_scrambler made a motorcycle toolbox that is designed to be bolted to the side of a bag carrier attachment. It has a lock opening that is designed to fit a Burg-Wächter ZS 84 SB and allows the user to drill their own mounting holes so it can be customized to fit the dimensions of other bikes. Another, simpler, design from the maker Armoo has a double-latch closing mechanism and is designed to be attached to a piece of the rear chassis with metal wire. This is smaller and looks to be a bit less secure, but it also looks like it would work with a wide range of different bikes. A third design from YouTuber Joseph Gleyzer combines a 3D-printed lock box with a custom aluminum locking mechanism and holding brackets, though this one might be difficult to repeat for most people.

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Another motorcycle accessory that has been circulating in the maker community is a throttle wrist lever. There is a little variance in their designs, but most of them essentially boil down to a trowel-shaped wrist rest that clips over the bike’s throttle. So, when you grab the throttle in the neutral position, your palm and inner wrist should rest comfortably in the curve of the lever. This allows you to partially twist the throttle with the downward pressure of your hand, rather than solely relying on your grip strength. It’s a simple device, but it can take a lot of the tension off your wrist, which can be fatiguing on longer rides.

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This is another design that has several different iterations on Thingiverse. The biggest distinguishing factor that separates most of them is how the clip grips the handle. You don’t want the rest to slip when you push down on it as you turn the throttle, so you want to make sure it’s attached securely. Some simply rely on the clamping pressure of the clip, but one of the more popular files out there, which was designed by jeremylucy1, has a slot that allows you to add a velcro strap for added security. Another maker who goes by parek remixed this design further and added teeth to the inside of the clamp to give it even more traction.