Bar end mirrors? Oh yeah!

[eidian]

So my friend who has a Ducati Monster has bar end mirrors and asked him how the were..."I love them!", he said. "Hmmm...", I thought to myself, "Nah, I couldn't get used to them; it was enough of an adjusment for me to go from fixed mirrors on a fairing to bar mounted mirrors". That's what happened back in October's "Malibu Ride" that I was able to attend. Fast forward to last Friday...

...I was riding home from work in typical moderate freeway traffic. I'm going about 45 mph with the flow of traffic and buzzing by me at around 55 was a V-Strom which startled me. The guy waved to me as he passed. Now this guy wasn't a squid, he wasn't speeding, he followed edicate perfectly, in fact, if I would've seen him, I would've gone to the left of the HOV lane to give him some actually passing room instead of him having to wait for some space between vehicles--I just didn't see him because my mirrors are crap.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't use the mirrors to decide whether-or-not I'm going to make a lane change but it sure would be nice to at least see what's coming up just because...well...it's nice to know.

So I went to Cycle Gear and bought a pair of Motrax bar end mirrors. So if you're considering some bar end mirrors, here are the results of the ones that I installed (they still need a little more adjusting):

Taken from the tail of the bike:


Right Mirror from sitting position; I tried to re-create what I would see while riding. I know that my hand isn't on the grip but what I did was hold the grip and then stay at the same angle as I took the picture:


Left Mirror riding position:


Need I say more? End of post.

[Miralcos]

Those look like they would do much better than the ones that give you a view of your shoulder.

[antiq]

Any mirror that allows vision is good!

[A2rider]

I'll agree with you. I always assumed you couldn't see anything out of bar ends, but sitting on a Triumph Thruxton that comes standard with them, I was wrong.

[Obsidian16825]

How would bar end mirrors work on a cruiser? There's already a threaded hole through my bar weights. When I tried to go to cycle gear's website, all I got was a google search page. Do you have a working link you could post?

[daemon]

i've always thought that these type of mirrors looked good on a zed,but for some reason i could never get used to the type of mirror they use.(forget the name)
i bought the larger type bar ends that give me a better view of what is behind me.
personally i don't like the look of the ones i have,but i can see past my shoulder just fine

[2WheelFun]

They look like they work very well.

Cute kid!

[stefano]

If you don't stop blinging out your bike soon Ed, you're going to run your family into a world of debt

Looks like they work good. Any pictures of the bike itself to judge how they look on it?

The mirrors on my 636 are totally useless, you have to either tuck your elbow in or (as I've grown accustomed to doing as of late) out in order to see what's behind you instead of your arm.

However the alternatives are either buying longer supporting arms for them, which I don't want to do (it would make riding in traffic here in Milan practically impossible) OR buying bar end mirrors for them... but honestly the look still hasn't convinced me, especially on a supersport.

For now I'll stick with looking through the hole between my trunk and my arm

[eidian]

Originally Posted by A2rider

I'll agree with you. I always assumed you couldn't see anything out of bar ends, but sitting on a Triumph Thruxton that comes standard with them, I was wrong.

And the first time you look at the mirrors the difference isn't subtle--you think, "Holy crap! I can see everything!".

[eidian]

Originally Posted by Obsidian16825

How would bar end mirrors work on a cruiser? There's already a threaded hole through my bar weights. When I tried to go to cycle gear's website, all I got was a google search page. Do you have a working link you could post?

D'oh! Of all the installs, I didn't take pics of this one because I thought, "This is such a small, quick install". Turned out that it took more thought to install the right mirror than it did to install the Leo Vince slip-ons.

I had a threaded hole for the bar weighted ends too (hopefully you can tell from the diagram below to see if it's like your bike). On the bars, there was just enough room to mount the mirror. The tricky one was the throttle side because while I could just shove the left mirror on and tighten the bar end not having to worry about the grip getting a tiny bit smooshed, I had to leave a little space for the throttle side so that grip could move easily back into idle position. To do this, I used some washers to space out the right bar end so that it wouldn't shove the mirror mount into the grip. Take a closer look at the first pic that I posted, that shiny silver thing in between the mirror mount and the bar end is one of the washers.

[eidian]

Originally Posted by daemon

i've always thought that these type of mirrors looked good on a zed,but for some reason i could never get used to the type of mirror they use.(forget the name)
i bought the larger type bar ends that give me a better view of what is behind me.
personally i don't like the look of the ones i have,but i can see past my shoulder just fine

Yeah, those bar mounted mirrors are terrible. I think the reason why they have to keep those stems so short is because of vibration. Those mirrors shook like crazy! On the freeway today I noticed that the bar end mirrors don't vibrate at all. What a nice change!

So what did you do to cover up the threaded hole where the OEM mirrors used to be? I can't think of a way to cover them up; I don't want the threads to get rusty. I figure that I can coat them with some oil or grease and the cover the hole. Any suggestions?

[eidian]

Originally Posted by 2WheelFun

They look like they work very well.

Cute kid!

They really do improve rear view. Today I purposely stopped behind the vehicles at red lights just so that I could adjust the mirrors with the open road behind me while stopped. I had difficulties at first because I didn't realize that I was adjusting the mirrors so that the whole lane behind me was visible. After I realized that I don't need to see whole lane behind me, I was able to adjust between the side lane and what's behind me. It's great on the freeway and not having to move my elbow to see what's behind me--I can just glance down at both mirrors and see everything.

Yeah, isn't the kid cute!? That's one of my wife's brother-in-laws and his second son who's a year and-a-half. We were thinking of having his son stand alone but since he was already on his father's shoulders, I figured that they could both "model". Also, we weren't sure if we could get him to stand in one place for one minute to take the pics because he wanted to sit on the bike.

[eidian]

Oh, you don't know my pain about spending! Our daughter is due this coming Saturday and I want to buy some CF upper panels for my bike. I sure hope that I'll be able to afford them in the next month or so--because if I can't, I probably won't be getting them she's 18!

As for the look of the mirrors on a SuperSport, a guy in a Z1 forum posted some pics, check them out and pass judgement for yourself. You have to be a member to see the pics though:

Motrax bar end mirrors? - Page 2 - RiderForums.com Community

Originally Posted by stefano

If you don't stop blinging out your bike soon Ed, you're going to run your family into a world of debt

Looks like they work good. Any pictures of the bike itself to judge how they look on it?

The mirrors on my 636 are totally useless, you have to either tuck your elbow in or (as I've grown accustomed to doing as of late) out in order to see what's behind you instead of your arm.

However the alternatives are either buying longer supporting arms for them, which I don't want to do (it would make riding in traffic here in Milan practically impossible) OR buying bar end mirrors for them... but honestly the look still hasn't convinced me, especially on a supersport.

For now I'll stick with looking through the hole between my trunk and my arm

[A2rider]

Originally Posted by eidian

And the first time you look at the mirrors the difference isn't subtle--you think, "Holy crap! I can see everything!".

And he said the best part about them is they don't vibrate!!

[eidian]

Originally Posted by A2rider

And he said the best part about them is they don't vibrate!!

I didn't realize how much of the mirror's movement was due to vibration! This morning was amazing! I was able to make out the make and model of the cars that were behind me even though they were car lengths behind me because the mirrors weren't vibrating. There's a big difference between vibration and the bike simply bouncing because of the road.

[CheeseHeadNinja]

If I decide to buy the Z1000 I've been looking at (test rode it Saturday, was awesome!), one of the first things I was planning to do was get bar end mirrors. The stock ones are hideous and the bar ends really add to the street fighter look. If it improves your view of behind, all the better!

[eidian]

Originally Posted by CheeseHeadNinja

If I decide to buy the Z1000 I've been looking at (test rode it Saturday, was awesome!), one of the first things I was planning to do was get bar end mirrors. The stock ones are hideous and the bar ends really add to the street fighter look. If it improves your view of behind, all the better!

Huh!? Who's ever heard of buying a bike partly based on looks!? Wow, if you think the mirrors are hideous, I'm afraid to ask what you think of the exhaust!

Yeah, if you get a Z1 you definitely should pick up a some bar end mirrors while you're at the dealership and put them on after you go straight home from the dealership. I wouldn't even bother taking a first ride with the stock mirrors on if you're planning to put bar end ones.

Hey fretbuzz...are you reading this (hint, hint)?

[Streaking Tiger]

I recently bought some 'extenders' for my 650R, because I was tired of just looking at my shoulders. Too many surprises to suit me. For my Meanie, I replaced the Kuryakyn mirrors that came on the bike with some stock mirrors. For me - being able to see what's around me is very important. I like those stock mirrors just fine. Not fancy - but they work great.

[daemon]

the ones i chose work just fine. they don't vibrate too much,but it can be a little irritating at higher RPM's.
i chose mine because i have a hard time seeing through(i remember now) "convex" mirrors.
really screws with my head on the bike.

i love the look,but i can't see too well with them.
no i don't need glasses,just a better brain.

so far as the original stock mount ports.
i still have not found a replacement part to fit in that spot.
although recently i did see a selection of chrome bolts at "ace hardware" that may be able to help in that matter.
not sure if yours have the same bolt pattern,but there are plenty of guys that could lead you in the right direction......you know where!!

Originally Posted by eidian

Yeah, those bar mounted mirrors are terrible. I think the reason why they have to keep those stems so short is because of vibration. Those mirrors shook like crazy! On the freeway today I noticed that the bar end mirrors don't vibrate at all. What a nice change!

So what did you do to cover up the threaded hole where the OEM mirrors used to be? I can't think of a way to cover them up; I don't want the threads to get rusty. I figure that I can coat them with some oil or grease and the cover the hole. Any suggestions?

[daemon]

i remember the good old days when you said the bike was fine just the way it was....
guess i sent you to the wrong place for that dream to be true......

Originally Posted by eidian

Huh!? Who's ever heard of buying a bike partly based on looks!? Wow, if you think the mirrors are hideous, I'm afraid to ask what you think of the exhaust!

Yeah, if you get a Z1 you definitely should pick up a some bar end mirrors while you're at the dealership and put them on after you go straight home from the dealership. I wouldn't even bother taking a first ride with the stock mirrors on if you're planning to put bar end ones.

Hey fretbuzz...are you reading this (hint, hint)?