Cannot see around my arms though my mirrors

[cmyoch]

I have stock mirrors on my bike. I'm not a broad guy at all but no matter how I adjust my mirrors, I can only see behind me if I lean over to look. Has anyone else had this problem? I'm thinking of bar ends but do the vibrations make it hard to see? I'm looking for a cheap alternative that also doesn't look cheap, if that makes any sense.

What's a good source for mirror options or does anyone have a good set of bar ends they'd care to part with?

Craig

 

[Downeaster]

I'll be watching the replies on this one myself. Longer stems on the mirrors is the obvious answer, but I think that'd look like s**t and be hard to keep adjusted. Toying with the idea of bar-end mirrors too.

 

[mrriggs]

I am using a mirror that I got off of an XS750 (not sure if it was stock). It is much taller than the XS650 mirror and is very solid. The best part about it is the way it's adjusted. Rather than using a ball mount, it has a kind of eccentric. To tilt it up or down you simply turn the mirror. It is, by far, the best mirror I have ever had on any bike. The image is clear and it never goes out of adjustment. If there is a car behind me with bright lights then I turn the mirror about an eighth of a turn to get the light out of my eyes, then turn it back when they are gone. It goes right back where it was with no fiddling.

I have used bar end mirrors on a few bikes and they always vibrate bad enough you can't see anything and required constant adjustment.

 

[cmyoch]

I agree about the longer stems.

mrriggs, do you have a picture of your mirrors?

 

[cmyoch]

I saw this online. The mirror looks similar to what I have already, just obviously mounted on the bar end. I've seen this in a few bike pics as well. I wonder how well they work?

 

[mrriggs]

mrriggs, do you have a picture of your mirrors?

I couldn't find any pictures of them on my bike but here are some of the bike I got them from.

 

[cmyoch]

They definitely reach out there. I can see now how easy they are to adjust.

 

[mrriggs]

I saw this online. The mirror looks similar to what I have already, just obviously mounted on the bar end. I've seen this in a few bike pics as well. I wonder how well they work?

It's funny you mention those. I didn't know how good the mirrors on the XS750 were when I got it and replaced them with those same crappy bar ends. A mistake I did not repeat with my XS650.

Yes, the bar end mirrors look cooler (I'll admit, that's why I swapped them originally) but they just don't work as well. If looking good is more important than seeing behind you then simple leave the mirrors off.

 

[DLD1]

I have the same problem, and it's been exascerbated by the installation of clubman bars. I've also been thinking about bar end mirrors, but they make the bike so wide, or at least it seems as though they do. I have an RD400, and the mirrors on it have longer stalks, are round, and much easier to adjust than the stock XS mirrors. My stock mirrors vibrate enough I don't want to use longer stalks, but they are an alternative, and available fairly inexpensive. Not sure what I'm going to do in the long run. I'll be watching here as well to see if anyone has a really killer idea.

DLD1

 

[Royboy]

These are Honda Magna (3rd gen.) mirrors on my 78" SE with Daytona bars. I used an SR 500 clutch perch on the left and a Brembo M/C on the right as mount points. The Brembo gets rid of the left handed thread problem and the SR perch centers the mirror mount over the left bar to match the position the Brembo provides on the right. I see a bit of my arm in each mirror but about 80% of each mirror shows what's behind me.

 

[KenN]

Back in the good old days we used mirrors that clamped around the handlebar, and we would mount them so the mirror was below the handgrips. It actually worked quite well, because your view behind was at waist level.

 

[Phail]

Here is how I did mine. They work pretty good. I can't see directly behind me, but I can see well enough that I won't turn into anyone. When I'm stopped I can see behind me very well.

 

[lakeview]

same problem with the V-Strom - I bought extenders is like a flat bar about 1.5" long, which thread into the mount. Then you thread the mirrors on the outboard end, presto, no elbows

 

[cmyoch]

Nice option. I may look into the Magna mirrors. Low and wide and doesn't make the bars look way too wide.

 

[Tomterrific]

I see very few folks using mirrors like KenN describes but that's how I have my bikes set up. Works like a champ and gives that 'no mirrors' look.

Tom

 

[DirtyErnie]

I have those same bar ends in black. For the most part they're good and you can see around yourself. Don't expect a crystal-clear view behind, but you can tell something's back there on the highway. They are pretty good at low speed, though.

 

[Tinslecat]

I only run small mirrors if at all on my bikes.

I'm pretty big, and to have mirrors to see around me would just look stupid, so i just have the mirrors set so I move to the side to see around them....

If i'm honest i'm not a daily rider, but for the riding i do thats more than enough.... I think it makes you more aware as your not reliant on mirrors all the time, and that can make you lazy for blind spots etc....

 

[jd750ace]

The easy answer is wider bars. seperates the mounts more, and Gives more leverage in the process. Switched my SV650 from the stock 27" wide to a 32" wide, with 1.5 inches more rise, and a huge difference was made.

Bars higher and wider = better aft vision without looking like an insect.

It helps if you are a big dude too, IMHO, as many bars are just too narrow for day long comfort for me. End up feeling like I'm doing CPR chest compressions if the bar is too narrow.

$0.02

 

[SINKING78]

You can try to add those small convex mirrors to your existing ones. They're cheap at any auto place in town. Buddy of mine had the same prob with his stock Harley and that did the trick for him. Might be a cheaper idea to try first before poppin on new mirrors...

 

[Reid]

I have always just looked over my shoulder, but I keep a stocker off of something around the shop for inspections