I finally got both my bar end mirrors installed and tested for any that are interested. My bike, which is a 2001 1200s, obviously lost its fairing so the main difference in the stock mirrors compared to the bar end mirrors is position.
The stock mirrors sat more at “eye level” where as these sit lower which was the major change. It’s going to take a little getting used to looking down at the mirrors.
The next big change is the size of the mirror. They are quite a bit smaller then stock mirrors. Surprisingly, you can actually see more of what’s behind you. Even though your field of view is larger, the “objects in the mirror are smaller then they appear” which is a great song by Meatloaf by the way… basically. That is going to take a little getting used to as well.
Next is vibration. Believe it or not, the mirrors have absolutely no vibration… when accelerating or cruising. It’s hard to believe since they are mounted on the handlebars, but it’s the truth. Going 70 down the highway the mirrors are as clear as if you were standing still with the engine off.
Since the mirrors are actually mounted on bar end brackets and not the handlebar themselves, I had to loose my bar ends. This brought a little more vibration up through the handlebars. Not a lot, but enough to notice cruising at 70 or so. I kept thinking I was in the wrong gear because I was getting more vibration through the handlebars but I wasn’t. I can see how this can get annoying over long distances, but my bars always vibrated to much anyways so a little more isn’t going to hurt anything.
I ordered the folding style of mirrors so I could fold them up when I put my cover on it which I do every night. So far the folding mechanism works great. There not loose at all and don’t budge when I don’t want them to. Every part of the mirror is adjustable so if they do for some reason get loose, I could always tighten them down. They also seem to have an unlimited range of mirror adjustment if that matters to anybody. I installed them in the “up” position so they sit higher then the bars… if that makes any sense. I had them lower then the bars at first but found I had to look down to far to see them.
There are two disadvantages that I found with them. One being the obvious. If I go down then the mirrors are the first to hit. Maybe if they fold inward when it hits it will just scratch the hell out of the mirrors and won’t totally destroy them. Unfortunatly for ya’ll, I really don’t want to test that theory out.
The other thing that I find is that it kind of makes it look like it has Mickey Mouse ears… kind of. I’m not really worried about that when I’m riding but I’m in a parking lot or what have you then I tend to find myself folding the mirrors in to get rid of that look.
All in all I like them. Here are some pictures for ya’ll:
Chad
http://www.bikepics.com/members/doch80/
Topic: CRG Folding Bar End Mirror (Read 5116 times)