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Fairing mounted Mirrors, relocating?

8K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  Veerider 
#1 ·
I've read all the buffeting threads on here, and the ones about the different kinds of mirrors. I tried some different stalk mirrors, but they didn't do the trick, and vibrated so much they became essentially useless.

I did manage to get a pair of "street-bike" style mirrors for relatively cheap, and I've been thinking about mounting them to the plastic fairing in the corners above the headlights. Has anyone done this? It seem fairly standard for a lot of bikes, but I'm not sure if its going to have any benefit on the V.

Something like this: (but on the V, obviously)


Any feedback would be appreciated, thanks!

 
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#2 ·
Not a horrible idea, but as a former Concours owner I can tell you this: If you suffer a tipover, mirrors that are either mounted on or otherwise part of the fairing are likely to break more than just the mirror. Fairing cracks are hard to fix and expensive to replace.

Also, I'm not sure the Strom fairings wouldn't vibrate under the stress of holding mirror stalks. It isn't designed for that purpose and might crack under stress at highway speeds or rough terrain.

Just sayin . . .
 
#3 ·
Sounds like a fine idea, conceptually...

...but, I think, those fairings have structure to handle the load of the mirrors in the wind.

I think that you'll have some broken plastic in relatively short order unless you add some structure.








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#4 ·
Thanks. I haven't thought that far ahead, but I know there's some good junk underneath the headlight bucket (I would know, I stuffed my entire HID kit in there).

I may cut out a section of the plastic for the arm to pass through, and find a way to mount them to a metal bracket, and attach that bracket to the one holding the V's face on. The knee bone connects to the...face bone.....something like that.:thumbup:

I still can't find any pictures of anyone that's tried it. I'm curious about where on the fairing would be good.
 
#8 ·
I'm thinking about mounting small adjustable rectangular parabolic mirrors onto the outside top edge of my Barkbusters.
 
#9 ·
Relocated mirrors...

George,
Those are the very same mirrors I used. There is some support structure at the very top of the fairing next to the windshield. I had to move my windshield as high as it would go to allow clearance (I have a stock windshield). There is a fastener at that location to connect the fairing to the support structure. The "nut" for the fastener is rubber mounted, I just removed those. Had to drill (gulp) for the other hole, but was able to capture both studs in the existing fairing support structure. I added a rubber spacer between the fairing support and the fairing to help stabilize the area. Been jetting up and down central Texas roads for about a year now and have been very pleased with this mirror location. Bought some plastic caps at Lowe's to cover the spots where the handlebar mirrors mounted.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Install and results

I took some time this weekend to install the aftermarket Fz1 mirrors.

First, its not that hard, once you get the fairing off. I drilled 2 exta holed in the steel headlight/cluster bracket, and slowly drilled 2 holes to correspond on the black fairing. The captions in the pictures tell most of the story.

A test sitting showed I would see much more of what was behind me, and less of my shoulders and elbows. When adjusted properly in traffic, I could see the car directly behind me from both mirrors at a reasonable following distance.

Additional holes:



Comparison Mount:



Results:




Full album:

Picasa Web Albums - George Overkamp - VStrom work

So, while I am convinced of the concept, the mirrors I bought are basically shit. The mounting plate works fine, though I suppose could have used a small spacer, but every joint on the mirrors is loose, and consequently vibrates. At the joint connecting the stalk to the base is a spring tensioner so they can be moved back and out of the way. These don't tighten enough no matter how much I screw them down.

On the right side, the mirror itself stayed in place, but vibrated from the weak stalk connection.

On the left side, the ball joint connecting the mirror and the stalk is so loose, the wind was knocking it down at 35mph. I'm considering adding some beads of hot glue to fix it in place, but really, I'll be getting better mirrors. I'll see if I can return these.

The view is much better, and the wind hitting the sides of my helmet is gone. I will have to play with the Madstad bracket a bit more. The vibration on the handlebars is also gone.

I'm going to stick with this. :thumbup:


If anyone does know of some STIFF aftermarket mirrors with long stalks, please PM me, thanks!!
 
#12 ·
Little update from riding around for a while:

Mirrors you buy for less than 20 bucks are probably only worth it for the test fitting.

While the left side constantly bounces around and is only in the right field of vision when I move it there, I was fairly happy with the right side.

Until it bounced off on its own on the Williamsburg bridge in NYC. Just came right apart at the joint between the base and the stem. Flop flop flop, into my lap and on the pavement like a caught fish.

Oh well. Now I have 1 mirror that doesn't point correctly, and one empty side. More reason to get some better mirrors.

Just wish I could find some that weren't the same damn chinese replacement mirrors!!
 
#13 ·
Nice mod CrazyGeorge...I think you are really onto to something. If you look on ebay, there are some OEM FZ1 mirrors for sale...maybe those would hold up better. If you get the kinks worked out, please report back. I really want to copy your efforts...:thumbup:
 
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