bar end mirrors?

[graymulligan]

Alright, so I'm a fairly "wide" guy on the saddle, and I'm going to swap my current mirros which show my shoulders real well, and the road not so well out for a set of aftermarket mirrors.

I'm debating between a mirror set in the stock position that will sit "wider" than the stockers, and then I started looking at bar end mirrors, and I really like that look.

Thoughts? Anyone done it on a GS to date? There's no significant price difference, so I'm torn between what I know will look okay, and something I think would look sort of cool. (or potentially hideous...lol)

[Bert Patterson]

I definitely don’t think it looks hideous. If anything, it makes you look like you’re serious about riding and you actually like to see behind you. I’m only kinda heavy (6’1”, 210#), not so fat, but fairly broad shoulders, and stock mirrors are generally useless for me. Don’t even know why they bother putting them on bikes.

I put bar-ends on everything. I’ve gotten pretty cheap black ones (EMGO, I think) and they look good enough, were real cheap (maybe $25/pair) and they work perfectly. Just have to slice off the end of your grips and they slide right in. You might have to back the right one an eighth inch out to keep it from interfering with the throttle, depending on the bike.

I’ve got a sportbike that’s got a very slick CMG billet aluminum folding bar-end mirror. I only got one for the left side, because I still have the stock mirrors and they were about $80 apiece, so I got cheap. As cool as it looks, it doesn’t work nearly as well as a mirror as the cheap ones on the GS.

Definitely get some, unscrew your stock mirrors and chuck ‘em in the trash. They’ll look fine and they actually work.

[QuaiChangKane]

If you're going to go the bar-end route, I'd suggest staying away from the Emgo (no offense intended, Bert).

My experience with Emgo bar ends is that they're cheaply made and short-lived. I'd go for the Barrens - the nice aluminum ones.


Just be advised that they'll increase your lateral width when making tight-manuevers. Not much of an issue unless you live in a split-friendly state, though.


FWIW - I dig bar ends.


-Q!

[katoranger]

I just bought a set of these. Didn't give the brand name, but I will more than likely break them before the break. The stock mirrors no longer move and all I can see is me.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4632511754&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1

[renobruce]

Does anyone know if they make these type of mirrors with weights in them?
I've got wide shoulders, too. On the 1150, I can only see out of about 1/3 of the mirrors in my normal riding position. I know I can get longer stemmed mirrors, but I never have liked the napolean style mirrors on the 1150 "E" model. They look funny to me on the clip-ons. The bar-ends might look funny, too.

[katoranger]

While searching for bar end mirrors on ebay I found these:http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Handl...QQcmdZViewItem

They attached to the bar end weights.

Allen

[Can_O_Tuna]

I tried the bar end's a few years ago... they worked ok after you get used to looking there... but I had a small space in my garage for the bike and I snapped them off twice ...So I went back to pulling my elbow in and dropping my shoulder and looking thru the regular (stock)type :-D

[katoranger]

I don't have the space constraints, but I can see myself hooking them on things. I thought at the price I would give them a try. I can always reabay them to someone else to recoup some of my money.

Allen

[Bill C.]

Bar ends

I just put a set of bar ends on my GS850G and I really like them. Bought the cheap ones so I'll see how they hold up. They give you a good clear view to the rear and I like the way the look on the bike. I did have a little trouble getting the right side one spaced out so the throttle would return. Other than that no problems.

[bgmart450]

If you're going to go the bar-end route, I'd suggest staying away from the Emgo (no offense intended, Bert).

My experience with Emgo bar ends is that they're cheaply made and short-lived. I'd go for the Barrens - the nice aluminum ones.

-Q!

Ditto, I bought a pair for the wife's S and within a year of light useage they both self destructed, also the 'glass' on them was extremely cheap and distorted the view a little from behind.

I'll not be putting Emgo mirrors on anything again...

[crc1214]

Barrens are indeed the way to go! They are called Napolean Barren mirrors. They are sturdy as hell and have a nice weight to them, definetely built to last. The weight of the unit lets it serve as a mirror and a bar end weight all in one. They look real sweet on a GS700. I have a 83 750E (same body style), and I just love the look. Wish I had some pics! Maybe I'll snap some here in a bit so you can see.

They ran me about 25 or 30 each, but are well worth the money. They don't shake one bit and will last a lifetime.

[Joe Nardy]

I agree that the Napoleon/Baren bar-ends are the way to go. I've had them on my GS1100 for at least 15 years. The bottom of one mirror has gotten fouled a bit like it got water behind it. One has been ground on the pavement. They're still great. I've had to re-do the mounting assembly a couple times. It is basically a rubber barrel with washers on either end that goes inside the handlebar. Tightening the screw expands the rubber to grip the inside of the bar. The rubber deteriorates over time. My latest and best modification was to cut a large o-ring and wrap it around the screw. This seems to work better than the 'barrel'. Finding a perfect sized 'barrel is difficult, finding an o-ring is simple.

Thanks,
Joe

[Detman101]

Used the Emgos for about 3 months before I got sick of them and went back to regular mirrors.

The distortion was horrible. They use some kind of plastic for the mirror instead of mirror-coated glass.







4 beats two....
(this was the day I uninstalled the bar-end mirrors and went back with regular ones.)

[graymulligan]

well, I picked up a cheap set of convex rounds that screwed right in nice last night. I'm going to ride this weekend with them, and the good ones should be here mid week next week.

My stockers were just hammered. They weren't adjustable, and the wind just pushed them around all over the place.