Bar End Mirrors - Placement Preference?

[KillerGriller]

I’m looking at upgrading the stock mirrors on my GS, I’ve looked at bar end mirrors but (unless you stick them straight out) they always look like you arm/shoulder would be in the way when trying to use them?

If you’ve used them, what’s your preferred setup and why?

[dorkburger]

I don't have too many straight on pics, but you can get an idea from this one. They are on different angles for some reason that I cannot quite recall now. They've been there for around 15 years now. I think the goal was different coverage angles. No arm / shoulders blocking my view.
http://1150 by Glen Brenner, on Flickr

[Baatfam]

I love mine...much better than stock....

From the front...


From the rear...

[pete]

I'm expecting my pair to arrive today or Monday... they're round though, got an offer on eBay I couldn't refuse so I'm going to give them a shot.

I've just switched from motorcross 'bars to clubmans on the 450 and the stalk mirrors I have on there are now next to useless as I see about 60% shoulders in them, I'm expecting the 'bar end mirrors to actually improve my vision as well as help my filtering on the commute.

[KillerGriller]

Awesome responses, very helpful.

I've seen some people mount them underneath (hanging down) when using clubman bars, has anyone here tried it?

[dorkburger]

Unless they were really wide bars, I would think that they would hit the tank at full lock.

[Grimly]

I'm expecting the 'bar end mirrors to actually improve my vision as well as help my filtering on the commute.

The filtering is why I've never fitted them - some gaps are tight enough.
Otoh, it doesn't really matter what you fit, because when you're filtering up between two lines of stationary traffic, whatever mirrors you have will be at just the right height for some vans, SUVs or cars. Otooh, bar-end mirrors would probably clobber 90% of car mirrors.

[LAB3]

The filtering is why I've never fitted them - some gaps are tight enough.
Otoh, it doesn't really matter what you fit, because when you're filtering up between two lines of stationary traffic, whatever mirrors you have will be at just the right height for some vans, SUVs or cars. Otooh, bar-end mirrors would probably clobber 90% of car mirrors.

They'd go away real quick in a case of the bike tipping over, I'd be replacing them 3-4 times a year.

[Dogma]

Mounting them below the bars would put them even farther from where your attention usually is. For me, the bar end mirrors above the bars is the best compromise of easy to use and still see past my elbows.

[posplayr]

Mounting them below the bars would put them even farther from where your attention usually is. For me, the bar end mirrors above the bars is the best compromise of easy to use and still see past my elbows.

I agree. You can scan your perimeter much faster with the less head and eye movement. Having to look down really adds a lot to your scan(and focus) time. I used extenders with concave mirrors to keep them high. It might look like mickey Mouse ears but being conscious of your surroundings is much more efficient.

[pete]

Mine arrived yesterday. I did try below the 'bars out of curiousity and yeah first thing was they were hitting the tank even before full lock, and while none of my body parts were interfering with the view, they were so low they'd be pretty much useless as I'd need to spend far too much looking down below my wrists to see what's going on. Not what I want in traffic!

What I found when filtering with the motorcross 'bars on the 450 was that the 'bars were the height of 95% of car mirrors, and the mirrors were the height of 95% 4WD, SUV, or small truck mirrors. The clubman 'bars solve that problem and I will have plenty of room with the 'bar end mirrors as they're a lot narrower than the motorcross 'bars.

Keep in mind I've not ridden with them yet, only closely focused them as best I can, but here they are installed last night. At this point without having tested them I believe the vision behind me will be much improved over the shoulder blocked stalk mirrors I removed as I couldn't see any of my body parts in the mirrors, only the outside edge of the top box.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

[Baatfam]

Do you have a link for those mirrors?
I think I like the way they look...

[pete]

The particular set I got was an individual sale, but there are heaps of different sellers on eBay selling what appear to be exactly the same thing. Did I say they were cheap?

Here's the first result listing: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/22mm-Uni...torefresh=true

Mounting is a bit of rubber with a nut on the end, so as you tighten the bolt it squeezes the rubber to hold them in place inside the 'bar. I think there'll be a bonus here of some vibration damping also, but we'll see.

[pete]

Test ride done with them yesterday and so far so good! Only need a quick glance down to see what's behind you, and I rotated them further inward to minimise the width. The only part of my body I see is a little elbow, the view behind is clear. I'll see how they go on the commute today though. Looks like they're heavy enough to solve my vibe issue without having to figure out how to use 'bar end weights with them too which is even better.

[wacky941]

Here are some pictures of my bike with the Bar End Mirrors and also ClubMan Bars.







I've had these mounted on this bike since 2009, my original '82 were installed in '83.
The only thing that you need to remember when you install the Bar End Mirrors is how wide it makes the bike like has already been pointed out.
I've never had any problems with obstruction of vision when using the Bar End Mirrors, that said, the only time I had problems with obstruction of vision is when I tried to use the stock type mirrors on the stock handlebar location, I had a really good view of my arms when ClubMan bars are installed.