[madjak30]

I was just wondering about how you guys feel about bar end mirrors. I can’t see past my own arms with the mirrors on my bike. I can’t tell if someone is behind me or not…at all! I have to move my head over at the same time tuck in my elbow to see if there is anyone on my tail…sometimes, I check and someone is right on my ass, and it kinda scares the crap out of you…I tend to do the speed limit, which no-one else seems to do around here…lol…yes, I’m “that guy”…

I think the bar end mirrors would fix the problem, just have to get ones that stick up from the bars so that my hands/wrists aren’t in the way…

[TrialsRider]

A friend has the GS500 and he stuck small convex mirrors on the outside edge of his stock mirrors, maybe you could try that. I had bar ends on a 350 four cylinder with flat bars once, they get out far enough, but vibrated so much I could barely see anything.
Be careful with riding too conservative, getting rear ended sucks, I know that from experience. I currently have a disconnected speedo and drive with the flow of traffic and by the tach. ….so much less distracting I’m hesitant to fix the damn thing

[briderdt]

I had the same issue with my SV650s — I got a great view of my arms, but not so much the road. I added bar-end mirrors to my bike (keep the bar end weights if you can), and within 4 days removed the stock mirrors. There are extenders out there (pieces that mount between the mirror and fairing), or possibly another mirror with a longer stalk, that might alleviate the problem, but I’ve found the bar-ends to be a cheap solution that works very well.

[Gary856]

– I’ve never used bar end mirrors, but don’t like the idea of low-mount mirrors. I want the mirrors to be higher up because: a) I lane split in traffic so don’t want to add width at the handlebar level; b) I prefer the mirrors to be close to eye level so it’s easier to take quick glances.

– I’m fairly trim so I just tuck in my elbows or lean the head out slightly for a better angle to see behind. I’d try mirror stem extenders if I needed the mirrors to be farther out.

– Convex mirrors works well during the day. It makes me a little lazy with head check. At night it’s harder to distinguish the many points of lights in a convex mirrors.

[madjak30]

I hear you on the eye level thing, but they kinda look like bug antenae…the stock mirrors were replaced by the last owner to some more stylish, but smaller mirrors…as for lane splitting, it is illegal here in Canada, and I don’t know if I would do it even if it wasn’t…seems kinda dangerous, not to mention pissing off the other drivers who we already assume are trying to kill us…lol

As for being trim…well, lets just say that I won’t be called that any time soon…lol

I don’t need to be able to see what kind of car it is, I just want to know when they are there and what they are doing…I looked in my mirrors on my way home tonight, and this guy was quite a ways back…then all of a sudden there was a car passing me…it startled me, he must have been clipping along on the secondary hiway we were on (limit of 60mph, I was going around 65mph) because he caught up to me within a minute.

[gitchy42]

I’ve got bar end mirrors on my SV650. I like that they are set wide and it is easy to see both behind me and to the sides a bit. Unfortunately because they are low, and off to the sides I had to remind myself to check the mirrors. Also, it takes a little bit of a head turn to look at them.

I think I will get more used to checking the mirrors, and better at remembering. After that, the better visibility will be a BIG plus.

Nate

[romalo]

Anybody tried something like this?
http://cgi.ebay.ca/10mm-Mirror-Riser-Extender-Adapter-Suzuki-SV650-SV1000_W0QQitemZ250631889457QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotorcycles_Parts_Accessories?hash=item3a5ad32231

seems they would put them a bit higher and out. I have the same issue on my triumph – I see more elbow than road.

[A]

IMO, barend mirrors are bad. Not only do they add width to your vehicle, defeats the nature of a moto to be narrow and nimble to get through tight spaces; but also their location take your eyes off the direction that your moto is traveling. At 40 mph, additional 0.1 second for eyes to return to forward vision, that’s about a bike length extra of braking distance.

There are plenty of (inexpensive) options for wider mirrors, These are pretty cheap.

[redcromwell]

I wondered what to do about mirrors too.

I feel sort of paranoid on the bike because I can’t see directly behind me. When riding I’ll shift side to side in the lane to catch glimpses of what’s behind me in my mirrors. Or I’ll pull to one side of the lane as I ride and glance over my shoulder.

I get a little freaked out too when I suddenly notice a car right on my tail that I hadn’t noticed before.

I wish this was something they had covered in the Motorcycle Safety course but since the class bikes didn’t have mirrors this was never brought up.

[JackTrade]

It’s definitely an adjustment from cars, not being able to see directly behind you. When I first started riding, I thought the same thing as you (“why didn’t they talk about this in class?!”), then remembered “oh yeah…no mirrors…”

I find that if I dip my shoulders a little, I can usually get a (slightly) better rear view. But the key is really having a mental map of what’s around you at all times.

[madjak30]

I bought some new mirrors that are similar to the stock ones on the Suzuki Gladius…wow, way better…still can’t see directly behind me, but the area that I can’t see is very narrow now. The mirrors I had must have been meant for a cruiser…small and kind of tapered (leaf shaped?)…would be okay on a bike where the handle bars are wider, or higher, but not on a sporty bike…I think the bar end mirrors would have been better, but no one had any in stock…I’m impatient and bought the bigger ones…

I’m much happier now, and feel safer. I guess there is a reason the stock mirrors on the GS500 look like dorky mirrors from the 70’s…they work…I got the more square ones from the Gladius instead because I thought they would look better…I think they do, and they probably work almost as well…

[gitchy42]

Adding an option to the mirror debate
At about $500 this is a little spendy, but considering what it is……

http://www.reevu.com/
Reevu Review

[A]

That helmet just add more weight to your head and the very top of rider/vehicle combination… rider gets tired quicker, bike/rider becomes more top heavy… for $500

[Author]

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