- This topic has 6 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 1 month ago by nau_lax21.
Mirror, Mirror On My Bike…
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March 15, 2009 at 11:25 am #2606bigguybbrParticipant
So this is really a saftey question I have from my first riding experiences. Let me start by saying i’m a pretty big guy at 6’6″ 275lbs and I have pretty broad shoulders. Where this is becoming a problem is that on the sport bike that I ride, in order to look past my shoulders, I’m seeing way next to me in the other lanes leaving me with a huuuuuuge blind spot behind me. Is this a normal thing? Is there anything I can do to help see behind me a little better?
March 15, 2009 at 12:04 pm #17056MattParticipantFirstly, remember, always do a spot check by turning your head (not just using the mirrors). All mirrors will have a blind spot.
Secondly, I found the best way around the “my mirrors only show my my elbows” problem is to shift my shoulders to the other side when I’m checking my mirrors.
If I need to check my left mirror, I move my upper body as far to the right as possible (but don’t turn/lean the bike in the process). This makes all the difference in the world to me.
March 15, 2009 at 12:58 pm #17057megaspazParticipantadjust your mirrors to at least get a view of a lane to the sides. You should see the next lanes without moving your arms or body position. Then fine tune the adjustment for checking your six by chicken winging it. Flair out your elbows and look at the mirror. You should be able to see behind you. You should also be able to do these mirror adjustments in your parking lot, garage, whatever. But again as stated above, always head check.
March 15, 2009 at 3:43 pm #17059briderdtParticipantI use my fairing-mounted mirrors for viewing the lanes beside me, and a third, bar-end-mounted mirror (which I modded from an old bicycle mirror) to see behind me.
March 15, 2009 at 10:06 pm #17063bigguybbrParticipantSo I went out to practice today in the local community college parking lot, and ended up running into who will be my MSF beginning riding instructor. He gave me and the boss (aka social director or live in girlfriend if you want to be literal about it) a whole lot of good information and basically gave us a free 2 hour lesson since we told him we were signed up for the MSF class that starts in 2 weeks. He taught me how to do some head checks but said it’s more important while you are moving to focus and keep your concentration on where you are going and not where you have been. Anyways it’s just nice to see that you meet the helpful people while just practicing in a parking lot!
March 16, 2009 at 12:11 am #17068KellisanthParticipantTenetively, I will probably look into getting these little things to check out this week… Along with some things to replace the stock horn with something more louder.
The round disks on the mirror, not the one on the end of the bar grips (that thing costs $50USD – WHOA)
*** EX250 Wiki ***
Adding a blind spot mirror to your stock mirrors
Here’s a mod that will make your bike safer. For $2.58 at Autozone you can get two convex mirrors that are angled toward the outside. These mirrors will help you see your blind spots and cars behind you. They’re also good for seeing more of the lanes next to you.
Stick them on the inner lower corner of the mirrors (where all you can usually see is your shoulders) or outer lower corners. Which mirrors you buy, and where you put them, will be largely a matter of personal preference. You can get 1″ or 2″ round or rectangular mirrors. Here is a combination of BikeMaster 1″ convex mirrors & a CRG blind sight mirror. This member says: “I can see everything behind me.”
http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Image:CRG_09.jpg
*** EX250 Wiki ***
March 16, 2009 at 11:41 pm #17096nau_lax21Participantthey make mirrors that can go where your handlebar balancers go (end of the bars). you could look into getting some of those if you dont want to be moving around to see behind you.
like others already said, mirrors are great, but you gotta turn your head and check too
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