Sport-bike mirrors?

[Gubb]

Are there any tricks to setting up your mirrors on a bike? No matter what i've tried, all I get is a great view of my elbows.

Is it better to set them down low looking back, or up high looking slightly down?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

[Crisis management]

Easy really, you're not holding the bars correctly......cross your arms (in front of you, should be obvious but sprot bike riders...you know?) with the left hand operating the throttle, the right the clutch and your away, no elbows in the mirror line!

You will find this also helps explain the concept of counter steering. :pinch:

[98tls]

Get rid of em and buy some bar end mirrors,i did and wont ever go back to the oem ones.

[paturoa]

Make or buy some spacers to go between the mirror and mount like this

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showpost.php?p=924361&postcount=20

[breakaway]

Get rid of em and buy some bar end mirrors,i did and wont ever go back to the oem ones.

Does it make splitting / squeezing through tight spots much more difficult than before?

[NighthawkNZ]

Are there any tricks to setting up your mirrors on a bike? No matter what i've tried, all I get is a great view of my elbows.
...
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

you can get extensions or spacers for various mirrors or bar end mirror like 98tls suggests. I have put some small blind spot mirrors on the VTR (cost about $5 from super cheap auto...) the just stick on to the standard mirror...

[98tls]

Does it make splitting / squeezing through tight spots much more difficult than before? Not that ive ever noticed really,i guess in a tight spot you would have to take more care other than that no,i love the look of them and for my money they work better than any of the mirrors on any of the many bikes ive owned.

[carbacca]

i have the same bike as you and i dont seem to have much of a problem with the mirrors. its inevetible that you get a little bit of your elbows in the mirros i think but its ok cos i use it as a reference point when i m looking. just have a fiddle around with it til you get it right

[tommorth]

i have same problm on my rg if i duck to the side a bit and squosh my elbow in i can kinda see behind me was just gonna pack the mirrors out

[Usarka]

you got to drop your elbows and do the rearview mirror duck flap.

[Rosie]

you got to drop your elbows and do the rearview mirror duck flap.

That's what I did. Except I thought of it as the chicken dance :o

[bert_is_evil]

you got to drop your elbows and do the rearview mirror duck flap.

Yip, my old 250 was like that too, had to drop one elbow to see anything. If you're planning on keeping it a while (which I assume you will if you are just starting the license process) then I reckon some bar end mirrors would be just the ticket - you'll be able to see and also pretend you're on a classic ducati :Punk:

[Ocean1]

The guy who owned my Buell last actually put smaller/shorter mirrors on it.
The OE mirrors look farkin awfull and the new ones are no less effective because the originals shook so much you couldn't see anything anyway.

One thing the smaller ones do allow though: you can lift your elbows and get a clear line of sight under 'em. Sort of Pellican dance, but you could try it on yours...

PS: I've riden a KTM525 with mirrors that hung under the bars, worked OK (sorta) and tended not to get beat up by the shrubbery.

[Grub]

We had an FXR (same as RG I think) where the mirrors looked cool but all I could see was my man-boobs :sick:. We got bar-end mirrors for about $39 each and they were brilliant, especially for a new rider as they show far more than any other type.

As for lane-splitting ... if it's that tight, you shouldn't be there.

[xwhatsit]

As for lane-splitting ... if it's that tight, you shouldn't be there.

Bollocks!

I've got a pair of the old Napolean-style bar-end mirrors, although only one is fitted. Look at my avatar. When the going gets really tight (we're talking dead-stopped traffic here, though), I simply rotate the arm holding the mirror 180 degrees down, which saves more width than you'd think (due to the angle of the bars). Then it's time to slice some cages up :D

[90s]

On my last bike all you could get were your arms, so I replaced them for $25 each at cycletreads for longer, larger mirrors. These were great.

On my current bike I have one mirror from a later version of the bike, and one original. The newer one magnifies, the old is more 'wide-angle'. Both are 'elbow heavy', but after a lot of fiddling I can get them working really well. Any touch on them and they are out, and the fun starts again.

[slowpoke]

You guys are thinkin' about it all wrong.
Do like the Italian driver in Gumball Rally/Cannonball Run movie (I can't remember which) in the Ferrari when he climbs in and rips off the rear view mirror, proclaiming: "What isa behinda doesa nota matta!"

[sprag]

Are there any tricks to setting up your mirrors on a bike? No matter what i've tried, all I get is a great view of my elbows.

Is it better to set them down low looking back, or up high looking slightly down?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

I hate the same problem (but not as bad), however so how i got them just right now, I think it was the way i was sitting on the bike when i first got it (still on learners so was not really sitting right) but now its all fine :) oh but i did unscrew the mount it was on and move the mirror back abit as well

[davereid]

My ER6 is terrible. I've added blind spot mirrors, great for changing lanes but object become so small they are hopeless on the open road. Still if I can see my elbows, I know I havent fallen off.

[vifferman]

You guys are thinkin' about it all wrong.
Do like the Italian driver in Gumball Rally/Cannonball Run movie (I can't remember which) in the Ferrari when he climbs in and rips off the rear view mirror, proclaiming: "What isa behinda doesa nota matta!"
Sounds reasonable.
I did the same thing on my second bike (MT250) - the mirrors were useless anyway due to vibration, so I took them off. Unfortunately, about that time (1977), they changed the regulations and I was ticketed for not having rear-vision mirrors. I argued that they were useless anyway, so I made a habit of looking behind me, but I still got fined. Got a free "Road Code" out of it though - the cop gave it to me so I could check what it said.

I thought my last bike (VTR1000) had really good mirrors (not too big, stylish, good rear view), but the VFR's are more betterer.

[discotex]

When my mirrors are adjusted correctly at least 1/3 is of my arm/shoulders. I get 1/3 me and 2/3 the lane to the side. Took a while to get used to after the huge mirrors and centre mirror in a car but I'm used to moving my head around to get a wider view now.