Triumph Rat Motorcycle Forums banner

Bar end or stock mirrors?

3K views 17 replies 15 participants last post by  Badonka Daddy 
#1 ·
Which do you prefer? Have asked this on the triples thread but not a lot of guys there seem to use bar ends. Considering going to bar ends but would welcome advice.

Thanks in advance...
Rob
 
#2 ·
A lot of my riding is in heavy traffic on multi-lane roads, so I have both fitted on my hack bike. The bar-ends are low down and show what is way back in my lane, and the stock mirrors are angled to show what is just over shoulder in the parallel lanes.
The bar enders are small, black and not too obvious. I wouldn't want to look like a scooterist !!
 
#4 ·
I'm a big fan of bar ends for traffic on non-faired bikes. I put CRG Lane Splitters on my Thruxton (already had stock bar ends) and they're great for traffic. On the Speed Four, I still have just the mirrors on the bars and my shoulders are always in the way, and I'm not even a big dude.
 
#5 ·
With Bonnevilles the bar end mirrors give a nice retro look befitting the bike's heritage. The frosting on the cake is that the bar ends give a wider view of traffic on both sides of the bike. They aren't so great for those into aggressive lane splitting which is legal in California. I have bikes with both types of mirrors and generally prefer the bar ends for the best viewing.
 
#7 ·
You will not be sorry. I have bar ends on my Scrambler and on the wife's Bonneville. You will not believe how well they allow you to see. I use the little round ones. Similar to the CRGs but mine came from Cycle Gear.
 
#8 ·
I have bar ends on all three of my current bikes. Napoleon style ones on the Bonneville, round CRGs on my FZ8, and cheap Chinese knockoffs on my Ninja 1000. The best as far as seeing behind are the large retro Napoleon, mainly due the size of the mirrors. Next are the Chinese knockoffs, which are angular, but almost oval in shape. Last are the small round CRGs. Again, mostly due to size. But the build quality is much better than the cheap ones.

But over all, they all are way better than stock in terms of both performance and looks.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
#10 ·
I found the difference in my viewpoint as a rider quite noticeable; I didn't feel I was peering out between two mirror stalks anymore, I now had an unimpeded view and the bike was beneath me. Well, something like that.

Incidentally, I used the cheap round e-bay bar-ends before buying the more traditional Halcyon ones but I found I prefer the cheap ones and have switched back, you can see far more with them.
 
#11 ·
Hate the look of the stock mickey mouse ears on my bike, but lane splitting is legal here, and I sometimes find myself needing every last centimeter on either side to swashbuckle through California's infamous traffic. I like the look of some of the CRG bar ends, but have also heard they vibrate too much. So for now, its the stockers...
 
#15 ·
Hate the look of the stock mickey mouse ears on my bike, but lane splitting is legal here, and I sometimes find myself needing every last centimeter on either side to swashbuckle through California's infamous traffic...
I have bar end mirrors on my America. They look like the ones on Thruxtons, but are much less expensive. They are spring loaded and fold out of the way when needed. I machined some custom bar ends for my Legend too, so I can mount mirrors, but I haven't decided which mirrors I want to use. I HATE the "chrome lolly pop" look. ...J.D.
 
#12 ·
CRGs would only vibrate if they are not installed correctly, and that's pretty hard to do. I've had the Lanesplitters and Arrows on a couple different bikes, and they were rock solid. I prefer the Arrows, because they seem a little less convex and the very small amount of extra glass gives an even better view.
 
#16 ·
Tried CRG's and for me they were too small, installed Thruxton mirrors on my Street Twin, they are fantastic, the view is much wider than any setup Ive ever had.

.
 
#17 ·
I have bar ends on my S3, and occasionally take out my girlfriend's Suzuki with bar ends. Both have Napoleons, which have great visibility (much better than stock), but are a little wide. No vibrations, which I like. Fortunately my Sprint has great visibility with the stock mirrors, and still are pretty narrow, which is great for my commute, which can be up to 60 miles of continuous lane splitting.
 
#18 ·
I rode for 58 years with stock mirrors. But when I bought my T120, I had the Triumph bar end mirrors installed. Before I got them, I thought it might be hard to get used to, or that looking down and to the side would take my eyes of the road too much, etc. And, I worried about the added width across the handlebars. But now that I've used them for a while, I can say that all my worries were unfounded. They work very well, I can see what's directly behind me much more easily, and the width hasn't been a problem at all. It's a subjective call, but I think they look better on the bike than the stock mirrors. I don't object to solid chrome or solid black stock mirrors, but Triumph's new two tone (black and chrome) stock mirrors seem ugly to me. In fact, that was the clincher that convinced me to try the bar end mirrors. And, I'm glad I have them.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top