I have only had my Speedy about three weeks but the mirrors have bugged me from day one. I originally ordered adapters from Twisted Throttle but decided to cancel the order and make my own stalks. You would not know they did not come with the bike from the factory except they are angled lower and are 2.5 inches wider. I can now see behind me perfectly from both mirrors, much safer. Much better looking than the adapters and cheaper to make than the $52 the adapters cost. I made mine out of steel but I think I am going to make another set out of aluminum to see how they work out.
I did the same as probably a lot of people have done and trimmed down the stock tail to clean it up a bit. Once the trimming was done I used a generic license plate bracket from Cycle Gear. I then used some extra metal I had and used it to make some brackets for the turn signals which is also mounted to the generic plate bracket. I did not want anything below the plate and the exhaust caused some clearance issues so I pointed them up instead. I actually like how they look. The reflector bolts are to satisfy the laws requirement for have reflectors in the back. The plate light are LED license plate bolts mounted in the top two holes.
Catenaccio,
No they seem to be getting along pretty well together until the topic of conversation gets around to soccer. Then it gets kinda ugly out there in the garage.
I love your mirrors, Doglanta - they're exactly what I had in mind for my speedy. I like the look of the originals, but I don't like the look of my elbows and shoulders in them when I'm riding.
I had a few questions:
The originals are around 1/2" diameter (I measured mine at 12.8mm). Is that what you used? Solid steel rod?
How did you do the bends? Did you heat them, or do them cold?
Did you bend them in a vice, or a proper pipe bender?
Are the threads all standard, or is one side a Left-handed thread?
what did you finish them with? Spraypaint?
Do they vibrate any more? Or any less?
Sorry, that's a lot of questions! Thanks in advance for sharing. I'm going to try my hand at making a pair very soon.....
Goffe--Yeah a little more radar footprint but at least now I can see them sneaking up from behind in time to deploy counter-measures.
Lord-- I actually like the way the stock mirrors look which is why I wanted the keep them but just make them better. I used steel rod, 1/2 inch. It must be heated up to bend. I made a jig to bend them just as I wanted them. The thread is a standard and I used a 10 mm tap to create the threads. I used a black gloss enamel spray paint and then two thin coats of clear just for a little more protection. No difference as far as vibration goes, the view behind is pretty smooth. Because of the tight tolerances the threaded area has to be perfectly centered in the rod otherwise the mirror locking sleeve will not turn and you will not be able to lock the mirror in place (ask me how I know). This has to done done on a lathe, a hand drill or even a drill press is not accurate enough.
I will make you a set or anyone else who wants a set for $39 plus $7 shipping. Twisted Throttle wanted fourteen dollars more for an adapter that I hate the looks of but that I almost purchased anyway because I wanted to improve the rear view. Just let me know, it would be about a week turnaround. You can also choose standard bend or have them at a lower angle like I did.
The Zumo is attached under the triple tree. I made a bracket that is bolted underneath the tree with the large riser bolt and also the smaller cable keeper bolt. I wanted to stay away from using the handlebar RAM U-bolt attachment.
Ken
Nice rear.
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