Author Topic: Bar end mirrors  (Read 24055 times)

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olhogrider

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on: November 18, 2019, 11:33:44 pm
As you are probably aware, RE fills the end of the bar with metal so you have somewhere to screw the bar end into. That means that any expanding style bar end mirror isn't going to work. There are others that claim to fit "most bar ends". They won't fit over our aluminum lumps. That put me off of ordering anything online. So off I went to Cyclegear. They had them. $40 for one, $50 for two.  ??? What I did was to use the ring that came with the mirror, plus the stock mounting bolt. The ring is countersunk so it all fits! I now have 180 degrees of rear view. Plus they look better!


olhogrider

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Reply #1 on: November 18, 2019, 11:40:29 pm
A different view


dickim

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Reply #2 on: November 19, 2019, 12:23:15 am
Did the same with great success ????
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hadujorganic

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Reply #3 on: November 19, 2019, 03:37:30 pm
I put these on recently. So much better than the bugeye OEM. I love the wide open unobstructed forward view, and I prefer the bar end rear view anyway.
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mwmosser

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Reply #4 on: November 19, 2019, 03:53:20 pm
A different view

Great - I've been looking to do the same since I got my INT 650 a few weeks back. Was waiting for the ones on Tecbikeparts but the USA site never got back to me. Will look at the Cycle Gear ones.

Also, what bags are you running in the back? Are those the Ogio Stealth saddlebags? I have the Ogio tail bag and I like it, and am thinking of adding their saddlebags for a three-bag weekend solution.
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hadujorganic

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Reply #5 on: November 19, 2019, 04:16:26 pm
A different view

I like the two-tone tank.
On my bar ends mirrors I had to hand-file the part that wants to fit flush against the aluminum handlebar plug because it is beveled to prevent rotation, I assume. I used slightly longer SS bolts and put some blue loctite on the threading. They're not going anywhere.
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olhogrider

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Reply #6 on: November 19, 2019, 08:23:16 pm
I like the two-tone tank.
On my bar ends mirrors I had to hand-file the part that wants to fit flush against the aluminum handlebar plug because it is beveled to prevent rotation, I assume. I used slightly longer SS bolts and put some blue loctite on the threading. They're not going anywhere.

I didn't have to file anything and I didn't have any locktite with me. I changed them in the Cyclegrear parking lot in case they didn't work.


olhogrider

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Reply #7 on: November 19, 2019, 10:40:18 pm
Great - I've been looking to do the same since I got my INT 650 a few weeks back. Was waiting for the ones on Tecbikeparts but the USA site never got back to me. Will look at the Cycle Gear ones.

Also, what bags are you running in the back? Are those the Ogio Stealth saddlebags? I have the Ogio tail bag and I like it, and am thinking of adding their saddlebags for a three-bag weekend solution.

The bags are Amazon. $59.99 from JFG Racing.


mwmosser

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Reply #8 on: November 20, 2019, 02:58:38 pm
The bags are Amazon. $59.99 from JFG Racing.

Nice, thanks for the reply. No issues with heat from the exhausts?
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olhogrider

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Reply #9 on: November 20, 2019, 05:17:40 pm
Nice, thanks for the reply. No issues with heat from the exhausts?

None at all. There are several inches of clearance.


twocoolgliders

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Reply #10 on: November 20, 2019, 07:22:55 pm


Sorry for changing the thread, but wanted to refer to this photo.

I see you have installed the Trip Machine leather wrap grips.  I've put these on my cafe racer...they are just great!

I also noticed you used some sort of copper wire to make a retainer to hold the grip from unraveling(I think?)

At first I though you wrapped the leather form center to outboard, but by closer observation, I see you did it from outboard toward center.  The latter, I believe is the preferred way.  From years with racing bicycles, I learned you must always wrap bars from outside to center, or else you will eventually curl up all the edges as you move and slide your hands around the bars.  Probably not so critical on a motorcycle where your hands tend to stay pretty much put in one place.

FYI....couple of finer points FWIW.....to retain the wrap, I got some dark brown, waxed cord, from a crafts store.  I made 5 wraps around the end of the leather to hold it in place.  I did what is called a wipping knot, to hold the cord.  Looks nice.

I also tapered the leather strip at both ends, (at the start of the wrap, and again at the finish) to get it to lie down perfectly flat.  The Trip Machine video, (and Fillingham's too) show the leather wrap just ending, squared off, and using some little tabs of double sided tape to finish the end...it leaves quite a thick lump, looks bad and unfinished, and seems like it could unravel.  By tapering the finish end, and "wipping it) it just blends in smoothly!

I did two of my other bikes using tennis racket handle wrap from a company called Tourna.  This is very similar to Trip Machine's product....100% "real" leather.  If you are careful, you can do two grips with one roll of Tourna...making it quite a bit less expensive than the Trip Machine product. 

I will say however, the Trip product is just slightly superior in quality and "looks".


Cookie



A different view


olhogrider

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Reply #11 on: November 20, 2019, 08:31:14 pm

Sorry for changing the thread, but wanted to refer to this photo.

I see you have installed the Trip Machine leather wrap grips.  I've put these on my cafe racer...they are just great!

I also noticed you used some sort of copper wire to make a retainer to hold the grip from unraveling(I think?)

At first I though you wrapped the leather form center to outboard, but by closer observation, I see you did it from outboard toward center.  The latter, I believe is the preferred way.  From years with racing bicycles, I learned you must always wrap bars from outside to center, or else you will eventually curl up all the edges as you move and slide your hands around the bars.  Probably not so critical on a motorcycle where your hands tend to stay pretty much put in one place.

FYI....couple of finer points FWIW.....to retain the wrap, I got some dark brown, waxed cord, from a crafts store.  I made 5 wraps around the end of the leather to hold it in place.  I did what is called a wipping knot, to hold the cord.  Looks nice.

I also tapered the leather strip at both ends, (at the start of the wrap, and again at the finish) to get it to lie down perfectly flat.  The Trip Machine video, (and Fillingham's too) show the leather wrap just ending, squared off, and using some little tabs of double sided tape to finish the end...it leaves quite a thick lump, looks bad and unfinished, and seems like it could unravel.  By tapering the finish end, and "wipping it) it just blends in smoothly!

I did two of my other bikes using tennis racket handle wrap from a company called Tourna.  This is very similar to Trip Machine's product....100% "real" leather.  If you are careful, you can do two grips with one roll of Tourna...making it quite a bit less expensive than the Trip Machine product. 

I will say however, the Trip product is just slightly superior in quality and "looks".


Cookie

The copper wire was the racer trick to hold grips in place. They normally use stainless but I thought the copper looked better. The lumpy non-stick tape from Trip Machine that is supposed to hold the end, simply doesn't stick to leather so I used some superglue. Trip Machine wrote and asked how I liked the wraps. I told them about glue vs tape. They wrote back a bit later and said they now include glue instead of tape for the end. The wire was just going to be until the glue dried but I liked the way it looked so I kept it.


twocoolgliders

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Reply #12 on: November 20, 2019, 09:19:37 pm
Yes the copper has a nice look to it!

Glue would be a lot better way (than the double tap pieces) to hold down the loose end.   But wrapping with copper, or stainless wire, or waxed cord, does allow the leather to be removed and re positioned if necessary.  I had one grip where I was shy on the overlap and a gap formed.....I just untied the cord, re wrapped paying better attention to a consistent overlap, and re wrapped the cord.




The copper wire was the racer trick to hold grips in place. They normally use stainless but I thought the copper looked better. The lumpy non-stick tape from Trip Machine that is supposed to hold the end, simply doesn't stick to leather so I used some superglue. Trip Machine wrote and asked how I liked the wraps. I told them about glue vs tape. They wrote back a bit later and said they now include glue instead of tape for the end. The wire was just going to be until the glue dried but I liked the way it looked so I kept it.


mwmosser

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Reply #13 on: November 20, 2019, 09:23:06 pm
Yes the copper has a nice look to it!

Glue would be a lot better way (than the double tap pieces) to hold down the loose end.   But wrapping with copper, or stainless wire, or waxed cord, does allow the leather to be removed and re positioned if necessary.  I had one grip where I was shy on the overlap and a gap formed.....I just untied the cord, re wrapped paying better attention to a consistent overlap, and re wrapped the cord.

I have the same grips but in black. I used black electrical tape around the inner end of the grip, which is invisible over the black leather. Works great.
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olhogrider

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Reply #14 on: November 20, 2019, 11:44:19 pm
A plug for the mirror hole. Took some superglue to hold it.