New Billet Mirrors for my 86 VFR700

My stock mirrors were in pretty bad shape, missing a piece from the edge after a lay down, plus they are just poorly positioned. I always had to lift my elbows to see behind me. So it was time for new ones.

My handle bars are a bit taller than most so a decided to mount the new mirrors lower than stock so that my arms would not be in the way.

I got these from Ebay in the US for $22 shipped.










The mirror and the mounts look great. Their quality is good. It has a convex shape for a wider field of view. The one problem is the chrome plating on the long arm was pretty bad. One spot was peeling right out of the box, but no biggie, once it's peeled away you can't really tell. I might blast and paint just the arms later if need be.




I didn't really want the blue tint, but the clear ones cost more, so I gave the $22 ones a shot. It turns out the blue is fine in actual use. There are also rectangular shaped mirrors if you prefer a more conventional shape. Just keep in mind these aftermarket mirrors are quite a bit smaller than stock, roughtly 5" wide by 2" tall. I can see just fine with mine.


I planned to fabricate a mount that was flush to the cowl, but there wasn't enough room, so I had to extend the mounts up about an inch above the cowl. Here are the ends and the plastic prototype mount.








I found the ideal steel piece to make the mount from. An extended socket!





One minor problem was the hole through the rubber cowl bushing was 3/4" and all the sockets I could find (at least 6 different brands) were all about 7/8". So I removed the rubber bushing and used my Dremel to enlarge the cowl hole slightly. Just enough so that the socket can slide through the rubber bushing (with some WD40 to help). Problem solved.

Next I cut down each end to get the proper length.






The next issue was that the opening in the small end of the socket was too small due to the sockets contruction. I had to use the dremel to enlarge it for a snug and centered fit to the mirror.

BEFORE


AFTER




Perfect fit!









The factory stamped metal spacer under the cowl was too small for the socket, so I fabbed some spacers from CPVC with a 7/8" ID and painted it flat black.

Once installed you have a ton of different adjustments. All different heights and widths. Here are just a few different adjustments.








I personally settled on a low and tucked in adjustment. It's not the prettiest, but it's functional. I can see behind me really well, plus my snug fitting bike cover doesn't tug or knock the mirrors out of adjustment.






Here is my view from the seat.




Here's the view from the rear.




I hope you guys enjoy the pics. Mirror options for these older bikes is real slim so maybe some of you will duplicate what I did. Good Luck!

 

Definitely different. Points.

Larry

 

My main reason for this thread is to show the mount. Any mirror that uses that style of mount (and there are a lot) can be adapted using a chrome socket and fit our bikes. It opens new possibilities.