Home Brew Mirror Extensions for Gen II

[dcarver]

That'll teach you scmagna... You come in looking to share inspiration and ideas, and here we nominate you to do a production run...
I blame Howie - he's such a dumba$$... he claims to NOT have plans to farkle his Gen I, but in reality, he's collecting farkles. His goal: To rebuilt his Gen I into a Gen III - bypassing Gen II completely - all through the addition of farkles!

It's true... he has a plan, too... a dastardly plan... all mapped out on a roll of toilet paper in his outhouse...

(Actual pic of RadioHowie, after dinner, refining his plan...)

Great foto, too true.

 

[Mount Rainier]

Count me in for a set as well.

 

[Khunajawdge]

Kudos on your valiant attempts with the above :clapping:

I have a Gen I, so.... I'm a little out of this loop but... that's OK, because...I have an idea that maybe(?) you can use!

Previous to my FJR, my last ride was a C1 Kawasaki ZG 1000 Concours.

The "thing" I thought was "brilliant" about the C1's mirror design and placement was, the way the mirrors deflected cold air and rain.

1st, the C1's mirror's were positioned directly in front of the rider's hands, creating an adequate deflection for incoming cold air and rain.

Note; On my Gen 1 FJR1300, the mirrors were "parts bin" Yamaha products, shared by other Yamaha models like the FZ1 and early R1's. The "upgrade" (thanks to Warchild's ingenuity), was to adopt the grip guards from the Suzuki V-Strom, which is what I have done.

2nd, the C1's mirror design had a low corner (located on the underside of the mirror's profile), that drew water from its forward contour. This point always, that should be "ALWAYS", directed the oncoming rain to drain from the corner of the profile's low point allowing very little water to contact with the rider's gloved hands. Wet hands will bring your ride to a stop in a hurry if it's cold.

3rd, the FJR GenII's mirrors also have that low point (sorry, I cannot show you this with a visual as I do not own a Gen II), but it is there.

I believe you are on the path toward a "better" Gen II mirror design, but don't overlook the items above if you want it to be "Brilliant".

One final Note; The thing that "absolutely sucked" about the C1's mirrors, was that fact that if you tipped that top heavy bike over, you either busted off a foot peg or a mirror or both.

Just my CO2 on this one, best of luck.

 

[FJRRider08]

I can see these on my bike already... Count me in!

 

[palerider]

Right now, the brackets move the mirror mounting holes about 1.5" "back" and 1.5" "out" from their original mounts. I could shorten them so they don't extend beyond the fairing, but then they would lose some of their utility. The "back" offset would have to be shortened to about .75", but the "out" dimension could be extended some to compensate. The front corners are roughly spherical on mine, but that detail could be changed too, if someone has a better idea. Aesthetics are not necessarily my forte, but I like these just fine.

Nice project, SCMagna. I'm definitely interested, depending on the final price. I'd want them powder-coated black, but that's something I could do independently. I have replaced my stock '06AE mirrors with FZ1 mirrors, but I'd much prefer the look of the stock mirrors if they could be made useful.

Do you see any vibration in the stock mirrors when they're mounted on the extensions?

 

[na1g]

Oo-oo! Meee tooo! I like my elbows a lot but sometimes I like to see what is behind me and closing fast. These goodies look like an effective solution. (I'd take a pair even if they are not powdercoated. Buffed-up, the aluminum would look cool on my black beauty.)

Nice work!

pete

 

[Luke]

I'm definitely interested.

 

[sportsguy]

I think all of us piling on scared him away...

 

[scmagna]

I think all of us piling on scared him away...

Not at all - just a busy week at work. I have yet to get an estimate on fabrication - material is not a big factor. Hopefully I can talk to my coworkers next week. With respect to the vibration question - I think that the brackets may add some vibration, but it is not bad. I will look at that more carefully while riding this weekend.

Regards,

Kurt

 

[Knifemaker]

If you make them so they do not stick out past the fairing, I'm in for a set.

KM

 

[palerider]

If you make them so they do not stick out past the fairing, I'm in for a set.
KM

Or make the fairing bigger.

 

[beacher]

Count me in as being "very interested"!

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

Smegma,

Gotta say you got some skills. If they could be CNC machined a little more elegantly, great. But function means more when it comes to safety than form -- except for yellow helmets (they look like omelets gone bad then sprayed on Old Michael's head). Keep us updated occassionally on your progress. I'm amazed somebody didn't come up with this idea before. :clapping: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:

 

[RadioHowie]

Smegma,

BWAH!!!

 

[fjr mississippi]

count me in for a set

 

[RaYzerman19]

If you make them so they do not stick out past the fairing, I'm in for a set.
KM

I'm interested in that too....

 

[scmagna]

Smegma,

Dear SPU (Spew?)

Yeah, one of my riding buddies calls me by that moniker too (my other bike is a Honda Magna, and I live in SC).

Over the weekend, I modified the design so the brackets are shorter and a little taller. That way, they don't extend beyond the back edge of the fairing, but still give the desired offset. I will post a picture when I gen up a model. Meanwhile, I am getting a couple of estimates from coworkers on machining. If it all works out, I plan to provide them with all the required hardware, spacer pads, etc. so everyone doesn't have to chase that down.

I am thinking that I will provide the brackets with a fine sanded finish. That way, each person can polish them, powder coat them, anodize them, or whatever. Metal polish puts a nice shine on them in a matter of minutes, if you like that look. I think they look good that way close to the headlight reflectors. They might need to be touched up periodically, though. Maybe a clearcoat finish would do the trick too.

I have never sold stuff like this before, but if you guys will work with me, maybe we can add this to the approved farkle list.

I would be willing to look at making extensions for Gen I's also - I think there is at least one guy in town with a Gen I. I'll see if he'll let me look at it.

Regards,

Kurt

 

[Mount Rainier]

:good: :hyper: :thumbsupsmileyanim: :yahoo:

Thanks for all your effort and attention to detail here Kurt. Looking forward to seeing the final design.

Keep Going!

 

[sportsguy]

Seriously Kurt - a big thanks. This nicely addresses a niggling issue withe the FJR for many riders.

Keep us posted and reach out for help as/if needed.

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

Smegma,

Dear SPU (Spew?)

Yeah, one of my riding buddies calls me by that moniker too (my other bike is a Honda Magna, and I live in SC).

Over the weekend, I modified the design so the brackets are shorter and a little taller. That way, they don't extend beyond the back edge of the fairing, but still give the desired offset. I will post a picture when I gen up a model. Meanwhile, I am getting a couple of estimates from coworkers on machining. If it all works out, I plan to provide them with all the required hardware, spacer pads, etc. so everyone doesn't have to chase that down.

I am thinking that I will provide the brackets with a fine sanded finish. That way, each person can polish them, powder coat them, anodize them, or whatever. Metal polish puts a nice shine on them in a matter of minutes, if you like that look. I think they look good that way close to the headlight reflectors. They might need to be touched up periodically, though. Maybe a clearcoat finish would do the trick too.

I have never sold stuff like this before, but if you guys will work with me, maybe we can add this to the approved farkle list.

I would be willing to look at making extensions for Gen I's also - I think there is at least one guy in town with a Gen I. I'll see if he'll let me look at it.

Regards,

Kurt

Most excellent! Thanks. And a few have called me SPU on the forum..