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Message started by vineman on 04/07/12 at 22:21:04

Title: sturdy rearview mirrors
Post by vineman on 04/07/12 at 22:21:04

Does anyone know of any mirrors or any style of mirror that doesn't vibrate as much while riding? Mine are so blurry when I'm riding that I've been wondering if there are any that might be more still. Would mirrors with thicker / larger stems be better?

Title: Re: sturdy rearview mirrors
Post by verslagen1 on 04/07/12 at 22:36:40

stock mirrors are about the steadiest that I've found.

are you using stock bars? they have weights in them to help steady.

does it vary with speed or always shaky?

Title: Re: sturdy rearview mirrors
Post by vineman on 04/07/12 at 23:18:00

I'm using stock bars. Pretty much vary with speed.

Title: Re: sturdy rearview mirrors
Post by Serowbot on 04/07/12 at 23:57:18

The most important element in reducing jiggle in your mirrors is not about mounting, it is about the lens angle...
Many mirror manufacturers promote "realistic size" as a feature of their mirrors,.. but, it is the amount of wide angle to the lens that matters...
You know that "objects are closer than they appear" that gets pasted on some car mirrors? That is wide angle...
Motorcycle mirrors are naturally smaller than car mirrors and also, get more vibration,.. so a wider angle view is needed for two reasons...

If your mirrors are "realistic view", (read flat lens),.. they will show vibration,... no matter what...
... but, too wide angle, and you'll just see cars as dots...
They need to have just the right balance of contour to show the view needed for their size, and at the distance from you, that is needed...
So,... check them out before you buy...
Hold them at the distance they will be mounted and see what your field of view is...
You should be able to see, two or three lanes at a normal following distance, but cars should be identifiable as cars and not dots at that distance...

If you buy mirrors with this amount of view angle, they won't show vibration excessively...

This same principal, is why cameras with telephoto lenses, need a tripod to steady them, whereas wide angle cameras can be hand held...
It's all about the angle... movement is exaggerated by telephoto and reduced by wider view angles...
Motorcycles,.. being lighter than cars, transfer more engine and road vibration, and need a wider angle lens to compensate...

Apologies for the excessive verbiage,.. garbage...
:-?...

Title: Re: sturdy rearview mirrors
Post by arteacher on 04/08/12 at 07:01:17

I filled my bars with lead shot. Worked a charm.
And sorry Serow, I don't like any sort of distortion in mirrors. It makes it more difficult to judge distance. I have a turn in my right eye, and until it was corrected with prisms in my glasses, I used my dominant eye (left) to see. So I had no depth perception. How one's brain deals with this is to use relative size calculations (bigger is closer). This is a learned skill, and while I was learning it I had a few close calls. Using mirrors with a wide angle component in them requires you to make an extra calculation to figure out distances correctly, and sometimes you don't have time to do this.
JMHO :)

Title: Re: sturdy rearview mirrors
Post by verslagen1 on 04/08/12 at 07:59:43

352A2D262E222D430 wrote:

I'm using stock bars. Pretty much vary with speed.

Vibes will vary with speed.
Make sure the nuts mounting it to the triple tree are tight.
Adding weight might be the thing to do. I'm not sure where the weights end in the bars, but you could drill a hole under the clamp, fill the center bar with lead shot, then cork it with the clamp.

Title: Re: sturdy rearview mirrors
Post by Theseus on 04/12/12 at 07:14:02

I have stock mirrors (one original, one recently replaced) and neither vibrates significantly while riding. Your description makes it sound like something else is wrong, though others would be more qualified than me to guess what that might be.