The New And Improved Unofficial R65 Forum V2
Technical Discussion => BMW Technical Q&A, Primarily R65 => Topic started by: montmil on January 31, 2009, 04:33:20 PM
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My '83 R65 came with bar end mirrors. Besides having the left side mirror snag the clutch lever thereby holding it disengaged, said mirror was also missing the wedge lock device inside the handlebar. Top that off with my natural dislike of bar ends -too wide IMO- and it was time to get some new mirrors.
The '81 R65 has its OEM long-stemmed chrome -now rust pitted- originals. Looks like the antenna on la cucaracha. Cockroach. I want to replace them with something a bit more euro-look and in black. The price of new replacement BMW mirrors is outrageous. Hello, JC Whitney.
For $22.99, I bought a pair of black, rectangular, all metal, short stem, Universal Japanese Motorcycle mirrors. Modifying the R65's mirror perch required tapping the mounting holes to 10mmx1.25. That was the sum total effort required to adapt the Beemer to accept mirrors designed for any Suzuhondasaki. Yamaha has right and left hand threaded mirror mounts so be forewarned... avoid those.
(https://bmwr65.org/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi196.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Faa1%2Fmontmil%2FBMW%2520R65%2FP1310005.jpg&hash=dd91f1cf58cbee094f1ddc320099adbabe1a9213)
11/32" drill and a 10mmx1.25 metric tap preps the R65 mirror mount hole. Cake. The '81 is next.
(https://bmwr65.org/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi196.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Faa1%2Fmontmil%2FBMW%2520R65%2FP1310010.jpg&hash=5bb72f9f90a6fd99a50f29e0f1f153e61e64fabd)
Was necessary to remove the front brake hydraulic fluid reservoir cap to thread on the right-hand mirror stalk. It's close.
(https://bmwr65.org/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi196.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Faa1%2Fmontmil%2FBMW%2520R65%2FP1310006.jpg&hash=e7151888694a0174f59403e175a4dcd4a6098109)
So much nicer. These mirrors are Whitney item number 011158 and are an EMGO product. I tucked a 14mm OE wrench in my pocket and went for a ride. Stopped a few times to get the mirrors positioned to my tastes. Lock nuts at the perch and mirror swivel point.
Busy also with the 83's seat tail piece. It's in primer now. Local wx is CAVU and low 70's so I went riding after the brief mirror install.
Monte
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Those are really decent looking mirrors! My crystal ball shows a set of them for the retrobate LS...
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Nice! Y muy economico. Looks like they provide a nice wide field of vision as well. Was there nothing you could find that would fit without tapping the existing threads?
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Great looking mirrors. I'm going to check those out for my R1100RT. When touring I have a pile of goods behind me and I can't see behind because of the low mount of the fairing mirrors.
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Was there nothing you could find that would fit without tapping the existing threads?
I looked for a solid year. The R65 mirror perch is rather unique; so much so that the mirrors choices are mostly BMW, as in $$$ and none that looked as sporty as the EMGOs.
Tapping the existing 8mm hole was a non-event. Plenty of meat to work with and so many choices at reasonable prices.
Monte
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Those are the mirrors that a previous owner of my R65 installed. I like them. Imagine my embarrassment, though, when I ordered a replacement from my local BMW dealer after one broke, and I got what seemed to be the wrong part. Oops. I didn't know mine were not stock until then.