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CRG 2" Blindside bar-end mirrors

5K views 23 replies 10 participants last post by  giusage80 
#1 ·
OK, so since my turn signals are taking longer than I anticipated to make, and I was going to post my mirror change in that thread, but was requested to post up the mod, I'll do it here now...

The story goes:

We (Cherry and I) were up in Estes Park Colorado with 2 friends, one of which was borrowing the other guy's bike. The guy on the borrowed bike was a klutz, and the bike was WAY too big for him and his stubby, overweight little legs... We pull out to take a few pictures, and after some scary maneuvering by him, he pulls up behind me on some gravel (dumbass). He proceeds to dump the bike (while standing still) and yells for my help.

Having my bike in neutral, I quickly put down the kickstand, jump off my bike, run around and help him save his bike from falling down. Unfortunately, he still has a hold of the clutch and before I can crab it or turn the bike off, he lets go of it. The big Harley jumps forward with all it's torque into my rear tire and knocks my bike over. GREAT! I finally get him situated, we pick my bike up and I take stock of the damage...

Left STOCK mirror busted, some scratches on my rear fairing and turn signals, and a bent brake lever and cracked rear set.... He promises to replace any parts that I deem need to be replaced. Poor guy, he felt so bad... Later that day I test the rear set by jumping on it with my full weight - no harm there. So we go to the Kawi shop and a replacement mirror is $70, and I have an excuse to spend his money... So I start thinking, I've been wanting to upgrade to the CRG blindsides anyway... They are $100 for a pair. So he picks up $75, I make up the other $25 and off we go... The turn signals weren't a big deal, I have flushmounts coming anyway, the lever I can bend back, and the rearset is rock solid...

So I finally get my mirrors, after riding mirror-less for 5 days (to some that might be nothing, but to me, it was HELLA annoying needing to head-check every single time I had to change lanes/turn. (I know some of you will say that you should head-check every time anyway, and yes, it is absolutely the right and safe thing to do. I recommend it for everybody. But I'm a bad boy, and a bad example, and I usually don't. So hate me for it. :p)

In addition to the bar-end mirrors, CRG also wants me to spend like $15/each for the "mounting" kit that replaces my bar-ends with these flimsy little (but spec) milled aluminum pieces... Screw that! I got a machine-shop buddy that owes me money... So I head off to the Kawi shop to get my bar-ends broken loose, and then to the machine shop to get my bar-ends milled to fit the mirrors. Sorry for all the reading, but I had to paint the back-story...

NOTE: If you're thinking about doing this, and you don't have access to a lathe, you could do the same thing by "clamping" the bar end on another bolt +nut, and throwing them into a drill press. Then, while the drill press is spinning it, use a hand file to file down as far as you need it to go. It will take longer, but it will get the job done..

So, Having taken off the bar-ends, we throw them into the lathe:


The man, doing his thing - my buddy, and father of one of my exes. He's a really good dude, she's a really nice lady, just not compatible.


Done!


Test fit:


And a whole bunch of finished shots, back home, after the snow ride:





 
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#5 ·
Nice mirror block off plates. Did you get the ones that have the LED's mounted into them to act as another set of blinkers?

Also, how's the visibility? I think it'd be a little hard to get used to looking so low when I go to turn... But they'd probably be better than most as far as visibility, other than Darkhorse's zx-14 mirror fix.
 
#8 ·
Felix said:
Love the jumper to :p
It keeps me warm on those snow rides. :D My mommy made it for me for Christmas... I have like 3 of them:p


youngphillip85 said:
I like em' alot, but did they seriously cost 100?
Thank you, and yes: http://www.constructorsrg.com/mirrors/blindsight.html

Travisty said:
Nice mirror block off plates. Did you get the ones that have the LED's mounted into them to act as another set of blinkers?
Nope, I made mine out of an old inner tube and some clear lexan that I had around the garage... Just temporary until I get the turn signals taken care of, and yes, you know exactly what I'm going to do.... Turn signals where the stock mirrors bolt to, and new fabbed flush mount turns - lots of clear epoxy... But that's going to have to wait a little while...

And since so many people asked, I didn't quote anybody directly, but visibility is... mixed. For one, you can see ALL AROUND you, from the left blindspot clear through to the right blind spot... They are quite small though, so it's difficult to see detail - also because they're convex.. But they do not shake, and are rock-solid. It's a little weird getting used to looking down that far to see behind me, but after getting them adjusted right, I think it's totally worth it... I use them mainly to check my blind spot, and to make sure I can see blue and red flashy lights behind me. I've "dragged" a cop too many times jammin' to my music, and that's only bad for my "plight" with the officer..
 
#18 ·
limegreenlighting said:
How much did the shop charge you to do each bar ends?
Like I said earlier in the thread: "I got a machine-shop buddy that owes me money..." So he owes me less now. And I'll get you the exact dimensions...

Hi-Tech, the poor guy already had such a knock to his ego, doing this whole thing in front of other people, and the other "damages" weren't significant enough to charge him for more than the mirror. Maybe I was too nice, but I wouldn't feel right charging him more. So just $75...
 
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