V11 Sport with Napoleon Bar end mirrors....

[Richard Z]

I finally got off my but and did something on the Sport. Here is the pics of the Napoleon AP 104 Bar End Mirrors. Very nice construction. Although I had to replace the stock rubber with a piece of 1/2" vinyl tubing to get it to fit into the bar. Nice and solid. Good view....

 

 

Richard Z.

[dlaing]

Napoleons R0CK!

They are like Bull Horns against car mirrors ,

and will hold up well durring crashes

Trust me on that...no need to test the validity.

They have a nice wide angle, are not blocked by elbows and phat bodies, they flip up nicely for lane splitting, and they help suppress handlebar vibes, but they do get blurry from the vibes themselves, although maybe the vinyl you use may reduce that

I was thinking of putting lead weights on mine.

[BrianG]

I hated mine... They got in the way of the brake/clutch levers, and gave me a great view of my arm....

[robbiekb]

mines rusted and started looking crappy so they now reside inside my parts bin

[dlaing]

I hated mine... They got in the way of the brake/clutch levers, and gave me a great view of my arm....

You aren't supposed to mount them THERE!

I can't imagine where they possibly could have given you a view your arm, nor can I imagine them getting in way of the levers.

 

mines rusted and started looking crappy so they now reside inside my parts bin

I think they could have used a better paint, but I can't see past the dead bugs, so I am not sure if there is rust under there.

The one thing I don't like is that when you crash they have a potentiallity (is that a word?) of clamping down on the hands. But at the same time they kinda keep your hand from hitting the ground.

EDIT just went out to the garage to look under the splatteratti of bugs and found nothing but black paint and no rust.

I put a magnet to the metal. the Stem is non-magnetic, and the Back Plate to the mirror is magnetic, and presumably could rust.

I do like the look of the chrome ones Steve G. mentioned. Loud Bling Saves Lives! and in moderation looks good.

[Steve G.]

mines rusted and started looking crappy so they now reside inside my parts bin

 

I have the chromed ones, much more durable. I have one on another bike that is 15 yrs old, plating is still perfect. For the money, they are clearly the best bar end mirrors available, who cares that they are made in Japan.

Beware though, on these and all other 'true glass mirror' mirrors. S100 bike cleaner is to be avoided at all costs, as it will remove the silvering from the glass. I wrecked a set. And, because the mirror in these is slightly convex, one must buy replacement glass from Napolean, at the same cost as a new complete one.

Ciao, Steve

[BrianG]

You aren't supposed to mount them THERE!

I can't imagine where they possibly could have given you a view your arm, nor can I imagine them getting in way of the levers.

 

 

When mounted on my 2000 V-11 Sport, in place of the bar-end weights, they fit such that the arm had to be rotated far enough forward that tthe levers would hit the arm. If I rotated the arm far enough backward for the levers to clear the arm/base, the pivot-ball on the mirror-carrier would not allow the mirror to tip upward enough to see behind....... only ground. Maybe my levers are longer than yours!! hahaha

 

When fit so that the mirror reflected rearward, the inner 1/3 - 1/2 of the mirror reflected forearm.

[dlaing]

When mounted on my 2000 V-11 Sport, in place of the bar-end weights, they fit such that the arm had to be rotated far enough forward that tthe levers would hit the arm. If I rotated the arm far enough backward for the levers to clear the arm/base, the pivot-ball on the mirror-carrier would not allow the mirror to tip upward enough to see behind....... only ground. Maybe my levers are longer than yours!! hahaha

 

When fit so that the mirror reflected rearward, the inner 1/3 - 1/2 of the mirror reflected forearm.

That makes sense....except for the part about yours being longer than mine

I never noticed, but my levers only clear the mirrors by about 5mm.

I had earlier moved the levers inward to give me more leverage. So, when I put the Napoleons on I never noticed such a problem.

Perhaps when the mirrors are at that angle, the view clears the body.

I can see the lane behind me fine in both mirrors without my body obstructing.

The stock mirrors could not see the lane behind me.

 

What mirrors did you end up with?

 

EDIT

But note that I turned the mirror 180º from how Richard has them, so the wider end stick outward. I flip the wide end up 90º for lane splitting.

[BrianG]

What mirrors did you end up with?

 

EDIT

But note that I turned the mirror 180º from how Richard has them, so the wider end stick outward. I flip the wide end up 90º for lane splitting.

Cheater cheater cheater.......... if I turn them out they are OK, ecxept they widen the bike by a foot!

 

I went back to stockers on the lever-mounts.

 

[Richard Z]

That makes sense....except for the part about yours being longer than mine

I never noticed, but my levers only clear the mirrors by about 5mm.

I had earlier moved the levers inward to give me more leverage. So, when I put the Napoleons on I never noticed such a problem.

Perhaps when the mirrors are at that angle, the view clears the body.

I can see the lane behind me fine in both mirrors without my body obstructing.

The stock mirrors could not see the lane behind me.

 

What mirrors did you end up with?

 

EDIT

But note that I turned the mirror 180º from how Richard has them, so the wider end stick outward. I flip the wide end up 90º for lane splitting.

 

I changed the orientation of the mirror after riding... I've put the wide end out. I noticed a little rubbing of the levers at first, but then adjusted the perches. It's still close. I just ordered a set of short levers so that won't be a problem anymore.

 

Richard Z