R100RS Mirrors [Archive]

Bob_M

03-30-2008, 02:09 PM

Anyone familiar with the R100RS knows that the mirrors give a perfect view of one's shoulders. Considering this a safety issue I set on a quest to improve the mirrors without ruining the style of the beautiful machine.

First I bought some aftermarket mirrors with stalks and mounted them onto the existing plastic mirror mounts. They were cheap and they looked cheap and they worked poorly.

Then I cruised the internet and found Rizoma. They make real high quality mirrors. I tried to buy from overseas, but they required I go to their US distributer, Wunderlich, who offered a very limited selection of the Rizoma products. None the less I bought the mirrors that I felt would best compliment the RS design. I mounted them onto the existing mirror mounts and they were very nice mirrors, but the mounting was all wrong. The Rizoma mirror base is a barrel into which a allen bolt fits. This barrel, on top of the BMW plastic mirror mount looked storkey. Also, I was reluctant to cinch the mirrors down out of fear the plastic would crush, so the wind constantly pushed the mirrors out of alignment.

So I designed a new mount. I crafted a template out of wood (poplar) and sent it to my brother in law (the machinist). He did nothing until I came to visit, then found a block of aluminum alloy and milled a recess into the allow block to accept the Rizoma mirror base and he told me "remove everything that is not a mirror mount"

I think they look swell. The screw pattern uses the existing mount holes so no drilling is done into the fairing.

The right one is a little different from the left one, but I only look at one a time.

Photos attached.

Bob_M

03-30-2008, 02:10 PM

mount - front

Bob_M

03-30-2008, 02:12 PM

mount - back

26667

03-30-2008, 02:30 PM

Bob, those look sweet! Form follows function, right? Even w the later style, larger mirrors, I've got a small blind-spot mirror attached to my left, and I shift back and forth sideways in the seat and crane my neck to feel safe when trying to see behind me. I do the messerschmidt twitch on every lane change. I love my old RS, and I'm suer the excercise is good for me, but geez! I'd like to be able to see behind me.

Two Q's 1. would he make and sell another set?

2. would it be too much of a PITA to ask you to post a couple more pix that show a bit more of the bike/fairing and how the mirrors look from a little wider perspective?

Thanx for the effort and the posting.

97077

03-30-2008, 02:50 PM

Can I order two sets? I was just thinking about that the other day and now you made something that looks good and works. Thanks. I wondered how those German engineers looked behind them when riding the first RS's?:confused:

GrantMacEachern

03-30-2008, 02:51 PM

+1 for more pics of the bike. I'm digging the paint scheme too. thanks!

Bob_M

03-30-2008, 02:52 PM

Form follows function, right? Even w the later style, larger mirrors, I've got a small blind-spot mirror attached to my left, and I shift back and forth sideways in the seat and crane my neck to feel safe when trying to see behind me. I do the messerschmidt twitch on every lane change. I love my old RS, and I'm suer the excercise is good for me, but geez! I'd like to be able to see behind me.

Two Q's 1. would he make and sell another set?

2. would it be too much of a PITA to ask you to post a couple more pix that show a bit more of the bike/fairing and how the mirrors look from a little wider perspective?
.

Oh how I know the "mirror dance".
The Bro-in-law (Gary) only milled the void for the Rizoma barrel into a block of alloy. The rest was my hand work (hence the right being different from the left) I used a Makita disc sander with a coarse disc to remove large volumes of material, and a bench grinder and files to fine tune the shape. I used tooth paste as marking paste to show me where the piece was contacting the fairing, and removed material that was picking up the paste. The fairing has a thickened lip at that location, and there is a twist in the shape of the fairing there, so the underside is subtly complex. I made every effort to have a large contact surface (with no contact at the fairing edge) so as not to stress the fiberglass. SOoooo in answer to your first question: Gary would not make another set. I suppose molds and casting new ones are possible but that is a skill I do not have.

I will post a few more pictures.

GrantMacEachern

03-30-2008, 07:00 PM

Did you not bring a six-pack for your brother-in-law?
Does he not like you?
Can't you find some dirt on him to convince him to make a dozen or so more sets for you? ha.

Boxerkuh

03-30-2008, 08:26 PM

Neat, clean, different, custom.... good airhead stuff!!!! :stick
This website might help others.... www.wlsolutuions.com/r100rs/ It is White solutuion webpage, a fellow airhead in England.... just more food for thought... :eat :drink

Bob_M

03-30-2008, 08:37 PM

.....Does he not like you?.......

I suppose there is a lot there to not like, but Gary & I get along just fine. I pay for his skills in plants and landscaping, and yes, six packs, but these doo dads are hand fit. I live in Oregon & he lives in California, so all I got were the blanks to fuss with. I (can I say?) love that motorcycle so time spent working in it is my pleasure. I realize that, bit by bit, it grows less original and therefore less valuable, but it is a great rider that gets better for that purpose when the mirrors work.

I guess there are lots of high strength resins & composite goops that can be made in a mold. If someone has a talent in that area let me know how it is done and I will try to knock off some copies. After paint, metal and plastic can look a lot alike.

All: thanks for the kind words
B

26667

03-30-2008, 08:44 PM

what about a spacer about an inch thick btw the mirror mount and the fairing to put the mirror another inch or so outboard? Don't ask me what this magical spacer might be made of that would allow you to cut it the proper size and shape and also bolt to the fairing and attach to the mirror mount and not vibrate the mirrors...c'mon, engineers...wouldn't that be .....something?:bottle

woodgrain

03-30-2008, 09:37 PM

Before going to the expense of the custom mirrors, had you tried small convex mirrors attached to the stock ones to improve the rearward view?

Woodgrain

26667

03-30-2008, 10:14 PM

Before going to the expense of the custom mirrors, had you tried small convex mirrors attached to the stock ones to improve the rearward view?

Woodgrain

Yep. Better, but no miracle.

Bob_M

03-30-2008, 10:33 PM

Before going to the expense of the custom mirrors, had you tried small convex mirrors attached to the stock ones to improve the rearward view? Woodgrain

I admit, I never tried convex stick'ons. It is hard to imagine they would give a good view behind, because the view behind would still be blocked by my shouder.

The aftermarket mirrors I initially tried threaded into the bolt inlaid into the stock mirror mount, so at the beginning no major expense nor impact to the stock parts resulted. The view back was remarkable. I had forgotten that it was possible to keep track of vehicles approaching from behind. Those mirrors however were just too cheap, they couldn't hold their adjustment. However I knew I was on to something. When I got the fancy mirrors I hogged out the plastic OEM mirror mount to accept a bolt. There was no going back from there. That set up sucked, so I had to make the new mounts.

26667

03-31-2008, 08:20 AM

remember the first time you used bar-ends? OMG! "all THAT'S going on back there?":jawdrop

you can tell I'm still w the "further out" deal, can't you?

GrantMacEachern

03-31-2008, 09:17 AM

Bob M. I should have prefaced my earlier email with a congratulations for your mod. My riding partners were always wondering why I was squirming around and shoulder checking so often....well, as you said, because the view of my elbows was not as desirable as the view of the traffic behind me. I've wanted to tackle this for some time. You seem to have found a good solution...and safer. I have noticed that if I wear a tight fitting jacket, i.e. thin leather, I can actually just see past my elbows. If you look at early promo photos for the bike those German riders are always in those tight fitting spacesuit style riding suits. Ofcourse, at 6'3" and 230lbs, seeing past my elbows with a Darien on is a different matter.

535is

03-31-2008, 04:29 PM

Stuff that happens behind you is highly overrated ... :D

mymindsok

04-15-2009, 04:35 PM

OK Bob_M,

I'll take a dozen of those mirror mounts for my first order and if those go well, I'll double the second order. Thanks!

Secondly. I'm running the CRG Lane splitter mirrors on the Hot Rod and theyre convex lenses. Therefore, theyre not that great for seeing directly behind because the image is so small but theyre great for seeing whats going on beside and close behind the bike. I have mine set up to cover my blind spot.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w238/kenwhitehawk/R-90%20BUILD/th_LATESTFULLFILE014.jpg (http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/w238/kenwhitehawk/R-90%20BUILD/?action=view&current=LATESTFULLFILE014.jpg)

When Igot the RS, it already had stick-on mirors in place and while I still see a lot of my shoulders, between whats left, I'm well covered and I allways, allways, allways make a headcheck before doing anything.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w238/kenwhitehawk/83%20R-100RS/th_LATESTFULLFILE108.jpg (http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/w238/kenwhitehawk/83%20R-100RS/?action=view&current=LATESTFULLFILE108.jpg)

If someones gonna kill me, they'd better be good at sneaking up!

RUSSFRASHER

04-16-2009, 09:41 PM

I kinda like the way my shoulders look

BuffaloBob

04-17-2009, 09:31 AM

Come on, guys; where's your sense of adventure?

Go buy a set of '94 to '06 Kawasaki EX500 mirrors (aftermarkete about $15 each). The stud spacing is less than the stock mirrors, so you'll have to drill a third hole on each side, but it's between the existing pair and covered by either set of mirrors.

The stalks are just long enough so that you can actually see what's behind you.

shire2000

04-17-2009, 10:21 AM

Another mirror that appears to fit very well is what was used on mid 90's VW Golf and Rabbit cars. I have talked with many RT and RS riders in Europe who have replaced their stock BMW mirrors with these ones. The mounting holes apparently line up very well and they are a little bit wider. Some have a slightly longer stalk tat will allow the mirror to stick out and up a bit more, giving a better view behind. You should be able to pick up a set from an auto wrecker for a pretty reasonable price.

I have seen a few bikes with them on and you really don't notice it at first, unless there is a bike with stok mirrors sitting right next to it. But when you sit on the bike, you can actually see what is behind you. They stick out just a bit more and for me, that is all it takes.

woodworker

04-18-2009, 06:59 PM

I had a '78 R100RS for 29 years and just sold it. I tried about every mirror on the market. I ended up getting a pair of K1200RS/GT mirrors that have the double arm. All I had to do was ream out the hole in the mount and install the mirror. I could finally see around my shoulder and they looked great. If I could figure out how to put picture on this site I would let you see.

Woodworker

Radar41

04-19-2009, 06:30 PM