On a recent ride, my right mirror had moved. It started moving more over time and I could not figure out how to fix it. Then I inspected and learned a few things and how it worked.
You can adjust and fix your mirror in three simple steps: 1. Find out where the mirror is loose. 2. Find the correct positioning for the mirror so it reflects over your shoulder. 3. Tighten the mirror so it no longer moves.
See, three simple steps. There is a bit more to it, so here is the pictorial side of the process with more detail.
Where Is the Mirror Loose?
So you may notice the mirror is not giving you a consistent view anymore. Maybe someone accidentally bumped it in a parking lot or garage.
You adjust the mirror and go for a ride. As you progress in your miles on this adventure, you cannot see out of the mirror again. So you adjust the darn thing again.
The cycle repeats its self a few times. This should be your clue the mirror is loose and needs adjusting.
When this first started happening to me, I thought it wore the little ball on the back of the mirror out and the mirror needed replacing.
Notice the ball socket in the mirror along with the two screws?
When I first studied the mirror set up and saw the two screws, I figured it was a straightforward decision, these needed tightening. After checking them, they seemed tight, which left me to conclude either the ball or the socket was worn out.
This line of thinking made sense to me as a Harley vibrates a lot. The bike is older as it is a 2002 model. Even though I try to take good care of it, things wear out.
Finding Motorcycle Replacement Mirrors
I started looking at cool, reasonable replacement mirrors. I came across this set from JP Cycles. While I liked the look, at that price, it seems they were probably a low-quality mirror.
This set-up seemed like a better fit and the price was still decent. On a side note, I also found sets of mirrors for over $100. Be careful when shopping and time your time to find what you want.
After sitting on my choice of new mirrors, I came back to my wobbly mirror one last time to mess with the screws.
This time, they broke free. Before when I tried loosening them, but they would not budge.
This is when I realized two things:
- The screws had a different role than I had originally thought. I figured they held the reflective side of the mirror. They tightened the ball socket.
- They probably had lock tight on them or many years of grime and dirt worked its way up the threads, making the screws difficult to move.
Before all you experienced riders shake your heads or saying mean stuff, realize that not everyone has the same level of experience as you do. Everyone starts from the bottom when learning something new, like bike maintenance.
Once I realized my mirror was ok, I moved on to the next step of adjusting my mirror.
Properly Positioning A Motorcycle Mirror
Getting the positioning of your motorcycle mirrors remains an important and underrated aspect of riding defensively. Get it wrong and you could pull out in front of someone you do not see causing a crash, maybe a trip to the hospital, or something even worse.
Where motorcycle mirrors adjusted?
As a general rule, position your left motorcycle mirror so you optimize vehicles that may pass you from behind. You want the smallest blind spot possible for the left mirror. The right-hand mirror should broaden the view behind you on the motorcycle.
Getting Started Adjusting A Motorcycle Mirror
Start adjusting your mirrors by sitting on the motorcycle with the kickstand up. Like you would sit on it at a stoplight.
Make sure both hands are on the bars and look in the mirrors. What do you see?
You should see both shoulders in the same proportion on the inner part of the mirror. Your shoulders take up less than 10% of the mirror.
Adjusting The Left Motorcycle Mirror
The left mirror is the most important. At least in the US, it is the most important since we pass on the left. If you ride on the left side of the road in your country, it may the be opposite.
You want to adjust the mirror left to right so you can see a vehicle coming up behind you to pass. The view you should look almost directly over your shoulder to see a good portion of what is behind you and the left-hand lane.
Do not forget, you will still have blind spots and you’ll need to turn your head to see if anyone is in the blind spot.
Adjusting The Right Motorcycle Mirror
Starting the position we discussed earlier, move your right-hand mirror so you capture as much as you can behind you. This view will be a bit wider than what you see in the left-hand mirror.
The right-hand mirror should reflect the shoulder (if you’re in the right-hand lane) and some of the left-hand land further back in the mirror.
Quick Test
In a parking lot or your driveway, park two cars in a fashion you might find in normal traffic patterns. Then position your bike in several spots to see what it reflected in the mirrors.
Make slight adjustments to your mirrors fine to tune their positioning.
Tightening A Motorcycle Mirror
The last step to adjusting your mirrors is tightening the screws. First, make sure they are screwed into the handlebars securely.
I would suggest a bit of lock tight on the screws as the bars vibrate a decent amount. You do not want the screws backing out.
Make sure you check your mirror before every ride.
Now stop reading and go for a ride. (Check your mirrors first.) 🙂