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improving visibility from the mirrors

10K views 53 replies 13 participants last post by  mikeS  
#1 ·
Okay - I just about became part of a Honda Civic after signaling and initiating a lane change and having checked my mirror. The visibility from the mirrors is obviously inadequate.

What is the best remedy to get better views?
 
#2 ·
Head check after looking in the mirrors. No mirror will provide complete certainty - it’s why modern cars have warning lights in their mirrors.

It also helps to have good situational awareness re which cars are around you and where, so regularly scan your mirrors rather than look only when you want to change lanes.

Just my two bob’s worth.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Okay - I just about became part of a Honda Civic after signaling and initiating a lane change and having checked my mirror. The visibility from the mirrors is obviously inadequate. What is the best remedy to get better views?
A pair of these little 2" dia 'blind spot' mirrors are ALWAYS the first or second thing I fit to any new bike. Wouldn't be without 'em. Cost a few dollars in any decent auto parts shop, or on-line even cheaper. Self-adhesive, install in seconds. Strangely, they are made in China. Using them to best advantage does take a bit of getting used to and a definite technique, IMHO. Rather than trying to take in at one glance the entire field of view behind from both mirrors simultaneously and at the same time, I found that a quick squiz at the larger OE mirror, then followed by a second instantaneous look at the spots was ideal. :nerd: Problee saved me any number of times!
 

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#5 ·
#6 ·
After several, unsuccessful attempts with stick-on types, I fabricated this blind-spot set up on my Camhead. The little mirrors rotated 360Âş and 180Âş horizontally. I haven't carried it over to my LC. Note: No matter how good a blind spot mirror it will never replace the head turn or being alert traffic around you. But did save my bacon a few times.
 

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#7 ·
The issues for me with the small stick-ons are:
  • They occupy valuable real estate in the stock mirror
  • Objects in the mirror are much smaller which means I spend too much time looking to discern what’s there, and distances are very difficult to judge.

Mike’s separate mirror solution addresses the first problem, so it could be worth training my brain to deal with the latter, but while technically elegant, it looks a little like a prosthetic device has been added to the bike.

Either way, I don’t have a problem with the stock mirrors supplemented by a head check (which I would always do anyway, regardless of additional aids).
 
#8 ·
It is a matter of belt and braces, IMHO. The small mirrors don't actually take up 'real estate' - they complement it. It shouldn't have been necessary for me to have added to my post that a head-turn plus supplementary mirrors plus spatial awareness of what's going on around you will give best results. Best way - stay home in bed with a :nerd:good book (or dog).
 
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#19 ·
#23 ·
Yeah, do you think? I picked up couple extra packs on eBay. Btw - my sons keep smiling and telling me how good I look and should wear my Smiffys to work.
I agree, Mike - they seem to be immune from 'helmet hair', too.
 

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#26 ·
Funny, but I really like the mirrors on the LC. Once I get them adjusted so the inside corner has a little bit of shoulder in it, the coverage of the world behind and to the side seems great. Nevertheless, I can't picture a circumstance where I could ever change lanes without looking to the side as much as my stiff old neck will allow.
I like where @Kaj has placed his blind spot mirrors, though--I might give those a try. Wouldn't mind having one more assist.
 
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#28 ·
I don't think anyone would seriously suggest blind spot mirrors replaces a head-turn. However, I do think they are an added low-cost safety device. I am now thinking about how I can retrofit the units I made for my Camhead on the LC.


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#29 ·
I don't think anyone would seriously suggest blind spot mirrors replaces a head-turn. However, I do think they are an added low-cost safety device. I am now thinking about how I can retrofit the units I made for my Camhead on the LC. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Agree! Driving (these days) and riding around over the years I've often found myself behind a motorcyclist, and unconsciously perhaps observed their riding style. Too often, the head-turn is a cursory flick of the head to maybe 10 or 20 degrees off-centre to left and/ or right. It's quite rare to see riders do the full swivel, which even in the young and limber takes a bit of effort, but anything less is no more than a token gesture. >:)
 
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#31 · (Edited)
We faced that prospect whilst returning (in the car) from Lawrence of Suburbia's territory recently. A B-double overtaking a road train followed by a semi-trailer.

Fortunately (being a motorcyclist) I was paying attention and had an escape route planned as we toured down the highway at 110 km/h. I just needed to slow and pull over to give him room and a nod as he passed. Lawrence would attest - you don't argue with B-doubles and road trains ...
 

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#32 ·
Yikes! Given the flat terrain, I can't see an excuse for the truck having to pass at that point. But yeah, being right doesn't trump being flat!
 
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#33 ·
Just around the curve was an overtaking lane where the b-double would have inched past the road train. Heavy vehicles here are speed limited to 100 km/h, so it’s very hard for them to overtake another vehicle doing just under. They have tight deadlines imposed on them, so the pressure is on to maintain maximum speed.

It was no drama for us, but might have been for someone texting, changing CD’s, or yelling at the kids in the back, in which case Darwinian natural selection might have prevailed.
 
#35 ·
Very nasty, Pz! Glad you escaped. Lucky that the grass verge appears flat and forgiving in the event of your having to do a bit of cross-countrying. There's no doubt in my mind that motorcycling can give one a heightened sense of awareness on the road, which serves us well in such circs. I well recall Mrs S and I were doing some training, and the instructor couldn't stress enough the importance of constant scanning of the road ahead at all times.
 
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#37 ·
I've seen car drivers not even so much as move their eyes to the side mirror, let alone turn their heads when changing lanes. I've tried to train myself over the years to catch a driver's eyes to make sure they see me, as well as to watch the front wheels for the slightest hint of a turn. Around town, I get people trying to kill me, on average, about once a week. It's possible that motorcyclists are better at checking, but I've also seen them not bother. It's also possible that I should move to a different town!
 
#38 ·
To be perfectly honest, I can't wait for the self driving technology to get more prevalent. I'll take afternoon traffic full of computers using radar over the current lot.

Similarly, I love seeing cars with the blindspot light on the mirror. It's not impossible, but it is harder to miss.

But I agree, a lot of driver's don't even look at all - I was speaking to motorcyclists. I guess I just assumed everyone shoulder checked - it's pretty convenient on a motorcycle. To me, it's even more natural on a motorcycle than using mirrors.
 
#44 ·
Have never had blind spot mirrors. I'm on a short trip to Nova Scotia, and my rental car has them. They're driving me crazy. To my eyes, they're just this giant blob of sealing wax obstructing my view, which is odd given they're actual mirrors. Plus they're so wide-angle that I can see myself in the driver's side one. Gahh! I can't seem to convince my brain that I can use them to see behind me. I think they're not for me! :nerd:

And I'm driving a VW Passat. Which is designed completely backwards to the Japanese cars and trucks I've owned most of my life. I still haven't figured out the intermittent wipers. The sad thing is that for an extra $10 a day I could've had a brand new white 5L Mustang which was "on a 1-day sale". But I need to be able to ferry people around and the back seat would've been unsuitable. Sigh. Too bad, it would've been fun to burn the tires off that thing on the backroads around here. >:)
 
#46 · (Edited)
With my job I get to drive tradesmen and other peoples cars/work utes/ vans a lot.
Its a eye opener when you hop in the drivers seat, then go to reverse, either a cab has been installed on a work ute, which is full of tools or your looking through three window panes to get a glimse out the back in your internal rear view mirror.
Most older vehicles don't have reversing mirrors.
A lot private cars now have their windows tinted (not from factory though...thank goodness)
Some bigger vehicles have sign written wraps over the windows.
If a customer asks to have the back window sign written, I mention that they won't be able to use there rear windscreen wiper.
The reply is that they never use it anyway and they will most likely take it off.

So its alarming as a motorcyclist how people will place priority on privacy (driver passenger tinted windows) signwritten windows, over the importance of having a clear view all the way around there vehicles when driving to avoid accident.

At least im not totally ignorant to the fact that people drive around oblivious to what is going on behind them.

As for improving visibility for myself as a motorcyclist, if I really wanted to I would bombard the ministry of transport Government deptartment to ban tinted and sign written windows of all vehicles.

My mirrors on the r1200r are very good, alot of my riding is on dual lane highways.
If I do get to ride on four lanes, I look in my mirrors, then make sure I've room between me and the vehicle in front and quickly do a head check, before moving into the other lane.
Some times by the time you have head checked, and looked to the front you can be approaching fast, a braking car in front of you. ...yikes.
 
#47 ·
....If I do get to ride on four lanes, I look in my mirrors, then make sure I've room between me and the vehicle in front and quickly do a head check, before moving into the other lane. Some times by the time you have head checked, and looked to the front you can be approaching fast a braking car in front of you. ...yikes.
This is a very good and often overlooked point, Erin - even at a modest 60kph a vehicle will travel some 17 metres per second. Assume that the head-check takes only 2 seconds you'll have covered 35 metres before your head is back to its preferred fore-and-aft position on your shoulders. Although I both endorse and use(d) the swivelling head check, in heavy nose-to-tail traffic it can be tricky.

But then - motorcycling in itself is a bit tricky: I heard for the umpteenth time recently some stats: here in Oz motorcycles account for about 4% of registered road-users, but have about 24% of traffic fatalities. :surprise:
 
#50 ·
Not everyone is lucky enough to have the privilege of growing old and becoming a grandma. I attribute my own good fortune to avoiding situations such as you describe as much I would avoid stealing a grizzly bears cubs from under her nose and running away with one each arm. Where I live, none of the 3 or 4 lanes gets you out of the exhaust fumes and into a flowing lane. So I don't ride in such conditions. Emergency detour routes are great escapes and often faster. In the event of an actual emergency, I'll ride hours out of my way to avoid CO poisoning. Or stop at the nearest pub to wait it out, much like the cruiser-face crowd wait out rain showers.
 
#51 · (Edited)
Your wise Sturgeon.

I’ve two routes home from work, one With little traffic that gets me home in 10 minutes. The other is the long way home, 45 mins but a good ride once you’ve broken away from town and the bottle necks.
Sometimes I just need to get my nose dirty, look drivers in the eye test the atmosphere and vibe, keep my attention skills honed in.
3/4 lanes I’d be holding up somewhere quiet as well at rush hour.
 
#52 ·
I must admit, I have a distinct advantage or two. I've been retired for 8 years, so now my full-time job is being a grandma, er, grandpa. I can walk to my granddaughter's place in 20 minutes to walk her to school. And when I worked, I walked there as well, although that was a whole 25 minutes.

However, our local multi-lane disaster is busy day and night, and completely choked at rush hours. It's reputed to be the busiest highway in N America. One of my daughters lives 125 km down it from me, so I'm not unfamiliar with it, sadly. During rush hour I could extend that to 250 by taking little back roads for a good part of it, and still get there faster than the commuters, without inhaling too much CO. It's a strange world.
 
#54 ·
This has probably been mentioned here repeatedly, but mirror extenders work very well. I recently installed a set of SW Motech on my 2016 1200R, and now I see more to the outside of my arms and shoulders. They are no substitute for a final headcheck, however.


Execellent option. I have two sets but can’t use them because I need to squeeze past trailers / cars in my driveway. I tried a set of Wunderlich folding mirrors but I didn’t like how they looked my bike.

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