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Mirrors ?

Submitted by mark_hawkins on Mon, 29/04/2024
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Heavy Twins
I've recently taken on a 1958 Dominator 600. It replaced a Triumph Daytona 955i which was a bargain and worked brilliantly but was too fast for my needs (national speed limit broken at 40% performance) and the riding position made it uncomfortable over any distance. Apart from the great engine, suspension and brakes, it had very good mirrors. The Norton has no mirrors - do people fit them and do they work on an old vibratory twin? How can you tell if some mirrors will work for you on a particular bike without fitting them - my 1986 Yamaha 600 has them but no amount of adjustment gives the same view I had on the Triumph - may be the upright seating position has something to do with it? 

Submitted by robert_tuck on Mon, 29/04/2024

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The only morrors I would consider are Halcyon made in stainless with an expander that works and wont fall to bits , replacement glass on line ,and semi concealed adjusters to stiffen the action .  Worth the money but not cheap compared to Chinese crap.

Submitted by george_farenden on Mon, 29/04/2024

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I have Halcyon bar end mirrors on 3 bikes now, and as Robert says they just work. I think mine are the 830 type. Remember the old phrase "the quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten". Image clarity is OK up to around 80-85mph on the Norton, then the vibes start interfering.  Regards,  George 

Submitted by dan_field on Mon, 29/04/2024

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I've got an Oxford bar end mirror, stands up to the vibrations of a 500 single! But watch out not all bar thicknesses are the same.  Dan 

Submitted by barry_carson1 on Mon, 29/04/2024

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  hello, on my 500 single. after trying one or two cheap mirrors, none would stay put. some would fly off in the wind no matter how tight they were. at certain rev you slowly got a view of the tarmac when they vibrated loose. on fitting some raised handle bars i wondered if i could fit an old set of mirrors i had. they were off a triumph adventurer 900. its the sort of mirror you can grab hold of to push the bike around with they are fairly sturdy. dont know what view you would get on straight bars. i think its worth as already mentioned buy some dearer types, better quality ones. barry
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Submitted by mark_hawkins on Mon, 29/04/2024

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Thanks for the comments. Looks like I'll need to confirm the bar thickness first. I take it that it is the inner diameter that I must measure - I can't just measure the outer diameter and work down from there?

Submitted by david_cooper on Mon, 29/04/2024

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If it's a Dommie, you ought not to have problems with bar internal diameter. My 1937 machine was a problem.  I had to mount the bar fitting onto a mandrel and turn it down on the lathe to fit.  Bar wall thicknesses were a lot less later on.

Submitted by mikael_ridderstad on Mon, 29/04/2024

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Only old English bike I have where rear view isn't blurry is a Vincent with bar end mirror. All with long distance between mirror and handlebar gives blurry vision.

Submitted by simon_clark on Wed, 01/05/2024

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I use stadium or halcyon bar end mirrors on my dommi.  Avoid the cheaper mirrors they do not give a very wide view giving potential blind spots. I suffered from vibration on my mirrors which became a blur after 30mph.  Filling the bars with molten lead reduced the shake. Also I discarded the steel expander within the bars and replaced it with suitable sized rubber pipe. I now have good vision up to 50mph.

Submitted by mark_hawkins on Thu, 02/05/2024

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Thanks for all the comments. I have viewed the Halcyon mirrors on Amazon. The only real issue I see is that they can get knocked when putting the bike in the garage. I hope to take the bike out this week end for a short run and see how it holds together generally first of all - it has obviously been restored in the last 10 years but doesn't look like it has put many miles on since. I have a feeling the front brake hasn't bedded in yet although the rear brake feels powerful. I'm booked in to show the bike at the Banbury Steam Rally this June which is quite local to me.

Submitted by dan_field on Thu, 02/05/2024

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Yes measure the inside diameter and check they'll fit yours, i tried making a sleeve but it didn't work well, they kept slipping. dan 

Submitted by mark_hawkins on Thu, 09/05/2024

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I took the bike out over the weekend - how vibratory should these be - is blurred vision at higher revs normal? It seemed otherwise very stable and a good riding position and easy to handle at low speed when threading past oncoming cars - like an M21 but with more go.

Submitted by barry_carson1 on Thu, 09/05/2024

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hello ,   makes you wonder if a small adjustable weighted clamp on the stem would make a difference. so that you could move it up or down the mirror stem, to change the mirrors resonant frequency at a certain rev. i know, i banged my head this morning.  barry.

Submitted by david_cooper on Thu, 09/05/2024

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On my first ride my eyeballs wobbled so much at 50mph that I couldn't see where I was going.  Head steady bolts were loose.  Huge improvement after they were tightened. Your 99 ought not to vibrate uncomfortably.

Mark, My Atlas was very smooth up to 55 mph. Smoother in fact than my Airhead BMW! I had two  Halcyon bar end mirrors that were very clear up to 55 as well. after that the vision got blurry very quickly. Worth paying extra for genuine Halcyons.

Submitted by david_cooper on Fri, 10/05/2024

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Unless there is something very wrong, it sounds like loose head steady.  A loose steady causes such severe vibration that it can apparently damage the frame.  It's not accessible without removing the tank.

Submitted by mark_hawkins on Sat, 11/05/2024

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I removed the tank and discovered that although the cylinder head steady was securely bolted to the frame with nylocs,  it had movement at the cylinder head bolt - there was one big washer on top but nothing to take up the slanting space between head and bracket. I put a big washer in for now and tightened things up. Should there be some rubber bushing in there?

 


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