Double Take Mirror- a new (and better) Dual Sport Mirror

[snooker]

Originally Posted by neduro

All the BMW's I was able to inspect were 10 x 1.5, which included new twins (parallel and opposed).

FYI, my '07 BMW Xcountry has the more common 1.25 (fine) pitch not 1.5.

[Rapid Dog]

...this simple mirrorage gets my vote, they work surprisingly well for the street and you don't have to F around when heading into the bush.
No brainer adjustment. Just wish I'd thought of this system first...

They passed the crash test too.

[DougZ73]

yeah, I had mine on all day on a saturday ride..granted, folded in, not in use....but it held up fine..against all kinds of branches and what not.

Not a great shot, but it's on there. I used my little 1.5" arm I had...seems like it will work perfect.

[hb7]

These stock KTM folding mirrors started the trend.....
I wonder if you ever tried them? before making yours.

[Motoriley]

Got my mirrors today and they fitted up great on the stock controls. They even fit in with the "look" of the bike. One thing I would like to mention is that the mirrors are solid. The plastic used feels heavy and strong. I've used a lot of RAM products in the past and have been very happy. These mirrors feel at least as high quality if not better. Will be ordering a set for my 800 soon.

[Rapid Dog]

Originally Posted by hb7

These stock KTM folding mirrors started the trend.....

...you are joking, RIGHT?

[neduro]

Originally Posted by hb7

These stock KTM folding mirrors started the trend.....
I wonder if you ever tried them? before making yours.

Yes, they are the prime reason why I thought something had to be done.

They are the best, IMO, of the previously existing options. They aren't terrible mirrors, although they tend to give you a great view of your elbow.

But they break, sometime without even a crash to cause it. Usually it's at the little ball end up by the mirror, or at the hinge- in any event, they can take very little punishment before they give up.

And, they don't get out of the way that well, even when folded they are still sticking up enough to provide both a reasonably sized target and a decent sized lever that can break the perch.

I think I've gone through about 10 sets over the years. Based on my testing, I believe my mirror would have survived every single one of the situations that broke those- In other words, I'd still be on my original set.

Out of curiosity, where did you source the adapter that allows mounting that mirror on the right hand side?

[hilslamer]

Originally Posted by hb7

These stock KTM folding mirrors started the trend.....
I wonder if you ever tried them? before making yours.

Those mirrors, while honoring the "folding" moniker, just barely meet it and pale exponentially in comparison to the RAM mounted Doubletake mirror. With those mirrors, the plastic that the hinge is made from is super brittle, especially at low temperatures. The hinge is splined on the thrust/face of each piece, which over even a few swings of the hinge becomes worn and subsequently loose...you tighten the bolt, and those splines continue to wear until only friction holds it in place, and poorly at that. The mass of the arm(steel stalk) worsens this problem still(even when new); over rough ground or on a hard jump landing they simply flop down. A crash on the right hand side of the bike, for example, leaves them both flopped to the right and often the hinges broken, IME.

Yes-they fold. But the hinge is planar, and this means that often when you have the hinge oriented in the threaded socket ont he master cylinder mount so that the mirror swings into the right place(forward of the bar/grip so as not to interfere with the rider while standing as is often the case on an Adventure bike), when it is "folded"(or more adeptly described as "swung in") it often obstructs the GPS, spedometer, or other tripleclamp-mounted acutrements.

As a last criticism, the mirror and it's plastic housing itself is actually mounted to the outer end of the stalk on a balljoint - fantastic for "aiming" of the mirror but since it is simply a friction fit with the ball inside a plastic socket, each adjustment wears the socket and in some cases, due to mold issues I can only assume, they come right out of the box with a really loose balljoint - to the extent that above ~60 mph the mirror peeeeels back due to wind blast. This problem is exacerbated by temperature(heat); whereby it softens the plastic bearing surface and makes a loose balljoint looser.

Yes, I am glad to be done with those mirrors. Sold them off for 20 bucks.

Originally Posted by Rapid Dog

...you are joking, RIGHT?

LOL...I hope so...

[DougZ73]

I am pretty sure the Double take mirror could double as a shovel if you really got the bike stuck. Yeah, they are that sturdy.

I think the key to how well the concept works, is not the folding idea itself, its the use of the Ram mounts, which most already have on their bikes, or spares around, and how easy it is use everything as a whole.

[SST]

Hi Ned,

What a great idea! I have had three KTM foldung mirrors break just from vibration and pounding.

I just ordered a pair of Double Takes for my 950 SE.

-Bob

[CHRIS_D]

Originally Posted by hilslamer

Those mirrors, while honoring the "folding" moniker, just barely meet it and pale exponentially in comparison to the RAM mounted Doubletake mirror. With those mirrors, the plastic that the hinge is made from is super brittle, especially at low temperatures. The hinge is splined on the thrust/face of each piece, which over even a few swings of the hinge becomes worn and subsequently loose...you tighten the bolt, and those splines continue to wear until only friction holds it in place, and poorly at that. The mass of the arm(steel stalk) worsens this problem still(even when new); over rough ground or on a hard jump landing they simply flop down. A crash on the right hand side of the bike, for example, leaves them both flopped to the right and often the hinges broken, IME.

Yes-they fold. But the hinge is planar, and this means that often when you have the hinge oriented in the threaded socket ont he master cylinder mount so that the mirror swings into the right place(forward of the bar/grip so as not to interfere with the rider while standing as is often the case on an Adventure bike), when it is "folded"(or more adeptly described as "swung in") it often obstructs the GPS, spedometer, or other tripleclamp-mounted acutrements.

As a last criticism, the mirror and it's plastic housing itself is actually mounted to the outer end of the stalk on a balljoint - fantastic for "aiming" of the mirror but since it is simply a friction fit with the ball inside a plastic socket, each adjustment wears the socket and in some cases, due to mold issues I can only assume, they come right out of the box with a really loose balljoint - to the extent that above ~60 mph the mirror peeeeels back due to wind blast. This problem is exacerbated by temperature(heat); whereby it softens the plastic bearing surface and makes a loose balljoint looser.

Yes, I am glad to be done with those mirrors. Sold them off for 20 bucks.




LOL...I hope so...

Went through 2 of these mirrors myself. One of them broke because they hit a branch on the trail the other from a crash on the dirt. I replaced them both with Neds mirrors and I'm pretty sure this problem is now solved.

[testa]

i got a set for my wr250r. thanks ned. i did my first ride with them saturday and they worked like a charm. i could see what was behind me on the pavement and they took some good hits from branches in the dirt without a problem. highly recommended.

[hb7]

I have ~60k miles on one set of KTM folding mirrors, no issues.
I also tried this adjustable length stem. Perhaps you guys are just riding harder than most. Of course, some things break but 10 pair of mirrors?
What did the bike look like ? I like my bikes to much to beat on them that hard.

[Krabill]

Originally Posted by neduro

Out of curiosity, where did you source the adapter that allows mounting that mirror on the right hand side?

The WR250R comes with an adapter off the showroom floor for the right side.



Got my mirrors just a couple days after placing my order. They look great

[Rapid Dog]

Originally Posted by hb7

...60k miles on one set of KTM folding mirrors...

...duoditto what hilslamer said, it's nice to have an engineering mind amongst us.

Those 'other' mirrors whave no longevity for offroad use. Yes, they fold, and look fairly nice, but the design and execution (manufacturing) are not up to par, period, in contrast the Doubletakes' which are simple and rugged, and made with reliable and tested parts (made in USA).