replacing the mirrors (new to forum)

[mainer]

Hi all! New to the forum...

I'm an old scooter guy, no matter how much my motorcycle riding friends want me to convert. As a teen, I started riding on a 70s Vespa (a 100?) that belonged to my mom (my mom and dad had ridden Vespas in the 50s and 60s in Europe), upgraded to a Honda CB550k, stopped riding for 20 years after a horrible accident, started again a few years ago with a Honda Elite 80, then a 150D, then a 250 (lovely machine, honestly), and just recently got a People GT 300, which is an AMAZING ride. I love this thing! SO much fun to ride, WOW!

But I have an issue. I am 6'4" and the mirrors on all my scooters have always been too short to serve my needs well. Roughly 70% of the mirror is me, and I only see a little sliver of the lanes behind me. It doesn't matter how I adjust them, they're just too short for my size. (I have a similar problem in cars, with rooflines coming down far enough that don't see sky unless I slouch or lean forward. Sigh.) I'd like to extend the mirror arms in some fashion, and am asking for help with folks who know more than I do.

Any recommendations on where to find good, longer mirrors that help me solve this problem? I'd love to just screw the existing ones out and screw new ones in, keeping the mount in place, and would love suggestions on what the best options are. Thanks!

Michael

[JohnKiniston]

Hi Michael,

I've found instead of replacing mirrors it's easier to extend them.

This is the product I used on my Vespa, I haven't installed a set on my Kymco yet.

http://www.amazon.com/8mm-Motorcycle-Mirror-Riser-Extender/dp/B007NIPI86?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

I think the Kymco uses 10mm mirros not the 8mm ones my Vespa uses so try this set instead.

http://www.amazon.com/10mm-Motorcycle-Mirror-Riser-Extender/dp/B019IDMAAC/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1461866288&sr=1-1&keywords=10mm+riser

[boo]

I bought a GT about three years ago. I love it.
Have ridden motorcycles all my life.
When I purchased my GT, I wondered if I would
miss having a motorcycle. I don`t. The GT runs
so good, I don`t feel slighted at all.

ps: Mirror extenders will be the cheapest route.
Do some research and make sure on the thread
size for your scoot.
I may purchase some for my GT.

[mrmike]

I totally agree with Boo. I had a Harley for 13 years before giving it up because of the weight and my age. My first scoot was a People 150. Not enough top end for the interstates, so I upgraded to my 300GTI. Light weight, no clutch, 85mph, and 68 gpm. What Harley???

[mainer]

Hey folks,

Thanks for the input, but it seems that I can't actually detach the mirrors from the handlebars in order to use the handlebar extenders I bought. (Hm. Should have checked before I bought anything.) First, I can't actually get a socket down in there, what's up with that? Second, there's some sort of lock (?) on the nut. Even the guys at the dealership, where I finally turned for help, said that it really seemed like they didn't want people messing with the stem coming out of the handlebar.

So. Now I am looking for mirror stem extenders. Has anyone had luck finding them? My google-fu is lacking. I can find some that are probably the wrong size:

http://chromeglow.com/products/other-products/mirrors/mirror-hardware/2-mirror-stem-extenders/

http://www.kuryakyn.com/products/3973/mirror-stem-extenders

but I honestly don't even know how to get the right size for the mirrors. Thanks in advance for your help!

Michael

[CROSSBOLT]

Mainer, I just finished installing a Puig Urban windscreen on my wife's GTi300 which with their hardware moves the mirrors outboard about 1.5 ". You may want to investigate that option. Additionally, the mirrors ARE removable. It takes a 17 mm open end wrench. The hard part is skinning back the rubber-like fairings around the base of each mirror. Both are right-hand threads. Once you see how easy it is you can instruct your dealer "mechanics"! By the way, the mirrors are two of the three things the dealer set-up man has to install when the bike is removed from The crate!

Karl

[Trucker jay]

Yeap I would love to have back the 2 hours of my life fooling and oh the curse words from trying to get the top nuts loose. Pry up the rubber boots and 30 seconds later your done.

[mainer]

Thank you so much for the advice! It might have been two hours of my time by now, too... Guess I asked the wrong people at the dealer!