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Alternatives to stock 696 mirrors

9K views 18 replies 9 participants last post by  misterburns 
#1 ·
I am having a terrible time with my stock mirrors. It seems to me that if the stalk was about 3" higher, I would not need to post this question. I am 6'1 so maybe thats the problem? Anyway I cannot see anything in my left hand mirror. Well actually I get a nice look at my elbow. If I adjust it by loosening the pivot and pulling the mirror closer to me, it does improve. Problem is that the mirror is so low and close to my hand, I hit it when reaching for the bars. I also cannot turn the assembly towards the front wheel because it is connected to the clutch master cylinder. It really is a poor design in my opinion.

I am sure others have had this issue. How did you solve it? Who makes aftermarket mirrors for this bike?

I do NOT want my only option to be bar-end mirrors. I personally dont like them.
 
#5 ·
I still have not purchased mirrors, but I continue to study my options. I even went as far as purchasing new clamps that do not have the threads for the stalks.

I am thinking the Rizoma reverse retro in black are the best option. The only thing I dont like is they are normal glass, not convex. Plus they are somewhat expensive. What I dont want to do is get them and not be happy, forcing a sale at lesser price or they end up in my ever expanding parts bin!
 
#6 ·
Installation



I just picked up the reverse retro bar ends for my 696 as well. I havent had a chance to install them yet, but I opened the box and found terrible instructions and lots of pieces. Any instructions/hints for installation would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
 
#9 ·
I'm like you in that I don't like the stock mirrors (same issue with the elbows and vibration) or the width the CRG's add, so I just picked up some Rizoma Naked Prototype from Jeff at Monster Parts (posted above in the thread).

After getting them I'll post here how well they work or if there is an improvement over the stock mirrors. I know they look great from a design perspecitve, but the functionality seems to be split on them.
 
#11 ·
will do, they should be here in a couple days, so I'll toss some pics up as soon as they come in. I have seen them on a couple other bikes in the forum, and they look amazing (as pretty much all Rizoma parts do).

The bigger question is, can you see things in them :)
 
#13 ·
I finally had some time today to install the rizoma reverse retros and go for and hour ride and wow, 10 times better than stock. I'm 6'1" as well and the only way I could see out of the stock mirrors was to tuck my elbows in tight to my body. I was able to see fine when I tucked my elbows in but it's not very practical in every instance of riding. I love the tint on the reverse retros and am now able to see full range, even with the smaller surface area, all the time. Plus they totally change the look of the front end. (The stock mirrors dont flow with the bike at all). As far as the stock mirror clamps go I just flipped them upside down and you can't even tell the difference. IMHO it's foolish to pay $20-$30 for clamps w/o the threads when you can just turn them upside down. Rizoma's were a bit pricey but well worth it...highly recommended. I'll post some pics Monday if I can find my cord to connect my camera to my laptop.

DCrider, I am currently living in South Padre Island, TX due to a work assignment (hard to complain with all that snow back home, even though i grew up skiing in the alps) but when I come back east i will be in Arlington and looking for some more riders for some weekend trips. Let me know if you're interested.
 
#15 ·
Thanks for the review. A friend of mine actually got the reverse retros too, and I really like them. He basically said the same thing as you about them being crystal clear and such. I think I'm going to go ahead and order a set. That's a good tip for the stock clamps too. Now if I can only make a decision on what exhaust to get!

I'll definitely be up for some riding when the weather picks up. I've been going crazy with all this snow. Drop me a line sometime when you're back in the area.
 
#14 ·
Thank you killabeaz for your post, very helpful. I guess thats the way to go. Aesthetically i always thought the rizoma mirrors looked great, now that I know that they remain functional for someone 6"1 ill be ordering a pair soon.

I sure would be grateful if you could post a couple of pics though!

Glad they worked out for you.
 
#16 ·
I finally got around to installing the Naked Prototypes, and the weather cooperated this weekend so I have some road experience with them. In short, they are far better than the stock mirrors - greater adjustability, zero vibration, improved visibility. However, they do not provide the level of visibility the CRG's do.

I'm not a bar end guy b/c I don't like the width (although I'd guess the reverse retro's are less of an issue for me than the CRG's). If you prefer aesthetics over function, the prototypes look amazing IMO.

Overall, I'm very pleased with them, and happy I upgraded from the stockers. If you don't like the bar end option for whatever reason, I think the naked prototypes are as good as it gets.

Here is a link to see a bunch of pic's I snapped:
Linky

Here are three pic's if you don't feel like clicking through the 50 or so pics above...


 
#17 ·
They look great - I just installed Rizoma Ellise mirros last night - have not ridden yet (its winter) but a major improvement for vision and look.

This may be a dumb question - but why the revers thread on the RH mirror mount?? - do they actually think the wind would twist twist the mirror too tight or something?? I did not understand that one - I needed a impact gun to get the stock mirror off of that side.
 
#19 ·
Thanks...

Reverse Retros look really good too, and people seem to like the functionality. You'd be able to sell them for about the same price you pay for them if you ended up not liking them since they are so popular. I actually don't mind the way the stockers look so much, I just find them useless b/c of positioning and vibration.
 
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