Darth Bling Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 Quite a while back, I bought some Kisan vecrtoLights from a member here at VFRD. They were nifty little lights that attached to the bottom of your mirrors. They acted as a second pair of running lights, as well as brakes lights and turn signals. They worked really well and I got a lot of comments on them. Kisan V-10 vectroLights Then sometime last fall, my right mirror got snapped off. It was at this point I decide to try out a set of aftermarket mirrors made by Thurn Motorsports. I've seen the mirrors on ebay a few times and decided the quality looked fairly decent. Huge mistake. I have to say that these mirrors are absolute crap! Thurn Mirrors The problem with the Thurn mirrors was the ball-and-socket joint was way too loose. Only after a few minutes of riding on the freeway, the mirrors would fold inward from the force of the wind. Even large bumps would knock the mirrors down. Even though the looks of the mirror eventually grew on me, I hated them. I tried tightening the socket joint up, but I ended up breaking the plastic on both sides. <_< Don't mind the dead bugs One good thing did come out of my purchase of the Thurn mirrors, and that would be the mirror mounts. As you can see in the picture above, the mounts provide a nice flat mounting area. And that's when it hit me... GSXR mirrors!! :goofy: GSXR mirrors! As you can see, the GSXR mirrors require a flatter surface to mount to than does our VFR. So, I figure I could remove the mounts from the GSXR mirrors and then bolt the mirror stocks directly to the Thurn mounts. The GSXR mounts After taken the little caps off the GSXR mirrors, I notice the mirrors used a hollow rivet to secure them to the mounting bolts. A few moments later, I'm using my power drill to drill out the rivets. It's also worth to note that the Thurn mounts don't use a standard or metric thread pitch. The bolt guru at my local hardware store said that it's some kind of special pitch only found on motorcycles and that I would have to special order the bolts. Hmm...no thanks; I've been dying to try out my new tap and die set. :P I ended up drilling the Thurn mounts out with a 3/8" bit and then tapping it to 7/16". I end up running the wires from the mirrors through a tiny notch in the mirror stock down on the end. The notch is where those little caps snap into. I figured that once I get everything torque down, I can secure the caps down with a sealant instead of snapping them back into place. I also had the grind down the head of the 7/16" bolt I used to mount the mirrors. The caps don't offer much room underneath them. I end up sticking the bolt into my drill and then spinning it on a metal file. Compare to the Thurn mirrors, the new GSXR mirrors are sharp!! And I thought I'd reinstall the stock mirror just to see a comparison. Comparison And of course, the new mirrors in all their glory!!!! :D Bling! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
house Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 :thumbsup: Man that is sweet!!! Glad I read this... was considering the Thurn mirrors. Not anymore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BIGTWAN251975 Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 looking good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AB-Oz Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 Good write-up and pix. I've watched a few gixxer mirrors go pretty cheap on fleabay, if i ever get rid of the dumbo ears on my Klingon I'll be going for these sort of mirrors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hurricane249 Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 You put parts from a stinky inline 4 on a V4 bike? BLA will have a stroke but I think they look great and I bet a lot of people copy that mod. :beer: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
house Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 You put parts from a stinky inline 4 on a V4 bike? BLA will have a stroke but I think they look great and I bet a lot of people copy that mod. :beer: LMAO! What, no Gixxer mirrors on Mr RC45? Mercy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VIPERon Posted April 18, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted April 18, 2007 Everytime I saw a Gixxer in a dealership I wondered if somebody here would attempt this mod...glad I waited and didn't get the Thurns...this one is definitely worth doing. Travis (Rivcyko), are you listening? :lol: :thumbsup: Man that is sweet!!! Glad I read this... was considering the Thurn mirrors. Not anymore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer dude Posted April 18, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted April 18, 2007 Nice mod looks great. Fixer is going to be so proud :thumbsup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KanadianKen Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 NIce modification!!! :thumbsup: SPeaking of Fixer - where is the Bastage? I thought he would be all over this one - his effects of getting a Stinky Inline 4 will resonate for years to come... MErcy - BLA must be having convulsions about mixing stock parts from an I4 onto a V4 bike...... :joystick: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest xerox Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 great, you f'n beat me to it. broke a mirror on my 98 and since i didnt want to deal with a company from across the pond, i decided to retro fit a pair from a gixxr...I am just waiting for them to arrive, i'm sure that since the seller charged 20bucks that they are going to send them snailmail...will post pics once they are on and ready Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hurricane249 Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 great, you f'n beat me to it. broke a mirror on my 98 and since i didnt want to deal with a company from across the pond, i decided to retro fit a pair from a gixxr...I am just waiting for them to arrive, i'm sure that since the seller charged 20bucks that they are going to send them snailmail...will post pics once they are on and ready Be sure to do a major "how to". I bet a lot of 5th Genners will be very interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer sportrider Posted April 18, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted April 18, 2007 Very nice mod! Well done. :beer: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest matt_c Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 YES, A LOT of 5th Genners will want to do this. Nothing like de-dumboing and updating the mirrors all at one time. Im game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer didit Posted April 18, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted April 18, 2007 Looks great. How is the visibilty to the rear? Just received my Lobster extenders and wanting to do the Rivcyko LED trick, but I have always liked the idea of the mirror signals. Wiring? Just simple inline splicing or some other trickery. Now you can swap out the lower lights for engine vents :beer: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Bling Posted April 18, 2007 Author Share Posted April 18, 2007 Looks great. How is the visibilty to the rear? Just received my Lobster extenders and wanting to do the Rivcyko LED trick, but I havealways liked the idea of the mirror signals. Wiring? Just simple inline splicing or some other trickery. Now you can swap out the lower lights for engine vents Visibility to the rear is similar to stock; the mirrors stick out about as far. Wiring wasn’t too bad. Just tapped into the wires from the lower lights. I wired the mirrors so they act as running lights, but when I hit the turn signal, they turn off and on in time with the regular turn signals. All you need to do is just ground the lights with the turn signal wires. Yeah, turning the lower lights into ram air vents has crossed my mind. :beer: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer oyama Posted April 18, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted April 18, 2007 Now you can swap out the lower lights for engine vents Yeah, turning the lower lights into ram air vents has crossed my mind. :beer: Would the ram air vents qualify as a NACA duct? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
house Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 Now you can swap out the lower lights for engine vents :huh: Yeah, turning the lower lights into ram air vents has crossed my mind. :goofy: Would the ram air vents qualify as a NACA duct? :D My daughter can make you some... click here to see 'em! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest xerox Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 well. I dont want to bite your thread, but I got my carbon look gsxr mirrors in yesterday, and well, to say the least, they aren't going on as easy as yours did for a 5th gen. oh, and the the wireing was the easy part. since i needed mirrors badly, I used the stock mounts and some bolts to secure them for a temp fix, but it looks like "monster Garage" not too ugly, but not smooth either. the wiring is 2 wire on the mirrors and 3 wire on the bike. very simple to solve, use i diode on both of the wires9 running and turn signal, and there you have it. I am getting some plexi next wekk, and I am going to make some better mounts( maybe even relocate my foglamps too) once I get it all cleaned up, I will def post it up. right now the mirrors are too high up, they need to be angled down to look better/be wider. oh well, it beats a broken mirror!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 767fixer Posted April 21, 2007 Share Posted April 21, 2007 Nice mod looks great. Fixer is going to be so proud :thumbsup: now i am just waiting for a 07 switchable mapped gsxr 1000 engine to be shoehorned into a 5th gen frame... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vanion2 Posted April 21, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted April 21, 2007 You have inspired me. I have seen the GSXR mirrors before and wondered if they could be mounted. And since I just found a pair for $61 after shipping off eBay you can pat yourself on the back for said inspiration. :thumbsup: I have Lobster's extenders but I plan on doing some drilling where necessary to make this work. I really need to quit reading all these posts...I spend way too much money on "upgrades". :idea3: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vfrcapn Posted April 21, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted April 21, 2007 well. I dont want to bite your thread, but I got my carbon look gsxr mirrors in yesterday, and well, to say the least, they aren't going on as easy as yours did for a 5th gen. oh, and the the wireing was the easy part. since i needed mirrors badly, I used the stock mounts and some bolts to secure them for a temp fix, but it looks like "monster Garage" not too ugly, but not smooth either. the wiring is 2 wire on the mirrors and 3 wire on the bike. very simple to solve, use i diode on both of the wires9 running and turn signal, and there you have it. I am getting some plexi next wekk, and I am going to make some better mounts( maybe even relocate my foglamps too) once I get it all cleaned up, I will def post it up. right now the mirrors are too high up, they need to be angled down to look better/be wider. oh well, it beats a broken mirror!! I'm very interested too..post up some pics, maybe we can get BLS to machine up some adapters/extenders to mount them nicely. Can use my bike as model.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vanion2 Posted April 25, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted April 25, 2007 Doh! I just got my GSXR mirrors in today and missed a mighty important detail. The mounts bolt downwards where the VFR's mounts side ways. :o Thus the use of the Thurn mounting kit making it easy for Darth Bling. Oh, the road to wisdom is a long one. No worries though, I have a ME buddy whom I think would be able to make a mount in no time for the right price. :salesman: I will update when/if this works out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VIPERon Posted April 25, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted April 25, 2007 If the mount turns out well, I'd be interested and help defray the cost if you'd consider producing a 2nd set. I've been thinking about doing this mod as well. Ron Doh! I just got my GSXR mirrors in today and missed a mighty important detail. The mounts bolt downwards where the VFR's mounts side ways. :o Thus the use of the Thurn mounting kit making it easy for Darth Bling. Oh, the road to wisdom is a long one. No worries though, I have a ME buddy whom I think would be able to make a mount in no time for the right price. :salesman: I will update when/if this works out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mechdziner714 Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 :rolleyes: I wanna see the 5th gen details Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Q-Dawg Posted April 28, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted April 28, 2007 You guys beat me to the punch! I've been sitting on my set of Gixxer mirrors for many weeks now, trying to solve the install issues. As mentioned before, the Thurn adapter would make this mod easy as it changes the mount to a top attachment point much like the Gixxer. Could have an adapter machined up; I think that is the easy part. What I haven't been able to figure out is what to do about the hollow rivet mount that the stock Gixxer mirror uses. Darth Bling, your post was vague about how you solved this issue. Can you please post a close-up picture or two, or a more clear explanation? It sounds like you just replaced the rivet with a standard bolt, but where the heck does the wiring run now? I thought of making a tiny hole in the cap and running wire an inch or two to the adapter, but that seems too "monster garage", considering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.