Valheru Rides!

So after generally positive experiences with the last touring upgrade I had given the bike (the pegs) I made up my mind to get a set of the touring mirrors. I was initially a bit reluctant due to them being black and not chrome in line with a lot of the rest of the bikes effects. I decided to just get over that in the name of progress and so Mrs V picked us up a set in autumn this year.

So, how did I get on?

In my usual spaghetti western style of assessing just how good these are (or aren’t).

The good.

The construction feels solid and right away you can see & feel the difference between these and the stick mirrors. The fitment was fairly damn simple (even for me), though to adjust the angle on the stem, this will require a hex key not of the same size as the I’ve included in your RE toolkit. This didn’t really bother me as I am going to assume any would-be owner should have at least one kit laying around. I bought a lot of tools prior to ownership (most currently unused) so a thirty second dig was all it took.

The mirror itself is actually slightly smaller, though this makes no difference at all as the reflection is clearer, appears to enlarge the image better Vs the stock models. I also note that it isn’t as inset as the stick mirrors, I’m hoping this means it won’t accumulate as much dust as the aforementioned.

On the vibration front, which was a huge consideration from me after my Lake District trip, I can report that so far it is completely vibration free. Obviously I’ll need to test it in a greater range of environments just to be sure 😉😉😉.

While vibration on a single is something you accept, we all know that one rider who claims they’ve never had any at all and their stock mirrors are as unmoving as an indicator stalk in East Anglia….

The bad.

I’ll be honest the black coating seems to chip really easily. Due to the general state of disrepair of the local roads, stones/gravel & assorted debris are all a fully accepted part of my commute and any detour or cheese procurement. I already have several small scratches/chips from debris that have been deflected from the road or the screen. I’m a bit worried about rust starting in these areas and so the BDX is being applied to these areas just in case.

The ugly.

The threads don’t wind down quite as far as the stock mirrors and don’t come with a rubber sheath which pulls down over the connection so you have these short areas of exposed thread. I’m trying to find a solution, if all else fails a particularly nice gent on Twitter has offered to 3d print us something. The thread looks about 10mm so I doubt this will be too difficult to do.

In conclusion.

A worthwhile accessory considering all the obvious benefits Vs the stock model, with the cost of practically everything these days, they won’t exactly break the bank.