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Opinions needed for my mirror choice on old bike

Strawboss

Strawboss

Member
Member
I have my brothers 1980 BMW R-65, a great bike, quirky, slow, ponderous, stodgy, but a great bike. Anyhow, he had these bar end mirrors that bother me, you have to move your head to look at them, not what I'm used to, plus, they stick out like elephant ears, I know, I know, in my best Deutch accent "zis is dee vay it must be, form follows function and you vil learn to like it mein Herr". Well, after 2 years, these things gotta go. I got a choice, chrome round, chrome square, or black plastic molded round, it's an easy bolt on as all the holes are there on the switch plate housings. I'm pretty sure the round chrome were factory which I'm leaning towards. Any opinions, sly remarks, arguments, contradictions, and otherwise funny comments will be enjoyed.:)

 
Cool on the old Stodgy Bimmer! I think the older Airheads are better that many of the early Oilheads like the 97 I had. Simplicity. Now I like the banked in bar end mirrors that I make and run on my cafe/bobberish conversions because with the lower, not extreme, bars they give a clear field of view right under and through my armpit with just a downward glance of my eyes, no real head turning. Tat being said, I think the shorter stalk, chrome round ones will be most true to the original and look OK and give you good service. Would love to see pics of the bike!!
 
Mechanically, it's A-1, it has 88,000 miles on it, he was the original owner and maintained it better than he maintained his body so it is a real solid bike, it has a patina to it and a few scratches but it's all there and everything works. It sat for 2 years in an unheated garage with an open window, I walked in, turned the key, hit the starter and it fired right up! Anyway, nothing wrong with the bar ends, just not my style and I like just moving my eyes to see behind me as opposed to moving my head. I can post some pics later, I still use the 35mm film format and will need to load them up later.
 
I think for that type of motorcycle, the square mirror's would be best and best looking and probably closer to OEM.
 
My 1975 Z1 900 has black round mirrors. I didn't think BMW would follow Kawasaki. ;)

A friend of mine, a retired school teacher, restored a 1974 BMW for his step son. He did a beautiful job being meticulous with even the small details. I should have paid attention to the mirrors on it I guess. Lou presented this motorcycle to his step son, the step son said there had to be something wrong with the bike and would not take it. It broke Lou's heart and I should have bought the thing for 4 grand asking price. Paint was very nicely done in black and gold. I honestly think 4 grand was a price just for me. It was worth more than that I'm sure being the condition it was in. He bought the last remaining correct tac in America for it as an example. Not sure of the size because the BMW's from that era look all the same to me.
 
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Tim R said:
My 1975 Z1 900 has black round mirrors. I didn't think BMW would follow Kawasaki. ;)

A friend of mine, a retired school teacher, restored a 1974 BMW for his step son. He did a beautiful job being meticulous with even the small details. I should have paid attention to the mirrors on it I guess. Lou presented this motorcycle to his step son, the step son said there had to be something wrong with the bike and would not take it. It broke Lou's heart and I should have bought the thing for 4 grand asking price. Paint was very nicely done in black and gold. I honestly think 4 grand was a price just for me. It was worth more than that I'm sure being the condition it was in. He bought the last remaining correct tac in America for it as an example. Not sure of the size because the BMW's from that era look all the same to me.
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Sorry to hear about your friend Tim. I can imagine how he felt. Just sad.
 
Sorry to hear about your friend Tim. I can imagine how he felt. Just sad.

That was several years ago. Today Lou has brain cancer. I went to visit this summer and he was not home. His dog didn't bark which was odd. His car in the car port was covered in dust, obviously it had not been driven for awhile. A neighbor lady said he was in the hospital but did not know which one. I know he was close with a daughter but that is all. His wife left him to go find herself or something like that several years ago too.

Lou has a number of motorcycles, some I didn't know of. Like a Montessa. I got my first look at a Norton Tiger in his garage. Lou was good at searching for BMW's and getting them fairly cheap. t one point he had the k1000 I think that's the model number with the 4 cylinder on it's side.

He has a Yamaha 4 cylinder he wanted me to work on the carbs. Never got around to it. It wasn't like we lived in the same town. His house was almost 50 miles from mine.

Life is just too short. I'm glad I get along with all my kids....it's some ex son in law's I have trouble with.
 
Sad story, not sure why some people are like that, most times though we only hear one side of the story, but a bike like that would be something you'd hand down to a grandchild, as it is, I'm just the current caretaker of the bike now as it was just a lucky chance my dad happened by my brothers house and told me it was being cleaned out with a dumpster, I drove over and the guy asked if I wanted it as it was currently released for sale by whoever bought the house. He said he had no use for it and he found the manuals, title, keys and all records if I wanted them......Uh, yeah! I told my wife to sit on the bike and don't let anyone near it, I got my friends trailer and before anybody could change their mind, I rolled it up, secured it and drove away. The hard part was getting a title in my name for a bike not registered for 3 years from a dead family member with no will in Ohio. Not impossible but what a MAJOR PITA. As I was saying, his son wanted nothing to do with the bike, he's 26, I told him he gets it when I leave the earth.
 
That is both a sad, and great story! I had the fortune of rescuing a 1971 R60/5. Those R65s were the next leap in technology (relatively speaking). I have really enjoyed putting this old girl back on the road. To answer your question, if the gauges are round, I would go with round mirrors. Lots of airhead parts options for these old machines, I have spend a fair sum at Bob's BMW. https://www.bobsbmw.com/

I hope to someday share this bike with my kids, but at 21 and 18, they have not yet come to appreciate things in life. I don't fault them, It took me a long time to figure out what is important. It also took some scars, pain, and heartbreak as well. Enjoy, and good luck!

20200425_180958
 
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