Project Odd Duc: Make it work

 I think I like "Project Odd Duc", we'll see.  

So...the factory mirrors, in all their rubber accordion glory, are getting pretty impotent in their old age. This is a common problem, often remedied with hose clamps, loctite, and other mods.  Others pull the factory mirrors and opt for bar-end style.  I've never had anything but factory, mounted on the levers style mirrors, until now.  I picked these up from Kemimoto via the AtoZ store, the price was good and they have some good reviews.   Initial inspection looks good, the build quality looks to be beyond their small price point, and the install should have been super easy.  Should have been. 

But there is something about these clip-ons (Woodcraft  I think) that kept spitting out the expansion nut. Had I been using any other type of handlebar or clip-on, this wouldn't have been an issue. No fault of Kemimoto, their supplied hardware was not the problem.

So, with the stock option out of the picture, I tried to come up with other solutions. Flying by the seat of my pants and creative problem solving has become a garage honed skill.  My first plan was to use the hardware from an old set of bar ends, but that didn't work.  As frustration mounted and thoughts of returning them started to sprout, I thought about printing a new rubber expansion piece.  Then my friends, then I remembered that I try to never throwaway a piece or part that may be useful in the future.  Yes, this is a reoccurring theme.

By mixing both the factory bar end, hardware from the old bar-ends, and a 3D printed flexible riser, I was able to make a working solution.  Add a little hairspray in the tube for slip-n-grip, and we were all set.  I may end up printing a wider version of this riser for added security.

This is one of the pieces from the neon pink windscreen install on the Hurricane!

Small but looking good.

Whenever my wheel spacer gets here, I can get the 900SS back on the road.  We're going to replace the front tire this weekend, and that should be the last real work for this season, the rest is riding. 

Ok...well, that's not true.  Somewhere between here and Bravaria, is a set of Hepco Becker luggage racks for my bike.  On those racks, I thinking about mounting my yellow Pelican cases. This requires a swap to LED turn signals. That requires replacing the warning lights on the dash with LEDs (all except the low fuel light), and wiring in resistors. Hell, while I'm in there, I might as well replace the dash lights with LEDs, and the brake light (add a flasher module as well). It just keeps snowballing but garage time is awesome.

Or, you know, I could keep it simple and pick up some soft luggage for the rack, to pack up for my planned trip this autumn. We'll see.  Soft luggage has it's benefits, but you can't put stickers on it. =\   Heated grips will get installed at some point too, can't live without those. 

Looking forward to looking rearward with these mirrors.  I'll report back but so far, I'm impressed with their build quality.  

- stay safe out there