El Cheapo Bastardo

[Oca Grassa]

I’ll freely admit up front that in many respects I am cheap. El Cheapo Bastardo. I got my Norge for just $1800. As you might imagine, for that price a modicum of elbow grease would be required to get it up to snuff. Well…maybe somewhat more than a modicum. A plethora maybe an over statement though.

One thing that bothered me from the time I 1st rode the bike as its new custodian, is the mirrors. I wrongly presumed them to be OEM and therefore, a bit more money than I wanted to put in it at this particular time. There’s other stuff that I think much more important.

Friday I had enough. The right mirror folded in with the normal wind blast that comes with 65 mph cruising. After I got home, I decided to check and see what the P/N for the right mirror was. The idea being I’ll replace it 1st.

However, when I looked, expecting to see a Guzzi logo & part number along with “made in Italy” all I saw was this:



Looks to me like eBay or Amazon Chinesium specials. El Cheapo Bastardo. That in mind, I found a set on Amazon with a similar shape for $13.99. Done. Order placed Friday night after dinner.

Mirrors arrived yesterday before dinner so installation had to wait until today. Comparison pic below….old one above:



Now installed, virtually indistinguishable from the old ones….only the new ones seem to have a “wide view” mirror. I’ll know for sure tomorrow if the El Cheapo Bastardo approach worked out. They are just mirrors after all

[MG_rider]

Italian rules of the road:

No contact, no harm taken.

What's behind you doesn't matter.

[n3303j]

I'm a fan of rectangular Harley Davidson Mirrors.
They are wide angle and give a good road view.
Everyone removes them and puts on something less suited to rear view  so they can be had for cheap. Take offs are cheap.
I cut the stem off the mirror leaving about 3" of straight portion.
I do the same with the 10 MM stem on the bike bars.
I then find aluminum tubing of the appropriate length that fits over these stubs and glue everything together with RC-680 Loctite.
Perfect mirrors of the exact length I want that stay where I put them.

[guzzisteve]

For a few dollars more you could have got the 1200 Sport mirrors that are premium and cheap.

[nmroadrunner]

https://youtu.be/fDaONrHK1f8?feature=shared

[blackcat]

For a few dollars more you could have got the 1200 Sport mirrors that are premium and cheap.

That is what I have on my Norge.

I mistakenly ordered what I thought were Napoleon mirrors for my CX and while on the Blue Ridge Parkway one of them broke off and were not to be seen again. Cheap junk does have it's downside.

[Motormike]

Yes, the first rule of Chinesium: Never use it on a structural part likes brakes, suspension,brackets etc. where a failure might kill you. Fine for small things like mirrors, lights and such.

[Moparnut72]

Back when Chrysler was going thru financial issues and were owned by Cerebus they were buying ball joints from a Chinese supplier. Failures were quite common especially on the Jeep Nitros. Chrysler went back to American sourced suspension parts. There have been quite a few motorcycle recalls lately. The manufacturers have taken to listing the companies supplying the parts who are usually Chinese.
kk

[Oca Grassa]

For a few dollars more you could have got the 1200 Sport mirrors that are premium and cheap.

Thanks for the tip @guzzisteve

I hadn’t thought of taking that route. However the ones I did get aren’t as cheap looking nor feeling as their actual price. After my commute today I’m pretty happy with them. Nice wide field of view, no flopping around when I get up to speed either.

The field of view is really so much better. Much easier to see if there is a faster bike splitting lanes behind me.(not a typical event at all, but I like to be aware)…or even a bike splitting up to the front at a traffic signal. Then if I’m able I can leave them room.

[SmithSwede]

Sorry, I don’t think you are a true cheap bastard in this crowd.  More like Thurston Howell III. 

You bought new mirrors to replace unbroken mirrors!!! Sacrilege. 

A true Guzzi-level cheap bastard would have cut rubber cement with some acetone, then drizzled that rubbery goo into the joints of the old mirrors.  Create enough friction so they stay put in the wind. 

 

[blackcat]

"The right mirror folded in with the normal wind blast that comes with 65 mph cruisin"

This is a problem with the OEM mirrors on my 97 Daytona and Sports of that era. The solution is to place the mirrors in the right position and then add a few drops of Super Glue on the swivel point. Depending on use, this has to be repeated a few times a year.

[Oca Grassa]

This is a problem with the OEM mirrors on my 97 Daytona and Sports of that era.

If I were dealing with a Daytona or Sport of that era, I’d maybe go that route….or put the OEM ones in the box the reproduction mirrors came in for safe keeping and ride with the repro mirrors.

However, I’m dealing with a 2008 Norge that now has pushing 34K on the clocks. I don’t much care what mirrors are on it, as long as they work for me in traffic. It isn’t pristine or anything. It has some scars. It can be a cantankerous thing when it wants.

Yesterday, after really liking the new mirrors, the LCD screen just up & quit. I pulled over into a random parking lot and shut the ignition off. Key back on, screen was fine. It was fine today too. IDK why. Character maybe. I’ve known characters like that in my life. There one minute gone the next only to show back up unannounced out of the clear blue. 😁

[Huzo]

I did this with mine years ago.


They now mount on the screen structure, not the handlebars.
Zero vibration, crystal clear. Still the originals.

[Oca Grassa]

I’ve asked myself the question several times now since I took ownership of the Norge. Why, with a fixed fairing did MotoGuzzi choose to still mount the mirrors on the bars/to the MCs?

That looks like a good solution to my question, even if it were never asked in Mandello. May I ask for further details? Pics of the mounting solution at the screen sub-structure possibly? That looks like something I may pursue in the near future.

[Huzo]

Yeah, no worries.
I made the new stems from bright 10 mm steel bar as you see after first putting the appropriate threads on the ends..
I did the bends hot, so as not to get cracking in the steel.
On the black screen mounts, I bored from the outside into the cavity and slid the nuts inside for a “blind” fixing arrangement.
Important to note, that the mirror stems have a rubber buffer slid onto them and this sits between the red (in my case), fairing and the screen in the down position.
Next time you’re out on your bike, put your hand on the screen mount and note how little vibration there is compared to the ‘bar ends.
That’s why they’re crystal clear.
I’ll take some detail shots and post the here a bit later…
For starters.








csv remove duplicates online

[Oca Grassa]

Huzo that looks clean and pro! Like it came that way from Mandello. (Tips imaginary cap) I LIKE it!!. Thank you so much for the description and pics!

I have been contemplating mirrors attached to the fairing like on every sport bike in my garage. Those all involve attachment points on the supporting subframe behind which obviously involves cutting holes in the plastic. Contemplating ONLY at this point.

A repaint is in the Norge’s future at some point so will probably address this mod then. Still trying to sort out in my head if a Tenni Green paint scheme would work. That’s a subject for another thread though.

Would really just like to break up the acre of silver in a classy manner. One that pays homage to past Guzzi racers would be a bonus.

[Pescatore]

I did this with mine years ago.

They now mount on the screen structure, not the handlebars.
Zero vibration, crystal clear. Still the originals.

Hey Huzo. Do you mean your bike came with chrome mirrors from factory?  Asking cuz my stock mirrors are black and I don't recall seeing other Norge with chrome mirrors.

[Huzo]

Hey Huzo. Do you mean your bike came with chrome mirrors from factory?  Asking cuz my stock mirrors are black and I don't recall seeing other Norge with chrome mirrors.

Yeah, mine were chrome from new.

[Huzo]

Hey Huzo. Do you mean your bike came with chrome mirrors from factory?  Asking cuz my stock mirrors are black and I don't recall seeing other Norge with chrome mirrors.

Bog stock original, mine on left.

[kballowe]

Sorry, I don’t think you are a true cheap bastard in this crowd.  More like Thurston Howell III. 

You bought new mirrors to replace unbroken mirrors!!! Sacrilege. 

A true Guzzi-level cheap bastard would have cut rubber cement with some acetone, then drizzled that rubbery goo into the joints of the old mirrors.  Create enough friction so they stay put in the wind. 

 

[blackcat]

If I were dealing with a Daytona or Sport of that era, I’d maybe go that route….or put the OEM ones in the box the reproduction mirrors came in for safe keeping and ride with the repro mirrors.

However, I’m dealing with a 2008 Norge that now has pushing 34K on the clocks. I don’t much care what mirrors are on it, as long as they work for me in traffic. It isn’t pristine or anything. It has some scars. It can be a cantankerous thing when it wants.

Yesterday, after really liking the new mirrors, the LCD screen just up & quit. I pulled over into a random parking lot and shut the ignition off. Key back on, screen was fine. It was fine today too. IDK why. Character maybe. I’ve known characters like that in my life. There one minute gone the next only to show back up unannounced out of the clear blue. 😁

I only posted this tip for any other cheap bastards who don't want to unnecessarily spend their hard earned money on new mirrors.

[PJPR01]

The original chrome ones vibrated like crazy.  The black ones, which are a dime a dozen on Ebay are much better quality.  I think I've got 4 lying in a drawer that I bought years ago...for maybe $20-25 each I think.

Scan Ebay and you'll find an endless source of them...cheap enough to still be El Cheapo ready!