Lawman Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 I purchased some GS mirrors from a fellow member intending to put them on my 05 RT. Got them today and they don't fit. The end of the stem is too short to go all the way through the hole in the grips.. Do GS mirrors not fit on the R1200RT? Link to comment
T__ Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 Billy, the threaded part doesn’t have to be very long to go through the switch housings.. It does take a special nut (the one shown is homemade) as the nut is a barrel type that goes up into the recess in the bottom of the switch housing.. Two possible problems you might have: One is the mirror stem isn’t going down into the top of the switch housing far enough to allow the mirror to seat on the stepped shoulder.. (try pushing & twisting the mirror into the housing farther) Or, you are not using the special nut on the bottom.. The mirror shown in the picture is an old R mirror & it fit on my 1200RT just fine.. Twisty Twisty Link to comment
Whip Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 You had the same problem with your brothers bike. Link to comment
Lawman Posted September 8, 2009 Author Share Posted September 8, 2009 Okay, These threaded stems are too large to go through the metal plate near the bottom of the switch housing..That's very obvious when I try it from the bottom side and when I look up into it from the bottom with a flashlight when trying to put them in from the top..I'm hesitant to drill the hole larger..I'm puzzled because I did this once before years ago and I didn't have to drill anything..Is it possible there are differences in the stems of the GS mirrors? Link to comment
T__ Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 Billy, that drilling the hole out slightly seems to be a hit or miss deal.. On my 1200RT I didn’t have to drill a thing but on a friends 06 1200RT I had to enlarge the L/H hole slightly.. It seems that those holes are not all the proper size from the factory.. You might be able to just turn the mirror clockwise & screw the threads through the hole or you might have to drill it out slightly (to about 8mm) Twisty Link to comment
Lawman Posted September 8, 2009 Author Share Posted September 8, 2009 thx..okay....definately gonna have to drill...Here hold my beer... Link to comment
99Roadster Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 The right mirror will be tight but it should fit without modification. Try twisting it in as though tightening in place. The right mirror shaft will need to be ground down a bit above the threads to clear the opening. Link to comment
Lawman Posted September 9, 2009 Author Share Posted September 9, 2009 Sumpim ain't right...I drilled out both holes enough to get the stems through. The curve in the mirror shaft is too close to the bottom of the stem to be able to position the mirrors in such a way they will work..The only way the threaded stem is long enough to go through the hole is if I turn the mirror shaft straight away from the rider's position and obviously that ain't gonna work..I've done this before years ago on two R1200RT's and did not have this much trouble..These are the round BMW mirrors and came with additional short stems with a nut attached that I screwed off the stems and didn't think I'd need..Are these the same mirrors others are using???? The part number of the mirrors I have is 51162307769 Link to comment
markgoodrich Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 These are the ones I put on my RT: http://www.ascycles.com/detail.aspx?ID=1792 You'll need the nut and washer, too. BUT: the tapered nut may now be a problem, since you've drilled the holes out; be sure you can return the mirrors if you can't get them to tighten down. I got mine at Lone Star, Billy. Link to comment
Lawman Posted September 9, 2009 Author Share Posted September 9, 2009 What a mess..Didn't know there were so many different GS mirrors..The ones I bought before that worked were part #51162307769. When I look at the parts fisch now I see the following listed for the GS mirrors: #51167667717 up to 12/05 #51167697241 12/05 - 11/06 #51167699791 12/05 - 11/06 #51167699791 11/06 up These overlap..Makes no sense to me but what I have ain't gonna work.. Link to comment
Lawman Posted September 9, 2009 Author Share Posted September 9, 2009 Mark, Thanks.. Those look nice...After buying GS mirrors 3 years ago and then pitching them and buying spot mirrors and pitching them and recently buying mutivex mirrors and not being satisfied with them either I think I'm throwing the towel in on mirrors..One more mirror purchase and I'm gonna need a bailout... Link to comment
T__ Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 Billy, you might need a spacer on the mirror stem between the step on the stem & the threads.. I had to make spacer to put he R bike mirrors on my 1200RT.. How about if you install the mirrors (any way you can),, then install the nut about 2-3 turns,, the pull up on the mirror stem.. Can you get the stem to the position you want then? If so you need spacers.. Twisty Link to comment
Lawman Posted September 9, 2009 Author Share Posted September 9, 2009 I don't have a nut that will go on the stem when the stem is in place..The nut is too large to go up in the hole from the bottom. Where did you get those nuts in the picture? I guess what I'm trying to say is that I need some nuts as small as yours..... Link to comment
T__ Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 Billy, you saying I have small nuts? I made those nuts from metal tire valve stem retainer nuts (happened to have them in my junk drawer).. Just threaded (tapped) them to 8mm X 1.25 The proper BMW nuts are quite expensive (2 Special nuts__ 51162328287 = $14.40).. That was a while ago so maybe more than $14.40 for the two nuts now.. These nuts go up in the switch holes from the bottom & tighten with an allen wrench.. Twisty Link to comment
Lawman Posted September 9, 2009 Author Share Posted September 9, 2009 Thanks.. I'll have to spring for the high dollar small nuts cause my mechanical ability is right up there with my computer skills... Thanks for your help..I would have never figured out a solution to my too large nut problem.. Link to comment
Redbrick Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 thx..okay....definately gonna have to drill...Here hold my beer... I had the same problem with my '05 and just started spinning the mirror and screwing in on threading it into the bottom part of the mount.....Put the nut on supplied with the mirror.......No problems a few years later... Link to comment
Ken H. Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 After buying GS mirrors 3 years ago and then pitching them and buying spot mirrors and pitching them and recently buying mutivex mirrors and not being satisfied with them either I think I'm throwing the towel in on mirrors..One more mirror purchase and I'm gonna need a bailout... Well another option to drain your wallet is the R1200ST mirrors. They fit the same and have a wider oval shape. It's what I have on our GS. Link to comment
Lawman Posted September 10, 2009 Author Share Posted September 10, 2009 After buying GS mirrors 3 years ago and then pitching them and buying spot mirrors and pitching them and recently buying mutivex mirrors and not being satisfied with them either I think I'm throwing the towel in on mirrors..One more mirror purchase and I'm gonna need a bailout... Well another option to drain your wallet is the R1200ST mirrors. They fit the same and have a wider oval shape. It's what I have on our GS. The ST mirrors look much better..Wish now I had tried them but not sure they would have fit any better..I went with the GT mirrors because I had used them once before and like Redbrick I was able to get them on but these are a different part number as they came off a 2008 GS and seem to fit differently as the stems on these seem to be even shorter than the stems on the other GS mirrors I used. Right now I have them on and do not have nuts on the bottom of the stems. I just put them in with the mast facing forward and pulled them back and around into proper position. They are tight and so far have stayed tight..I've considered dropping a little epoxy down in the hole but so far it hasn't been necessary and I'm hesitant to do that anyway..Time will tell if they stay tight of vibrate loose but it sure is nice being able to actually see behind me.. Link to comment
tallman Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Do I have to read the thread to vote? If not, I vote yes. Link to comment
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