It can be tricky trying to take apart your motorcycle’s rearview mirror since it can have a lot of small parts that could easily break. Therefore, you want to make sure that you’re careful when you’re taking off an old mirror and replacing it with a new mirror. Luckily, with enough patience and with the right tools, you can easily take apart your side view mirrors with ease.
In this quick guide, you can easily learn about all the ways that you can easily remove your mirror and replace it with a new one. Along with learning how to take it off the mirror mount, you can also find out how to easily take apart rear-view mirrors.
What is Motorcycle Mirror glass
A motorcycle mirror is a small mirror on one or both sides of your bike, which gives you a better view of everything behind you. Usually, a bike will have two of them, one on each side, which lets them see the traffic behind them. It is safe to say that these rearview mirrors are essential to the safety of riders.
How is a new mirror important to a rider
These small mirrors will show riders what is behind them, ensuring that they don’t have to look back. Some riders could lose their balance when they turn to look back, or they could lose their concentration and crash their vehicle.
So if it happens to break or crack, you need to fix the issue and get a replacement mirror glass as soon as possible. And despite what you may hear from other people, fixing this issue is not difficult and you can easily attach your new sidemirror through factory installed methods.
Mirror Assembly: Taking apart a motorcycle mirror
Before you can attach the new mirror to your bike, you need to remove the old one first. These mirrors can be very sensitive, so you want to be carful when you take it apart.
Loosening the Bolts
The first step to taking off your motorcycle mirror glass is to first loosen for the fixed mirror stand. After you loosen the bolts, which could require a wrench, you need to carefully pull the mirror and remove it from the handle.
Detach Necessary Wires
The next step to removing a view mirror is by disconnecting the wires that connect the mirror to the bike’s electrical system. It is possible that the side mirror has a plug or connector, which you can easily disconnect and reconnect to the new mirror.
Remove any other screws or bolts
Finally, all you have to do is remove any other screws that are holding the mirror in place. Some bikes will have a Phillip’s head screw underneath the handle bars, which is holding the mirror’s frame in place.
What should you do if a Rear view mirror glass is broken
If you have a broken rear view mirror, the best course of action is to replace it. When you follow the steps above, you can easily take the mirror off the side view mirror with ease. Even after tightening screw beneath, you can easily unscrew it and remove the housing from the mirror ball joint. You can find the mirror ball joint connection located at the end of the housing.
Removing the Housing
Once you take off the rear view mirror, you next have to take off the plastic shroud that is covering it. This housing can be very simple to take off, since it is just a matter of taking out a few screws.
Removing the mirror glass attachment
After you take off the housing, you will be able to see the attachment that is holding the rearview mirror in place. Usually, a view mirror will have screws surrounding it that are holding it in place.
Simply take off the screw inside and you can gain access to the mirror glass. Remember to follow this exact method, except in cases where the mirror attaches directly.
Stay away from DIY techniques
And even though the housing inside can vary depending on the manufacturer, you should follow proper instructions for a solid connection, instead of using DIY methods. When you search for these DIY methods, you see that they do more harm than outright replacing the mirror.
Putting it back together
When simply follow the steps mentioned above in reverse to easily put the mirror you replace back in its housing. Try not to move the mirror unnecessarily, and make sure the tightening screw inside, screws down fully.
All of these principles apply to a rearview mirror as well. After you manage to put it back together, you can even use the flip tab to adjust the angle on your mount. The adjusted angle is always subjective, so you don’t necessarily have to ask people around for the right way to put it. Just make sure it’s not blocked by the windshield and you can see an oncoming car, pothole or other obstruction out the window once the mirror has been adjusted with your screwdriver.
How to clean your fixed mirror stand
Along with having to replace a mirror, you also need to clean the mirror and lubricate the ball joint often. If you don’t, the mirror rod will become stiff, and it can be difficult to adjust the mirror or figure out how to make it stick to a specific angle unless you’re using glue.
Cleaning your fixed mirror
A simple soft cloth will often be enough to clean a mirror from dust. However, if it is very dirty, you might have to use a slightly soapy solution to clean it.
Lubricating your mirror
The next step to ensuring that your mirror is ready for use is lubricating it and making sure that you can adjust it with ease.
How to adjust the angle of a motorcycle mirror
You can easily adjust the angle of a motorcycle mirror by just loosening the bolts on its sides and then making the necessary adjustments. When you’re done, just tighten the bolts again, and the mirror won’t move anymore. While there are circumstances where you would like to adjust the mirror on the fly, loosening the bolt first is a good safety measure.