'89 1100 Kat Mirror repair / replacement

[Retro]

I'm either getting old or lazy, or a combination of the two, but I can't find anywhere on KR where someone has repaired mirrors on an 1100 Kat or found a suitable replacement that doesn't require an engineering degree to make them fit.


The left mirror on my '89 1100 Kat has something heavy in the housing (anti-vibration weight?) that appears to have become detached, and makes and awful "clunk" sound every time I hit even a small pothole in the road, and on rough roads it sounds like I have a rock tumbler mounted on my bike.
I removed the mirror from the bike and rotated it over in my hands and can hear whatever it is "clunk" against the inside, but can't see any way of disassembling it to see if I can reattach or repair whatever it is.
(BTW, these mirrors must weigh about 5 pounds each!)


Can this even be done?


If not, are there any suitable replacement mirrors around that won't require a loan to buy them?
I bought some cheapo Chinese mirrors off of fleabay for about $36 that said they fit my bike. And after modding the crap outta the brackets to try to make them fit, they were still useless. I got what I paid for. :-l

[retcol]

I'm thinking of removing mine because they keep cracking the fairing around the mounting point. Like you said, they are so heavy and put too much pressure on the fairing. I thought maybe bar end mirrors would be better, have you thought about that?

[Nut-Nut]

I have never heard of anyone fixing anything on those aside from replacing the large pivot with a bolt and nut due to it coming loose.... i do not recall anyone ever having the problem you described.

[Retro]

I'm thinking of removing mine because they keep cracking the fairing around the mounting point. Like you said, they are so heavy and put too much pressure on the fairing. I thought maybe bar end mirrors would be better, have you thought about that?

Unfortunately the bar end mirrors I've seen wouldn't work for me, because they're too small to really see anything out of and because I split lanes during rush hour to avoid being baked by the heat from all the cars.

[bccap]

I'm not sure if it would work on these large mirrors, but on the GS mirrors I saw a trick where you could drill a small hole and spray in some of that insulating foam stuff plug it with a golf tee til it hardened. I worked on one of my mirrors but on the other I sprayed in too much and it exploded. Man there was that crap everywhere ! Would have made a funny video if someone had a camera LOL.....

[Retro]

I'm not sure if it would work on these large mirrors, but on the GS mirrors I saw a trick where you could drill a small hole and spray in some of that insulating foam stuff plug it with a golf tee til it hardened. I worked on one of my mirrors but on the other I sprayed in too much and it exploded. Man there was that crap everywhere ! Would have made a funny video if someone had a camera LOL.....

Great idea!
It already has two "drain holes" on the underneath side, so I could just gently squeeze some of that foam insulation in there and see if it does the trick.


When I get a chance to do it (I have a "honey-do" list a mile long right now), I'll post a follow up on whether it works or not.

[Retro]

Follow up on mirror repair

Yesterday I finally got off my lazy butt and purchased a can of "Great Stuff" insulating foam sealant ($3.98 for a 16oz can at Homey Depot).
I got the one designated for cracks / gaps UP TO 1" because I have some home window frame insulation that I need to do and can use the remainder on.



I was half right on the mirror weight - it weighed in at 2.6 pounds on my postage scale prior to the foam insulation process!



I used a 13/64" drill bit to enlarge the drain holes on the bottom of the mirror housing so the applicator straw would slide in and out easily.


As you can see from the pictures, I should have tapped the mirror glass surface and sealed off the area surrounding it to prevent the excess from creating a mess.



The can states that any excess foam sealant can be cleaned off while it's still tacky with acetone, but I found it just smeared it around.
Instead I waited until it all dried to carefully remove the bulk of the excess using a fresh razor blade, and then a rag dipped in acetone with a little elbow grease to remove the rest. Total cleaning time was less than 10 minutes.



It dulled the paint a little, but I already had planned on repainting both mirrors anyway due to their already stone-chipped appearance.



Total weight after clean up and before repaint is only an additional 1.1oz, and I can live with that.


I went with a pre-emptive strike on the right side mirror just in case, except this time I tapped everything off as mentioned above.
I'll post on how that one comes out tomorrow after the sealant cures and I perform any needed clean up.