Prior to taking ownership of the FTR I was researching mirrors and found it frustrating not being able see the stock hardware in detail to understand what kind of mirrors would fit, and what mounting solution would work best.
This article is intended to help fill that gap for any other owners, or soon to be owners
The following tools are needed for this procedure
- 14mm spanner
- H6 Hex
- Small flat-head screwdriver or similar for shimming
Stock mirror removal
Factory mirror removal requires a 14mm spanner.
Both mirrors are M10 right-hand threads.
Nothing special or difficult here.
Tarmac Falcon Mirrors
Unsure on exactly what I was going for, I ended up with a set of reasonably cheap mirrors the dealer had on the shelf. They’re — OK. Just.
Not the best quality, a bit vibey — but a good experiment nonetheless and validation on investing in a better set down the track.
The stock bar-end weights are of high quality with good construction and fasteners. I wanted to retain these as the mounting hardware if possible.
They are worked on with an H6 Hex.
Although suitable, the supplied mounting hardware with the Tarmac kit was again — OK. Just.
Installation is achieved with a common flange mechanism to expand the inner cylinder for friction fitment internal to the handlebars. The stock fastener uses a more robust split cam-bolt method to apply more surface area and force.
A better solution.
The important piece here is the plastic collar (part1: central) which is used as a spacer for the mirror arm. In turn, it sits on the bar-end (part2: left) inner shaft.
Measuring both the supplied hardware and the stock bar-end, it seemed possible to make a smaller diameter spacer to sit inside part1 above which would allow me to mount securely to the preferred, stock, bar-ends. Let’s see.
Tarmac bar-end
Stock bar-end
Luckily, I also ride pushbikes and 22mm is a very common seatpost diameter.
I had an offcut of an aluminum post which proved to be suitable.
Two spaces made and sanded down, now onto press fitting and mounting.
Spacer press fit into Tarmac collar (part1)
To ensure correct fitment and clear, unfouled, operation of the throttle, I measured the clearance between grip and stock bar-end. The stock bar-end has an internal smaller stop which prevents it from mating flush to the grips.
Shimming to ensure throttle clearance
When mounting with the modified stock bar-end, which included the improvised mirror collar; a small screwdriver became the perfect shim.
Final assembly and adjustment and the mirrors are now in place.
As noted, there is certainly room for improvement on the quality of the mirrors themselves, however the overall aesthetic is streaks ahead whilst also providing better vision with a wider field of view (albeit with vibrations under acceleration).
Next project — tail tidy/fender eliminator.
Thanks for reading.
— — Motocroft.
