Removing the mirror from the case

• • Here is a post on how to get the Silverwing's mirrors out of their case. This was on a Interstate model, and a fairing mirror. I don't know if it would work on a handlebar mirror or not.

• • Question:

I have a perfectly good stock Interstate fairing mount mirror except that the upper portion does not stay in place (it's usually the base portion that works loose).

There is a screw assembly similar to the one in the base where it can be tightened but I need to remove the glass mirror to access it.

Does anyone have any experience with removing and replacing the glass mirror in one of these mirrors?

I'm thinking of warm or hot water to heat and soften up the gasket to make the glass easier to remove and re-install.

Since it has the convex mirror, I prefer not to just break it and replace it with a flat piece.

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• • Answer:

I fitted the original convex mirror into an aftermarket shell. The gasket was hard plastic and didn't respond well to hot water softening. After attempting to finesse it out with a thin blade and seeing the gasket deform permanently I trimmed off what was visible on the outside with a utility knife and lifted out the intact original glass. I broke the worthless aftermarket mirror in its shell to get its gasket undamaged, inserted the factory mirror into it, lubed it all generously and popped it into the shell.

The screw/spring assemblies had been a problem on this bike for some time, even when tightened so the springs were fully compressed. Never could get them to stay in one place, they moved whenever someone brushed up against them, and jiggled inwards at speed, in wind gusts or when riding over washboard. Drilling out the threaded holes in the mounting posts and JB welding in a stud on the worst ones solved that problem.

Not exactly the answer to your question Greg.

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here is a picture of a different shell I picked up without the glass.

Resized to 91% (was 500 x 375) - Click image to enlarge

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• • Answer:

You can remove the mirror's glass on both original and aftermarket units. Tools required: 2" or 2.5" putty knife with thin blade; very hot water Place the mirror in hot water for a few minutes to soften the plastic gasket; The mirror is wider at the outer (furthest from the bike) rim than on the inner rim so the mirror plate slides out back through the smaller rim in the lengthwise direction of the support. While pushing gently but firmly on the support bracket away from the mirror, so as to slightly bend back the rim a little bit, insert your blade under the gasket on its full 2" width and pry up while keeping the pressure on the support bracket. The gasket will pop out and you can slide back the plate. Install in reverse manner. Hope these instructions are clear enough. I broke one mirror before I devised this technique but have done several since with no problems!

Thanks to John W the Mayor, greghoro, and gopher for the posts, and picture.

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Here is a post on how to restore the tension on the mirror mounts so they don't droop.

Interstater, on 20 December 2011 - 10:21 PM, said: I have posted this info before if you search under Interstate mirrors, but here is what I do...

Having owned several GL500s and several GL1100s I think I have some experience with the loose Honda original and weak EMGO aftermarket mirrors.

Yes, the mirrors can be tightened after you remove them from the fairing. To remove the mirrors remove the two phillips head screws that hold them to the fairing. The philips head screws thread into the "D" shaped nuts just on the inside of the fairing. If you have factory speakers these "D" nuts are hidden and you would have to pull the speakers off to see them. Of course, to get the speakers off you would have to remove the turn signals to get to the speaker nuts. Sometimes you can get the mirrors off without pulling the speakers, but getting the mirrors back on without being able to see and hold the "D" nuts is tough.

Once the mirror is off, as you can tighten the machine screw/bolt to further compress the spring in the bottom main joint and the mirror will stiffen up, but don’t tighten too much or the mirror will be too stiff or, worse yet, you might start to strip the threads in the pot metal of the mirror stem.

Even with Loctite applied I always had the problem with the screw eventually coming loose again (the roads are rough here in WI), and after several adjustments the threads would start to strip out of the mirror stem. I had to come up with a good fix.

Have you seen older Honda fairings where someone has simply drilled the outside of the mirror stem/joint and inserted sheetmetal screws to try to hold the mirror? YOU DO NOT NEED TO DO THAT! I came up with what I think is a pretty good alternative fix that I have posted versions of on other sites as well. Has anybody else done this fix?

Remove the mirror and it’s plastic gasket from the fairing. Remove the screw and spring from the back side of the mirror assembly. Are the threads in the mirror stem stripped out? If the threads in the mirror have not fully stripped out, then purchase a metric machine screw of the same diameter and pitch as the original screw but several inches long. Also purchase a locknut. Look for a locknut with a low profile if you can. I like the all-metal locknuts for this job, but an elastic insert locknut is ok. If the threads in the mirror have stripped, then purchase the next size up diameter of machine screw (US imperial size ok) several inches long, and also purchase the locknut to fit it. If the threads have stripped out, then drill/tap the mirror to accept the new machine screw that you purchased. I found that if I had purchased the next up imperial size from the metric original that I actually did not have to drill the hole before tapping it. I just ran the imperial tap in it and it was ready to go. Even if you did or did not tap the threaded hole in the mirror stem, clean the hole with electronics spray or other oil/grease remover, the hole must be clean and dry. Take the machine screw you are going to use and coat the ends of it’s threads with a metal bonding epoxy. Don't coat the whole screw, just the first 1/4' or so on the end. For this job I really like JB Weld. Run the machine screw into the mirror stem and let the JB Weld cure overnight. After the JB Weld is fully cured, take a hacksaw or Dremel with a cut-off wheel and cut just the head of the machine screw off. Now, instead of a weak “screw in pot-metal” type connection, you will have a much stronger “stud” that is bonded into the mirror stem. Place the original spring and and your new locknut onto the stud, and tighten the locknut to achieve a nice firm tension on the mirror. Use your hacksaw or Dremel tool to cut the remainder of the stud off flush or very close to flush with the locknut. Hand fit the gasket onto the mirror and the mirror onto the fairing. If the new stud/locknut you installed sticks out a little further than the original screw assembly, then you might have to cut out the center of the gasket. I usually had to cut out the center of the gasket. Re-install the mirror and you are done.

For the cost of a small machine screw, a locknut, some JB Weld, and maybe a tap if you need it, you will have a mirror that is EXACTLY original in outward appearance and in adjustability, but it will NOT droop, it will be MUCH stronger than the original, and it will NEVER come loose again.

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