Mirror extenders swivelling

[UnicycleMan]

Hello all,

So I am now part of the Vstrom family after purchasing a 2018 DL1000 in yellow. I absolutely love this bike, it is 100% the best bike I have ever owned.. (I have had previous bikes). Seriously, I love it to bits. Its super comfortable, plenty fast enough and (cliche I know) inspires confidence in the corners.

Anyway, on to the topic. I am beginning the process of upgrades which will make this thing even better. An MTC twin port stainless can is currently in the postal system and will be arriving Monday. In the meantime I bought a pair of these from M&P in order to fit a set of ER6N mirrors. Now, having installed them they seem to be doing a lot of this 

I am a bit green when it comes to working on bikes but trying to change that a bit with this one so please go easy on me! Does anyone have any quick fixes to assist with preventing the swivel? I have tried a rubber washer between the extender and the bracket but it hasn't worked. I thought loctite might do it (not tried yet as haven't got any) but would still be a lot of smooth metal on smooth metal so would the loctite just hold the bolt firmly in place while everything else swivels around it?

Additionally, if yours were the same as mine, what did you use to compensate for the overly long bolts that come with the set?

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions (bound to be a few sarcastic ones thrown in!)

Cheers!

[Gert]

Have you tried using either star washers or spring lock washers? Reminder to also make use of a drop of blue loctite / threadlocker on the threads of the securing bolts.

[UnicycleMan]

Hi Gert, I will get some loctite ready for the final installation then and apply to the bolts.

Regarding the washers, I visited the hardware store but the size of the bolt and bracket combined are just awkward. The bolt is too big for M8 washers, but M10 washers don't fit inside the bracket. All the washers that I could see on the shelf came only in M8 or M10 so I ended up fashioning something to fit out of a bit of old plastic/resin type fixing that I had lying around. They pack the space out OK but don't really do anything to stop the swivel.

Thanks for your reply!

[Mr Nick]

I use similar extenders on the V50 without any hint of turning. M10 bolts, even into alloy, should be able to hold them so it sounds like the bolts might be too long and are bottoming out in the casting. Easiest way to check this is to take the mirrors off and thread the bolts in without the extenders to see if they allow the head to go in a couple of mm lower than the height of the extender. If they don't then either saw a bit off, or  find shorter bolts. I don't remember if Suzuki use standard M10 thread ( I think so, but not 100%), but if they do then Kayfast on ebay are my go-to source.
If they are short enough, then you could stick some wet&dry back to back & cut to washer shape to go between.

[UnicycleMan]

Thanks Mr Nick, that's useful info. So perhaps the plastic/resin spacers I bodged to fit inside are compressing as I tighten the bolts so not actually allowing full pressure downward to hold the clamp.

If it's just a standard M10 bolt I will find something shorter and give that a go, perhaps should have had that higher up the list of things to try!

Wet and dry back to back - will definitely try that if no success with the bolts.

Many thanks.

[Oilspill]

Hi UnicycleMan - these look like the pair I purchased also.  The bolts supplied are too long and bottom out before they can apply sufficient clamping force.  I ordered [from good ol' ebay] 2 * M10 x 1.25mm Fine Pitch (Allen socket) bolt 16mm in length - stainless.  I also ordered 2 * M10 (8mm hex) black socket head caps (to stop water pooling in the heads) and to make it look "nice" !!, and all is good now.  Will post up picture shortly

[Paz324]

I had a similar issue, Loctite wasn't enough on its own so I bought some "shake proof" washers which did the trick.

You can likely find what you need on ebay but I decided to buy a pack of multiple sizes from halfrauds.

[UnicycleMan]

Thanks both, very helpful. Have ordered the same bolts and caps from eBay and will drop by Halfrauds later on today. Have now got some Loctite too so will apply that when the bolts arrive.

Hopefully with all these things combined I will be free from the dreaded 

 

Oh and I assume others are the same but... the left sticks out more than the right..

Guess it's due to the position of the clamp on the bars?

[Paz324]

One issue is those black washers I posted will go rusty pretty quickly, I bought them to try and never changed them but for the long term it could be worth looking for some stainless ones elsewhere.

[UnicycleMan]

Thanks Paz, will see what's available on the net before buying.

[bosnjo]

I have the same type of risers and the only solution was stainless star washers. It happened back in 2014 when I purchased '14 1000. Now I own '18 1000 and the washers are still the same, just moved them from one bike to the other together with the risers.

[rus998]

As said before the bolts are too long. I have the same risers and had the same problem. Took 3mm off the bolts with an angle grinder and all is good. No need for washers or wet & dry.

[TLPower]

Exactly as Rus998 said.

[UnicycleMan]

Thanks fellas, appreciate your response.

 

[Rusty Nuts]

1. Stainless screws may be difficult to cut.
2. If you do shorten them, clean and dress the cut ends carefully to avoid damage to the much softer alloy of your bike's handlebar fittings.

[bosnjo]

My extenders came (from China) with correct bolts lenght but those bolts rusted away quickly. Purchased correct size stainless bolts in local hardware store and they are on now for 6 years.

[rus998]

1. Stainless screws may be difficult to cut.
2. If you do shorten them, clean and dress the cut ends carefully to avoid damage to the much softer alloy of your bike's handlebar fittings.

I fitted a nut of the right size on the bolt before grinding, spin the nut off and it gives you a clean lead thread on the bolt 

[Rusty Nuts]

  Best way if you've no die or die nut.