Replace rear view mirror stay

[Brock864]

Hi all. I did a search to see if anyone had posted on replacing the rear view mirror stay and it returned no results. I have done a little research and it seems that the stay on the 3rd gen FJR was changed to die cast pot metal and is prone to breaking when the bike is tipped over.

Mine is broken and so far epoxy has not gotten the job done. I had some temporary luck with a product called Quick Steel but it ultimately failed. Maybe if I try it again and lace the putty just right this time it would hold but I'm not at all optimistic.

Has anyone replaced the stay on a 2013 and up? I hear it's a pain and lots of tupperware has to be removed in order to do it. Also is there any chance of getting a replacement stay somewhere without paying $200 for a new one?

Any advice is appreciated.

[raYzerman]

You won't find anything but a new stay, and yes $200. It is an all day plus job, helps to have a third hand. Nose fairing has to come off......
The best epoxy to me is Permatex, the JB weld stuff too runny and other brands just a crap shoot. Permatex has higher strength. I'd suggest removing as much of the Quick Steel as you can (take the broken ear out and file it down, restore clean edge to the mating part. Put the ear back in, apply Permatex to the mating edges and press together, add a layer to each side, let cure. Tomorrow, apply more to build up the layer. Note, the nose fairing and having the mirror mounted gives it strength, until the day you hit the mirror again.
I broke mine three times in "incidents" (my theory, I knew I would and I'm not the only one) the epoxy held up to normal use no problem. Fourth time I just bit the bullet and bought a new one.
If you really want to replace it, there is a writeup by mcatrophy (extremely thorough), but there are a couple of steps you don't need to take.
http://atrophy.lock.net/pi/20160706_mirrormount/

[Festus]

There is a video of it online. Not well filmed but it's a hell of a job to do from best I can tell. We're supposed to be doing it very soon so hopefully we'll be able to document it well enough to publish to the community.

[garauld]

I can weld it up for $30 - you pay shipping both ways. I've done a couple. PM me if you want to pursue.

[Hppants]

I've done it twice on the Gen 1. It's not a whole lot of difference. And yes, it's an all day job. Whether you buy a new one, or repair the old one, have a couple of triangular gussets welded on each side. This will GREATLY stiffen the tabs. In addition to providing better tip-over protection, the side benefit is that it will kill the mirror vibration and give you a much clearer view.

Honestly, if I was going to have gussets welded on it anyway, I'd just ship it to Garauld, save some money, and do it right.

[raYzerman]

It's the old story.... stress engineering..... doesn't help the casting isn't very thick. Gusset it up one place and it will likely fail somewhere else when it gets its next bump. Get the FZ1 (or knockoff Emgo) mirror. At least they fold up easier and a lot closer to the bodywork. Better yet, I'd like a nice looking bumper developed that would glue on to the upper edge of the side fairing. Saw some once for sport bikes but can't find them any more.... and a slider further up on the bodywork than any of the current offerings. OR, just don't fall down. There is no good answer.

[NTXFJR]

One of the issues I found with my mirrors when replacing my stay assy is that the mirrors were not assembled correctly. I'm assuming this was a dealer error vs a factory one. When new, my mirrors were bound up and would not fold in without great effort, so when my bike fell over, the stay naturally gave in. What I found when I had the mirrors apart for painting is that the bellville washers that are meant to be spring cushions and allow the mirror to click past the detent points were incorrectly stacked up, they were nested together all facing the same direction. The second photo shows how they are supposed to go together, my mirrors fold in smoothly with ease now.

[wheatonFJR]

Take comfort Craig, your stay would still have been damaged if the assembly was correct.

[Brock864]

Thank you all for some great replies. Very, very helpful! I guess I'll wait until the weather turns cold and just replace the stay with a new one. Good weekend garage project in the dark days.

raYzerman, I have some really nice engine/fairing guards on my bike. The previous owner installed them. I have dropped it on both sides (not moving....much) and I haven't put a scratch on the fairing or the engine. I will take some pictures of the guards/sliders and post them.

It's ironic, I hit a very large dog at 50mph and managed to keep the bike up (thanks partly to those engine guards) but dropped it twice backing it up from a parked position. Funny how that weight just disappears once you hit about 10mph.

[Abercrombie FJR]

Man, I thought my mirror stay was broken a couple weeks ago. I was going down the road I noticed my right mirror bouncing like crazy and when I grabbed the mirror I found it to be very floppy although I've never dropped the FJR. I though some asshole may have punched the mirror or banged into it braking it. I opened up the other day to take a look at my broken stay and found one nut was AWOL and the other extremely loose. Whew, what luck! I ordered the new nut and sleeve washer below it I'm able to fix it for a couple bucks.

[raYzerman]

The mirror pivot thing is a flawed thing.... the Belleville washers in some cases can't be stacked all cup to cup as that can lead to excessive effort to pivot and too loose means too much play. So you pick the combo that gives the best compromise. Now If it were me, I'd redesign that. Other OEM's use a spring and flat washers, and a nylock nut...... variable adjustment, yay!

[NTXFJR]

Take comfort Craig, your stay would still have been damaged if the assembly was correct.

That doesn't sound very comforting there Wheatie, by the sound of it you have first hand experience with this issue? For he time being, I'm taking comfort that I have managed to not drop my feej since the rebuild.

[Spininprop]

Replaced the stay on my 2016 after a 0 mph tip over at eom last year. I almost cryed but i still had fun riding the twisties.

Ill confirm its a pain in the arse. Got pics on on my phone that make me shutter. All the front end needs to come off assuming 13 and 16 are same. The wiring harness is the easiest of the lot to deal with and that i was concerned with the most. The wire loom tray and the instrument cluster lay back, undo the bolts and the stay pulls out. Keep the ends of the connectors attached to the tray. The loose ends are in a bundle of wire that also can lay back.

Worst part of repair? Putting the left side cluster f@#k of a side panel back on.

Ps dont firget the connectir on the underside of the tray to one side that powers the winscreen. Ask me how i know.

[Hppants]

Yeah - this job takes a certain amount of, well...... beer.

And not just any shitty beer. Good beer. You will be a couple of hours into it and think "Damm, I need a beer!" If you have good beer, you will be fine. If you have horse piss? Well, let's not go there.....

Agree that this is a good "cold weather project".

[Spininprop]

Road 575miles home from eom last year with it broken. You really couldn't tell. Yep it can wait.

[Viper_Dad]

Tonight Festus and I replaced the same stay on my '13. Took me about 20min to remove the fairings and then about 2 hours to carefully remove and replace the stay. I keep saying... it's just bolts! I posted pics here:

http://www.fjriders.com/forums/viewtopi ... 4&start=60

[raYzerman]

When you're doing it by yourself and trying to figure out what comes next, and don't have that second pair of hands to hold stuff, it takes a lot longer..... but you guys were on a mission and "stayed" with it. Good job!
You're right about bolts.... I think I've touched every one on an FJR, and when it all goes back together, none short and none left over. Kinda cool and good feeling actually, even moreso if you get a bike in a basket.

[Hppants]

With or without help, 2 1/2 hours for that job gets respect. On a mission? I'll say! Well done, Gents.