Despite repeated hard hits, the mirrors never moved from the position where I set them. The trails we rode were very technical, with lots of rock gardens and dog paddling over terrain that felt like an observed trials course. The mirrors stayed put during several hours of high-speed freeway riding on the way to the Plateau, and they offered a relatively clear view even though the KLR650’s big single vibrates a lot. The true test of the mirrors came during a three-day dual-sport ride in the Kern Plateau of the southern Sierra Nevada. Using a little sandpaper to scuff up each ball may be necessary to prevent slippage, which is the only complaint Suesse ever receives from customers, and relatively few of them at that.

I found that the balls would slip in the sockets and the mirrors would move around unless I tightened the adjuster as much as my strength would allow, but once done they stayed put. Positioning the mirrors requires some fiddling and a firm crank down on the adjuster, but it can be done easily without tools. A big wingnut-like adjuster loosens the two halves of the RAM arm, allowing the RAM balls on the base and the mirror to slip into their respective sockets. Installing the mirrors took only a few minutes, as the RAM base fit into the existing mirror housing as promised. The MSRP for Kawasaki OEM replacement mirrors is $43/each, or $86 for the pair, so the Doubletake mirrors are just $9 more-well worth it given their greater durability and wider range of adjustment. For my KLR650, I specified two mirrors at $25/each, two long (3-inch) RAM arms at $12.50/each, and two RAM ball stud bases at $10/each, for a total of $95. The mirror and short/long RAM arms are the same across all models, but the threaded stud on the RAM base, which is designed to screw directly into the existing mirror mount, can vary from model to model, or you can specify a RAM ball base plate for a more universal fit. This one uses the RAM base plate mount rather than the stud in the existing housing.ĭoubletake allows you to build your mirror to spec on its website, with fittings for BMW, Honda, Husqvarna, Kawasaki, KTM, Suzuki, Triumph and Yamaha, or you can order specific components. The entire mirror unit is guaranteed against breakage.Īdvertisement Each indestructible mirror arm includes a 4-inch-diameter round mirror. The made-in-the-USA mirror is 8.5 inches long and consists of an arm made of reinforced Zytel (a high strength, abrasion- and impact-resistant thermoplastic polyamide made by DuPont) with a RAM ball on one end and 4-inch-diameter mirror with an SAE-spec convex lens on the other. Suesse’s depth of experience in dual-sport riding/training and rally racing, including the Baja 1000, led him to develop what Doubletake’s website claims is “the only mirror you’ll ever need…” Each Doubletake mirror consists of three parts: a RAM base, a RAM arm (short or long ) and a mirror. We’ve reviewed his Dual Sport Riding Techniques DVD, and earlier this year he was the only American to complete the rigorous Dakar Rally, aboard a KTM that he built in his garage. Knowing that replacement OEM mirrors would suffer a similar fate, and wanting mirrors that offered a wider range of adjustment, I contacted Ned Suesse, owner of Doubletake Mirrors. The right one bought the farm when I dumped my KLR on a challenging downhill, its glass shattering into a million pieces, just like my pride. As three of us stood around catching our breath, the small foot of the kickstand sank into the soft dirt and the bike fell over, shearing off the mirror when it hit the footpeg on my buddy’s BMW F650GS Dakar.

The left one bit the dust when my KLR tipped over after a challenging hill climb. The stock mirrors on my 1998 Kawasaki KLR650 died honorably, in the line of duty.

Doubletake pricing