Riding without mirrors?

[MarkRSi]

Anyone run their bikes without mirrors? Or at least a single bar end mirror?

Last weekend on a run with a few friends there was someone who didn't have mirrors on their FZ1, someone who uses the bike all the time as they don't even have a car license. AFAIK there's no legal requirement for have mirrors fitted?

As I had the mirrors off my Street Triple when working on it last night, I thought I'd leave them off for going to work today...

Upsides

• The bike looks better/cleaner
• Good 'hater blockers' for any morons behind me
• It looks cool
• Encourage me to look around more rather than rely on the mirrors (avoid blind spots?)
• Less air resistance so I might be able to go quicker than 140mph I'll use less fuel and save all the fluffy penguins and pandas.
• Narrower so easier to get bike out, between my house and car etc.

Downsides

• Inability to see previously mentioned haters/morons might be a wee safety issue
• It won't look cool if I'm lying on the ground with my bike/a car on top of me because I couldn't see said car because of lack of mirrors.
• Plod might have a word with me even if not illegal, waste our time, go over my bike with a fine tooth comb etc.
• Turning around a lot to see what's going on might literately be a pain in the neck.
• On runs out with friends, it's good the know if the person behind is far behind, stuck behind traffic, trying to light a cigarette on your rear tyre etc.

As an alternative I might get a single bar end mirror, preferably a cheap one as it's likely to get scraped when getting the bike in/out. I'm not after a detailed view - just enough to see if there's a car/bike behind and how far back it is. Is this viable?

[MarkRSi]

Hooli said:

Mirror/s are required for the MOT if the bike is newer than August 1986 & has provision for a pillion.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1986/1078/regul...

Mentions this
A two-wheeled motor cycle with or without a sidecar attached - No requirement

Assuming I've read it right?

Doesn't mention mirrors on this too
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploa...

[MarkRSi]

DrDoofenshmirtz said:

As for 'hater blockers and 'morons behind' ...WTF?

Your post is very 'I have no idea what I'm doing'... I think you need some rider training (not joking). Do you wear a camera when you're riding, and post vids to YouTube?

I just like to be aware of whats around me and assume that everyone is an idiot and out to get me (okay in reality they're not but that won't stop them doing stupid things!). As a result without mirrors it was rather disconcerting not being able to see behind without turning around (and of course you won't see the road ahead briefly when doing so), hence the suggestion of the single bar end if I decide to keep the main ones off. The ride this morning at least made me aware how much I use my mirrors.

Yeah I have an action camera (SVC200 which I'd recommend - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esqcF0f_2r0 - flame me) but I've only used it a couple of times.

Edited by MarkRSi on Tuesday 23 September 12:59

[MarkRSi]

Well I made it back home mirrorless without embedding myself under an HGV or any other "oh cock" incidents/near misses.

Regardless, it was rather more disconcerting than this morning with more traffic around and bit of filtering (half expecting another biker behind to starting revving their engine to get my attention). Likewise with making lane changes on a dual carriageway and making overtakes on a single carriageway road. I do look around of course but this time having to crane around to get good look behind and not looking ahead for a moment etc. As it was just beginning to get dark other vehicles having their lights on did help but obviously not something to rely on. Not sure how my FZ1 friend or anyone else manages it.

Might be willing to try using the single bar end mirror (as per the second post on this thread http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=108... ). Of course two would be better but it's quite narrow getting my bike in and out of my garage as it is.