Hands up, 900SS owners who are fed up to their tits with their Vitaloni Baby Turbo mirrors!
They look great, but over time the ball and socket joints begin to lose their stiction and the mirrors sag and flop around. The Internet is full of fixes - use sandpaper or a Dremel to scuff the ball in the joint, tighten with Locktite, secure the joint with epoxy or superglue (be careful of adjustment!), fit a heater hose clamp... some work for awhile, but if the ball and socket at the mirror head itself loosens, you're screwed. There's no way to get it apart, or to get in to tighten it.
Plus, for many riders the mirrors give a really limited field of view - basically, a good look at your elbows.
Solution: FAR replacement mirrors from
moto-science.com. The mirrors I ordered were p/n 5479/80SS, to fit Ducati 900SS 1992-98.
The mirrors are made in Italy but arrived quickly from Moto-Science in California, albeit at an exorbitant shipping cost. The mirrors are basically OEM quality, with metal stems and textured plastic heads. Two Allen-head bolts are included for each side to attach them to the bike. However, these don't fit the stock nuts, so I just reused the stock mirror bolts.
Here's my only beef with the set - the fact that they were obviously not designed for the bike originally. You can see the original cast-in mounting holes just inboard of the 60mm-spaced holes drilled by the supplier. Not exactly factory-looking.
They do look nice on the bike, albeit somewhat more modern than the Baby Turbos. I like them better than the ubiquitous bar-end mirrors though.
Reach is a bit broader than the standard mirrors, giving a somewhat wider view.
After a test ride around our bumpy local streets I can say that I'm pleased. The mirrors give a pretty steady wide view and haven't shown any proclivity to move out of position. I'll provide a further update after a ride around my 100mph test loop :-D
PRO: low-cost (US$98/pair), look good
CON: kludgy mounting holes
FROM: www.moto-science.com
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