Mirrors are the bane of any custom motorcycle builder. They’re useful for seeing what’s behind you and keeping the authorities off your back—but the wrong mirrors can easily ruin an otherwise tidy cockpit.
I’ve tried my fair share of cheap and nasty bar-end mirrors, many of which are now scattered around various corners of my garage. So when our friends over at Purpose Built Moto offered to send me a set of their universal Scrambler mirrors for my Triumph Bonneville, I was pumped.
The Purpose Built Moto Scrambler mirror’s biggest asset is its versatility. Thanks to its neutral aesthetic and compact size it’ll look good on just about any bike and can be mounted in myriad positions.
Available in either black anodized or polished aluminum, the mirror sports a short 155 mm stem and a 72 mm lens. One end of the stem features a threaded M6 hole, with the mirror attached to the opposite end via a ball mount. The ball mount itself attaches to the stem with an Allen head bolt, which can be loosened to swivel it 360 degrees, allowing you to flip the mirror completely or fine-tune its positioning.
The Scrambler mirror is available as a single unit for AU$65 [about $42] or as a pair for AU$125 [about $81]. In keeping with PBM’s ethos of making parts for garage builders, each mirror ships with a long M6 bolt (that you need to cut to size) and two M6 screws. So if your clutch or brake lever perch uses an M6 bolt (as most do), you’re set.
Simply remove the lever perch’s existing bolt, trim the supplied M6 bolt to the right length, slide it through the perch, screw on the two M6 nuts, then thread the mirror onto the end. You can use this method to place the mirror above or below the bars, and you can use the two nuts as locking nuts to secure everything. But of course, nothing is ever simple.
While that method might work sometimes, an array of factors can complicate things. On my Bonneville, that physical process of mounting the mirror to the front brake perch was a walk in the park. But with the mirror above the bars, I couldn’t see past my arms—and with it below the bars, it would touch the fuel tank at full turn.
My Triumph’s clutch lever perch uses a stepped bolt that’s only partially threaded. So I would have had to have made a spacer if I was planning to replicate the brake side setup on the clutch side. Your bike’s handlebars and lever perches might be more accommodating, but I decided to mount PBM’s mirrors to the ends of my bars instead.
PBM sells a bar-end mounting kit for the Scrambler mirror for AU$30 [about $19.40], or you can buy two mirrors and the kit for a total of AU$145 [about $94]. Again, the kit comes in either black or polished, with enough hardware to mount it to just about any bike.
It’s an incredibly well-thought-out (and neat) kit, and it proved to be just the ticket for my Triumph Bonneville. Step one is to sink one of the supplied mounting slugs into the end of your handlebars. (There are enough slugs and sleeves supplied to suit three different inner handlebar diameters.)
The slug is threaded—so once it’s in place, the aluminum bar end can be attached to it with the kit’s countersunk bolt. Finally, use the supplied threaded M6 rod to attach the mirror stem to the bar end, using the two M6 nuts to lock everything down. Rinse, lather, and repeat everything on the opposite side of the bars.
While most bar-end mirror kits use rubber inserts or expansion bolts to hold them in place, PBM’s setup is much more secure—even if it does require more effort. The bar-end mounting kit comes with a pair of M4 grub screws that can be installed through your bars to hold each slug in place. You’ll need a drill and a tap-and-die set to make it happen, of course.
The mirrors can be mounted up or down, and arched inward or outward, depending on your preference. I mounted mine downward and inward; a discreet setup that still offers excellent visibility. Getting them both installed was quick and painless—plus they look really good on the air-cooled Bonneville.
Since I’m planning to replace my grips soon, I didn’t bother installing the grub screws or adding thread lock to any of the threads. The slugs I chose were a perfect fit for the inside of the ProTaper bars on my Bonneville anyway—so once I’d encouraged them into place with a mallet, they didn’t budge.
Months later, I still haven’t replaced my grips—but the ‘test fit’ of the PBM Scrambler mirrors has held up remarkably well. One slug eventually worked itself loose but was easily wedged back in place with a dollop of adhesive. On the opposite end, I’ve had to tighten up the bar-end bolt once.
When I do finally fit the grips (that are patiently waiting on my desk), I’ll install the grub screws and add thread lock in all the right places for a maintenance-free setup.
If we did give out ratings on Bike EXIF, I’d score the PBM Scrambler mirrors 9.5 out of 10—deducting half a point only because the black finish is susceptible to scratches if you fiddle with them too much. Even with that one niggle, this is one product that’s easy to recommend.
