[Viju]

A few days ago, I took delivery of my 2024 Royal Enfield Bullet 350. As a first step to personalizing it, I had decided to replace the handlebar mirrors with bar end mirrors as well as replace some of the plastic and rubber bits on the frame to add a bit of bling.

The primary motivation was the vibrations that creep into the original mirrors at certain speeds as well as the fact I could not get my shoulders out of the rear view no matter how I adjusted the mirror position. Moreover, I am not a fan of the aesthetics of the original mirrors as I feel they make my Bullet look taller and narrower than it already is.

Stadium Bar End Mirrors

The Stadium brand itself is over a century old, and these bar end mirrors can be seen on many vintage and classic motorcycles. Hitchcocks Motorcycles have tied up with Stadium to make their mirrors available for Royal Enfield, Triumph and even BSA. As the handlebar configurations differ between different models of motorcycles, Hitchcocks makes the necessary adapters or spacers in house and sell them as a kit. This makes DIY fitments easy without the need for any guess work or modifications.

Likes:

• Excellent rearward visibility (125mm wide, 84mm tall), zero blind spots
• Excellent stability, and no vibrations
• Stainless steel construction, seems like a quality bit of kit that is built to last
• Nearly infinitely adjustable, easy to find a position that suits you
• Authentic classic motorcycle aesthetics
• Easy fitment, beginner-friendly

Dislikes:

• Need to look down slightly as bar end mirrors are a bit lower than the line of vision as compared to regular mirrors
• Filtering through traffic can be tricky with the mirrors in wide open position
• The trapezium mirrors look disproportionately large on narrow bodied motorcycles without any other fitments
• Round mirror is small (80mm diameter)

Tools required:

• Allen keys x 2 (#5 and #8)
• Ring spanner x 1 (M10)

Fitting time: 30 minutes


Buying links:

• Trapezium mirrors: https://accessories.hitchcocksmotorc...&category=sub1
• Round mirrors: https://accessories.hitchcocksmotorc...&category=sub1
• Mirror blanking plugs: https://accessories.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/45241

Period correct packaging


Plugs for the original mirror mounting holes

[Viju]

Fitment

Step 1: Remove the original bar finishers with a #5 allen key. You will need to apply a bit of force here as there is a decent amount of thread-locker applied from the factory.

Step 2: Loosen the stalks of the Stadium mirrors with a #8 allen key and fix them to the handlebar ends. There is no left hand / right hand mirror. They can be fitted to either side after positioning the spacer and the mirror stalk accordingly.

Step 3: Unfortunately I missed to take more pictures here, but the point to ensure good adjustability (pivot movement) as well as the mirror keeping its position is to patiently adjust the #8 allen key bolt that connects the mirror arm to the handle bar end adapter. I adjusted this allen key bolt one turn at a time until it was loose enough to move from one position to another, but tight enough to not vibrate or move around.

Step 4:Once this is done, without tightening the M10 nut behind the mirror body too much, take a short ride, adjust and tighten the M10 nut slowly with a ring spanner and your mirror should be set forever in your favourite position.

I kept the original mirrors in place for an easy comparison of the mirror height and width.

First look after fixing the new mirrors.



Comparing the rear view from my eye level. I am 167 cm tall.

I did not need any tools to remove the factory mirrors. They seem to be very lightly torqued, and hence one tap on the mirror stalk is enough to get them loosened up from the mount.

Caution: The LH mirror uses a clockwise thread and the RH mirror used an anti-clockwise thread. The LH mirror needs to be turned counterclockwise to loosen and the RH mirror needs to be turned clockwise to loosen. If you are not careful here, you might end up damaging the threads.

Remaining steps:

Cover the mirror mounting holes with the correct blanking plug (they have an RH and LH thread as well, so one needs to be extra careful). They go in very easily if you use the correct plug on the correct side and tighten to the correct side! For the RH, turn counterclockwise to tighten, and for the LH, turn clockwise to tighten.

The open hole left behind by the missing mirror


Carefully screw in the blanking plug. Can be lightly torqued with an allen key.


LH side done


RH side done


Peeling off the blue protective film proved to be a bit fiddly


Stadium mark is discrete but visible. I am guessing it is laser-etched.


The final look. Function over form. Not the best angle in my opinion as it makes the bike look too narrow.

[Viju]

Alloy frame finishers

One of the things that was pulling down the aesthetics of the bike in my view were the numerous plastic and rubber frame plugs used by RE to cover up the holes through which the sub-frames and other parts are bolted together.

For the swing-arm pivot, a plasto-chrome cap is used. It doesn't exactly look classy, but better than black plastic or rubber. This is where the Hitchcocks frame finishing kit helped.

Likes:

• Easy to fit
• Overall good quality
• Improves the aesthetics of the motorcycle in a few minutes
• Brushed finish gives a discrete look rather than full-on-bling of a polished finish

Dislikes:

• A couple of the finishers had very tiny scratches and burrs left over from the CNC machining. This kind of QC miss was not expected from Hitchcocks as they make these in-house.

Tools required: None, but a clean microfiber cloth and some IPA will be handy.

Fitting time: 15 minutes

Buying links:

• Frame finishers:
• https://accessories.hitchcocksmotorc...ssories&Page=4
• https://accessories.hitchcocksmotorc...ssories&Page=4

• Oil filler cap:
• https://accessories.hitchcocksmotorc...ssories&Page=4

A view of the original frame plugs
(a) Near the rear shock absorber mount
(b) Near the side stand mount
(c) Near the front lower engine mounting bolt


Step 1: Remove the existing frame plug (easier to do with both hands, pulling the plug out evenly on either side, so that it comes out straight).

Step 2: Clean the mating surface inside the frame cavity with a suitable solution (something like IPA which will dry up soon, you don't want soapy water or oil in there as it will make the new plugs slip out easily and possible fall off while riding).

Step 3: Push in the new plug evenly. Due to the manufacturing tolerances in the frame dimensions, you may need to be extra patient with some of the plugs.

The new frame finishing kit


Removing the rear LH frame plug


Almost out


Cleaning the cavity


The new plugs are fitted with a quality O-ring for a snug fit


Press on all sides and then in the centre


Similarly, continue with the remaining plugs as well


The end result


Replacing the original oil filler cap


Bonus jewellery - A brass oil filler cap from Hitchcocks


Nothing wrong with the original, but we mallus like our shiny gold stuff!


Fixing the new cap. It comes with an O-ring pre-fitted, which makes the replacement really easy.





Done


A final look

This is the first time I am using bar end mirrors in the 25 years that I have been owning and riding motorcycles and scooters. And I can honestly say that this is simply the best rearward vision that I have experienced until now.
For someone like me who keeps checking the rear view mirrors all around every 2 minutes or so - be it in a car or two wheeler - this gives an added feeling of safety and peace-of-mind!

Hope this helps someone with a J series bike as these parts are common to the Classic, Bullet as well as the Meteor.
These mirrors fit the Super Meteor handle bars as well.

A couple of Stuart Fillingham videos for additional guidance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr_OQr9nG08

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cr_QkvZAkyU

Cheers, and take care until the next one!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!