Honda Patents Low-Mount Mirrors

[Hugh Janus]

Honda mirror location underneath the triple clamp patent illustration (Honda/)

You might not imagine that there are many avenues left for the development of motorcycle mirrors. However, Honda has come up with a layout—specifically for unfaired bikes—that promises to not only give a better view of what’s behind but also to offer handling benefits compared to conventional designs.

Although logic might suggest that rearview cameras will eventually replace mirrors altogether, the simplicity and versatility of a mirror is hard to beat. Cameras and displays are dogged by problems when it comes to adjusting to different light levels and their fixed field of view means you can’t crane your neck to get a little more vision when it’s helpful. Throw in the low cost of a piece of reflective glass and a host of legislative problems around the world that hamper the adoption of camera systems, and the traditional mirror is here to stay for the foreseeable future.

Since mirrors have been the norm for such a long time it’s a surprise to see that Honda has filed a patent application for a design that it believes is so different from others that it warrants patent protection. The idea itself is incredibly simple: The mirrors are mounted on conventional-looking stalks, but they’re attached to the fork below the top triple clamp and positioned underneath the bars rather than above them.

This illustration shows the line of view created by a traditional-mounted mirror (50), and its new location (6). (Honda/)

There are three key benefits to the layout, explained in the patent document. The first, and most important, is that of improved visibility. Although mirrors that hang below the bars aren’t a new idea—there are plenty of aftermarket bar-end mirrors that mount that way—Honda’s design positions them a little farther forward, so you still look over your hands to see them. The benefit comes from the fact that the view the mirrors reflect is below the level of your arms and elbows, so the view is unobstructed. That’s actually an idea that’s already used on a Honda production bike, the Japan-only Hawk 11 cafe racer, based on the Africa Twin’s engine and chassis. However, on the Hawk the mirrors are mounted on the fairing, which means they don’t offer the remaining two benefits of the new version the company is trying to patent.

The Japanese market Hawk 11 uses this concept already. (Honda/)

These stem from the fact that, since the mirrors don’t need to be positioned far enough to the side to see around your arms and shoulders, they can be mounted relatively far inboard. Moving them toward the centerline of the bike means that aerodynamic forces acting on the mirrors have less leverage on the steering. The third benefit is that because they’re mounted closer to the steering axis, the inertia introduced by the weight of the mirrors is reduced, improving steering feel and response.

This front illustration gives a clear view of the mirror location. (Honda/)

Together these benefits make a compelling case for this type of mirror and the company already has bikes under development that could benefit from the design. The most significant, and closest to production, is the expected replacement for the CB1000R. A fairly detailed set of patent drawings depicting this bike, based on the chassis and engine of the CBR1000RR, appeared last year, albeit with key styling elements—the headlight, tank and tail—replaced with generic shapes. The mirrors shown on those drawings were also generic, so the next-gen CB1000R, which is due to be a much higher-performance machine than the current version, could well be the debut platform for the underslung mirror idea shown in the new Honda patent application.

Honda’s rumored upcoming CB1000R may be the bike that Honda debuts the new mirrors on. Here you can see the current model with its traditionally located mirrors. (Honda/)

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[Pedro]

Next invention is going to be an engineless motorcycle, with a clever system of levers and pedals …

[Buckster]

2 hours ago, Pedro said:

Next invention is going to be an engineless motorcycle, with a clever system of levers and pedals …

With a 270 degree crank.

[Pedro]

11 hours ago, Buckster said:

With a 270 degree crank.

Makes all the sense.