DoubleTake’s Popular Off-Road Mirrors Get Major Upgrade For 2024
The trailblazing off-road mirror gets its first major redesign in 14 years.
Life always looks clearer in the rear view, that is, until you’re looking into the mirrors of a motorcycle. Add the extra vibration of an off-road adventure and it’s often a blur, not to mention the heightened risk that those vulnerable stems on stock mirrors will snap right off the moment you clip a branch or your bike decides it needs a nap.
Lucky for us, moto journalist and ex-Dakar racer Ned Suesse got so fed up with his bike’s stock mirrors breaking on the trail he created and patented a wonderful product more than a decade ago, DoubleTake mirrors, now a go-to solution for off-road riders around the world.
Simple and robust, the mirrors use double RAM-style ball mounts, one that screws into the existing threaded hole on the handlebar and another at the mirror joint, making the units foldable for times when you’re in rough terrain and don’t need mirrors, and better yet, each mount’s arm will fold out of the way when pressure is applied — say you knock into a tree branch — rather than breaking.
DoubleTakes have long been a favorite upgrade to adventure and dual sport bikes, and this year, after receiving a major revamp, a 2.0 version is available.
Founder Ned says the big goal of the revamp was to retain all the useful features of DoubleTake Mirrors while providing an even stronger and more stable solution. “We felt we could optimize the whole thing based on what we’ve learned over 14 years and that was our guiding principle: take something good, and make it better.”
One key improvement is how the DoubleTakes now come with universal all-in-one mounting hardware. In the past picking the right mounting kit for your bike model was an extra chore. The new universal kits come with all the necessary hardware, including different sized studs and threads to fit almost any motorcycle. The new hardware also allows you to adjust mirror height.
The 2.0 kits rely on a simple 8mm Allen key to engage the new hex nut hardware, whereas with the old system you needed to use pliers to mount and tighten the balls down. The hex nuts allow you to crank the mounts down even tighter than before, while included lock washers help preserve that snug fit.
Another improvement comes from the use of stronger materials for the balls. With extended use, the RAM-branded units originally used in kits were prone to distortion after being tightened and untightened so many times, which could eventually make it difficult to lock the joints down securely. The new balls are made using “no-crush technology” that includes a large aluminum core and a thin nitrile coating that ensures they stay round. This aids in more precise adjustment and set-and-forget positioning as well.
The base ball is now larger in diameter (1.125″ vs 1.0”) to provide more surface area, while the clamp that holds the ball now features a radial ridge surface instead of smooth one, which helps it grip the ball even more securely. The product material states the improved grip makes each unit 42% stiffer than the old base mount system. This of course results in fewer readjustments, yet won’t affect the way the mirrors pivot out of the way upon impact.
In addition, the hand adjustment thumb is now 25% longer, providing more leverage when snuggling down the new base ball, however the original 1” ball at the top of the arm has been held over and remains compatible with a variety of 1” ball accessories such as GPS, camera and smartphone mounts.
There have always been different arm lengths to choose from when ordering, but now those arms, both short and long styles, are slightly longer, which the company says will optimize rearward visibility. The long style allows riders of larger adventure bikes to see around panniers and top cases, while the shorter stalks are perfect for smaller dual sports. The new, more streamlined design uses a raised backbone to enhance stiffness in the arms without adding bulk. And those with concerns about weight gain from all the new, more robust hardware will be happy to know the new sets ended up weighing in a few ounces lighter on our scales.
Three Different New Kits
Adventure: Longer for improved viewing sitting down with luggage on larger adventure bikes. Higher up in your view and more stable at speed. Good for bikes that are seeing a lot of street mileage.
Enduro: Has the short stalks with longer mirrors. Optimized for those who like to tuck the mirrors down in rough terrain but still gives excellent visibility with the extended length mirrors on the road.
Dual Sport: Smaller mirror attachment on smallest stalks. Easy to tuck away but they are also stable enough and out of the way so that you can just leave them up in rough terrain.
Of course the style of your bike might also sway the choice. For example, a classic-looking machine will look better with the round mirrors, while a bike with a modern aesthetic will be complemented by the more angular, Adventure style mirrors.
For those who own previous versions of DoubleTake mirrors, you can purchase just the new ball base and arms while reusing the 1” upper ball accessory mount/mirror attachment.
All DoubleTake Mirrors will still come with the company’s awesome warranty that offers full replacement of any broken mirrors.
ADV Pulse has already received a set of the improved DoubleTake 2.0 mirrors for some early testing and right away we noticed the new larger base ball has a more durable and solid feel to it. The new clamp system also seems to lock in more smoothly right off the bat with a smoother adjustment action, and it takes a smaller amount of effort to tighten down.
Stay tuned. We’ll have a full review up soon!
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another rip off by a company to lock you into “their” equipment. the great thing about the previous version is that it uses a standard ram ball, same one for a whole variety of accessories, if you break one then you probably have another around somewhere, if not you can get ram stuff everywhere. WHAT part of using a proprietary ball and arm makes sense for anyone other than double take? Do these companies really think people are that stupid an gullible? Dont get me wrong, I have three bikes and these mirrors on all of them, but: Upgrade Nope don’t think so
The top ball, the one that receives the mirrors and accessories is still the same, so will work with anything you have that uses a RAM ball.
the one on the bike isnt, the arm isnt, you need a manufacturer specific one, like it or not the ram ball is a standard, soon as you arbitrarily change it that “standard” in compatibility is lost, thats never good for the user and only good for the manufacturer, certainly NO upgrade of any kind,. it like going back to the days of every phone with a different charger. Just maddness for no good reason
Except I’ve already had to replace the Ram balls on mine twice in less than 2 years. The first time I bought the new set. This last time I co racked DoubleTake and they sent me a new set under warranty. The Ram balls haven’t held up for me. The rubber breaks down and collapses.
you’re locked into RAM’s proprietary system with this silly argument. and you must be unaware that RAM is now selling their own copycat version of doubletake’s mirror. doubletake had to innovate to stay in business, which led to proprietary mounting system that is an obvious perfomance improvement from the standard RAM arm and ball (which is still made and sold by RAM). if you don’t like the new doubletake arm and ball, dont buy it, don’t upgrade…but there’s no reason to bash a small company like doubletake.
You must sell Doubletake products lol
i actually don’t even own doubletake mirrors. i couldn’t get past the clumsy RAM arms being repurposed as a bulky mounting solution to an otherwise simple, yet tough mirror. i found the touratech folding mirrors to be a better fit for my needs, and they are aesthetically more pleasing to my eye…which is why i was happy to see doubletake finally design their own, more refined solution that doesn’t scream KTM MANTIS ADV KLIM BADLANDS PRO. doubletake mirrors now seem like a more viable option for myself. and i hope that most people looking for new adv/offroad mirrors might consider the newly improved doubletake mirrors over the inferior copycat RAM mirrors with their clumsy, bulky arms and soft RAM balls.
and hopefully doubletake will start making some proprietary mounting solutions for your 3 gopro’s, two 360 cameras, 10” tablet, garmin zumo and your iphone, all with wireless charging…so you can be financially coerced into their ecosystem even further. and we will all finally subscribe to your youtube channel.
A solution in search of a problem?
I have DoubleTake mirrors and RAM Mounts on all my adventure bikes. They take a beating and keep on ticking.
Their “no matter what” warranty is truly amazing. They insisted on NOT charging charging me for a new mirror even after I explained that it was my fault and just wanted to buy a replacement.
Highly recommended. I’ll have to trust that the new system is better since I’m sure the old parts are discontinued.
I’ll pass on the ‘upgrade’. I’ve already upgraded the lower mount ball on my own by getting balls with wrench flats. So now I don’t have to use “pliers” to tighten the lower balls. And I can use a drop of blue Loctite to keep them from coming loose.
Amazon knock off RAM balls are better than original as they have wrench flats and are made out of a harder rubber that doesn’t squish over time. 6″ arms still move around over really rough terrain though. Bigger tightening handle probably a good improvement