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[alko]

I think the sr/s looks very cool, but please explain the mirror location. Very strange and confusing. Not only does the handlebar appear to somewhat block the view, the distance from your eyes makes less field of view, and reaching to adjust them while riding seems really hard.

[Crissa]

More distance from your eyes means that it can get a better angle behind you.  Sit on your pillion and look into your mirrors; they can actually see better behind you than the rider can.

The lower placement is considered to avoid where your arms stick out, meaning that you have less blind spot behind you (and more to the side).

That plus the aerodynamic position are just tradeoffs.  Many of the new aerodynamic or video mirrors are lower down on cars, so we'll probably see this more often.

-Crissa

[alko]

Sorry crissa, i dont buy it. The closer the mirror, the more you see. Which is the reason the passenger mirrors on cars are convex to give you more view.

[Doug S]

I do believe they'd have to be a little more convex than the other bikes' mirrors, to give you the same field of view. Which would make things look a little smaller. But pretty much all of our car mirrors (at least the right-hand side) do it, so why is that a problem?

If you're not comfortable reaching down that "far" to adjust your mirrors, do it while you're in the parking lot. I don't think anybody with more than a few months' riding experience would have a problem with it.

And I, for one, and sick and tired of looking at my elbows in my mirrors! You could place the mirrors farther outboard, but that would make the bike harder to split lanes with (a real consideration here in CA). I applaud Zero trying a creative approach to give you more a useful view behind. Personally I'd prefer a rear view cam, mounted on the tail with an unobstructed view, and a display on the dashboard. Most cars have back-up cams now. But I doubt we're going to get it any time soon on our bikes. This seems like decent solution.

[alko]

It does look cool, and I'm sure it helps with aerodynamics a tiny bit. I guess a test ride will tell the story. I have to readjust the mirrors on my dsr quite often just because they get bumped. Perhaps these won't be bumped as often because they don't stick out so far.

[Crissa]

Closer means wider view angle:  But it also means that you, yourself block more of that possible view angle.

It just changes the shape of the blind spots more than creating new ones.

-Crissa

[JaimeC]

The mirrors on my K1200LT are low and far forward.  They give a COMMANDING view of what is directly behind me as well as the entire lane on either side without me having to tuck in an elbow and lean over.

I had that same effect on my 2009 Yamaha TMAX.  There were complaints about how "insect-like" the mirrors looked on their long, skinny stalks mounted way forward on the fairing but they gave the same unobstructed view as the mirrors on the K1200LT.

The mirrors on the Zero S, on the other hand, require me to tuck my elbow into my side and I have to lean over a bit to see what is directly behind me.  Same issue on my 2019 Yamaha XMAX.

So yes, mounting the mirrors farther forward will definitely give you a better view of what is behind you and to the sides.

[Hans2183]

My BMW R1200 RT had similar placement. It gives a way better view underneath your arms so your shoulders are never in the way. It's very practical. Also helps with filtering since mirrors stick out less.

On the other side the BMW version is an integrated design, it's part of the body work. And the mirror can be moved like how car mirrors have movable glass within the fixed shell. It also has a break away feature where it snaps off on impact and can be snapped in place again. I discovered that the hard way.

These zero ones look just like the normal high stick versions on a lower stick... Less engineered.

[flar]

I commented on this on another thread. This is a similar placement to many BMW models and I find it to be far superior. I have this on my R1200RT and love it and would love to see this on all bikes.

Closer means a wider angle of view. Yes, when it's aimed at your shoulders that doesn't help, but physically and optically closer is wider and further is narrower.

Below the bars means the view back is pretty much unobstructed. That is a big advantage.

Below and closer would be nice, but to see the mirror you pretty much have to put it where you can see it over your hands. If the mirror were closer and below the bars then your arms would block you seeing the mirror.

The distance isn't much greater than the standard mirror placement and the field of view can be solved with a convex curve on the lens.  The obstruction you get with a typical mirror placement, though, requires the rider to dance to work around it.

[Crilly]

Being a short fat guy, I cannot twist my body to see behind me.  I prefer to have my mirrors on my handle bars so I can move the bars to see behind me when I am stopped at an angle.

[didierm]

Personally I'd prefer a rear view cam, mounted on the tail with an unobstructed view, and a display on the dashboard. Most cars have back-up cams now. But I doubt we're going to get it any time soon on our bikes. This seems like decent solution.

After having experienced excellent results with the Blueskysea brand in our cars, I installed the Blueskysea DV688 on my SR/F : https://www.blueskysea-inc.com/dv688-p00099p1.html (to be found on e.g. Amazon and AliExpress), for both dashcam/crashcam functionality and as a rear view mirror.

As a rear view mirror, it has a very wide PoV, covering everything in an almost 180° angle behind the rear wheel.

The disadvantage : due to the large PoV, everything which is more than 10-15 m behind you is more or less indiscernible on the rather tiny display (but is recorded on the storage card).
Actually, this helps for adapting : if you see ANYTHING on the display, it is close.

[TheRan]

Personally I'd prefer a rear view cam, mounted on the tail with an unobstructed view, and a display on the dashboard. Most cars have back-up cams now. But I doubt we're going to get it any time soon on our bikes. This seems like decent solution.

After having experienced excellent results with the Blueskysea brand in our cars, I installed the Blueskysea DV688 on my SR/F : https://www.blueskysea-inc.com/dv688-p00099p1.html (to be found on e.g. Amazon and AliExpress), for both dashcam/crashcam functionality and as a rear view mirror.

As a rear view mirror, it has a very wide PoV, covering everything in an almost 180° angle behind the rear wheel.

The disadvantage : due to the large PoV, everything which is more than 10-15 m behind you is more or less indiscernible on the rather tiny display (but is recorded on the storage card).
Actually, this helps for adapting : if you see ANYTHING on the display, it is close.

Are the cameras hard wired or can they be disconnected? I'm not interested in having a front camera as I already have one on my helmet.

How's the dynamic range? A common issue with rear view cameras is if you have a bright sky behind you the image can darken so much that it's hard to make out cars on the road.

How does the screen mount? I'd want to stick it to my wind screen above the dash so it would need to extend out from the mounting surface a bit and be able to be tilted up.

Is it fine to use it without a memory card or will it put a warning message up on the screen? It's fine if it's in the corner of the screen, just as long as it doesn't block the view.

[didierm]

Personally I'd prefer a rear view cam, mounted on the tail with an unobstructed view, and a display on the dashboard. Most cars have back-up cams now. But I doubt we're going to get it any time soon on our bikes. This seems like decent solution.

After having experienced excellent results with the Blueskysea brand in our cars, I installed the Blueskysea DV688 on my SR/F : https://www.blueskysea-inc.com/dv688-p00099p1.html (to be found on e.g. Amazon and AliExpress), for both dashcam/crashcam functionality and as a rear view mirror.

As a rear view mirror, it has a very wide PoV, covering everything in an almost 180° angle behind the rear wheel.

The disadvantage : due to the large PoV, everything which is more than 10-15 m behind you is more or less indiscernible on the rather tiny display (but is recorded on the storage card).
Actually, this helps for adapting : if you see ANYTHING on the display, it is close.

Are the cameras hard wired or can they be disconnected? I'm not interested in having a front camera as I already have one on my helmet.

How's the dynamic range? A common issue with rear view cameras is if you have a bright sky behind you the image can darken so much that it's hard to make out cars on the road.

How does the screen mount? I'd want to stick it to my wind screen above the dash so it would need to extend out from the mounting surface a bit and be able to be tilted up.

Is it fine to use it without a memory card or will it put a warning message up on the screen? It's fine if it's in the corner of the screen, just as long as it doesn't block the view.

Out of my head (SR/F currently out of order due to defunct 12V battery) :

1. Cameras can be disconnected , variable wire length, back camera can be mirrored, display emits a small warning sign and a beep (can be disabled if I remember well) when one of the cameras is not detected.
Not sure if this provides the best value for money if you're only interested in the back camera.

2. Dynamic range : it's winter over here, so not much experience with a bright sky.    Back camera is not oriented towards the sky neither, but rather level with the horizon. LCD display is a bit washed out (not to much contrast, depending on viewing angle), but recordings are fine (only looked at them when installing initially, as my main objective is rear view).

3. Display is currently mounted on the handlebar. I thought about mounting it above the dash (which provides a better view due to the helmet's limited downwards view), but at the handlebar it is a better fit for impact protection/aerodynamics/esthetics.
The SR/S may provide a better proposition here.

4. Memory card : it gives a warning message when absent/not formatted, but I do not remember where/how exactly. I see no value in not inserting a (limited storage) card : the device cycles the recordings (FIFO), and it provides some testimony in accidents too.

Is the device perfect ?
No (display slightly too small, display contrast could be a bit better, objects are small (convex PoV, as explained above), but it is not cheap China junk either.

Would I buy it again ?
Absolutely.

[alko]

Thanks for all the great comments. I kinda like crillys reasoning that handlebar mounted mirrors have the advantage of being able to change your view while backing up, but it's also true that I see my shoulders more than anything else especially when I'm wearing a heavy coat.
I didn't realize BMW was already doing this, so that's good to know. I'm sure looking forward to test riding the sr/s next month. But I'm still waiting for dc charging before I plop down $20 grand.

[GaryArt1]

Being a short fat guy, I cannot twist my body to see behind me.  I prefer to have my mirrors on my handle bars so I can move the bars to see behind me when I am stopped at an angle.

Well I am not really a short fat guy but I tend to agree with Crilly.  I like handle bar mounted mirrors so I can adjust them easily by either moving the bars or the mirrors itself.   Not sure how easily that could be done on the SRS.  After I installed the extensions on the stock mirror arms I no longer am looking at my elbows and I now actually like the stock mirrors.