The middle photo shows the through which the mirror's mounting post fits (I've detached one end of the bulb reflector and swung it aside for vision and accessibility). 


The bottom photo shows the mirrors mounting post with the groove for locating the spring retaining clip.


The top photo shows my problem. I cannot push the mounting post though far enough to expose the groove to enable fitting of the spring retaining clip. What am I doing wrong?

Chris Harris is mounting a mirror that has a post-socket-arrangement in this video although the array is the reverse of yours. He asserts that the job is similar to what you'll need to do on your RS. When the post resists engagement, he swabs the socket with alcohol to ease the post into it, so you might try that, too. It takes concentrated, controlled force to engage the parts, apparently. The fun starts around 4:48.

Make very sure you press on the exact center of the glass.  Otherwise you will crack it and replacements are not available.  Please don't ask me how I know this.

Thanks Laitch.

Unfortunately although informative, as my mirror has the post, this doesn't solve my problem.

The post in the center of the mirror needs to push in about 2 mm further to expose the groove for the retaining clip to engage. I cannot see anything obstructing this.

Karl P H wrote:The post in the center of the mirror needs to push in about 2 mm further to expose the groove for the retaining clip to engage.

Are you indicating you lubed the post—or hole—with alcohol and tried to push the post through the hole, Karl, or that you didn't try that? Harris seems to indicate that installing your type of mirror with the clips takes the same strategy. If you have verified you have the correct parts in hand, do measurements of the post show it should be able to extend through the hole sufficiently? On Harris's video, it sure appears that whichever style is being installed, concentrated force on the mirror section over the post, perhaps coupled with mental imagery of what is supposed to happen and the focus Point-Seven-five has described, is needed to prevail.  The pop when it seats sounds satisfying anyway.

Good luck.

Laitch, the Harris video is for the RT mirror which has a ball and socket attachment.  On those mirrors, the alcohol lubricates the ball so it slips into the socket with less resistance.  Then the alcohol evaporates so the ball is held securely.  This is different from the RS mirror which is attached by a slot and clip.  The fit of those mirrors is loose enough that no lube is needed. 

I had a similar problem with the mirrors on my first RS a while back.  When you put the post with the slot into the tube in the mirror housing it would bottom before the slot was in position to take the clip that secured it.  

I remember having a heck of a time with those mirrors, and even lost one of them when riding.  I seem to recall that I had painted those mirrors and the paint buildup needed to be removed from where the mirror glass assembly contacted the tube the post went into.  It didn't take much paint to prevent the clip from going into the slot.

Point-Seven-five wrote:Laitch, the Harris video is for the RT mirror which has a ball and socket attachment. 

I'm going by Harris's mention in the video that the installation effort was similar for the RS mirror and so it seems to me who is strictly a mirror-on-a-stick adherent. Forcing a post or ball into a plastic hole that is tight enough to support it without breaking either the mirror or the housing seems challenging for sure and takes faith both in the structure of the materials and the designers who created them; however, the body count of mirrors and housings that failed to accept the challenge without damage is unknown except for Harris's and yours.  It's probably better that way. 

I know from experience that any bit of shite on either the post or socket will prevent it from seating. I even have a mirror where someone broke the end of the post and used Araldite to make a new clip-grip. No idea if it worked! Karl - a bit of a rubdown with wet'n'dry won't go amiss.

Are you sure you aren't getting interference from the shoulder on the post? 

As the post seemed to be a touch loose in the hole, lubricating the post & hole didn't make any difference.

The build up of paint also crossed my mind - after all the mirror pod has been repainted. I scraped the paint from the rim of the hole. Still to no avail.

How's the procedure going, Karl? I'll point out the ball post has two flat sides that need alignment with corresponding flats in the hole for successful insertion, apparently. Beyond that, here's one member's seemingly successful solution for all that.

I'm stumped.

I have two right hand mirror pods, a damaged one and a spare - originally from my 1985 Alaska Blau K100RS. The spare has been repainted Pearl silver to match my 1992 K1000RS. To the best of my knowledge, BMW did not make any changes between them and upon inspection, the two appear identical in every aspect. An experienced BMW motorcycle wrecker examined the mirrors and could not see why the mirror wouldn't fit the repainted pod.

Not sure what my next step is. The bike has the original, damaged pod so that it can be ridden.

Karl

Laitch wrote:he swabs the socket with alcohol

I just use spit. Cheaper than alcohol and readily available.