I took a stand

[Sledge Hammer]

Or to be more accurate, I called Dobie today to order my centerstand. That was too good a deal to pass up on the only game around in centerstands for the bike.

He's a great guy, just like of you have said. When I asked about lifting the bike onto the centerstand, he advised me that that would be a lot easier with larger diameter tires, but since I only have about 2K miles on my Dunlops, I'd be more interested on in some grab rails that would be sturdy enough to serve as lifting handles and would make secure attachment points for bungees. The good news is that he's been tossing around a few ideas of his own. I am keen to see what he comes up with. I'd like a durable, practical, and attractive alternative to the offerings from Cobra and MC Enterprises, both of which look a little light to me for such duty and certainly do nothing to improve the looks of the bike.

So, to date I have

∙ Switched to a Corbin gunfighter seat (my posterior thanks me with every ride  )
∙ Installed the Hondaline engine guards
∙ Swapped the headlight for a VTX unit (no longer afraid of the dark )
∙ Ordered the Cycle-istic centerstand

Any other "required" mods you folks recommend for a Magna 3G?

[Greg Cothern]

Dave Dodge carb needle shims!!!!!
Progressive Springs

[Sledge Hammer]

Sound like good ideas, Greg. I especially would like to fix the flat spot in the carburetion, since it is very wide on my bike (4500-8500 rpm). I don't do a lot of highway riding yet, but it is noticeably annoying on the highway.

Besides fork diving, do the Progressives do anything to settle the front end in cornering? My bike feels ever so slightly twitchy in the front end on sweepers.

Thanks for your advice, Greg!

[RedMagna]

Stainless steel brakeline.
Fishing line and swivle attachment piece to connect to your sidecovers and bike, so they don't fall off and brake.

[Sledge Hammer]

Stainless steel brakeline.
Fishing line and swivle attachment piece to connect to your sidecovers and bike, so they don't fall off and brake.

I've been thinking about the stainless steel braided brakeline for a while now, but I figured it would be easier to deal with it once I got the centerstand. I'll probably go to a more aggressive set of pads at the same time. You said you ride your bike fairly aggressively, so wondered if you upgraded the pads on your Magna and, if so, to what?

Hadn't even thought about the prospect of losing a side cover, but that is indeed a good idea. I'll probably do that when I install my auxiliary lights. Just got to design and build my controller card for them...

BTW, I saw a video from an on-board camera of some highly spirited riding on a '97 Magna on the Dragon's Tail from "Madmagrider" on YouTube. Couldn't remember whether yours was a '97 or not, but wondered if that might be you. Whoever it is is definitely ringing that bike out pretty good!

Thanks much for the tips!

[RedMagna]

I still riding on the stock brake pads without a problem.

Nope that's not me.  That's another fellow that attends some open invitation annual rides in October down here. 

Here are some of the video's of my buddy and I riding; I'm behind him in all of them.
Some twistie Fun! Riding with Crash - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7407684209333254404
Some sweet SC roads - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4818359946755976447
NC Sweeping Scenery - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8331660543985055170
New asphalt in NC - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4319265041462115727

And here's another fellow's videos from our group of riders (I'm somewhere at the back of pack in one of the 2007 videos), http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=256764145471287655

[roboto65]

The side covers won,t give you a problem if you replace the rubber grommets that hold them on they are about 3 bucks a piece as they age they shrink and thats when your sidecovers will fly off... Also making sure they are on right helps looks can be decieving !!! The only problem with more aggressive brakes is that the rotor wears faster meaning you replace the rotor sooner and the stock non sinter pads do a good job of slowing a Magna down...

I hate to say it but the best performance mod on the Magna is practice practice practice!!!

[Curtis_Valk]

I hate to say it but the best performance mod on the Magna is practice practice practice!!!

You shouldn't hate to say it ..............practice is more fun than bolting parts on ain't it???

Curtis

[roboto65]

Very true Curtis and nope I enjoy my practice everyday !!!!!

[Sledge Hammer]

I hate to say it but the best performance mod on the Magna is practice practice practice!!!

You shouldn't hate to say it ..............practice is more fun than bolting parts on ain't it???

Curtis

And that's what keeps postponing the mods -- I do love to practice!

One mod which is critical on my list is getting my auxiliary lights installed. It's been well after nightfall that I've been leaving the office lately, and it has dawned on me that if I were to lose my headlight on the ride home during the winter months, it's would be at best inconvenient and quite possibly disastrous. I bought a couple of the Showchrome 50W bullet lights and am trying to ride down the gas level in the tank so I can lift it off and start routing wires.

By the way, anybody here install an in-line fuel filter on a 3G Magna? The brass screen Honda provided in the petcock assembly seems about useless, but since the fuel lines are not pressurized, I'm wondering if an in-line filter might bea problem for adequate fuel delivery. Good idea or solution in search of a problem?

Seriously, thanks to all of you for all the input you've given me. Most of you have been wrenching on your Magnas longer than I have owned mine.

[Sledge Hammer]

I still riding on the stock brake pads without a problem.

Nope that's not me.  That's another fellow that attends some open invitation annual rides in October down here. 

Still a pretty good clip through those places! Definitely need to be on your toes in those areas with the limited sight distance. Thanks for the links to the vids!

[TLRam1]

No problems with an in-line filter. I use a paper one verses the screen type. I bought it in the lawn mower section at WalMart. Cycle Gear may have a few also along with Auto Parts stores.

To prevent kinking the line you can bend a copper tube for the tight quarters or what I decided was to use black braided rubber hose bought from Able Auto Supply in Plano.

I have one due to a enlarged custom tank with welds and unprotected metal inside but if your tank is the stock clean tank you should be okay unless you just want one.

I will be reporting on sintered brakes pads in the near future.

[crash]

what vtx headlight are you using? and did you have to also get a new housing?

[Greg Cothern]

Keith check out the Tips and Tricks page on the main MOOT site, there is a list of part #'s needed.

[Sledge Hammer]

what vtx headlight are you using? and did you have to also get a new housing?

Keith,

I ordered the following from HondaParts-Direct.Com, the least expensive place I could find them, and only $20 more than a used one I saw on eBay at the same time.

Headlight unit - 33120-mch-671 x 1
rubber cover - 33180-mr7-003 x 1
headlight case - 61301-mch-670 x 1
headlight rim - 61302-mch-670 x 1
headlight stay  - 61312-MEA-670 x 1
special screw (5mm) - 90104-kz3-b00 x 2
screw (5x9.5) - 90380-ge2-760 x 3
SCREW, TAP (4X12) 93903-24380 x 2

The total set me back about $240. Next cheapest was Ron Ayers at about $265. Powersports Pro and Bike Bandit wanted a stratospheric $300-310 for the same items.

The headlight stay part number has changed. The number I have listed above is the most current.

The last item is missing from the list shown on the tips and tricks page and on the Super Magna site. The 4X10 screws used on the Magna headlight housing could be substituted, but you will need them for attach the flexible "clips" which secure the wire harness to the bucket, so order them now and save yourself some trouble. (The rueful voice of experience.)

I will alert you to a fitment issue which I found with this assembly. The front bezel with the reflector in place attaches to the bucket by hooking to it at the bottom of the assembly, two screws underneath the "brow" of the bezel securing the bezel to the bucket. The problem with this is that it allows a fair amount of slop at the bottom, which causes the reflector assembly to vibrate under some road conditions and at some engine speeds. The effect on the beam is very noticeable. Since vibration could lead to premature bulb failure, I took up the slack by wrapping a little patch of rubber cut from a bicycle inner tube and wrapped it over the stud on the bezel/reflector assembly before inserting it into the slot in the front bottom of the bucket. That took up the freeplay very nicely and the lightbulb filament is no longer being shaken to pieces.

Incidentally, the parts list shown above will give you the parts to build a headlight for a 2002 VTX1800C, i.e. the cruiser version. If you check out the follow-on years of the VTX1800C, you will see that the part nymbers for just about everything are different even though in the diagrams they look the same. I think the various changes may have been to address little problems like the one I encountered, but I often wonder what Honda employees do to keep themselves amused besides changing part numbers.