Request sanity check

[Sledge Hammer]

Would somebody else with a 3G Magna please advise if your right downtube is completely round in cross section along its length or if it is bent in to provide clearance for the right front exhaust header? I just noticed mine seems to be bent in to provide clearance. At least, I hope that it was meant to be that way. Otherwise, I seem to have missed something critical in my inspection of the bike before I bought it.



Bike-rochondriac Mike

P.S. I don't kid myself. I know I'm not sane. It's just a little game I play with my psychiatrist.

[hootmon]

I had never noticed it, but yes the right frame down tube has a concave spot for clearance of the exhaust header...

[Sledge Hammer]

Whew! Thanks for putting my little mind at rest, Hootmon!

[drkngas]

Bummer guys!!!  you both got the recalled frames!!!!

[drkngas]

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HAHAHA  Just kidding!!!       

[hootmon]

Musta been just the 94 & 95 models, or maybe someone has been a bit too much of a perfectionist and Bondo'ed and painted their frame... Hummm David??? Maybe??? 

[Sledge Hammer]

The previous owner had told me that she had dropped the bike, but I thought i had been dropped on the left side. It looked like a clearance, but sure does look like clumsy way to avoid mechanical interference. Seems to me that it would be a weak point in the tubing, but I have to admit I have never heard of its being a problem on anybody's bike. Guess I'll file it in the Things To Ignore section, along with birthdays of family members, things I told my wife I'd do around the house, phone calls I said I'd return -- that sort of stuff.

[hootmon]

I'm sure it has to do with the shift of the cylinders due to the crank layout and making the front headers look symmetrical from the front, etc.. I'm a little surprised I never noticed it before as I am the one who usually notices things that are off center, etc... Anywayz.. Honda must have done an OK job for it to take 4 years and you pointing it out for me to notice and nobody has heard of a frame failure...

[lragan]

The frame has to be much stiffer than the exhaust, so there is virtually no way that an accident could cause the exhaust to dent the frame -- the exhaust tube would collapse first.

This little "dent" in the frame is what engineers call a "band aid" -- probably a fix that was implemented near the end of the design, when they figured out the exhaust tube wouldn't fit otherwise...   

[L J VFR]

I actually did notice this when i first bought my bike.. But only while I was down to check and make sure my exhaust was good and tight.  Other than that I may have never noticed it.  I laughed to myself and thought exactly what Lawrence had mentioned about a last minute engineering fix..

[Magna 4 Me]

You got me to wondering so I just went out in the garage and checked my '98, the down tube is straight and symetrical all the way down.  The header pipe takes a different path and there is a good inch of clearance between the frame and exhaust.  They must have re-engineered that area at some time. 

[L J VFR]

Hmmm..  Thanks Tom for that inquiry..  That is interesting..  Makes me wonder what else they may have re-engineered on these bikes.. So much for the slogan, "They all stayed the same".  They sneaked that one in on us..  ( I wonder if they upgraded the R/R as well?? )

[L J VFR]

Wait a minute, some have this on 94 models all the way up to at least my 2001, and some don't have this "band aid".  Weird don't ya think.  Maybe the "band aid" frames were made on Fridays...

[Greg Cothern]

The notched bend in the frame is on all 3 rd gen Magna's I have ever seen to make room for the right side exhaust header.

I would like to see some PICs of the right front down tube on those whom own one that is not clearanced for the header please????  Make sure you show the rear brake lever in the shot too.

[BA]

My 99 has the dent in the frame tube.