My SuperDuper Magna Is Finally Done!!!!

John Luttrell · August 02, 2010, 10:14:07 AM

Again, absolutely stunning job on the bike; down side is, unless Korea has changed since my sampling, you'd better get that thing back to the states. You can't ride it there for fear of getting it ran over and you can't let it sit idle for fear of it being stolen.

Again, get the bike published, then get it home to the states!

Chokse · August 02, 2010, 10:19:50 AM

The driving part is still true, but I've been doing it here for 15 years and have never had an accident. If you drive defensively here you'll get killed in no time. Drive aggressively and you'll live forever. Go figure!

As far as theft, foreign bikes are pretty much left alone because they are too easy to trace. The only fear is at night, but between the bike tent and the alarm with perimeter sensor, I think I'm covered. During the daytime when I am out and about, I put a cover on the bike when I park it somewhere. It's amazing, but if it is covered, Koreans basically ignore it or seem to think it's invisible. Leave the cover off and I'll have people sitting on it and having their pictures taken.

hootmon · August 02, 2010, 11:39:22 AM

Man, If Honda had produced something like this instead of the 3rd Gen, they would have killed so many of the bikes that came out afterwords (Meanstreak, Warrior, etc), or imagine what these other companies would have had to come up with to compete!!!
Really Great Job.. I just had to post on another forum (none V-4)...

Yes, Contact several of the custom bike magazines.
IF I were you, I'd even contact Honda to show them what you have done.. Maybe they will hire you to help design and build the next gen V-4 by showing them how it's done!!! So many of the Honda's today are Boooooooring!!! **Yawn**. There is not one bike manufactured today that has me the least bit excited that anybody is even on the right track..

Great Job!!

Could you write up a little about the VFR upgrade. What parts you swapped out, what issues you had to overcome, etc. etc.. Or did I miss something?

Chokse · August 02, 2010, 05:52:35 PM

Hootmon:

The VFR swap requires the VFR's crankshaft, pistons, connecting rods, gear cams, pulse generator, the majority of the gears under the right crankcase cover, the VFR carb bank, and the VFR Ignition. You'll also need four coils and I would recommend using both the upper and lower cases from the VFR engine. To save shipping costs, I used only the upper case, but it would have been safer and easier to use both cases from the VFR. Also, you can use either the VFR or Magna valves, but I chose to use the VFR valves and springs.

The parts listed above are the easy part. In fact, if you have a VFR engine, you can basically bolt the Magna cylinder heads to it and be just about ready to go. You'll need to cap off a few openings in the VFR lower case, and will have to cap off some areas of the VFR oil pump, but other than that, it would be close to being ready.

The hard part is the wiring. That took forever and nearly caused my head to explode. On the wiring, you'll need to wire in all the VFR CDI wires, clutch diode wires, and a few others that are escaping my memory at the moment. You'll also need to decide if you want any of the extra VFR wiring like speedo sensor, fuel gauge, etc.

Magnum Magna · August 02, 2010, 06:54:57 PM

You have created an awesome custom Magna. I love it. Like Terry I am interested in the duel brake in the front.

I agree with Hootmon that I am not impressed with the bike they are putting out today.

hootmon · August 02, 2010, 07:33:55 PM

So Chokse - Your saying you can take a VFR motor, swap out the heads and it's a bolt in installation (other than all the wiring and crap)??? Do you have to swap the heads?? (why), and IF you swap out the heads, how does the cam chain get eliminated, because of the new cams??
Any Idea if the 800 will work as well, or do you need to go with a 750??? What year VFR motor did you get the parts from??

I guess if my Motor or Tranny ever crap out, That would be an optional way to go.. Kewl..

Chokse · August 02, 2010, 08:17:41 PM

Hootmon:

That's a bit simplified, but yeah, that is basically the process. You will need to cap off some openings in the lower VFR case, and will have to cap off some lines in the VFR oil pump, but other than that it is pretty much a drop in procedure.

You do have to use the Magna cylinder heads for two reasons. One, the VFR heads will not work with the Magna exhaust, and second, the VFR heads do not have the mounting points for the engine fins on the Magna. I just had the VFR valves and springs put into my Magna heads and had the ports polished. That seemed to work just fine. Also, the cams drop in with no modifications. The only mounting points that are different between the two bikes are on the upper crank case. So, by using the VFR crank case, you take care of that problem. The cylinder head mounting points are the same on both bikes.

I will once again say that the wiring is a real pain and is the worst part of this project. This is the part that makes the process very, very difficult. The engine stuff is easy, but the wiring is a real headache.

Any VFR 750 engine from a 94-97 will work. Years prior to this may work as well, but I can't verify this. I can say that I doubt the 800 would work because the mounting points on the frame would be different and the 800 uses fuel injection, which would mean you'd have to figure out how to get the throttle bodies to work correctly and to get them wired in properly. Knowing what I know now, I'd never attempt that. Too much of a headache. If you really want an 800+ engine, you can get an 840cc big bore kit for the VFR 750 engine.

Jmosmith · May 02, 2013, 08:41:32 PM

I can't see the slide show? The link now takes me to something from "Apple", and asks for a user name and password!!!???.... Anyone know where I can see the rest of this bike please, please, please!!!

J.

TLRam1 · May 02, 2013, 11:04:13 PM

I see Chokse on ever now and than, if he does not respond you might send him a PM.

Chokse · May 02, 2013, 11:40:55 PM

When Apple made the switch from MobileMe to iCloud, they killed all the iWeb sites, along with iWeb itself. This happened just about the time I was packing up to move back to the US from overseas, and was dismantling my bike so I could actually bring it back (in pieces and without the frame) with me to the US (times like those I really hate our government). So, I had no time to mess with it when the site went down.

Fast forward 1.5 years and the bike is in pieces (boxes actually) and I literally have no time to put up another website. However, I have gotten a new frame (with a Magna attached to it) and will have to get started on rebuilding my bike in the not too distant future.

In a week or two I will probably put an official request for help here on MOOT. Basically, I'm going to need a few of you wonderful guys and gals to come to my place (N. Ft. Worth) to help me take apart the Magna I bought. I'll sell or put into storage most of the parts and then take the frame to a welder and powder coater. Once the welding and powder coating is done, I'll need volunteers to come over again to help me put my engine and parts onto the new frame. If anyone's interested, let me know.

For those that are thinking about some of these mods, it will be a good, hands-on experience.

snoopy · May 03, 2013, 12:34:08 PM

I'm in.

TLRam1 · May 04, 2013, 12:07:52 AM

Post up when and maybe it will work with my schedule.

Smoked U · May 06, 2013, 08:59:02 PM

Dude, you are in my backyard.

Send me a PM when you are ready. I would be very happy to assist.

I would take a lot of additional pictures of this build. Hoot is right on. Contact Honda when this animal is finished and see if you can get them interested. You never know.

Jmosmith · May 07, 2013, 02:15:39 PM

Wish I was close enough to come watch/help!!! dang.

lragan · May 07, 2013, 05:09:58 PM

Quote from: Smoked U on May 06, 2013, 08:59:02 PM

I would take a lot of additional pictures of this build. Hoot is right on. Contact Honda when this animal is finished and see if you can get them interested. You never know.

It seems to me that many of the changes to the 3rd gen bikes were done to control costs, and allow the product to be introduced at a price that would attract new riders. I know that the chain drive is more efficient than shaft drive, so one gets a bit more power to the rear wheel. It is also much cheaper, and ups the maintenance cost. The front brake is now one disk instead of two. Yes, with sintered pads and stainless steel lines, one can achieve good front brake performance, but with the soft front springs, who would want to? And don't even get me started on the cheap, chopped chicken feather stock seat. Nearly all the 3rd gens I know about have been modified at owner's expense to address these obvious shortcomings, while most of the first gen bikes I see are stock.

The mods that Chokse made are super, but they would price the bike where only the serious, well informed riders would be in the market space. Honda engineers may cheer, but the marketing types who run any successful production company would veto every one of them.

I have to admit it is rather fun, though, to customize the bikes to our own tastes. Just don't add up the cost of all the mods, or it will be somewhat depressing...