Looking for 97 Magna parts

[SamRon]

Hi guys,

unfortunately I ran of the road the other day on a sharp turn and bend the right front fork. I am looking for replacement forks, black front fender and rear shocks. If you have some that you want to sell or know where to get them please let me know.

Sam

[SamRon]

Does anyone have a suggestion of what I can do about the front forks? Please

[MagnaMan]

Glad to hear you're OK.

The front fenders are not too expensive to get new from ronayers.com. I don't see that many of them for sale used because they usually are wrecked on parts bikes.

If you're fender is really trashed I have one that Jeff gave me. But the guy he got it from had sprayed it with some kind of undercoating. It literally has a rubber texture on the topside. You're welcome to it.

If you only need one fork, I'd watch ebay. The one offs should be cheaper than a complete pair. For a complete pair you may need to watch craigslist for awhile to find a deal... Or some forks can be straightened if you have a local suspension shop, especially if just the tube is messed up.

As far as the rear shocks, I would actually take the opportunity to upgrade to some Progressive shocks on the rear. They made a noticeable difference to me over the stock shocks. The cheapest place to get them that I've found is http://www.phatperformanceparts.com/.

[SamRon]

Jesse,

thanks for the reply. I have been looking on ebay but all they have is for the older bikes. Do you think the coating on the fender can be removed? If not I guess I will look at the website you mentioned. Also thanks for the tip on upgrading the rear shocks. I will do that. This is my first crash and I am very sore. Nothing broken. Grateful to God to be alive. 

[MagnaMan]

Fender
I'll see if I can't strip some of the coating off the fender.

Rear Shocks
In addition to the Progressive rear shocks, I just remembered there is another company that makes a shock for the Magna, Hagon. They're made in England and imported here by one reseller:
Dave Quinn 203-393-2651
http://www.davequinnmotorcycles.com/

My notes on Hagon shocks for the Honda Magna
RC43 is the prefix for the shock then the following numbers indicate the variations.

• A is black $194/pair
  
• 2810 $305/pair (damping adjustable. preload adjustable - 3 position collar) (Quad rate progressive spring).
• P is polished stainless $291 / pair

My notes may be off, but give Dave a call. The Hagons may be cheaper than Progressives.

Forks
I went to the ronayers.com website and looked up the part number for one of the forks. It looks like they are exclusive to the Magna so you won't get an exact match from any other Honda bike.

Used forks will be the cheapest, but it may take a while to find them. Here's some other options:

• You could also consider a fork / wheel swap. I know of some people that have swapped out some other Honda Sports bike forks and wheels to get dual rotors on the front, etc.
• If a suspension shop can't straighten the fork tube, I know you can actually purchase tubes and cut them to size, but I've never priced them. The aftermarket tubes may cost as much as a stock tube.
• You can probably still get you forks rebuilt using the lowers and having the Traxxion Dynamics cartridges to replace the damaged fork tubes and all the internals. http://www.traxxion.com/Street-Bike/. Last I checked, it would set you back about $1,000 but that would give you modern technology in your forks. Cartridge suspension on a Magna!

Anyway, there are a few options depending upon how fast you want to get back on the road and how much money you want to spend. Also you may need to replace some riding gear.

Can you post a photo of your fork so we can see how bad it is? 

[SamRon]

It is hard to see on the pictures but one of the forks is bowed. I think the other one is less bowed. The wheel points left when steering is straight. Then handlebar extension might be bend too.

[MagnaMan]

Forks
I'm not sure but a moto suspension shop may be able to straight those for you... The problem is finding one in your area. Just out of curiosity. I emailed an independent shop in Tyler to see what they would say. I'm fairly sure they'll say the won't recommend it, but I know a moto suspension guy here in Houston who told me he often has to straighten tubes to some extent, because they flex over time.

Otherwise I checked on ebay last night and saw people selling fork tubes. The Magna tubes are 41mm but I don't know how long they are. You just have to be careful about getting chinese knock offs that are going to have the finish flake off. 

If you revive your original forks, I'd take the opportunity to rebuild them or at least change the fluid and the top seals and inspect all the internals. While you have the forks apart, the scratches on the fork lowers can probably be buffed out if you polish them, which makes them look almost like chrome. (Both of my Magnas have polished fork lowers).

Handlebars / Risers
The risers holding your handle bars on to the deck kind of float in rubber. It may be that you just tweaked them during your spill and that's why your handlebars are off. You might be able to loosen the risers and reset them.  It's also possible that the forks may have twisted some inside the triple tree and that's why you have the alignment issue.

It's hard to tell without seeing it in person and I am no expert.

[MagnaMan]

Take a step back
Another important thing to do is take a step back from the repairs and look at your accident. Make sure you know what you did wrong. Maybe even figure out if you can practice a few skills to prevent that in the future.

There's a great two-book series called Proficient Motorcycling which is all about street riding. It provides some good reading and valuable perspective.

[TLRam1]

You can also try Frank's Maintenance and Engineering aka Franks Forks.

When I lived in Waco we used a hydraulic shop to straighten forks, that is what I would do with yours. Loosening up the triple tree will probably allow you to get the front wheel back in line, either of these I don't see as big issues but we are looking at it from a distance. 

You have Tyler and Longview not too far away from Lindale, otherwise you can ship them off.

Glad you are okay.

[hootmon]

I'd contact Pinwall cycles.. IF they don't have it, they might can find it or part out a bike for your forks..

[MagnaMan]

I heard back from the shop in Tyler, Quick-something. They said they did not have the equipment for straightening the forks and didn't know of anyone.

I like Terry's idea about the Hydraulic shop. And check out the contacts that Terry and Hoot provided. 

From what I can see in the photos, I really don't think your forks look all that bad. They look fixable.

[Lurkin]

For rear shocks, you can also replace them with units from the VTX1300/1800.  1800's ride firmer than the 1300, but look the same.

[SamRon]

Thank you guys for all the input. Jesse I appreciate your input. I know what I did wrong. I came to fast into the turn in a group ride and it was to either hit the guy in front or run it into a field. Ground was softer than expected. Front wheel spun as soon as it hit the soft dirt.

I have found a place might have the forks in Kansas. I have called around but noone around here wants to mess with straightening the forks. They can rebuild with new parts but it is costly. Anyway, thank you for your advise. Will follow up some leads and go from there.

[MagnaMan]

You're welcome.

In my experience rebuilding the forks is pretty easy. Probably cost you about $30 in parts and $18 in fluid.  The tubes you bent are the only thing that needs to be replaced or straightened. I bet the rest of the internals are fine. So hold on to your old forks if you end up replacing them.