I know this fella who purchased a 07 Warrior and he thinks it's the best thing going. I'm glad he likes his purchase but kinda thought he may not really know all of his options. As I was searching around and looking at some information I ran across the following write up and thought I would share: sorry if it is a long read but I think most of you can appreciate it.
I recentlly bought a nice '98 Honda Magna with 6,400 miles. The bike was in like new condition and black in color.
This is my first bike I ever owned. I am in my early thirties, around 6 foot and weight about 210 lbs. I was undecided about what bike I wanted, I was stuck between the Honda Magna, the Honda Spirit, the Honda ACE, the Yamaha V Star and a Suzuki Volusia. I was on a limited budget, so I wasnt looking for something new or nothing over $4,000.
After reading review after review, I started to limit my search for an ACE or a Magna. But once my younger brother bought a '05 VTX 1300 (he's alittle bigger and much more wealthier). I knew that I needed to get a bike that would not be left behind when we traveled together. Thats when I decided that a Magna would be my choice. Not only was a used Magna in my price range, but it was also a bike that would allow me to keep up with my brother and other bigger cruisers. It was just a matter of finding one within my budget and the color I wanted (black). After about a month of endless searching, I located one in CHI and got a good price on it from a private owner and went after it.
I didnt even test ride it. Just started it up, heard the engine rumble (the stock pipes were debaffled and the carbs rejetted....sounded throaty). Loaded the bike up and took it home.
My first ride was frightening, this bike is POWERFUL! I didnt hammer it but it still felt like it was ready to GOOOOO! After a few days of riding my Magna lightly, I went on a 200 mile cruise with my brother and some of his riding buddies. I had the only bike under 883 cc (Sportster the next larger size) on the trip, however, my bike was right at home with the 1300 and 1800's. It handled great in the twisties and galloped past most of the other bikes in the straight aways. Talk about a sweet bike!
The black finish (with all the chrome parts) got positive comments and plenty of looks from the other riders. Many of the other riders paid well over 10K for thier bikes and my Magna that cost just alittle over 3K was in the spot light. They wanted to know what kind of bike I had and if it was new? Appartently Magnas arent a dime a dozen around here and thats fine with me. I seen many Shadows and V Stars on my ride, but not one Magna. A friend of mine had a Yamaha Warrior and we were side by side on a slow rolling start and we opened our bikes up at the same time and my Honda inched pasted it up until we ran out of straight away. He was amazed! He just payed over 13K for his 1600 plus cc '04 Warrior and here this '98 Magna, at 749 cc going head to head with this warrior, and with over 10K in cash to spare!
POSITIVES: Love the V-4 motor, shifts smooth, Love the looks, the handling, the four pipes, the power, the SPEED! PRICE! A real affordbale used bike!
NEEDS: Could used a bigger fuel tank (about 110-130 miles between fills), a more comfortable seat (too soft), some forward controls (I am six foot and my legs need to be extended), a windshield (sits straight up, so the wind really hits ya in the chest and face) and the drum rear brake isnt the best (added with the front disk brakes, it stops good).
Other than that, I love my Magna! Its a great first bike, with loads of power. With the power, I wont be needing to upgrade this thing anytime soon (might have had to trade in a shadow or v star in a year or so if i bought one.....) and with the price I paid for this, I can really put some of that extra money into customizing this BAD bike!
Highly Recommended. Especially for those on a budget. It will cut the cost purchasing a bike but certainly not the performance!
I didn't write it..
But as the saying goes.. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!"
Hoot, I read that same write-up either on epinions or somewhere. That guy really likes his magna... :D
Don't we all I know I do well short of Hootmans sig pic !!!! :shock: :lol: :lol:
Support your troops even when Congress won't!! :x
A couple of years back when I took my Magna over to the stealership, I had no sooner put the sidestand down when a guy who looked to be in his late forties or early fifties walked up and said "Nice Magna. That's a '95, isn't it?"
Most people I meet have never heard of a Magna but this guy clearly knew them intimately. As we chatted, he revealed that he had had a 3G Magna himself when he lived in Florida. He also mentioned his name (which I have since forgotten) and that he used to drag race motorcycles professionally, claiming he owned and raced the first two Suzuki Bandits which were imported into the US, eventually retiring when he realized both he and the Bandits had gotten too old and slow for that sort of thing. He said he used his Magna for all of his street riding until he moved to Georgia, selling the bike before he moved because he thought he'd be traveling too much to ride anymore.
When he returned to riding, he bought a new Yamaha Warrior. He told it was okay in general but compared to the Magna was something of a disappointment to him, being a little faster immediately off the line but otherwise suffering in mid-range and top-end performance and overall handling.
He left me with the advice to hang onto my Magna as long as I can keep her running, whatever other bikes I get. "You will regret the day you get rid of it," he said before getting into his car to drive away.
I too, have had a stranger identify the Magna, commenting on what a great bike it is.
I intend on riding mine until it, or I, or both can no longer move...
always makes you feel good about your *investment* !!
I think more people would buy a Magna if they had a chance to try one before buying something else. As for me, I stumbled on mine and was really happy that I had it. all the performance stuff as previously listed made my day.
i just need to start customizing mine some.
I, too, did a lot of research before purchasing my Magna. And one of the deciding factors was that this "smaller" bike had no issues keeping up with the Hardley's.
All of my Hardley friends kept telling me to get a larger bike so I could keep up with them! Ha Ha!
I love my Magna!
I lucked into my Magna.. A friend of a friend was selling it.. (My friend had an old CB500t)
I had seen the V-4's back in the early 80's and man I thought they were great looking.. I had a 750-4 at the time, so couldn't justify buying one.
When I took a look at the bike this guy had.. I got that old feeling back.. (I hadn't owned a bike in almost 20 years).
I wasn't too sure about that yellow color though..
The color has grown on my.. It makes me more visible and that I really like!
My friend teased me all the time about how yellow was for pansies..
My friend's 500t died, so he worked up some $$$ to get a Nighthawk. He found one in the paper he thought was a good deal. He drove over to the guys house. The guy took him out to the garage and opened the door.
My friend just kinda kept looking.. The guys asked, what are you looking at? My friend said "Is that the bike?" with a very quizzical look on his face.. the guys said, it's the only one in the garage.. My friend busted out laughing..
You guessed it the bike was Yellow.. He bought the bike and who was the pansy now?
yellow magna! funny story
i was trying to make the colors change, guess it didnt work obviously
Quote from: Guy Gadois on December 07, 2008, 12:58:01 AM
A couple of years back when I took my Magna over to the stealership, I had no sooner put the sidestand down when a guy who looked to be in his late forties or early fifties walked up and said "Nice Magna. That's a '95, isn't it?"
Quote from: lragan on December 07, 2008, 03:03:35 PM
I too, have had a stranger identify the Magna, commenting on what a great bike it is.
I intend on riding mine until it, or I, or both can no longer move...
I took my rear tire and rim into a place to put new rubber on it two years back. A customer in the shop looked at the tire and said I really like the Magnas what year is yours.
cool