I want to order a engine guard for a 1999 750 magna, and some saddle bags from Leatherlykes.
Anyone have any suggestions. Which one works and which is best. I am looking at the saddle bags model x830.
I bought the Leatherlyke bags, item #311. Not so sure I would choose this style if I was doing it over, but they have held up very well. Easy install.
I also have the MC Enterprises Engine Guard Model 1000-11. Installation following the instructions is tough for one person. However, if you will drop the headers off the front two cylinders and put them back when you are done, it is a breeze. Four nuts and the popped right off. Easy on as well. The engine guards have been "field tested" :shock: and held up well. You can see where the chrome is scraped on one side, but, hey, in a slide, that is to be expected. Protected the engine, and more importantly, my leg quite nicely. The back of the bike slid on the Leatherlyke bag, and you can't find where it was scraped without very close inspection. One of the benefits of stiff bags, I suppose. :cool:
Larry, if you're going by Leatherlyke's part number, you only have a choice of S311 or T311 for the saddlebags for your Magna. The larger sizes will not fit. S311 is the so-called Contemporary style and T311 is the studs-and-conchos laden Traditional style. I have a set of the Traditional style, and I found that they look far better up close than they do in photos. I bought mine in like-new condition on eBay for about $250 shipped.
You actually have a quite few options for hard saddlebags besides the Leatherlykes. Fat Max bags are fiberglass bags custom-made for the 1994-2003 VF750Cs and will set you back upwards of $500. They come in any color you like as long as it's black, but then that's true for most of your other options. A few Magna owners have have good things to say about the cheap ABS sidecases you can buy on eBay, but you'll need to do drilling on the bags to mount them.
One option which is popular in Europe -- and the way I would have gone vs buying Leatherlyke at full price -- would be to use Givi E21 sidecases ($170 at http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/30 (http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/30) with a Five Stars rack ($245 at http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/2937/75/ (http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/2937/75/)). Advantages over Leatherlyke are that they practically airtight and are easily detachable from the bike without opening the lids and if bought new from Twisted Throttle are less expensive after shipping. Here are a couple of photos I found on the net of a Magna with the Givi E21s on the bike and again without the bags showing what the rack looks like (the rack for the top case is a completely separate piece):
(http://i42.tinypic.com/2llkf1g.jpg)
(http://i42.tinypic.com/qz3exg.jpg)
As far as engine guards are concerned, I bought the Hondaline guards for mine. They did a nice job of protecting it when I had to lower the bike onto its side in the driveway while learning to put the bike on the centerstand, but I am a little concerned that with any forward movement that they would twist the frame tubes (and found anecdotal evidence on other forums that they can). They also ain't cheap and they are a royal pain to install. Might go with one of the afternarket engine guards if I had it to do over again.
I like the engine guards. I did not know there were other full size engine guards to chose from.
(http://www.geocities.com/myunclesam1776/leftpegs.jpg)
Robert, it is my understanding that there are two choices:
1) The MC Enterprises guards that you and I have, and
2) Hondaline guards, which are smaller, and don't come up as high.
The Hondaline guards are shaped more like the ends of a paper clip with two parallel bars and a connecting semicircle.
I have no opinion as to the relative merits of the two. I picked the MC Enterprises because they cost less, and frankly, I prefer their outline to the Hondaline ones.
The picture in Sledge Hammer has a different guard then the two different guards that I have had on my bike.
(http://www.geocities.com/bible101a/magnalight1.jpg)
(http://www.geocities.com/bible101a/magnalight2.jpg)
Quote from: Magnum Magna on May 03, 2009, 09:03:29 PM
I like the engine guards. I did not know there were other full size engine guards to chose from.
Yep! Indeed there are. The Magna was known as the RC43 instead of the VF750C in some of the European markets, so if you look up accessories for the RC43, you can find items which were never offered over here as a rule, such as engine guards which were braced front-to-rear vs only up and down and thus should be less likely to fold back on the rider's leg in the event of a sliding crash.
(http://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2007%5C11%5C13%5Cbikepics-1086821-full.jpg)
Check out the guards this hombre has on his Magna in Mexico...
(http://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009%5C04%5C22%5Cbikepics-1643585-full.jpg)
(http://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009%5C04%5C22%5Cbikepics-1643580-full.jpg)
I've got the nearly microscopic Hondaline guards. A good pair of tweezers comes in handy to hold them while you put them on the bike.
(http://i44.tinypic.com/29dekg3.jpg)
I got them instead of the larger guards only because I wanted to reduce the risk of the bar folding back and trapping my leg under the bike in the event of a sliding crash. (For more on this subject and for a photo of a Magna whose rider took it for a scrape, click here http://www.msgroup.org/forums/mtt/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=228 (http://www.msgroup.org/forums/mtt/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=228))
Quote from: Magnum Magna on May 03, 2009, 09:03:29 PM
I like the engine guards. I did not know there were other full size engine guards to chose from.
(http://www.geocities.com/myunclesam1776/leftpegs.jpg)
Well, Robert, I confess to being totally confused. :???: :???: I thought the pic in your post was of your bike -- sorry.
It appears to me that you have the Hondaline guards (as shown in your later post), unlike the pic above, which, are, I believe, the MC Enterprises guards, like mine!
Whew!!
I rather like the concept behind the "back-braced" guards that Mike is showing, but I don't plan to go to Europe to buy any, even if I could afford 'em. :-) :-)
Both are my bikes I gave my smaller ones to Greg for his project bike.
(http://www.geocities.com/myunclesam1776/leftpegs.jpg)
(http://www.geocities.com/bible101a/magnalight1.jpg)
OK, Robert, thanks for the explanation.
I haven't figured out if you have too many Magnas, or I don't have enough. (I think I know the answer to this puzzle, but the cash is lacking... :smile:)
What is the extra bar in the first pic, as indicated by the arrow shown here?? :???:
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Quote from: lragan on May 04, 2009, 07:55:08 PM
OK, Robert, thanks for the explanation.
I haven't figured out if you have too many Magnas, or I don't have enough. (I think I know the answer to this puzzle, but the cash is lacking... :smile:)
What is the extra bar in the first pic, as indicated by the arrow shown here?? :???:
Iragan.......I bet that will be part of the center stand..Used with your foot when lowering stand...
Correct it is the center stand. I don't have a need for more than one bike and it is a Magna.
Quote from: Magnum Magna on May 05, 2009, 07:30:37 PM
I don't have a need for more than one bike and it is a Magna.
I'm with you on that one, Robert. It's a good thing I happen to really like my Magna, because I won't be getting another bike anytime in the near future.
I second that emotion. As alluring as it may be to get a different--even a larger--bike, I also know it wouldn't be anywhere NEAR as silky smooth as Maggie.