My project for Spring.

[Chokse]

Well, I've got a little spring project going with my Magna.  I finally got tired of the piss-poor brakes and the lack of choices for tires.  So, I am doing something about it. 

I am in the process of adding CBR 600 wheels and brakes to the Magna.  When finished, I'll have dual disk brakes in the front and a single disk brake in the rear.  I will also be able to mount radial tires (I have already bought some Michelin Pilot Road 2 tires). 

I am using a friend's shop for the work and I can only work on weekends, so this is going to be a slow process (perhaps two months). 

Right now, things are in stage 1 of the process.  I am getting the wheels and brakes installed and working (and fabricating several spacers and mounts for everything to work correctly). 

In stage two, the entire bike will be disassembled (not much left for that to be realized) and various parts will be sent out for paint, powder coat, and chrome. 

Stage three will be the re-assembly of the bike. 

Fun, fun, fun, and I can't wait for it to be finished.  I am including some pictures taken this past weekend to show you where things stand now.  Next weekend, I will get the rear brake caliper and master cylinder mounted, and will get the front wheel and front calipers mounted. 

I'll try to post updated pictures each weekend throughout the process. 

I do have one thing I would like to ask advice about.  When the bike is disassembled and the parts are out for paint/powder coat, I would like to paint the engine.  I have bought Dupli-Color Engine Paint (Aluminum Color) but would like advice on how to prepare the engine for paint, and any other things you think would help.  I'll have the engine out of the bike, so I will be able to paint any area of the engine (top, bottom, sides, front, back, etc).  Are there any areas of the engine that I should not paint?  Also, should I sand it first and if so, what should I use?  Finally, what's the best way to remove the grease around the chain area so I can prepare that for paint? 

Enjoy the pics and I hope some of you will chime in with advice about painting the engine.

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[Magnum Magna]

Very Good.

I can't wait to see it finished.  I don't remember, where you are located?

[TLRam1]

Do keep us updated.

I love mods, wish I had the time, money and shop to do some.

I bead blasted my motor when I painted so all the oil and grease was removed. I rinsed with water than painted 3 coats, than covered in Dupli clear, both engine 500 degree paint. I tested various styles and brands for durability against gas baking in the oven and leaving as is, this worked the best. I think alcohol is a good cleaner of grease w/o leaving a film but I would still wash with soap and rinse with water.

Without blasting, it's hard to get into the crevices to rough up the surface for paint to stick well.

Mine was in the frame, I did not paint the underside because of the trash that hits and my lack of keeping the underside in show condition, it was of no value and chipping with moisture getting underneath the paint it would keep peeling off.

[Chokse]

I'm in South Korea.  Too far for any of you guys to help.  I'll look into the bead blasting option for the engine.

[Chad in Michigan]

Looking good George! Glad to see you found some donor parts did you ever swap that set of non-cali carbs on the bike?

[hootmon]

looking Very good so far.. I'm excited about what you are doing..

Was the rear wheel set-up a pretty straight forward swap-put or did you have to do modifications?? Any detail you can provide on what you had to do to be successful would be appreciated!!!
Go man Go!!!

[Chokse]

Chad:  I am tearing off the PAIR system and replacing the current Cali carbs with some non-Cali carbs I have.  All I have left to do is make covers to go where the PAIR system entered the engine.  I am also doing several other things during this process.  I will powder coat the frame, paint the engine, re-chrome some parts that need it, and paint the bike.  I am also going to have a custom made chain guard that wraps around the chain a little more at the back, and am even toying with the idea of making a new tank and fenders (depends on how ambitious I get).  As long as I have a shop and the equipment, I might as well do as much as I can.  Finally, I am going to find a better way to attach those blowers that I sent you pictures of.  Right now, they are just bolted onto the stock plastic carb covers.  I want them to fit snugly against the engine, so I think I am going to have to re-locate the thermostat to a location behind the radiator fan.  That should give me the clearance I need, and I don't think that will cause any over-heating issues.


Hootmon:  I used parts from a CBR 600F3.  I bought a front and rear wheel, front forks, front brake calipers, rear brake caliper, rear brake master cylinder, and front and rear rotors (The rotors are EBC Contour Wave Rotors).  The CBR front brake master cylinder will not work because it is designed for a 7/8" handlebar.  I got the CBR master cylinder piston ID and OD measurements and found that a 2003-2004 VTX 1300R or 1300S master cylinder uses the same size piston ID and OD, but fits a 1" handle bar. 

The rear wheel fits pretty easily, but does require a spacer between the sprocket assembly (cush drive) and the wheel, and another spacer between the brake side of the wheel and the swingarm.  With correctly sized spacers, it allows the wheel to be centered and the front and rear sprocket to line up.  I have also decided where I will mount the rear caliper, master cylinder, and reservoir, but I still need to fabricate brackets for them (probably next weekend).

The front wheel and brakes are a bit easier, but I am having problems with the speedometer sending unit.  First for the easy stuff.  The CBR forks are basically identical to the Magna's where it counts.  Both use the same fork bushing, and both are 41mm tubes, so the Magna fork uppers fit perfectly into the CBR fork lowers.  In the pictures, I have not yet swapped them and am just using the complete CBR forks for fitting the wheel and brakes.  The front wheel does require custom made spacers, and I have to make a spacer to push the brake calipers in a bit (the Magna's forks are wider than the CBR's).  However, I have found that my SuperBrace will fit the CBR fork lowers.  The speedo sending unit is the only thing causing me a real problem (spacers are easy, it just requires measuring and cutting).  The Magna speedo sending unit is too big to fit in the wheel's hub opening on the CBR wheel.  The CBRF3 used an electronic sending unit, so it was not designed for a mechanical sending unit.  However, a little research has lead me to discover that the CBRF2 did use a mechanical sending unit and it's front wheel, though different in appearance, uses the same wheel bearings as the CBRF3.  So, I think if I order a sending unit from a CBRF2, it might fit the opening.  The CBRF2 uses a slightly smaller wheel and tire, but I think it will be close enough (speedo accuracy). 

Aside from braking power, the biggest gain in this project is going to be the tires.  I will use Michelin Pilot Road 2 low profile radial tires.  The front will be a 120/70-17, and the rear will be a 160/60-17.  The front tire will be about one inch shorter than the Magna's front tire, and the rear tire will be almost identical to the overall height of the Magna's rear tire.  I have the Billski 1 inch V4 emblem fork extender cap, so that should even things out in the front and bring everything back to stock height.


Terry:  Like I said, I am going to check into the glass bead blasting.  Whether I find that or not, I am going to paint the entire engine, not because I expect it to be in show condition, but as long as the engine is out of the frame, I might as well paint the whole thing.  I'm sure you would do the same in a similar situation.  I hadn't thought about clear coating the engine, but that sounds like a good idea.  Are there any parts of the engine I shouldn't paint (something that might cause a heating problem or such)?

[TLRam1]

Yes, if my engine where out I would paint it all.

I painted all, everything from the Heads, cylinders, fins, all but the chrome pieces, I clear coated for the extra protection it gives the color coat and it looks nicer. Mine from a stock is difficult to tell but as you are doing it, you can tell. 

Will you be going back with stock shocks or will you put on progressive? Be neat if you could put race tech valves in the front forks! Probably could be done but time and money gets in the way. 

[TLRam1]

Blasting the motor was not too bad about 40.00 USD, that paid for the labor and material used. I have blasted 3 the past year, the other ones stayed aluminum unpainted as that is the way the were from the factory on the vintage bikes.

[Curtis_Valk]

Chokse, I'm not overly crazy about rad mods but this mod attacks EXACTLY the most lacking area of the 3rd Gen Magna's performance......BRAKES!!!  The fuel range is second.  I like the way you think!!

Curtis

[hootmon]

Chokse, I'm not overly crazy about rad mods but this mod attacks EXACTLY the most lacking area of the 3rd Gen Magna's performance......BRAKES!!!  The fuel range is second.  I like the way you think!!
Curtis

Leaving the third lackin area.. The chain...

[Chokse]

Curtis:  I agree that the brakes are the weakest link in the Magna, and a very, very weak link at that.  However, because of my situation, I have to rank tires as the second weakest link, ahead of the small tank.  As I said, right now I am over in South Korea, and here, it is illegal to ride motorcycles on the highways.  Motorcycles are only allowed in the cities here, and within the cities, there is a gas station on every corner, so a small tank is never really an issue here.  With all the stop and go traffic in the city and because Koreans are terrible drivers, good brakes are really a big issue.  Also, riding a bike in the cities here requires a lot of weaving in and out of traffic at high speeds, so good tires are pretty important.  Radials give a nicer ride than bias-ply, and there are more options available.  If I get very ambitious in this project, I might consider fabricating a new tank that adds a couple of extra gallons of capacity.  I'll just have to see how far my patience/energy/money go.

[Chokse]

One other note.  I already have Progressive springs in the front and Progressive shocks (412) in the rear.  I'll keep the Progressive springs on the front as the CBR fork innards will not work with the Magna uppers.

[tmds3]

Chokse,
I was looming at the pics of your bike and noticed that you had the water hoses wrapped with Stainless, how did you finish off the ends? I cant find anything to finish the ends off but am wanting to do the same thing on my bike when I put the rest of the S/S lines and cables on.
     Thanks,
      tmds3(David in Texas)

[Chokse]

David:  I used a fittingly named product called "Spectre Industries Magna Clamp" in chrome (I think blue and red are also available).  It is part number SPE-3568 and I ordered mine from Summit Racing via their Ebay store.  Here is a link: 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Spectre-Industries-3568-Hose-Clamps,-Magna-Clamp,-Stain_W0QQitemZ370173011283QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090314?IMSfp=TL090314128005r5429

I bought a total of 4 clamps and put them at each end of the two main radiator hoses.  I also have some of these clamps in smaller sizes for some of the other exposed hoses (small radiator hoses, fuel line at the petcock, and so on).  They really do clean up the look of the hoses.  I have also purchased stainless braided hoses to replace most of the hoses on my bike.  As long as everything is off, I might as well replace the aging fuel and air hoses before they become a problem, and if I am going to do it, I might as well go with stainless braid on everything.