2002 Magna Fork Resonances

[Greg Cothern]

I have trailered my bikes many times and never had any issue with "tweaking" the front end to the point of bending etc.  However I NEVER use a wheel chock and always strap through the rear and pull rearward to relieve the front end some.

[Sledge Hammer]

Probably dropped..  If it were only $500 might be worth it,  but more than that I would find another Magna and use this one as a parts bike etc.

If it had high miles on it, yeah, that would make sense, but not with less than 7900 miles on it when I had the work done. Certainly none of the Magnas I looked at around here made that a worthwhile idea. Besides, if I were going to buy another bike, I wouldn't be hanging onto this one for spare parts. I would sell it and get something newer. Life is too short to have the same bike twice.

One point which Kent covered with me was NEVER to use a wheel chock to capture the front wheel when transporting a bike. He said doing so puts the lower triple clamp under exceptional strain and is very good for his business.

Oh Michael, you have no idea what you have unleashed with this little comment. I'm on another forum and there is a grouchy old bastard that makes everyone think you are an absolute idiot if you don't use a wheel chock when transporting a bike.. I can't wait to stir up the hornets nest with this little quote!! -

What???
Me?????
Instigate???

Whatever do you mean??? 

I would have agreed with the GOB before talking with Kent, but such is the power of ignorance. Kent's intern told me that Kent covered that point on the first day of his employment: Thou shalt not use a wheel chock to transport a customer's bike after they had finished working on it lest thou mess it up.

[Greg Cothern]

There is NO need to worry much about year model of 3rd Gen Magna, they are virtual parts bin bikes.  In other words almost every single part from any year model 94-03 will fit/work on any year in this range Magna.  You merely bring the cost up by buying a newer version.

Low mileage thats a bit different story along with accessories etc.

To clarify more of the intent of my comment was to suggest finding another suitable straight Magna and swap any desired parts from your current magna over to the "new" Magna then sell off the other.

[Sledge Hammer]

To clarify more of the intent of my comment was to suggest finding another suitable straight Magna and swap any desired parts from your current magna over to the "new" Magna then sell off the other.

I thought long and hard about that , but I gave up on it after not coming across any that had not already been plainly dropped or wrecked. "Best" one was a black-mint green '95 at a used bike shop nearby, with the bars turned hard-a-starboard, supposedly meticulously maintained by their tech for his doting, gray-haired, tattooed mother. (Okay, I threw in the "tattooed" part,  ) The dealership owner claimed on behalf of her tech that it had never been dropped or wrecked , to which I replied " !!!"

Basically, to compete for value against trading in for a brand new 2009 Versys just out of the crate or for realigning this one, somebody would have had to have been willing to take a beating on a cherry Magna, and that just wasn't in the cards.

[lragan]

One point which Kent covered with me was NEVER to use a wheel chock to capture the front wheel when transporting a bike. He said doing so puts the lower triple clamp under exceptional strain and is very good for his business.

This is an interesting assessment.  I recall at Beaver's Bend when Charles volunteered his trailer to retrieve Guy's crippled bike, I went along to help load it.  Charles had on his trailer at least one (maybe two) of the drive on chocks from Harbor Freight.  When you drive onto it, it pops up behind the front wheel and holds it vertical while you tie it down.  I concluded this was the maximum of convenience, as I had been using structures made from 2x4 lumber to hold the front and rear tires in place as and after I tied the bike down front and back.  I even bought a second one, which was used in the summer of 2009 to haul my bike and a friends Harley Golden Eagle to Colorado and back, with no apparent ill effects.  Without blocks or a chock to hold the tires in place laterally, it would seem that the bike could fall, as, over time and many bumps, the tires and wheels slip to one side.

I don't understand the forces that Kent is concerned with.  Can someone elaborate on this point?  I still have the chocks, having removed them from the flatbed trailer in order to haul a dead '87 GMC home to replace the transmission, and am trying to figure out what to do.