My SuperDuper Magna Is Finally Done!!!!

[TLRam1]

Did you change the rack on the front end?

Swing arm, is that different or stock in length?

How do you like the Jardine controls vs the Mapam?

Did you blast the frame before paint?

Is the air dam away from the pipes far enough or is there a heat shield to prevent meltdown?

What color of blue is this and did you paint all the fittings or did the painter?

I had a few photos that did not show up, anyone else having this problem, one was the photo of no cam chain tensioner? I can't verify.  

You are correct on the VTX headlight issue.

Are all your SS cables clear coated?

What brand of speedo unit is this? I like the Dakota's also but what you have looks good.

Did you fab a new triple tree?

You answered my next question
"I also have a Scorpio alarm system with perimeter sensor, so no worries about theft."

Is the rear fender stock?



 

[Chokse]

Terry:

Not sure what you mean by the "Rack" on the front end, but nothing was changed on the front end other than adding the CBR fork lowers, wheels, and brakes.

The swing arm is stock.  The only thing changed was the addition of a bracket stay for the rear caliper.

I actually like the position of the Mapam controls a bit more, and they don't seem to interfere (cover/block) with as much stuff as the Jardines do. But, the chrome shop melted one of my Mapam parts, and since the company is no longer producing the forward controls for the Magna, I had to get the Jardines.  I got a good deal on them and paid something like $350 for a new set.

They have no media blasting of any kind in Korea.  Instead, we used some kind of industrial grade stripping product that basically melted the old powder coat away.  Then, what was left was sanded off of the frame.

The air dam is fiberglass and will only melt if they are actually touching the pipes for an extended period.  The air dam sits about 1/4 of an inch from the pipes all the way around, so there is no issue with heat.

The blue is a custom mix that the painter came up with after looking at a picture of a Shelby Cobra 427.  He said it is similar to a "Gun Metal Blue".  The painter painted everything with paint on it.

If you are having trouble viewing some of the photos, be sure you are not using Internet Explorer.  If you are, try viewing the site with Firefox, Chrome, Opera, or Safari.

All the SS cables are clear coated and the fittings are chromed stainless fittings.

The speedo is from a German company called MotoGadget.  I didn't like that the Dakota Digital gauges only went to 8K RPM, and required the use of special sensors for things like water temp and oil pressure.

The triple tree is 100% original Magna.

The tank, side covers, front fender and rear fender are all stock.

[warnerwh]

That Magna is incredible. Excellent job on the modifications and cosmetics. Many modded bikes aren't worth any more money than a non modded one but I'd pay way more for yours. You really did a good job and I'm way impressed. I know it's not polite so don't answer if you don't want to but how much time (man hours) and money has been put into your bike?

[ryjb]

If possible you should put up a good quality video of this as well.

[Chokse]

Man hours are uncountable.  I really couldn't put a number on it, but it is high.  It was basically my weekend hobby for over a year.  I guess you could reason that it kept me out of trouble.  As far as cost, the paint was the worst of it.  The paint was about $3,000, while the wheel and engine stuff was about $1,500 including tires.  All the other cosmetic stuff is hard to put a price on since I had collected most of it over the years but never got around to putting it on the bike (like the air dam and many of the chrome pieces).  I did get great deals on most of those items.  For example, I got a full set of Cobra chrome bolt covers that normally sold for $200 for only $25 from a place that was going out of business.  I spent many years scouring for deals so I could get what I wanted without breaking the bank.  I think that if you include the paint, all the extra chrome and suspension pieces, and and wheel/engine stuff, I probably put a total of $6,000 into the bike.  You should also know that I bought the bike for $2,000, so I am up to a total of $8,000 plus some "Hobby Time".  Not too bad as it equals the cost of the Manga when new and I had fun doing it (and learned a lot as well).

[tmds3]

I think I broke a few keys on my keyboard when my jaw dropped,

[TLRam1]

Terry:

Not sure what you mean by the "Rack" on the front end, but nothing was changed on the front end other than adding the CBR fork lowers, wheels, and brakes.

That was suppose to be Rake, did you change the Rake on the front. 

[TLRam1]

I think you received a good bang for the buck with the money put into it and now you have what many of us would like, a VFR motor in a Magna frame.

I'm using Firefox but on the slideshow some did not show up, I will have to go back and try looking without using the slideshow feature. I viewed all 70 photos, excellent job also taking the photos and adding descriptions. 

[warnerwh]

I agree that your bang for the buck is good. That bike is easily worth the 8 grand you've got into it. Of course your time is also worth something but when it comes to hobby time you really can't count it. Time working on a hobby is fun not work. I'm sure there were times that the fun could have been easier to deal with.

[Insomniac]

That is awesome. I especially like the brake upgrade, as coming from the world of sport bikes previously myself, the brakes on the Magna can be a bit... disconcerting... Very nicely done.

[Chokse]

Terry:

Got it.  The rake on the forks is original.  Nothing was changed to the triple tree, frame, or forks other than welding a few brackets for things (oil cup, rear caliper mount, rear master cylinder, etc.) to the frame and using the CBR fork lowers with the Magna's upper fork tubes.  No change at all to the frame neck, forks (length or otherwise), or triple tree.

[guywheatley]

Thanks for the compliments guys.  The project took a lot longer than I had anticipated, and a lot of that was due to the "details".  I had to plan out what the finished look of each part would be before I actually did anything, and that was very time consuming.  Sometimes I think that more time was spent planning things out than was spent actually working on the bike,

That seems to be a common denominator in ever jaw dropping project I've seen.

[Chokse]

Yeah, you make one little change and that creates 10 other changes you need to make.  It can really start to make your head spin. 

There were days when I was pretty frustrated and was kicking myself for ever starting something like this, especially when I had all the problems with paint and chrome.  That was especially frustrating since it was totally out of my control.  Hell, I had never soldered a wire before this project.  Now I'm a pro at wiring, and I think I know where every damn wire on that bike goes.    

But, the good days outweighed the bad and most days were fun and always educational.  It was also fun to let the creative juices flow a bit.  It also helped that at the end of each day, I could see some progress and could get a better picture of what would be realized at the end of this whole thing.

[TLRam1]

So could one put CBR fork lowers and the CBR wheel, add the extra brake line and you have dual disk brakes? What's involved?

[Chokse]

Yeah, that's basically it.  You'll also need the CBR calipers, caliper brackets, and rotors, and of course the custom brake line and bigger master cylinder, but yeah, it's about that simple.  

Mount the wheel so it is centered between the forks and then measure the size of the spacers for the axle.  Once you have those installed and can verify that the wheel is centered, install the calipers and center them on each rotor.  Then, measure and make the four spacers for those mounting points and you're pretty much done.  

However, you will be left with a rear wheel that doesn't match and no speedometer (you'll have to go with an electronic speedo and they can be a bit spendy).

By the way, the front wheel was by far the easiest part of the project, but it was also the most expensive (other than paint) mainly due to the cost of the electronic speedometer.  The rear wheel was probably the hardest part of this mod, but it was also the cheapest thing I did.