Honda Magna questions

I'm considering buying a Honda Magna (mid-to-late 90's) as my first
bike. I'm 300 lbs, give or take, so going much smaller is iffy (or at
least I've been told that). It seems to fit me well (I'm solidly
flat-footed on it, and it has a solid feel to it)

I've never worked on a motorcycle in my life, but I am an airplane
mechanic so I'm not too terribly concerned about doing a little
wrenching. However, airplanes don't have transmissions - and thus my
question.

I looked at a '96 Magna with 15,000 miles. It looked really good -
clean, no dents or scratches, etc.

Before I started it, I tried working the clutch and gear shift. It
would not shift out of neutral. No feel of a shift going up or down,
and the neutral light stayed on.

The rear brake pedal has to go almost all the way down before the brake
light goes on (front brake pedal is normal). I'm assuming this is a
relatively simple adjustment (airplanes don't have brake lights
either).

It hasn't had an inspection since 2001. The tags are 2003. Kiss of
death or relatively common when someone stops riding regularly? This
guy is the original owner, but he got married and had kids.

It started, but when I tried to put it in first (clutch was all the way
in) it died. Then it wouldn't start again (dead battery). To my
airplane-trained sensibilities, the battery looks tiny - I would expect
it to be short lived. Are they really short lived, or is this an
indicator of electrical problems?

I tried working the clutch again. This time I could shift it into 1st,
2nd, or 3rd - but not into 4th or 5th.

I checked the fluid on what I assume is the transmission case (portion
of engine below the cylinders, black plastic cap on right) and it was
slightly wet but I could see NO fluid in the case.

Any thoughts?

Michael

 

I can address some topics in "aircraft-speak"....

First, not being able to shift through the gears at a stand-
still is not uncommon. However, you should be able to
run through the gears by rocking the bike.

Next, that bike has a wet sump system. There's no separ-
ate lubricant for the transmission.

Regarding the brakes, I can't recall whether the rear is
disk or drum. But, the front is/are disk(s). It should work
just like any other hydraulic disk brake. The rear should
also operate like any other brake of that type(disk/drum).

The clutch is probably hydraulic, but really can't recall.
Without regard, the clutch should (dis)engage smoothly,
but this may take some riding to achieve, if it's been
sitting long.

Yeah, I guess the battery is small compared to most air-
craft. But, properly maintained, they'll last a good while.
My current bike has 5.5 years/38000 miles on the OEM
battery. But, I've got a dry charge replacement waiting
in the wings for a quick swap.

With your knowledge of mechanics in general, I'm sure
you won't have any trouble with a motorcycle. The fact
that it's missed the last 4 inspections is not like a missed
annual or something. The owner probably just quit riding
due to these other commitments, and parked the bike.

I can't really comment on the condition of this specific
bike, but it sounds about like a bike that's been abandon-
ed, as you suggest. I did own an '83 V65 Magna, that
performed well for many years. However, I did exper-
ience a broken shift mechanism that held the transmission
in first gear. But, that was fixed under the Honda warranty
campaign.

I would suggest that you visit www.sabmag.org for the
ultimate reference on this model. I would also urge you
to look further to broaden your experience and options.
This bike is 10+ years old, and while they were good
bikes, depending on condition, it can be a joy or a bad
habit, depending on your or someone else's ability to
assess the condition.

Thanks,

Gary

 

Gentlemen, thank you both for your replies, especially with regard to
the transmission function - that was my biggest concern with regard to
the bike.

Please understand that my experience with bikes is nil. I of course
took a riding course, but that was on a 500cc Buell. It shifted
through all gears at a standstill just fine. Keeping in mind that I
don't really understand transmissions but understand engines and things
mechanical just fine - can you point me to an explanation of how a
transmission works and why I would not be able to shift through the
gears reliably at a standstill?

The bike hasn't been totally parked - the owner said he still rides it
sometimes - but I have a feeling sometimes really mans very rarely.
He's not riding it to work, and the garage is full of other toys.
Cleaning varnish out of a carb, bleeding the brakes, and adjusting a
limit switch are things I'm not at all worried about doing, so it
sounds like the bike may still be a viable option.

I found the sabmag site, but it seems mostly focused on the early
(1980's) Magna's. Any pointers on what sort of problems I should look
for in inspecting the bike would be helpful.

Thanks again.

Michael

 

Even though the info is not specific to the Honda Magna, a lot of
general practical advices can be found at:

http://www.clarity.net/~adam/buying-bike.html

 

Well, I would say that the ability to shift through the gears
at a stand still is the exception, rather than the rule. You
actually took a course on a Buell Blast? I thought they
gave those courses on little 175-250 size bikes. Maybe
they thought you warranted something with a little more
power. I've never ridden any Buell.

However, the point is moot. It doesn't make the Magna
a good or bad choice whether it will or not. I've just never
ridden a bike that would do it without some extra effort.

But then, that has never been my focus either....

I suppose that any/all condition detection techniques can
be applied to a motorcycle, just as a aircraft. You didn't
state the nature of your aircraft wrenching, but you have
probably progressed through the standard piston driven,
carbureted engines. As such, I'm sure you've performed
compression/differential compression assessments. I guess
tests of this nature could be applied to the Magna also,
along with other visual detections to determine condition.

However, beyond the common gasket/seal oil/vacuum crankcase leakage,
unnatural engine noise(s), etc., I'm
not sure many buyers go well beyond this. You also have
the option to have someone else, who you trust, to look
at the bike and advise. I would find it hard to believe that
one of the A&P's/A&I's that you probably work with,
doesn't have some past/present bike knowledge, albeit
probably Harley. Of course, the Honda dealer could
also check it out.

Personally, a good long ride would probably do it for me.
I'd ride it about an hour, allowing plenty of time to warm
up, and/or overheat, and take note of the things that you
could probably detect that someone less trained, would
not. But, I'd be sure and get the owner's number, and
carry my sell phone. <g> I suspect, like almost every
liquid cooled Honda I've ever owned, it has a thermostat-
ically controlled fan that activates when hot. I'd check
out that operation. My neighbor has a V30(500) Magna,
one of the 80's versions that I confused with your target).
We went riding one day and he complained about how the thing would overheat
in city traffic. He never knew
that it had a fan that should come on, and I could tell it
wasn't working. Of course, this bike is probably ~20
years old, and has about 6K miles.

Unless I was looking for such as project, I would never
buy a bike that I couldn't ride, and for as long as I chose.

Regarding the transmission internals; I don't have a clue
how they work. I guess it's a lot like a manual transmiss-
ion in an auto, with a shifter drum for ratcheting the next
gear. But, I don't have to know how they work to tell
if they're not working, or not working correctly. This
Magna may have a centerstand & shaft drive, I can't
recall. But, chock it up on the stand/milk carton, and
ask the owner to run it through the gears with the wheel
off the ground. You stand behind to check for anything
not easily detectable on a test ride. Things like excessive
wheel runout, smoking exhausts, driveline/bearing/engine
noises, any rotor runout/scoring(for disk). Then prop up
the front wheel, and give it a 300lb.<g> spin. look for
the same motion items.

If the bike has only 15K, unless it was ridden out of the
cargo bay of the Discovery, it's no apt to have too much
wrong.


Thanks,

Gary

 

Well, I would say that the ability to shift through the gears
at a stand still is the exception, rather than the rule. You
actually took a course on a Buell Blast? I thought they
gave those courses on little 175-250 size bikes. Maybe
they thought you warranted something with a little more
power. I've never ridden any Buell.

However, the point is moot. It doesn't make the Magna
a good or bad choice whether it will or not. I've just never
ridden a bike that would do it without some extra effort.

But then, that has never been my focus either....

I suppose that any/all condition detection techniques can
be applied to a motorcycle, just as a aircraft. You didn't
state the nature of your aircraft wrenching, but you have
probably progressed through the standard piston driven,
carbureted engines. As such, I'm sure you've performed
compression/differential compression assessments. I guess
tests of this nature could be applied to the Magna also,
along with other visual detections to determine condition.

However, beyond the common gasket/seal oil/vacuum crankcase leakage,
unnatural engine noise(s), etc., I'm
not sure many buyers go well beyond this. You also have
the option to have someone else, who you trust, to look
at the bike and advise. I would find it hard to believe that
one of the A&P's/A&I's that you probably work with,
doesn't have some past/present bike knowledge, albeit
probably Harley. Of course, the Honda dealer could
also check it out.

Personally, a good long ride would probably do it for me.
I'd ride it about an hour, allowing plenty of time to warm
up, and/or overheat, and take note of the things that you
could probably detect that someone less trained, would
not. But, I'd be sure and get the owner's number, and
carry my sell phone. <g> I suspect, like almost every
liquid cooled Honda I've ever owned, it has a thermostat-
ically controlled fan that activates when hot. I'd check
out that operation. My neighbor has a V30(500) Magna,
one of the 80's versions that I confused with your target).
We went riding one day and he complained about how the thing would overheat
in city traffic. He never knew
that it had a fan that should come on, and I could tell it
wasn't working. Of course, this bike is probably ~20
years old, and has about 6K miles.

Unless I was looking for such as project, I would never
buy a bike that I couldn't ride, and for as long as I chose.

Regarding the transmission internals; I don't have a clue
how they work. I guess it's a lot like a manual transmiss-
ion in an auto, with a shifter drum for ratcheting the next
gear. But, I don't have to know how they work to tell
if they're not working, or not working correctly. This
Magna may have a centerstand & shaft drive, I can't
recall. But, chock it up on the stand/milk carton, and
ask the owner to run it through the gears with the wheel
off the ground. You stand behind to check for anything
not easily detectable on a test ride. Things like excessive
wheel runout, smoking exhausts, driveline/bearing/engine
noises, any rotor runout/scoring(for disk). Then prop up
the front wheel, and give it a 300lb.<g> spin. look for
the same motion items.

If the bike has only 15K, unless it was ridden out of the
cargo bay of the Discovery, it's no apt to have too much
wrong.


Thanks,

Gary