Here's a local bike in my price range for a 2nd beater bike.
After a quick search I read they had a 2nd gear issue, popping out on acceleration.
Anyone here with experience with this bike?
http://wyoming.craigslist.org/mcy/4366422941.html (http://wyoming.craigslist.org/mcy/4366422941.html)
In my younger days, I was a diehard Honda V-4 man (VF500F, VF1000F). The Magna motors VF500C, VF700/750C and VF1100C were basically the same engines as the F model Interceptors. I never heard of or personally had any 2nd gear issues. The main known issue was soft cam lobes and Honda had a large recall on the bikes to fix them.
For a 2nd beater bike it does not look too bad. I'd go with $750.00 cash in my pocket and offer $500.00 and go no higher than the $750.00
A secondary note. We all bitch about the PITA FJ airbox. Getting the airbox back on is childs play versus getting the carbs back on the Honda V-4's. You are now fore worned to avoid removing the carbs.
Fred
Quote from: aviationfred on March 22, 2014, 03:26:03 PM
A secondary note. We all bitch about the PITA FJ airbox. Getting the airbox back on is childs play versus getting the carbs back on the Honda V-4's. You are now fore worned to avoid removing the carbs.
Fred
What made it so tough to remove the carbs?
Pass..... PITA to work on. Go find an on line service manual and take a look....
George
Run away from that as fast as you can.
Quote from: Bminder on March 22, 2014, 03:36:17 PM
What made it so tough to remove the carbs?
Not much room between the banks... :nea:
Former VF700F owner here.
My friend had a v65 magna was funny watching him do a wheelie. With the shaft drive pushing the back wheel down. He used to call it a Pogo stick. He crashed it when it kicked the wheel out when he gassed it a little too much coming out of a corner.
Well, my first bike is the sister of that one. 1982 V45 Magna in maroon. It's a sweetheart of a bike. Most of the V65's performance, none of its vicious handling qualities.
That being said, the carbs on ALL V4 bikes are a PITA ti work on because you have two sets of intake ports pointing at each other. When the rubber carb boots get hard it's a task and a half to get them back on.
There's a definite knack to doing carb work on them, but it's not so bad after the first few times, really.
After a few years, the cam problems were mostly solved, but the V4's reputation never came clean. A little like the XS triples, where everyone was leery of the 850 after the problems the 750 had (mind, it had other problems instead).
It's possible that the gearsets are mostly okay but the shift forks are bent, in either case you'd be pulling things really far apart to get at it.
I replaced 4 sets of second gears on the 65's....they absolutely suck to work on and require a lot of specialty tools secondary to the shaft drive. I like Honda's but I wouldn't touch any Magna....maybe the gear drive cam V's but that is it. Look for an inline 4 with chain drive.
I wonder about the handling qualities of a V45 Magna. I had a V45 Sabre that I sold to a friend. I watched the swingarm twist about 10ยบ when he gassed it out of a corner on Angeles Crest. Scared the hell out of me, for my safety, his and my safety when I was gassing it out of corners. Ill handling pig with a sweetheart of an engine. Too bad about the cams ... :empathy: