Honda V 30 Magna

[omegajim]

the "service" manuals are out there new for around $30; when you consider how much you could ruin in parts, it makes it easily worthwhile.

Let me preface my "are they interchangeable" statement.

I owned a 1984 Honda Magna (for three years starting in 1984, they were 700 cc vs the standard 750 cc due to H-D putting a special tax on anything over 750 cc).

Anyway, the "magna" and the "sabre" were mfg'd at the same time. They are quite similar, but still have differences.

The v30 is a decent smallish bike displacing 535 cc if memory serves. There is nothing wrong with the bike overall, but if it doesn't run or has some problems, you basically have to make a choice consisting of 2 possibilities.

a) I will learn what is wrong, become better at fixing these kinds of things and learn. Which will take some time and effort.
b) I will dump off this bike that doesn't run (and part it out on the ebay, until you are down to the frame, then craigslist for the frame) and buy something else that runs.

Which, is why, although I bought some pretty low end (frumpy) motorcycles, they always ran and moved under their own power at time of purchase.

Because, I learned from my father, a "deal" isn't a deal if you can't fix it or get it to somebody who owes you a favor.

[Motorcycle Forum]

[BuffaloChips]

well, it was a freebie in the first place. My aunt gave it to my mother years ago and it finally ended up in my possession recently. Very long story. I just know it was running up until the last 5 to 10 years. Don't know if it has been run in a long time.

[omegajim]

then you have to ask yourself a question........

"Do I want to aggravate myself and try to get the bike running?"

Which will include at the minimum
a) a battery (okay, you could jump start it off of your car, and determine if the engine turns over)
b) checking for spark (when cranking over with the jumper cables)
c) spritzing a bit of "starting fluid" and see if the engine sputters, if even a bit, which means
d) the carbs will need some cleaning - if you are lucky, the previous owner drained the carbs, otherwise this will become somewhat involved.

or, you could

just part it out on the Ebay and see what people will pay you for the parts (check what similar parts are going for, and I darn near guarantee that somebody is parting out a similar bike a part at the time)

then take that money and buy something that runs, that you can test drive and enjoy before summer is over.

[BuffaloChips]

Well, first off, I wouldn't really want to "dry start" this thing after a number of years sitting around. That just isn't a good thing for a long standing engine. That is the biggest reason to tear it down and check things out. But, I really can't see that anyone would want parts off this motor, etc. since it doesn't run.

[omegajim]

in that case, the clutch should be on the right side, and removing the right side engine cover should allow you access to the clutch and turn over the engine with a wrench.

At this point, consider the clymer manual to figure out what you want to do. About $30 and all bikes have some similarities, so once you learn some of these things once, you know what to look for.

[BuffaloChips]

Don't think I want to spend $30 on a "the average engine has this...." manual. Would much rather have one specific to this bike.

[omegajim]

$30 will buy the bike specific manual.

If it's not in inventory, a good bike store will order it.

Not a dealer, just check under "motorcycle repair" in the phonebook.

or the 'net, as the vernacular may be.

[Easy Rider]

check out this link if u wanna buy a bile with 8000 miles its a 1984 magna VF1100

I checked it out.
The price is WAY out of line.
The description says "clean"; the pictures say it isn't.
Might be missing a side cover too.
AND I recommend never buying any vehicle where the owner says "only needs......", in this case carb cleaning.
If you are serious about selling it.....especially for some outrageously inflated price.....it had better be in pristine working condition.

[jrygrn]

I checked it out.
The price is WAY out of line.
The description says "clean"; the pictures say it isn't.
Might be missing a side cover too.
AND I recommend never buying any vehicle where the owner says "only needs......", in this case carb cleaning.
If you are serious about selling it.....especially for some outrageously inflated price.....it had better be in pristine working condition.

Did you nptice the numbers on the odometer didnt line up? That usually means that the odometer has rolled over!!

[Easy Rider]

Did you nptice the numbers on the odometer didnt line up? That usually means that the odometer has rolled over!!

I don't know if "usually" is the right word or not.
On a ~25 year old bike, that didn't surprise me much.
Could mean that it's been screwed with though.

[Wild Willy]

Since we are on a v30 Magna in here, I'll throw something at you guys. I have an '84 model v30 that doesn't run at this point. My questions are...
1. can the v45 or v65 engines go on this frame?
2. If so, can the larger engines be converted to utilize the chain drive?
3. If the chain can't be used with a larger engine, can the shaft system be easily adapted? ie. the shaft rear swing arm and wheel assembly?

I was just thinking I might be able to find a v65 that had been wrecked and has a running engine on the cheap and just swap out necessary parts.

No to all three questions. The shaft drive engines turn the opposite direction If you want a V65 just buy one. What you would go through to make the engine work would not be practical. You would have to cut the frame and make it bigger, just to get the engine in.

The Interceptors had chain. You might be ok with the baby ceptor engine, but it is also a 500cc engine.

[Camp21178]

Well, thanks for nothing people. someone could have had some kind of advice or comment that could be helpful. you sure had something to say to the guy that started the thread.

Don't get too upset. It was an old post, and evrybody looked at it a long time ago. You can always start a new thread and more people will see it.