Restoring a classic '87 Honda Super Magna VF700C Motorcycle


I'm fed up with all of this!

The 750 engine had been rebuilt since September but I didn't want to put anymore work into it until I owned it. I couldn't get in touch with the previous owner to title and register it. The junkyard 1100 engine I bought for the missing pistons and rods was rusted solid from sitting in the yard with the valves open. I couldn't turn the crankshaft at all.

Jay had since stopped coming to the house everyday, no longer helping when he did show up. He just watched me wrench away. I could tell he wasn't as excited about the offer to "give" (sell) him the 750 for what I had into it when it was done. Probably because I still didn't own either bike at the time, but that's another story.

Biketoberfest 2005 had come and gone. Ann put me to work re-tiling half the house, remodeling the guest bath in the process, and re-installing the new front door after the guy we paid to do it didn't do it right. It was coming up on Bike Week 2006 (February) and I hadn't touched the bikes in months. The third trip to the DMV for the 1100 was just as fruitless as the previous two and I still didn't own either bike.

So I resumed my efforts to find the owner of the 750. I paid another freakin' thirty bucks to get an entire background check. This time only one address came back but a bunch of possible previous addresses, so I was a little worried. I sent a registered letter to the one address anyway and waited for a response. And waited. And waited.

While I waited, I ordered almost all the parts I needed to finish the 750 and resumed work on it. That sounds simple enough, but it took me two weeks of constant effort after work on the computer and pouring through the manuals and parts fiches just to make sure I wasn't fogetting anything. Bike Week 2006 came and went. I finally got the letter back with an undeliverable response. I had the 750 back together and running by then but still no closer to having a bike to ride.

This is it! I'm buying a Harley!

I was ready to buy a Harley and say to Hell with those bikes. If it weren't for the fact I had the 750 all together and ready to ride, except for paint, I would have. The entire idea was to have a daily rider so I could get back in the saddle, so to speak, without really having to worry (much) about damaging a bike that cost a fraction of what a Harley would cost. That wasn't happening. After more than a year of trying, still nothing I could ride.

Ann reminded me of the offer my best friend, Tim, had made around Christmas time when he was back (briefly) from Afghanistan. He offered to sell me his second generation Super Magna ('87) for what he paid to have the shaft drive rebuilt before he parked it, $700. It had been sitting in his garage, beach side, for the last two years while he was overseas. So I figured, what the Hell? I called his wife, Kathy, to see if they still had it. They did.

Ann, Nick, Jay and I made a trip over to Satellite Beach that weekend to pick it up. We spent some time with Kathy catching up on things and getting the bike loaded into the bed of my big @$$ truck. We were on the phone with Tim long distance, from Iraq at that time, making sure I had all the parts that went with it. Kathy was just happy to have it out of her garage. On the way home, we made a "detour" to have lunch with Kathy and an afternoon in the sun at our favorite hangout, Coconuts on the Beach in Cocoa Beach. (March 2006)

Just what I need, another motorcycle...

Now I really had my work cut out for me. All that time just sitting beachside had taken its toll on all the shiny stuff. Ann told me it was a good thing she knew what miracles I could work with the polishing and buffing when she first saw it. Otherwise she would have had serious doubts about buying it, but hold that thought. I went to the DMV and a little more than another hundred dollars later I had everything in my name and registered. It was mine now!

Now don't tell anyone I said this, but I was thinking I could put that 700 plate on the 750 and ride it until I could get in touch with the previous owner. Then Ann had to remind me I wouldn't be able to insure it if I didn't own it. Good enough for a test run or two, but not good enough for a daily rider. Since I had the 700 to take its place as the daily rider and was finally able register the 1100 in my name in the meantime, I let it go for awhile.

Jay started coming by more often again, maybe because we had something else to work on with the potential of him being able to ride it. He doesn't have his operators license, just a motorcycle endorsement. His Rebel 250 was enough to get him back and forth to work and what not, but he really wanted a bigger bike. Unfortunately, at the time he wasn't willing to work for it, like many young people these days. Seems they expect everything handed to them, like they're entitled to it or something.

Ann and I have worked our butts off to get where we are today. We're not rich, but we live well enough and we're happy with what we have and where we're at. None of it was "handed" to us and we've certainly earned what we have. However, I think this allows us to spoil our children too much, to the point where they expect to get everything they want, when they want it. They don't know how to deal with a situation when instant gratification isn't an option.

But this story isn't about generation gaps or how young people think (for the most part anyway). I bought a new battery first thing since the old one was absolutely shot. Once I installed it, I set the choke and turned over the engine. It took its sweet time firing up, but finally did and you should have seen the smiles on everyone's faces. I let it run enough to warm up so I could check the radiator fan and thermostatic switch.

The front brakes were "sticking" - more like grinding - and the rotor was badly worn. It made pushing the bike difficult, if not impossible, without a long screwdriver to push the pistons back into caliper after the brakes were applied. Put that on the rebuild list. The rear brakes were noisy and I needed to remove the rear wheel to inspect them.

Jay, Nick and I went to work with the steel wool and elbow grease. Most of the rusted chrome pieces came back to a nice, bright shine in no time. The engine covers and other aluminum parts would need more work. I could take them off to polish but I would need another gasket set to put them back on, so they stayed put. While the "boys" polished things up, I got started on the brakes.

I disconnected the brake line from the front brake caliper, cleaned the exposed part of the pistons as best I could, and tried to re-seat the pistons into the caliper so I could get the pads loose from the rotor. No dice. I had to remove the keepers from the pads to be able to remove the caliper. I removed the pistons from the front brake caliper, cleaned everything up, lubricated with some new brake fluid and re-assembled. The brake pads were shot, but as luck would have it, the 1100 rear pads fit the front of the 700.

Those sintered metallic pads Tim had on there had taken their toll on the rotor. It's at its wear limit and probably can't be turned, but good enough for now. I tried ordering the EBC aftermarket rotor from Bike Bandit. It was back ordered for a month until they finally cancelled the order. It's available aftermarket (if you can find anyone who stocks that EBC part#) for $169 and OEM is $258 from Service Honda last time I checked, but it's no longer available from them either.

I learned something in my research about the various brake pads. The sintered metallic pads ($40) are much harder and stop better, but will wear the rotor much more quickly than organic pads ($30). I would rather stick with the softer, cheaper organic pads and replace them more often than have to replace the rotor after using one set of sintered metal pads. So I "borrowed" the rear pads from the 1100, swapped them out for the old sintered ones on the 700, and remounted the caliper to the fork slider. I re-connected the brake line and bled it and the caliper was no longer sticking.

The rear wheel had to come off to get at the brake shoes and drum for inspection. While I had the rear wheel out of the swingarm, I was able to get better access to the mufflers and took some steel wool to the places I couldn't get at before. The rear drum was in spec, and the shoes were thin, but still servicible. Everything was filthy, but brake cleaner took care of that. I applied a little silicone grease around the cam and pivots to replace what the cleaner removed and re-installed the rear wheel.

Ready To Roll

Everything checked out. I couldn't wait any longer, I had to take it for a test ride. So I got on it in my work shirt and shorts and sandals and out to the cul-de-sac I went. I rode in circles, to the right at first, then to the left, to get a feel for the bike. I hadn't ridden since April 2005 when I finished the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) basic rider course to get my endorsement.

I had an ear-to-ear smile. I romped it down the street to the next cul-de-sac, turned around, and romped it back. That smile was soon gone though. When I was riding slowly in first gear, I though I heard a clunking noise every so often. I thought maybe Tim got ripped off when he had the driveshaft rebuilt or perhaps the shaft was sticking and hadn't been broken in yet. But when the clunking started happening more often and became louder and more pronounced as I shifted to the higher gears, I knew it wasn't just the driveshaft.

Before this, I had started it every so often to burn up any of the remaining two year old fuel. Occasionally, while it was just sitting there idling, Jay and I would look at one another as if to say to "did you hear that?" and then shrug our shoulders, not thinking any more about it. The more I rode it around the cul-de-sac, the more I realized I needed to go park it. Finally, it acted like it popped out of gear and made a terrible grinding noise. I promptly returned to the garage and parked it.

I went in the house bummed out, pissed off, and I don't know what else. I gave Ann the bad news - my new everyday rider was now junk too. I was back to square one. She was very concerned and was thinking the same thing I did earlier, did Tim get ripped off when he had the driveshaft rebuilt? I told her it was worse than that. It was probably one of the transmission countershaft bearings.

She was skeptical, so I explained my reasoning to her. The countershaft only spins when the rear wheel spins. It only made the noise when the rear wheel was spinning and got worse the faster it was spinning. When Jay stopped by the next day, I gave him the bad news too. By then I was thinking (hoping) it was the little bearing that was pressed into the crankcase behind the clutch on the first gear end of the countershaft.

I had already drained the oil and had the engine clutch cover off. But as I spun the countershaft and watched that bearing, I couldn't tell if it was that one or not because it was pretty much hidden by the clutch. I didn't look like it, but I couldn't really see it that well either. So I disassembled and removed the clutch.

It became obvious it wasn't the little bearing, but the big one pressed onto the countershaft that bolts up to the drive case for the shaft drive. I was beginning to wonder if having the shaft drive rebuilt and it not being put back together properly caused this, or whether this was what really needed fixed when Tim had it in the shop and not the driveshaft. Either way, I wasn't going to ask Tim who the mechanic was. I wouldn't be taking it there, especially if this was the kind of diagnostic work I could expect!

When I removed the oil pan, my fears were confirmed. There was a good sized pile of silver and copper colored metal shavings and flattened and scarred ball bearing pieces. I still haven't let Tim know he should get his money back, mainly because I wanted to get this site up enough to tell the story and show pictures of the ground-up bearings (which I still have in a couple of storage bin drawers on the bench just in case).

Now I REALLY needed another gasket set so I could take the engine apart to get at the transmission, or at least put it back together once I took it apart and fixed it. After a few hours of research online, I found there isn't a Vesrah gasket set available for the 700, or from any other third party vendor for that matter. So I had to improvise.

The 700 has nearly the same engine as the first generation 700/750, with the exception of the head covers and some other improvements. I spent a few days comparing the part numbers and part fiches between the two bikes looking for the exact differences. That's when I found out the transmission had a different first and sixth gear set and a different countershaft, at least part number-wise. Gasket-wise, they're the same except for the head cover gaskets.

Ready To Rebuild

(April 2006)
So I ordered the same 750 Vesrah gasket set I previously bought from Dennis Kirk along with some K&N air filters and NGK spark plugs for both the 700 and 750 and a set of new MAC megaphone mufflers for the 750 while I was at it. I was betting I could re-use the head cover gaskets for the 700. If not, I'd just order those separately from Service Honda. Meanwhile, I removed the 700 engine from the frame and got started tearing it down.

I took the alternator cover off to gain access to the drive case and to eventually polish the cover. When I removed the drive case, it was immediately obvious what the problem was. What was left of the ball bearings fell out onto the bench and the floor. Numerous pieces of the copper ball carriers of various sizes also came along with them. I was able to move the countershaft a half an inch radially in any direction. Essentially, the bearing was "missing".

I was amazed the entire transmission didn't grind itself into little pieces. I didn't want to take the time to take the heads apart. I just needed to split the crankcase halves to get the transmission countershaft out and see what my options were. When I finally got the countershaft out, I slipped the gears off of it and started comparing it to the spare 750 countershaft I had from the original 750 engine. As near as I could tell eyeballing it, it was identical.

I compared the specs in the shop manuals and they were the same. I measured the key features and they were all the same size. So I slid the gears off the 750 countershaft and slid the 700 gears onto it. They fit just like they were meant for that countershaft! Now I'm in business... almost. I say almost because you're supposed to keep the the drive gear and countershaft together as a matched set. Turns out the drive cases are the same between the 700 and 750 too, even though the parts numbers are different.

I put the transmission back together, measuring my clearances and backlash, and put the crankcase halves together. I didn't take the time to rebuild the heads with new valve stem seals or rebuild the carburetors or anything like that. I was in a hurry to get it back together and RIDE. I did replace all the bottom end gaskets and O-rings while I had it apart since the bike had 77K miles on it already.

Great! Now I have a rebuilt transmission and...some REALLY NASTY looking corroded aluminum head and engine covers where they should be polished. Each had to be polished, i.e. sanded with 150 grit in one direction, then 220 grit in the perpendicular direction, then 320 grit again in the original direction. Then follow that up with a spiral sewn buff using tripoli compound then a loose cotton buff using white rouge.

Whew! It's definitely a LOT of work, but that "see yourself" shine is well worth it! Then I masked everything but the Honda letters and recesses and painted them with black engine paint. It gave it a professional touch that matched the first generation engines, even though the second generation engines didn't have that "feature". Anyway, I like it.

Even though the exhaust pipes are mostly hidden by the ground effects cowling in the front and the heat shield in the rear, they looked absolutely terrible, rusted and corroded. I gave them the same treatment I gave the 750 exhaust. After sanding, I first buffed with sisal using emery compound, followed by a spiral sewn buff using stainless compound, and finally a loose cotton buff using the white rouge. Now they sparkle like chrome!

I attached the rear exhaust pipes and heat shield to the engine and installed it with Jay's help. Then the front exhaust pipes were mounted and the fun began. On these second generation Magnas, the mufflers really add to the overall styling of the motorcycle. Two banks of two upswept pipes, one bank on each side. One muffler for each of the four cylinders.

The "plumbing" beneath it all is a real piece of "engineering". There is a crossover between each pipe of each bank and another crossover between the two banks. That's five clamps in cramped quarters. It's definitely a rear wheel off operation. It took Jay and I a number of attempts and about an hour to get everything together and mounted. Not something I'd want to try alone.

After re-connecting the electrical connections, the radiator hoses and the hydraulic clutch line and bleeding it, I added oil and coolant and fired it up. It sounded good. Real good. I let it warm up and was off for a test run. Back to doing circles in the cul-de-sac and then a romp to the end of the road. So far so good. I took it for a quick spin around the neighborhood. No clunks or any other funny noises for that matter, just smooth power. Sweet...

And We're Rolling...

The engine and transmission work great. I replaced the seat covers which were badly dried and cracked and swapped out the tall backrest with the short one Tim gave me with the bike. I also replaced the mirrors, which were too badly rusted to revive. It's really starting to look like a motorcycle, one I can ride with pride. Alright, it still has some rust here and there I haven't gotten to yet and the front forks need rebuilt, but it really hauls and looks good doing it.

The plan was to get the 750 repainted and take the 700 off the road (after Biketoberfest 2006) to rebuild the forks, strip the paint, do the body work and repaint it. After lurking on the Super Magna Owners Group (SMOG) site, I found a really neat retrofit project that I wanted to try too. I put a new, really cool looking Honda VTX headlight on the 700! The original headlight lens is clouded, the bulb is dim, and the bucket has visible surface rust to boot.
(NOTE: The SMOG site has been down for quite a while now, but the SMOG Forum is still viable as is the FaceBook group.)

We slightly modified the plan since Ann decided to take the basic rider course too. She'd been practicing crab-walking and riding the 500 up and down the driveway. If I can manage to get the 750 done by Biketoberfest 2006, we'll both ride up to Daytona. JT, another long time friend of ours, got a Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 (twin) so we thought we'd probably all ride up together and check it out.

I concentrated on getting all the body work done on the 750 and the 1100 before then. It was a huge project since I had to sand all the plastic covers by hand. I finished with the plastic repair, some cracks and a missing post. The 750 tank was ready to go with just a final sanding. I ground all the old bondo out of the 1100 tank, but it looked like it had just snowed in the garage...

I upgraded my compressed air delivery system enough to allow me to prime and paint. I was still working on the forced fresh air system for the isocyanates from the catalyzed urethane clear coat though. I hoped to be able to prime that weekend (23-24 September 2006), get the body work done on the 1100 tank, then base and clear coat the next week.

I was still hoping to have the 1100 ready to roll by Biketoberfest too, but I still had an engine to finish putting back together; wheels, covers, cases, meter cases, and grab rails to polish and buff; carburetors to rebuild; tires to mount; font forks to rebuild; etc.

It's About Time!

(15 March 2007)
As you can see, it's been a long time between updates, more than six months. I didn't have the 750 together for Biketoberfest 2006, Ann failed her motorcycle test anyway and we didn't ride up with JT. We sold him a spare helmet we had, and we didn't hear from him for a long time, but he did pay for it once he was back to work. Guess it's hard to visit when you know you owe but don't have the dough...

I figured out a forced fresh air system and was able to paint the 750 and 1100 parts. Unfortunately, the 750 fuel tank developed a pinhole leak that lifted and ruined the paint job around the left side tank seam. I had to take it back off, empty it and coat the inside. That took care of the leak, but I have yet to repaint it and it's pretty much sat since.

So basically I had been riding the 700 to work and back every day that I could. Nick and I rode two up to take him to work in Mt. Dora. Ann and I went for rides together. I put nearly 2000 miles on it since October! The fork seals still needed fixed and the leak was worse. I really needed to get the 750 painted and start riding it so I could take the 700 offline and finish restoring it properly.

The 1100 is back together, but the carburetors are refusing to cooperate at all. I've had them on and off twice now and they need to come back off again. For some reason, they still leak fuel even after adjusting the float level twice. The most recent distractions have been the bikes we got for Ann, a VF500 Magna and a VT500 Shadow.

We got her the Magna 500 (V30) first, but it had a cracked cylinder and quickly we realized she wouldn't be riding this one for a LONG time, so we got her the Shadow. Nick and I were trying to get the V30 back together since it was supposed to be his bike, so to speak. I finally managed to put one engine together from the parts of three.

I just finished restoring the Shadow in time for Bike Week 2007. Ann and I were going to ride up to Daytona, but at the last minute decided she wasn't ready for all that traffic and the stress that goes with it. We did take a ride down to Orlando Harley though, about a 50 mile round trip. Daytona is 50 miles one way. She did really well and planned on taking the basic rider class again at the end of the month since her permit expires early in April.

Ann and I took the weekend off and went to Mt. Dora for a much needed getaway. I thought we were doing it for the first weekend of Bike Week 2007, but she didn't make any reservations. We were lucky to get them for this weekend, but we did. Now we could celebrate St. Patrick's Day without worrying about who's driving, just stagger / crawl back to the room.

The Party's Over

Well it was Monday, 19 March 2007, and we were back from the weekend out. Neither of us wanted to come back. I didn't ride to work since I really needed to get busy and fix that fork seal. I was also hearing a lot of drive train noise, but only when moving, so I should probably check the bearings if possible too. There is a good amount of 'slop' in the drive train, so I should take a look at the shaft drive too, especially the dampers. I have a feeling they're worn out.

A little history is in order. Tim bought this bike brand new with 3 miles on the clock. He rode back and forth from Satellite Beach to Tampa every day. That's the east coast of Florida to the west coast and back pretty much every work day, rain or shine. He put over 77K miles on her. I'm really surprised how good of condition she's in after all those years and miles. Probably the worst thing for her was sitting for so long in the beachside salt air. Obviously there are still some mechanical things that need done, but the bulk of what's left to do is beautification.

I'm always trying to formulate a plan of attack, but needed to get the 500 back together and the 750 ready to ride before jumping in and taking the 700 back offline. The absolute first thing to do was take the ground effects off so I could get the jack under it. While those were off, I figured I'd probably do any bodywork needed, if any, and paint them. The original 1987 paint scheme made these black and not the bike color. The 1988 scheme had them the same color as the bike. Since they are a little of both, black and blue (chuckle), I'm going with the bike color.

The rear fender was cracked when I bought her from Tim, and has just gotten worse, so I figure I'll have to reinforce the areas to repair with mesh. I bought another rear fender, glow in the dark no less, complete with an obvious inexperienced bob-job, and HUGE blue jewels in the (now useless) tail light lense. I'm thinking of using some red and blue LEDs, with some sort of pulsator or flash circuit, to "repair" what would be gaping holes in the lense where the jewels were.

The front fender and fuel tank both have dents, so down to bare metal first, then bondo, primer, icing, primer and paint. Tim did give me a spare tank when I bought the bike, and I've since bought another front fender, as well as a left side cover (the original is missing a mounting tab), and a right side cover (just because) - now I can paint the entire set of tins and just swap them out (if I can pick up the ground effects cowling somewhere)!

The frame itself is rusted in places and could use some touch up too. I'm not sure if I will take the engine back out or not. It's a lot of work, I think masking the engine would be less work, but you know how it goes once you get into something. I may just touch up the areas I can both get to and see and leave it at that. I took the time to do it right on the 1100, but did not on either this one or the 750, and wish I would have when I had the engine out of the frame. Now I'm kicking myself on both of them.

Beyond that, everything else needs polished, even stuff I polished before. So I get to polish again (and hoepfully seal). I have the Zoop Seal kit, but have yet to use it. I was going to use it on Ann's Shadow, but got into that "just get it back together and running mode" again. I'm seeing all the steel bolts, nuts, etc., on both the 700 and 750 growing a nice uniform coating of surface rust. The case bolts aren't so much an issue as the head bolts and engine mounts. Hopefully I'll be able to polish and seal many of them in place. Another live and learn thing.

After looking at the Zoop Seal instructions, I discovered it takes several hours for the two part mixture to set up, before it can be used. Once the parts are polished, they first need cleaned with the cleaner, which is a concentrate mixed with water. Spray it on and wipe it off, repeatedly, until it's 'squeaky' clean. Then the two part mixture is applied, which fills the pores in the metal, and must cure for up to 24 hours. Then the final seal is applied over that, and hand rubbed, until the glaze from the mixture is removed and the part shines.

The last thing to consider is the travel case that came with the bike. I removed it due to its poor condition. The rust on the hinges and latch hardware shows through from beneath the paint. I don't have a key for the latches, but even if I did, I wouldn't trust them to keep a thief out. They're like the ones on a cheap suitcase, so I need to find some replacements, albeit heftier. I still wouldn't expect them to keep a thief out, but something that looks more secure and a little more difficult to pry open would be nice.

The case is made of fiberglass, but the bottom is pretty much shot. I bought some fiberglass fabric mesh and resin to try my hand at repairing it. Tim had a piece of plywood in the bottom to reinforce it. I may try to reuse it, but I'll probably dress it up by staining it or maybe even use some ornately carved wood or wood burning design to dress it up and make it look like it belongs there. I still need to figure out whether to air brush some art on the outside of it, and if so, what?

I googled nose art in an attempt to come up with something. I may be able to put together something from parts of a couple of different poses. Then I need to practice painting it with my airbrush. I may just prime and clear coat a side of the case to practice on. If I don't like it, I can always just prime over it and start again. I still need to figure out what paint to use, but will probably just buy one of those "endorsed by some famous airbrush artist I've never heard of" kits. They start around a couple hundred bucks, so somewhat expensive, but hopefully it won't break the bank too badly.

Here we go again

(29 March 2007)
I finally bit the bullet and started on the 700 again. I removed the ground effects and got it on the motorcycle jack. Then I had to get the impact wrench after the axle nut, but eventually got it loose, and took the axle out and removed the front wheel. I couldn't get the screw holding the speedometer cable to the sender unit loose and ended up accidentally yanking the cable out of the speedometer. DOH!

At least it let me set the sender on a wood block and pound it with the impact driver to loosen that screw. Once the screw was out I removed the cable sleeve from the speedo, slid the sleeve back over the cable and shoved the cable back into the ferrell. I need to somehow glue the two together so it doesn't come loose and start whipping me in transit. I'll probably buy a new one eventually. I removed the brake caliper and front fender, and the forks are just about ready to come off.

First, I opened up the drain plug on the left fork slider, but no oil came out. Then it dawned on me, I need to remove the fork bolt cover at the top of the fork tube. It's big at 24mm, and the only socket I have that fits it is the impact socket. I got out the impact wrench and it came off quickly. Too quickly. I thought I strategically positioned the drain pan, but ended up with a puddle of smelly old fork oil on the mat and floor, before I could move the pan under it. DOH!

Off to a great start once again. When the oil finally drained I wiped off the slider, replaced the drain plug and switched to the right side. This time my aim was better. Good thing since I had already sopped up the earlier oil spill. With the pinch bolts loose the fork tubes came right out. Just that bit of work had me drenched in sweat, so I took a break.

We had pizza for supper. Jay had stopped by on his new Shadow 750 to talk to, and catch up with, Courtney. Then her fiance (soon to be husband), Esnel, showed up and it was party at my house! I sat out on the patio for about half an hour, then got back to it. That's when I realized my hex socket bit was too short to get the bolt out of the bottom of the fork slider that holds the fork piston in place. I tried just a regular allen (hex) wrench, but it didn't have the strength to break it loose and was just rounding and stripping out the head.

After about 15 minutes of trying different things, I just gave up and took a break. Ann and Courtney were talking about Ann taking the motorcycle course again. Courtney and Es were thinking of taking it too, so Ann offered to let them try to practice on her Shadow 500. I was reluctant at first, but decided what the Hell? We started them out with the "duck walk", where you slowly walk the bike while slipping the clutch, to get comfortable with the "friction zone". It teaches clutch control and helps you get a feel for the clutch and the bike.

Courtney did very well, like she was riding already. She had been driving Ann's '98 Jeep Wrangler, with a stick shift, so she was used to shifting and using a clutch. Es did okay for a first timer, both with a clutch and a motorcycle. He kept stalling it, but the bike was already pretty hot. Then we let Nick try it, and he did about as well as Es, so I figured she was too hot and took the bike for a spin around the block, to try to cool it off before Courtney tried it again. Then Ann took a quick spin, then Jay, then we put it away.

By then it was already 10:00 PM and Ann went to bed. Jay took off and I went in and watched the rest of biker build off. Then American Chopper was on, but I wanted to get more done on the 700, so I recorded it and went back to cleaning and degreasing the forks and front end parts. Then I removed the headlight and bucket and the instrument case, only to find I needed to disconnect part of the wire harness to remove it the rest of the way.

I used up the rest of the parts cleaner and needed to get some more, along with a longer hex bit socket. If that doesn't work, I guess I have no choice but to drill them out and order another set. By the time I was done it was midnight, so I got cleaned up and settled into my recliner, replayed the American Chopper episode I recorded, then went to bed.

(30 March 2007)
Friday night Jay called to say he didn't have to take his Shadow down to the Honda dealership the next morning, so I took the night off. I knew I needed to get to the parts store for cleaner and a longer 6mm hex drive socket. I did some research on the fork bolts and it turns out the Magna 500 forks use the same bolt. At least I'd have replacements on hand if I did end up stripping them and drilling them out.

While I'm at it...

(31 March 2007)
Saturday I was back at it. Ann asked if I could take her to the pool store with my truck, to pick up some chlorine, so I told her as long as she didn't mind me stopping at the parts store while we were out. I looked for a longer 6mm drive, but to no avail. I ended up buying a cheap hex wrench set and cut the curved part off so I could get a 6mm socket on it.

The first bolt came out fine, but the head of the other one stripped on me, so I had to drill it out. At least now I was able to get the forks apart, and I'm glad I did! They were absolutely filthy dirty inside. It took an entire can of parts cleaner, per fork tube, just to get them cleaned out! I had already removed the springs and cleaned them separately with a third can of cleaner. At least now I could polish the forks, and polish them I did.

I started with the fork sliders, and they cleaned up nicely. Then I cleaned and degreased the rest of the front axle parts and speedo sender, and polished the sender. After a quick swap of buffs for the stainless parts, I polished the axle and nut, fork pinch bolts, and fork tubes. By then it was time for an early supper, so I cleaned up as best I could, and sat down to eat. It was difficult getting back to it since I was already stiff and sore.

I wanted to polish the handlebars, since they were still rusty near the welds, where I couldn't get them clean with steel wool. A sisal buff with some emery compound would take care of that. The top bridge was missing the wrinkle paint in places and would need painted as well. Before I started taking the handlebars apart, I needed to remove the fuel tank to get to the frame neck cover screw to remove it, so I could disconnect the harness from the instrument cluster and finish removing it.

I had previously ordered a new petcock for the fuel tank, since the old one leaks like a sieve when I switch it to reserve. I figured I'd swap it out while I had the tank off, but for now, just set the tank aside. With the harness disconnected, I was able to remove the instrument cluster, and get the case the rest of the way off. I set it aside too. Next I removed the controls from the handlebars. With those out of the way, I was able to loosen and remove the clamps, and then the handlebars.

Next I turned my attention to the front wheel and polishing it. I found the buff mandrel for the flex shaft and put the 4" spiral sewn buff on it for the tripoli compound. I placed the wheel on top of the buffing cabinet, next to the drill and flex shaft, and spent the next several hours polishing it. When I finally finished with the white compound on the loose cotton buff, the polished stuff looked nice and shiney.

The problem is part of the rim is a sort of rough cast surface, and even with the new shaped felt bobs I got from Eastwood, I was only able to get those parts looking somewhat cleaner, but not as good as new. Overall, the appearance of the wheel is great, but not perfect.

Will you be finished with that by tomorrow?

Ann had asked earlier if I would be done with it all by tomorrow since we were supposed to ride that day. I would have to ride the 750, but Nick doesn't like the 750 because there isn't any backrest for him and it scares him, so he would have stayed home. I heard "could I have it done by tomorrow sometime", but Ann meant "tomorrow morning".

I didn't find out until later, when Jay was leaving, that's what she meant. She had told Jay we would ride up to Mt. Dora to our favorite pastry shop for breakfast on Sunday. Now I have to put it into high gear. The top bridge still needed sanded and painted. The handlebars still needed polished. It was already late, but I thought maybe by 2:00 AM I could have it back together enough for the morning ride.

I polished the handlebars next. It took some doing, but I managed to get most of the rusted areas shiney again. Then I sanded the top bridge down to feather out the chipped areas in the paint. I primed it and painted it with black wrinkle paint and left it to cure. Now came the moment of truth, time to assemble the forks, what I had originally set out to accomplish three days ago. It's already after midnight...

(1 April 2007)
I managed to get the left fork all back together, with the exception of the fork tube cap. The O-ring had swelled and stretched to where I pinched it, in two places, screwing the cap back on. These things were fighting me every step of the way! I thought I bought new ones, but couldn't find them, or even an order they would have been on. That's it! It's way past 2:00 AM, coming up on 3:00 AM, and I still need to take a shower before I can even sit down, let alone go to bed.

I brought the top bridge and handlebar clamps in and checked on the wrinkle paint progress. I had to hit them both with the heat gun to prompt the wrinkling. After 10 minutes of hearing all my cans of cleaners and thinners popping from expansion due to the heat, I decided it was good enough, and got in the shower. After a good wash I put on my house coat and decided I would watch the anime show I record every Sunday morning...

...Except Cartoon Network was doing some stupid April Fools joke crap cartoon marathon of Perfect Hair Forever. I was pissed! I watched something else and passed out. I woke up around 8:00 AM, when Ann came out to make coffee. I moved to the couch and told her the bad news that the 700 wasn't back together yet. I fell back asleep for another couple hours and woke up to the wonderful smell of the biscuits and gravy she made for breakfast. That's why I love her.

An Interceptor?

Nick and I had to go pick up a Honda Interceptor parts bike I bought on eBay for Nick to part out and make some money toward his new Mac computer or a dirt bike. He already has over $300 saved, and this should add at least that much more. A conservative estimate I did for parting out the Magna 500 came to over $2000. I told him he had to wait until I got the Magna 500 back together before he started tearing this one apart.

It was an hour across town to get there. The guy was friendly and had his own stable of iron horses he was working on. We chatted for a while, then loaded it into the truck and headed back home. I just left it in the bed of the truck, changed my clothes, and got back to work on the 700. The first order of business was to find a suitable replacement for the fork tube cap O-ring.

The problem I always run into with those damned O-ring assortment kits is the O-rings always get thicker as the diameter gets larger. I don't need it as thick as my pinky just because it's bigger around than my ring finger! I grabbed the one that was smaller in diameter than the cap was but thin. I strecthed it over the cap and it went on just fine. Problem solved. I focused my attention on getting the right fork done next.

It went together more quickly than the left one. Of course, I didn't have to stop to borrow a bolt out of another fork or find an O-ring either. With both forks rebuilt, the top bridge needed to go back on so they could. I mounted the top bridge and nut loosely, installed the forks and tightened the pinch bolts. Then I torqued down the top bridge nut, after loosening those pinch bolts, then torqued them back down.

Finally, no more fork seal leaks!

With the forks installed, I turned to installing the handlebars and controls. after finishing with the top bridge last night, I sanded the rust off of the cable adjusters and ferrules, taped the rest off, primed and painted them black. Now it was time to take the tape off and get them back on the handlebars. With the throttle grip installed, I mounted the handlebars and clamps, and tightened them down. The rest of the controls went on quickly.

I cleaned the brake caliper and loosely mounted it on the fork slider. Then I installed the speedometer cable and it was time for the new VTX style headlight. I put the new instrument cluster case on, with the screws I had polished last night, and mounted the instrument cluster to the top bridge. Now it was time to organize the rats nest of cables and wiring harnesses crammed into that space behind the headlight.

I took my time, making sure all the cables and harnesses were correctly routed, before I even tried to mount the headlight. After a number of trial and error placements, I came up with the optimum solution, based on turning the steering from lock to lock. I plugged all the harness connectors back together on the right side frame neck and put the frame neck cover on. I swapped the rubber shock mounts from the old headlight case to the new one and test fit it.

The guys on the Super Magna Owners Group were right. The headlight case does interfere with the speedometer cable. If I had more time I would try to fabricate a new mounting bracket. I bought the OEM one that goes with the VTX, but the mounting holes where it connects to the lower fork bridge are too far apart. For now, I can live with it rubbing just to get this thing together.
(NOTE: The SMOG site has been down for quite a while now, but the SMOG Forum is still viable as is the FaceBook group.)

I bolted the new VTX headlight case in place and transferred the wire clamps from inside the old one. Then I reconnected the turn signals, mounted the wires out of the way with the clamps, and installed the headlight and ring. Beautimous! I turned on the key to make sure everything worked and turned the engine over until she kicked. Most excellent. Now I need to get that front wheel on it.

I had to reassemble the speedo sender and then put it, and the spacer, in the wheel. I inserted the axle, put the axle nut on, and torqued it and the pinch bolts down. Next I put the front brake caliper on and torqued down the bracket bolts. Finally, I put the speedometer cable on the sender, and tightened down the screw. All that's left is the fuel tank and the seat, and we're ready to ride!

It was time to eat an early supper. Buffalo turkey burgers with homemade blue cheese sauce, sweet potatoe chips, and apple crisp for desert. Yumm! After asking Ann if she was ready for a ride, I grabbed the new petcock and was back to the garage, to finish installing the fuel tank. The old petcock filter screen was filthy. The new one went on quickly, as did the fuel tank. I put the seats back on and it was time for a test ride.

Ann had her new gremlin bell, and wanted to put it on the choke cable, up by the handlebars. I decided to get mine and put it on too. Then I realized I had forgotten to put the ground effects back on. Ann already had her bike started and she and Nick were waiting on me. As I finished getting it back together and was putting the garage door down, the phone rang. It was Jay, so we got directions to his new place, and took a ride over there.

It was getting dark but we all took a ride anyway. Twenty miles later it was dark and we were home. Jay stayed for a while and then went home for pizza. Ann doesn't like driving a car in the dark, so I was wondering how she managed to ride in the dark, but she did. The forks perform much better than before, nice and smooth over all but the worst of bumps. Now if I could just get the rear suspension to perform as well, I would be happy.

On the road again...

(2 April 2007)
The 700 is back on the road again! I rode to work today, and I must say I enjoy riding the 700 much more than the 750, even though the 750 has more power. I wanted to synch the carbs on the 700 yesterday, but opted to test ride instead. I may just do it tonight instead of getting back to work on the 500. I still have plenty of work to do on the 700, but really need to get the 500 finished since Courtney and Es will probably be wanting to ride it.

Sitting at my desk at work, I couldn't remember if I tightened the drain bolts on the forks or not, so I went down to the parking garage to check. The puddle of fluid in the dish of the rim told me no. The bolt on the right fork was loose and almost ready to fall out. Good thing I had some paper towels in the bag. I wiped up the fluid, then removed the left side cover to gain access to the tool kit beneath the seat. Then I wrestled with the tool box a minute or two until I finally got it out of the frame. I grabbed the 10mm wrench from the tool kit and tightened the drain bolts on both sides. Guess the gremlin bell doesn't protect you from yourself.

I synchronized the carbs after supper. I had to keep pulling a vacuum on the fuel valve, then restart the engine, which eventually drained the battery. So I pulled off the seat and put the battery tender on it. While I waited for it to charge, I drained the oil and changed the filter. I only wanted to put 1000 miles on it before changing it, but it ended up being more like 2000.

I put new Shell 15W40 Rotella T in it. It's an oil for diesels, and according to accounts on the web, it has additives to help the transmission that regular automotive oils don't. We'll see how it does. I finished up with the carbs and put it all back together, but left the seat off and kept the battery on the charger. Jay had stopped by to help get the Interceptor out of the truck in exchange for helping him move into his new apartment the following Tuesday.

When he was ready to leave I put the seat back on and took a test ride with him on his way home. I turned off and headed for home. It's much smoother running now but still lacks the power the 750 has. I need to revisit this bike soon. I still have the drive train noise and the rear end needs polished and the frame and tins need painted and... more to come, stay tuned.

Rest In Peace Tim

(8 May 2007)
Today, my best friend of twenty years, Timothy Edward Brothers, was killed in an automobile accident on his way home from work. Some kid thought it was a good idea to do over 100MPH in a Mustang, lost control and crossed the median. He hit Tim's Riviera, killing them both instantly, ripping the Mustang in two. What was left of the Mustang then hit a van of high school seniors here on a field trip, putting them and their driver in the hospital.

We worried every day of the nearly three years Tim was in Iraq and Afghanistan, only to suddenly lose him to a freak, stupid accident once home. He will be sadly missed. It has really hit the entire family hard. We had just gone to Universal Studios the weekend before with Tim and his wife, Kathy. I can still see that grin of his, the same one he always wore, as we shot out the top of the Incredible Hulk coaster. I still can't believe he's gone.

Tim was the original owner of this motorcycle, having bought her brand new in 1987. He knew he wanted the blue one and all they had were the red ones, so he waited for one to ship from another dealership. I met him around that time, when we started working together on the Space Coast. We kept in touch after my family and I moved to Orlando, and we actually setup video conferencing between our computers, long before Vonage, so we could chat back and forth after work in the evenings.

That's one of the reasons we got along so well, both interested in electronics, computers, lasers, designing things like cold jet powered ultra-light aircraft, that sort of thing. I thought I was a pack rat, but after spending last Sunday (10 June 2007) with Kathy, going through some of his things, I realized he had me beat by a mile. I filled the bed of the truck with stuff and there's still more she hasn't gone through yet.

There was even a V8 engine waiting for me but we didn't have a hoist and couldn't figure out how to get it in the truck. Kathy said if Tim had been there he would have figured out a way. She's right. Just another reason I miss him. Tim talked of getting a new Valkarie, and I was looking forward to riding with him. I swear I can still hear him yelling, "Faster! Faster!" when I'm out riding the 700. Guess that will have to be enough.

In case you haven't figured it out, I already had a large sentimental attachment to this motorcycle, and now I'll never be able to part with it. Parts are getting scarce, and expensive, so I'll probably try my hand at fabbing some of them when they're no longer available. For now I'll be happy just keeping it running and riding it as much as I can. Rest In Peace Tim. You are dearly missed.

Bulletin, Bulletin, Bulletin...

(29 June 2007)
First chance I've had to update since we went on vacation to the Grand Canyon. Ann and Courtney are taking the basic rider course together soon. Since Ann's been riding on a permit, to gain more practice and experience, but now she's on her last renewal so it's time for her to go for it. I know both of them will pass.

Bulletin, Bulletin, Bulletin...

(16 April 2008)
Well, it's been nearly a year since I've updated this page and a lot of things have happened since then. Where do I start? Ann and Courtney both passed the basic rider course and got their endorsements, so quite a bit of bike shuffling has gone on since then. Basically, Courtney ended up riding my 750 and Ann bought her own Harley Sportster right before Bike Week 2008.

Me? I'm still trying to figure out what it is I really want. I know I want a hot rod cruiser, but still haven't found what I'm looking for. I looked at the Honda VTX1800, which seems huge, even for me. I test rode a Harley Rocker, liked it, but seems a bit small for me and doesn't have much (any) room for storage. Is it an overpriced bar hopper? Maybe. I looked at the Raider, still an air cooled twin, but I like the styling. Nothing seems to match the attraction I have to my Super though.

Notice I say my Super, and no longer call it Tim's Super, but that doesn't mean I'm over the loss of my best friend. It's been over three years now since we lost him, but I'll never be over it. I say my Super because I've made quite a few modifications to it since rescuing it from the corrosive atmosphere of Tim's beachside garage and restoring it - A VTX headlight, new seat and backrest covers, new raised white letter front tire, progressive fork springs and forward controls (to name a few).

The most performance bang for the buck, by far, is the progressive spring upgrade. I was never confident in my cornering on this bike before it. The best way I can describe it is 'wandering'. Add shaft-jacking to that and it just seemed like it was all over the place in the corners. It was always somewhat unpredictable, and the new rubber up front helped. now it feels 'planted' and I find myself enjoying the twisties instead of fixating on them. All for ~$75.

The forward controls are exactly what I needed to make the bike mine. Ann says I look like I'm riding my recliner, and that's about what it feels like. While I don't feel like my knees are in my chin, like I do on the 750, their position still feels 'wrong'. They're not highway pegs, and they feel 'right' where they are, but I could still stand to stretch out my legs some more.

They're Italian made (De Pretto Moto), and cost me $555 shipped from a dealer in England, in a group purchase through the Super Magna Owners Group. I bought an extra set just in case. The organizer of the group purchase also bought an extra set, which he listed on eBay for ~$75 more + shipping. Can't blame him and there's always someone who missed the deadline (like I did last time 8^).
(NOTE: The SMOG site has been down for quite a while now, but the SMOG Forum is still viable as is the FaceBook group.)

I'm really enjoying the ride afforded by these two recent mods. Nick always used to complain about me squishing him when we rode two up, even with the taller backrest I swap out for the short one I use when I ride alone. No more complaints! I don't know how the forwards help, unless my posture is relaxed enough to allow me to sit further forward on the seat than before. Maybe having my feet further foward lets him put his where they're comfortable.

Really all that's left to do is rebuild the carbs, repolish and repaint. The salt air really did a number on the frame finish, with rust bubbling up from beneath the paint, and everything I polished that was plain steel is now rusted since I removed whatever anti oxidation coating it may have had. The 'tins' are dull, even after waxing. I almost have an entire second set so I can repaint, swap them out, and just paint the other set as spares.

Once I get the Jeep engine rebuilt (long story) so I can finish enlarging my paint booth (another long story) and Courtney moves to Kansas (yet another long story) so I can have my 750 back to have something to ride while I tear the 700 down to the frame to prep and paint it... I think you get the picture.

Oh yeah, lest I forget, there is one more mechanical issue I need to address soon. There is a definite 'clunk' in the drivetrain, which is another unpredictability in both cornering and straight line riding. Again, once I have it all apart I can investigate, but until I have another daily rider... Humm... Maybe I can get the carbs on that 1100 to behave...

Can I Be Done Yet?

(26 June 2008)
Whew! It's only been a little over two months since the last update and so much has happened since then. And even though the Jeep engine still needs rebuilt and I still need to finish enlarging my paint booth, Courtney did NOT move to Kansas, but we did get started remodeling the kitchen...

Okay, I'll give you the Reader's Digest version. Courtney has always wanted to attend the University of Kansas Art School, but because it is so expensive, we told her she would be better off getting all the required course work out of the way at the local community college, where it was far less expensive, and we could help her with it for the first couple of years - After that she was on her own. She was bummed, but the idea was for her to find an alternative source of funding - including, but not limited to, scholarships, grants, loans, etc.

Well, Courtney earned her AA degree, and still dreaming of Kansas made elaborate plans without understanding the reality of her situation. We make way too much money (read: more than poverty level) for her to qualify for a grant, she missed the deadlines for tuition assistance, and she is not much of a scholar. She finally spoke with someone in the financial aid office, only to discover it was just like before, they could (maybe) knock $500 of the better than $35K per year price tag.

Needless to say, she was heartbroken, again. She knew there was no way she (or we) could afford those kind of student loans. She wants to become a teacher, preferably an art teacher, and guess what curriculum is the first to get cut in bad economic times? That's right! Art, Music, Band, etc. The reality is she would graduate with over $100K in debt, maybe with a job that may pay $25K per year. Not a good position to start the rest of your life in, so...

She decided she's going to continue at the local community college and the University of Central Florida (UCF) to complete what few classes she needs to get her teaching creditials to help pay for the rest of her art history course work toward her BA. However, not before Ann and I sunk over $1500 into Es' car and another $1200 into a car for her, so they wouldn't have to worry (much) about reliable transportation in Kansas.

Add the new water pump, serpentine belt, alternator and tires and it would have been cheaper to just buy that rebuilt engine and drop it in the Jeep. In all fairness, the Jeep needs new tires too, but at least it would be mobile and out of my (drive)way. Couple that with nearly $2000 for kitchen remodeling (and we ain't done yet) and you can see there isn't much left in our bank account... And there you have it, the Reader's Digest version.

Unfortunately, the 'clunking' in my drive train is getting worse by the day. I figure if it isn't the shaft damper, it's the wheel dampers for the drive yoke that engages the final driven gear. Fortunately, I have been able to acquire all the pieces I need to totally rebuild and polish the rear end - off the bike - including new brake shoes and a new rear tire. I've put nearly nearly 6000 miles on the bike so far since I bought it, and they were worn then! Once all that goes back together, it will (hopefully) be the last of the mechanical issues that need to be addressed.

Well... I would like to get the front brake rotor turned, rebuild the caliper, and put the new pads on it, to get rid of that damned 'singing' ever since I put the replacement rotor on. I don't call it squealing because it's not that high pitched, maybe more of a 'humming'. It's like there's a high spot on the rotor and every time the pads hit that spot they vibrate. I may just put the old rotor back on with the old pads, after a quick 'refresh' caliper 'rebuild', while I try to get a replacement caliper, rebuild it, and have the replacement rotor turned. Then the front will match the rear and hopefully the new shoes won't squeal anymore either.

I would still like to paint the frame and the tins and repair the travel case before we go on our 25th Anniversary ride up the Heritage 441. I'll be pushing it to get the brakes and drive train done by then. Besides, I would be reluctant to travel that far for that long after having the bike pulled that far apart and put back together again without a (relatively) long test period. It's less than two months away and I'm running out of time. Guess I just want to be done with this bike already...

Mail's In...

(27 June 2008)
My new rear tire came yesterday. When I got home from work it was sitting at my front door waiting for me. I thought it was comical they just slapped a FedEx Ground Home Delivery sticker on it and shipped it. Why else would I take a picture of such a mundane item? In any case, I'll be polishing the replacement rear wheel tonight and (hopefully) tomorrow the brake backing plate and the drive case. If I can at least get the wheel polished tonight, I can take it to have the tire mounted and balanced tomorrow. I may even get a new set of bearings put in it.

Beyond that, I really want to get the rest of the garage cleaned up from the 'disaster' that is now our kitchen. I took down the upper cabinets and we had someone come in and take out the drop ceiling - not that lattice work and tile kind mind you - the framed with studs and covered with wall board and painted kind. I think they call it a bulkhead ceiling. Anyway, it's now all one uniform height and it and the walls have been textured and painted, so now the only 'disaster' is the wall cabinets sitting on the countertops and floor. Ann has worked hard to 'clean' everything, but every time I look around, I see another place where the 'fallout' settled.

Between the blown insulation everywhere, then the drywall mud and dust everywhere, I'm not sure where to start in the garage. All I know is it's going to be awfully difficult to keep the dust out of my paint jobs since it's all through the paint booth. I've been thinking about getting some more wood to build some new benchwork along the far wall of the garage, where I put up makeshift wooden shelving when we first moved in over a decade ago. This together with new wall cabinets, like I put up on the other side of the garage, ought to provide at least the same amount of storage, if not more, plus the added advantage of more bench and work space.

Like I said, I'm kind of tapped out right now, payday is Tuesday and I have a little left in savings, but I'm waiting for my bonus. The problem is I need to start saving money for the Heritage 441 trip, but I still need to buy some parts.

More Benches?

(12 July 2008)
Once payday got here (last weekend), I decided to go buy some more of the 'cheap' cabinets for over the paint benches, hoping to be able to paint. They're the kind you assemble yourself and they go together quickly. I was able to hang them and get things organized, but there's still way too much clutter on the benches to even think about painting. Not to mention the rest of the stuff in the middle of the garage, on the metal shelves I used as a divider, would be in the way of erecting the temporary paint booth walls.

So Nick and I picked up some wood for new benches and more cabinets for the other wall of the garage, where the wooden shelves were, the ones I hand made when we moved in, over a decade ago. Nick helped me build a couple more benches, then he helped me get the stuff off those old wooden shelves, and the metal ones, and tear them down. We put the new benches in place and had to stack some of the stuff back on them, just to keep it out of the rain. Not quite what I had in mind though...

I got sick of looking at the mess and the half wired benches, so I decided to finish the electrical first, so I would at least have lights. I replaced the old switch box in the wall with one wide enough to accept the switch and a new outlet. Now I could plug the new benches into it, and since it's by the side door, extension cords (or anything else that needed power). Nick finished the bench wiring and all I had to do was plug them in and install the remaining cover plates.

I hung the lights next, then assembled and hung the new cabinets, and set about trying to organize and fill them. Not as easy as it sounds. I put all the boxes of motorcycle spare parts (that would fit) on top of the new cabinets. I put all the tiling supplies in one, all the 'need to get to' motorcycle replacement parts in another, and all my power tools in a third. The fourth set is still waiting for me to figure out what would fit best there.

I now had enough room to move my Super to the middle of the garage, where the metal shelves and the radial saw used to be. I started in earnest making all the improvements to the Super I felt were needed to make the trip since there's only two weeks left until we leave on our Heritage 441 Run. I ordered some last minute needs from Service Honda and hoped they would arrive in time. I had tried to just overhaul the front brake caliper but realized once I had it apart the seals were shot and would need new ones.

So those went on the list. New seals for the shaft drive, new wheel bearings, some new grips and other 'beautification' parts as well. I even ordered an OEM air filter just to see if the guys on the SMOG forum were pulling my leg about the K & N air filter's lackluster performance. Once I had everything polished, Jay, Nick and I took the wheels and new rear tire down to Performance Honda to have it mounted and balanced and the new bearings installed.

By the time we were ready to check out, the cashier quoted a number that was too low, as if she had left the parts or the labor off the bill. I told her she needed to make sure she had everything, but now the price was too high, so I had her remove a set of the expensive irridium spark plugs. I knew the total was still wrong, but she insisted it was correct, so I just paid and headed back to the shop.

In the meantime, this stupid 'Mexican' is still 'trying' to help me, but the girl behind the counter I had been dealing with knew more than he did, or ever would. He put the rear wheel dish back on, incorrectly, and he ended up destroying the three irreplaceable grommets when he forced it back on wrong. I didn't realize it until I got home. I was PISSED! What a f...ing moron.

To top it off, the next day while we were at work, the cashier called and left a message on the machine about something I figured had to do with her mistake, but I erased it and decided we're even... Anything I owe them, they owe me for allowing a moron to work on and destroy a perfectly good classic. I won't be going back there any time soon... if ever.

She's Ready As She'll Ever Be...

(15 August 2008)
The parts arrived just in time for me to finish the caliper and shaft rebuilds and get her all buttoned back up and polished. I had taken Thursday and Friday off and needed every bit of time to get her back together, but it was worth it. Now she's in the best shape she's been in since I bought her. A test ride proved they weren't lying about that OEM air filter either!

Whew! Right down to the wire as usual. Friday evening we got the bags as packed as we could and I even put a more advanced tool kit together. It bothers me that I'm still slowly losing coolant over time. Even though everything checks out, I packed a couple liter bottles of coolant, just in case...

I spent the rest of the night, and half the morning, getting all the maps and directions and reservations and stuff printed out. It's after 2:00 AM, so I finally decided that we had enough maps, and if we needed more, we could print them on the road. Needless to say, we got a late start, and left about an hour later than we wanted to get started.

(16 August 2008)
We were excited to be on our first big adventure on our bikes. We got as far as Mt. Dora and had to pull over so I could replace the batteries in my radio. Meant to do that before we left! Oh well... Back on the road, we made it as far as Leesburg and I noticed my rear brake was dragging, so we pulled over again and I quickly back off the adjuster. We get moving again and it's fine.

It's a pleasant cruise to Ocala, and we were getting into traffic as we near the center of town. As we're sitting at the light, I noticed my idle had dropped, dropped to the point she wanted to stall. I reached down to adjust the idle screw and noticed white puffs of smoke coming out the left bank of mufflers. Oh schmidt! We made it to next light and my idle was down again and the temp light came on. Not good... Not good at all!

I tell Ann we may have a problem. We get moving again, turning onto US27 out of Ocala, and my temp light goes out. I take the lead while she follows me and confirms it's blowing white smoke - not solid yet, but puffing pretty good. My temp light comes on again and I tell her we need to find a gas station soon. We found one next to a little diner, pulled in and fueled up. She started right back up, so we decided to have lunch there at the Town and Country Diner, and let the bikes cool off.

She's Dead Jim...

We have a huge breakfast, it was delicious, and we're stuffed. We planned to check the coolant, turn around, and head back home to see how far we can get. I took the radiator cap off and the coolant was low again, so I grabbed a bottle out of the tool bag and topped her off. It took the entire liter bottle. Not good. I try to start her, but she won't even crank over. Really not good. Ann asked what that meant. I explained it was a blown head gasket, hydraulic lock, and my bike wasn't going anywhwere. At least, not under power...

We sat there on the curb staring at the bikes, staring at our fading dream drifting away, until the sun reminded us it was hot outside. So we went back inside the diner and settled in for a long wait. Ann called Courtney and told her she was going to grant one of her long time wishes. She gets to drive her Dad's truck... up to Ocala... and pick us up... throw the bike ramp in the back... It took more than two hours for them to get there, and we had plenty of time to discuss our options, so we decided to get the bikes on the truck, get them home, and set out Sunday in Ann's Miata convertible.

Meanwhile, looks like my poor Maggie is dead. The head gasket blown, she sits in the garage, waiting for the right conditions to start the tear down, this time for a total restore. I'll get to do it right this time, from the ground up. After spending a week driving the truck to work and watching everyone else ride their bikes, I decided to resurrect the 1100 and get her back on the road, which brings up another topic of discussion...

A V65 Super?

There are a couple of guys from the Super Magna Owners Group forum that have tried to modify their Super's frame to accept (read: shoehorn in) a V65 engine. Not only does it involve a bunch of cuts and welds and gussets and such, but I only know of one of them that was actually completed and running. I thought about it for a while, and decided the Super has enough power for its size, but it still looks a little small for me. Enter the 1100...
(NOTE: The SMOG site has been down for quite a while now, but the SMOG Forum is still viable as is the FaceBook group.)

My thought is to just modify the first generation 1100 Magna V65 to look like the second generation Super. Since there have to be cuts and welds anyway, why not just chop the frame neck for a little added rake and lower the rear to match? It always looked like it sat kind of tall anyway, so using the existing forks and trees, complete with dual front disk brakes, and lowering the rear an inch or two should just about do it. I definitely need to do my homework, and measure and calculate the changes to the steering geometry first, but I'm sure something can be worked out.

There are a number of folks looking to find someone to fabricate replacement Super exhausts (mufflers) that look and function as closely as possible to OEM. These may work for the V65, but I have a feeling they will need some 'rework' in order to perform correctly for that application. Larger exhaust pipes and higher flow are two things that come to mind. I may try my hand at some fiberglass ground effects to add even more of a Super feel to it. Hopefully I'll get some practice on Tim's old travel case first. I think I may even have a way to put a VTX headlight on it! Too bad I suck at photoshop...

Stay tuned... More to come. Until then, here's my "vanity" pic on the CMSNL site.

And so it begins...

(July 2009)
Once again, it's been nearly a year since my last update. My position was eliminated 3 April 2009, so I have a LOT of time on my hands. Time to get things done. Things I'd been putting off because I let work take priority over them. Hope I never make that mistake again. In any case, it looks like as long as my severence holds out, I'll be able to rebuild my Super Magna and ride it to this year's (2009) Super Magna Owners Group (SMOG) annual meet in Elkins, WV.

First we have to get the Jeep stuff out of the way and go through yet another garage reorganization, but that's another story. I find a replacement engine to rebuild on eBay down in Ft. Lauderdale, but the seller wants $240 just to ship it to Orlando, so I decide to go pick it up. What a mistake that was! After shoving $60 of gas into the truck, I get a $181 ticket for speeding, so it ends up costing me a dollar more to pick it up!

I order the parts I need, or at least the ones that are still available, and set about rebuilding the engine. With a mix-match of an old Vesrah gasket set for the '83 VF750, and new ones from Service Honda, I am able to put together a complete set of everything I need. As usual, I agonize over it, so it takes me quite a while to figure out what I have... and what I need... and what is shared between the two... and what isn't... To get an idea, I ordered just the parts for Nick's dirt bike a week before I ordered these, knowing it would take me longer to figure it all out than it would for them to ship his parts.

Just a word of caution, if you're reading this and restoring a Super... The head (valve) cover gaskets, and therefore the upper gasket sets, are No Longer Available (NLA) from Honda, so be warned. Mine are still in good shape and now I'll have a spare set from the old engine with the blown head gasket. Come to think of it, I should probably tear that one down now too... Nope, don't have that much time on my hands.

If only I had more time...

Now I NEVER thought I'd hear myself say that, being laid off and all, but everyone seems to think that being laid off means I just sit at home, with nothing to do but watch TV, instead of looking for a job. Well, finding a job IS a full time job, but more to the point, everyone keeps expecting me to go there and do that, like I didn't already have plans. And if you're like me, the best laid plans...

The plan was to put one engine together from the best parts of the two, but I had to short circuit that idea when Mom asked if Nick could go with her to Ohio. That in itself is not a problem, but that she wants to drop off some friends in Atlanta on the way there, is. Atlanta is not really "on the way there" and not the "friendliest" of places to be, so I tell her if I go along, then maybe... Well, that was all it took. She says if I go, then we can skip Atlanta all together and drive straight through (16 - 17 hours).

I knew I shouldn't have said it as soon as the words came out of my mouth. Too late now, I'm taking a week off to go to Ohio, and of all times, a week BEFORE the meet! I try to get Mom to change her plans, but my cousins' baby shower was already scheduled, well ahead of time. So a week and a half before the meet, I'm on my way to NE Ohio for a week! But I'm getting ahead of myself...

Although I'm not slacking on getting this bike running, I want to keep a slow, steady pace to ensure I don't mess this up or miss something by rushing the job. Now I need to step it up and work longer hours. Tuesday afternoon the Service Honda order arrrives. Thursday morning, 9:00 AM, I'm in the garage, putting the finishing touches on the engine rebuild, then prepping and painting the bad spots on the frame. Jay shows up and we get the engine back in the frame.

Next, all the connections for the forward controls, so the remaining motor mounts can be installed. Keeping at it past midnight, I finally get the exhaust installed, by myself, around 3:30 AM. Not a job I'd recommend anyone doing by themselves. About the time I put the finishing touches on the electrical system, Ann walks out into the garage, before getting ready for work. I tell her all I need to do is connect the auxiliary fuel bottle and test fire.

Well, I set the choke, turn on the key and push the start button. She tries to sputter to life... and tries... and tries... but just will not stay running. I ran the battery all the way down trying. Ann frowns and rolls her eyes. I answer back, "I know". It's 6:30 AM and still not running. Mom will be here in half an hour to pick us up and leave for Ohio. I go back through everything in my head. What did I forget? Why won't she start?

I grab the Jeep battery and the jumper cables and connect them up. I try again and again, adjusting the idle up, then down, then slightly opening the throttle, then throttle wide open, still nothing. I finally give up and start to put things away. I'm just about done when Mom pulls in, around 7:30 AM. By 9:00 AM, we're loaded up and on the road to Ohio in Mom and Dad's F-150, but that's a different story...

Time's running out...

The bottom line is she doesn't run, and once I get back from Ohio, I'll only have two days to get her running and get on the road to Elkins, WV for the meet. I'm running out of time. Already so tired from being up the last 24 hours working on her, I start to nod off, but not for long. Seems like every time I drift off, Mom jerks the wheel or mashes on the brakes.

So after drifting off a couple hundred times, I might have caught up on an hour or so of sleep. I can't stop thinking, "Why won't she start?" Has to be one of two things, the spark pickup coils or valve timing. Had I checked for spark before we left, I could have ruled out the pickups, but it seemed to me she was firing. That leaves valve timing, meaning I screwed something up, and bare minimum get to pull the head covers off when I get home. Hopefully I won't have to open the crankcase up again...

So I finally let it go and enjoy my time with family and friends in Ohio. On the way home, we decide to take two days instead of one, to make it easier. I try not to let the pressure get to me, and Mom's trying to help calm me down, but all I seem to do is get more upset and more pissed off with traffic. I know better, but once I let my temper get the best of me, time is the only thing that will help calm me down. In this case, time is the problem... And I'm out of it!

We finally pull in Sunday evening, unload, and Mom's off for home since she has to work the next day. First thing Monday morning, I'm out in the garage checking for spark. According to the timing light, I'm getting spark on all but #2. I have spark on #4, so now I'm scratching my head. Looking closely at the #2 plug wire, I see the cooling fan has worn the yellow insulation layer off of it, and figure I need a new one.

I look up the 7mm Accel wires online and find the kit I need. So after making the rounds, to three different parts stores and NOT finding it, I'm no closer to solving the problem. None of them has the kit I'm looking for! They have the fancy 8mm SuperDeeDuper V-8 monster kits for the latest muscle cars, but not a single 7mm wire, not yellow, not black, not any color! I take the wires out of the coil and reseat them, twice. I try the timing light on #2 one more time, this time ensuring the timing light pickup is placed properly and securely over the wire, and it says I have spark! Good... and not so good.

Time's up!

(3 August 2009)
By now I'm just spinning my wheels. It's already well into the afternoon and I'm no closer to a solution. Time's up! Spark means I need to get the head covers off and figure out what I screwed up in the valve timing. According to the manual, there should be 46 pins of the cam chain between the alignment marks on the cam sprockets. So I pull the head covers off the blown engine to see how difficult it will be to count those pins hidden beneath the top chain guide... Very.

I count them, and it's exactly 46 pins (23 links) on the blown engine, where I have the luxury of being able to loosen and remove the head bolts, allowing removal of the top chain guide for access. Not so much on the newly rebuilt engine... Using the blown engine as a guide, I see four links hidden under each side of the chain guide, three in between, and six on either sprocket - for a grand total of 23 links - exactly 46 pins. Even the rear head, which the manual does not explicitly call out, has 46 pins. Hummm, that's not it... Now what?

Now I'm out of ideas. Should I throw in the towel? Jay's starting to look concerned. What else could possibly be keeping this engine from running? I review the section of the manual that deals with the camshaft installation, concentrating on cam timing, remembering I screwed this part up when I first reworked the original engine too. I go over it and over it again in my head. Nothing is out of place. I decide to retrace my steps with the manual, one more time, step by step, as I read "All cam markings will be facing up or down". Hummm... Are they I wonder?

I quickly realize I haven't checked that, but rather assumed I did it correctly the first time. Armed with the flashlight, I carefully inspect each cam, and discover I have the rear intake cam 180° out of phase with the other three? I'm batting 1000! What an idiot! How could I possibly have missed this? Last time I managed to get the front cams 45° out of phase, to where I could feel some mechanical interference between the pistons and valves as they approaced TDC. How do I always manage to screw this part up?

Better yet, can I fix this without having to loosen the head bolts, the very thing I believe caused the original head gasket failure? There's one way to find out... Try it! I manage to get the cam sprocket bolts loose, but can't reach the tensioner to release the tension on the cam chain without removing the top chain guide, under the four center head bolts. Getting the cam chain back on against that tensioner ought to be fun... Not!

Originally, the plan was to have her running by now and head to Jay's sister's place in Jacksonville, FL, to have dinner with his family there and spend the night. That way if something did go wrong with my bike, we would still have time to get home and take the V65 to the meet. As we struggle to get her back together, time marches on. Jay is obviously very concerned it's not going to happen. I tell him we should let his sister know we're going to be a day late, but should probably wait until we know for sure this is the fix. Again, the best laid plans...

It takes some doing, but with me holding the sprocket and guiding the cam chain, Jay slowly rotates the crankshaft and advances the rest of the engine parts to the proper position. Just when I think we have it, the cam chain skips a tooth on the sprocket! It proves difficult to correct, but with Jay's help, I finally manage to pry the sprocket into place and bolt it down.

A few last minute checks to be sure EVERYTHING is correct. Excellent! Now let's get those head covers back on. Alright, alright, I know. The radiator needs to go back on too. And the rear coil and tray. And the melted and burned rectifier connections need repaired. But all that goes smoothly. Now the moment of truth... Are we going to WV or not?

VROOM!!! VROOM!!!

(4 August 2009)
I attach the auxiliary fuel bottle, set the choke, turn on the key, cross my fingers, and press the start button... She ROARS to life!!! WOOHOO!!! We're going to the meet!!! Well... As soon as I get the rest of the bike together. She still needs the fuel tank, seats and backrest installed. Then the carburetors need tuned and synchronized. Oh, and the automatic fuel valve connection. No problem, right? Wrong!

I remove the manifold sense screw I borrowed from the original engine for testing, replace it with the port for the automatic fuel valve, and promptly snap it off... WTF? How did that happen? I hardly put any force on it! And it was still loose, wiggling in fact, but not yet fully seated. Oh well, maybe it got bumped somehow and was ready to crack anyway. After all, it's only brass. Thinking nothing of it, I grab the spare from the original engine, and promptly snap it off, the same way I did the first one! Now WTF?!?

Not good. Really not good. How do I fix this? There's no time to order a new one, let alone get one overnighted to me. I'm thinking maybe I'll put that screw back in, remove that automatic fuel valve, and replace it with an inline fuel filter for now. Jay asks if I still need his help synchronizing the carbs that night. I figure as late as it is, we shouldn't even start something as involved as that. So he heads out, but says he'll swing by in the morning to help me sync the carbs. I figure it's about time to quit for the night, before I break something else anyway!

I'm still scratching my head. Is there some sort of defect or burr at the bottom of the threads, in the manifold, that's causing it to bind and snap off? Even if I can get a replacement by tomorrow morning, will it just snap off, the same as the others did? As I'm cleaning up the benches and putting tools away, I wonder, will one of the port adapters from the carb sync tool work? They seem loose until the adjusting nut snugs the o-ring up against the manifold, but they are beefier. I wonder... Sure enough, it works!

Problem solved. At least for now... With not much else left to do on the bike, I decide to get a good night's sleep. Good thing too. I'm stunned at how early Jay is over... Let's just say he is NOT a morning person. I already have her ready to run, with the exception of the cosmetic bits, so it's time to put them on and take a test ride. There's not enough time for a long one, but the twenty minutes or so we do ride is enough to verify that all the major systems are working correctly, and we head for home.

We're on our way...

(5 August 2009)
Once we're back home I finish packing up the tools, spare parts, fluids, and anything else I think we may need. Never did get around to painting the ground effects, let alone attaching them to the bike. Oh well, I throw them in the back of the truck, and take a can of spray paint. I'll paint them there at the meet and put them on. Now comes the hard part, loading the bikes. I'm saving my shower for after we're finished. We get both bikes up the ramp and into the bed of the truck, cross-strapped at each fork slider, and again at the rear engine mounts. They're not going anywhere... as long as the cables holding up tailgate (and the rear wheels of the bikes) don't snap!

I still can't find either of our bike-to-bike radios. Jay has his, but it's pretty much useless for communication without mine. No big deal, let's get the rest of the goodies packed into the back seat, so I can get showered and we can get on the road. I'm glad Jay decided to help get the truck prepped and ready to go yesterday, while I was busy working on my bike. He helped me change the oil and filter, air filter and wipers. I figure the truck will be pretty much loaded to its capacity. A quick check of the tire pressures and we're all set. After a quick shower, I pack up my remaining personal items, and we say our goodbyes. We're booking it outta here!

As for the 2009 Super Magna meet in Elkins, WV, well... let's just say I LOVE THE MOUNTAINS!!! You can read all about our 2009 Meet Experience here. The condensed version goes like this... We're able to spend some good quality time with members of Jay's family he hadn't seen in years, they are gracious enough to put us up for the nights of our travels, and we even ride with his Aunt and Uncle in VA up to Mountain Lake, where Dirty Dancing was filmed. We arrive at the Meet late Friday night, and scramble to get the bikes off the truck and prepped and ready to go, but we make it. Ear to ear smile doesn't even begin to describe the experience.
(NOTE: The SMOG site has been down for quite a while now, but the 2009 Meet Album is available through the SuperMagna group on Facebook.)

We're Back!!!

(10 August 2009)
We're home and have some great memories from our travels, as well as booty! Jay won over $300 worth of gift certificates and other items! I won a belt buckle, an HJC Helmets banner for the garage, a Billy Carr sight glass repair kit, and had the highest mileage Super at the meet! Alright, so the highest mileage wasn't a "real" award, but the reward of the experience remains. Jay gave me his $100 gift certificate to Ron Ayers Honda, which I recently used to buy the parts I needed to put the finishing touches on my Super.


Things done...

  • 700 Before Restoration
    • Polished instrument cluster and ignition switch.
    • Polished rider and passenger pegs.
    • Polished drum brake backing plate, brake lever, rear wheel, shocks and axle.
    • Polished sissy bar, rack, and grab rails.
    • Polished handlebars, left and right electrical controls.
    • Recovered seats.
    • Replaced battery and mirrors.
    • Tested electrical, bulbs and parts.
    • Inspected rear swing arm, shaft drive, drum brake, brake lever, wheel, shocks and axle.
    • Rebuilt front brake hydraulics, swapped 1100 rear pads and bled system.
    • Rebuilt transmission.
    • Polished/Painted engine/head covers.
    • Polished exhaust pipes and mufflers.
    • Installed engine.
    • Adjusted and lubricated throttle and choke cables.
    • Rebuilt and bled clutch hydraulics.
    • Installed new air and oil filters.
    • Installed new radiator mounts and collars.
    • Replaced oil and coolant.
    • Removed front wheel, fender, forks, brake caliper and headlight.
    • Removed instrument cluster, prepped and repainted top bridge.
    • Removed and polished handlebars, cleaned related components and installed.
    • Polished screws and installed instrument cluster with new case.
    • Installed new VTX headlight.
    • Polished and rebuilt front wheel and forks and installed.
    • Synchronized carburetors as best I could. Still need rebuilt.
    • Changed oil and filter.
    • Cleaned rust, prepped and spot painted pillion peg mounts.
    • Purchased and installed replacement pillion pegs.
    • Hand polished rear wheel.
    • Installed progressive rate fork springs.
    • Installed De Pretto forward controls.
    • Ordered and received stainless hardware to replace plain steel hardware for forward controls.
    • Polished the replacement rear wheel, brake backing plate and drive case.
    • Got new rear tire mounted and balanced. New bearings as well, front and rear
    • Ordered and installed new grips.
    • Rebuilt replacement engine to replace engine with blown head gasket. (July 2009)
    • Re-Polished bright parts that had begun to rust or oxidize.
    • Installed stainless hardware to replace plain steel hardware for forward controls.
    • Ordered, received and installed clutch master rebuild kit, site glass, and slave cylinder seal (November 2010)
    • Replaced handlebar master cylinders clamp bolts with stainless socket heads from Billy Carr

Things left to do...


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Last Updated: 10 Jan 2018