Suspension Page

The Magna's suspension leaves a lot of room for improvement. Many owners have modified their suspensions to improve the ride and the handling. This area will cover suspension modifications, and is a pretty good guide for the understanding of the stock suspensions also.

Suspension Disaster!
Before modifying your suspension, read about my experience (or inexperience) with the Magna front end, which prompted me to learn a lot about suspensions. It also encouraged me to be very careful when modifying the suspension further. Included on this page are others experiences with the Magnas front end.

Lowering The Magna
I lowered the motorcycle by about 1.5", using recommendations from Progressive Suspension. This was accomplished by lowering the front forks by about 2" and the rear shocks about .75".

Front Fork/Fluids in General
I was advised by Progressive Suspension that transmission fluid was not desirable for the forks. It supposedly can range anywhere from 5W to 17W, and there is no control over the weight. Also, fork oil is made specifically for the forks. It has superior qualities for this application. In the Magna, I use both 10W and 15W fork oil, and will not use 5W or transmission fluid again. (see suspension horror story)
Be careful when removing the fork tube caps in order to fill tubes with fluid. First, be sure to suspend the front end of the bike off the ground. The caps are made from soft aluminum and are often on very tight, thus it is easy to accidentally round off the hex. Absolutely use a six point high quality socket with a long socket handle. Be sure to keep the socket square on the cap. Remember that once the cap comes free, light spring pressure will cause it to pop up an inch or so.
If you should encounter a fork tube cap with a previously mangled hex (as I have encountered), don't fear, it'll come off. After trying various vise grips, channel-locks, impact devices, custom sockets, etc., what finally worked was an old fashion monkey wrench. I positioned the monkey wrench to grab the outer edge of the cap, careful not to scratch the tube, put a leverage bar on the wrench, and the cap came right off.

Another thing that I noticed is that Honda specifies a fluid capacity in ounces for the Magna, and PS specifies a height of fluid from the top of the slider, when fully compressed. This can cause some uncertainty, especially when attempting modifications. The answer to this is to take a fluid height measurement when the proper volume of fluid has been added. This height measurement is now the basic unit that I use when adding fluid, not the actual quantity (volume). When you think about it, this is a lot better way. The amount of fluid dictates the amount of air in the forks. The amount of compressible gas (air) in the forks (and its starting pressure) is one important quantity that you are setting when you add fork oil. This is not exactly true, since there are other variables involved, such as viscosity, but it is a very good starting point. If you are modifying from stock, or changing anything at all, the actual amount of fluid is not as important as the amount of compressible gas (air) that is available at the top of the fork.

On the V65 Magna, I measured a 6.5" fluid height when the specified amount of fluid was added. This number was the important number when I lowered the front. I actually am varying the fluid height from 5" (the PS recommended minimum) to the stock 6.5". I also use either 10W or 15W fork oil. I am still experimenting with the differences in height & fluid weight. As of the present time, I think I have just about optimized the handling of the V65 Magna, with the lowering, PS parts, radial tires, and other mods.

Fluid Level Chart
The V65 Magna Specifies a volume of fluid in each fork. This is not really reliable. A better way would be to specify the fluid level, as most bikes do today. Also, the fluid level is specified with the spring out, and the slider all the way down in the fork. It would be nice to have a level with the spring in, this way it would not have to be removed to add or remove fluid. This level will obviously vary with the spring.The chart below lists the fluid levels for the stock suspension, and with Progressive Suspension springs.

Condition	Left Fork	Right Fork
Stock Volume, As Specified In Manual, oz.	19.6	19.1
Stock Height, No Spring, As Measured, Inches Below top of fork	6.5	6.5
Stock Height, With Spring, As Measured, Inches Below top of fork	3.2	3.2
Recommended Starting Height, Progressive suspension Springs, No Spring, Inches Below top of fork	5.5	5.5
Recommended Starting Height, Progressive suspension Springs, With Spring, Inches Below top of fork	2.5	2.5

Question: How can I measure the fluid height with the forks still in the bike since the forks are tilted?
Answer: Just take the measurement at the CENTER of the fork. This is relatively accurate. If you are really worried, you can take the max/min measurement and average the two.

Steering Head
The following is an excerpt from David Ryder's experiences in replacing the steering head in a Sabre:
Following the Clymer's procedure (sort of), we dismantled the entire front end of the bike, pretty much without a hitch. Incidentally, a Sabre with everything forward of the gas tank removed is a really ugly sight. We opted to leave all the cables and hoses hooked up to the handlebar points, as well as not to disconnect most of the electrical harnesses in that area. Thus, we ended up with a rather nasty group of miscellaneous metal, plastic, and rubber accouterments hanging to one side of the steering head, which we moved en masse from side to side whenever we needed access to specific points.

It's possible the procedure would've gone faster had we detached everything, but I feel that the time gained would've been lost when it was time to reconnect everything. YMMV.

The only thing which gave us trouble in the disassembly was the lean angle/turn signal cancellation device, which is actually mounted within the steering head. There is a single screw which holds it to the frame and provides the pivot point, which had been stripped to hell. Lacking anything which could remove it, I chose to bend the entire bracket down and out of the steering head (at this point I told Mark that the warranty for this job wouldn't include ever having the self-cancellation function work again, and he concurred). As anyone who's ever done it can attest, drilling out the screw and then having to use an Easy-Out could've easily blown the entire afternoon.

Removing the bearing races was interesting, to say the least. The lower/outer race, which is pressed onto the steering stem, had to be beaten within an inch of it's life to remove. Extreme prejudice was employed, and within 20 minutes, the thing came off. Needless to say, the bottom dust cap was shredded, but I had purchased this in advance. The races which are actually pressed into the steering head itself offered a variety of challenges. The upper one popped out rather easily, using a drift and a hammer hitting from below. The bottom one cannot be reached with a drift, since it's in a housing which is actually wider than the steering head, thus you can't even see it's edge if you look down inside the steering head.

Fortunately, I was able to stick the claw of a standard hammer inside the head and catch one edge of the race. Then, using a drift from the top, we whaled on the top of the hammer, which transferred the impact to the race. Eventually it popped out as well.

Reinstallation of the new races in the steering head went easily enough. Using a piece of wood, I pounded them into the head, then we used a drift to gently tap them all the way into their seats. The only thing which remained was to get the bottom/outer race back onto the steering stem. It was obvious that this was going to require something special, judging from how hard it was to get the old one off. I opted to put the steering head in the freezer for about 30 minutes, then heated the race over the stove's flames. The subsequent expansion/contraction properties of both parts allowed us to almost SLIP the race down onto the steering stem, and we easily drove it to it's seat using a pipe.

Reinstallation of the entire front end went very quickly (about 45 minutes, as compared to 3 hours taking it apart). Even the angle sensor/self cancellation unit bent back into place well. When complete, the only extra parts were 3 black plastic fascia covers, which we couldn't remember where they'd come from (we later figured out where). When I went to start the bike, it cranked for several seconds with no result. I kept at it, then stopped and the BIGGEST backfire I've ever heard occurred (inside a garage....we were deaf for several seconds). Has anyone ever had THIS happen before?

Being stubborn, I tried again and this time the bike caught and ran normally (for a 25F day). We warmed it up and did several test rides (the turn signals cancel fine). The entire procedure took about 6 hours, subtracting time spent doing stupid or non-related things like lunch.

Letter Concerning V-Max's 'Wallowing'

This is taken from the October 1996 issue of Cycle World magazine, Page 88 in the "Service" column by Paul Dean. Since the V-Max was Yahama's competition for the Magna, there are quite a few similarities in design. Mainly, a very powerful engine in a relatively flexible frame.

Wallowing to the Max
I have a handling problem with my "95 Yamaha V-Max. As the bike nears speeds of around 120 mph, it starts to wallow severely. It also wallows in shallow curves (no hard cornering) at speed as low as 65 mph. I took it to my local dealer, but it wallows after all of the following things were checked, adjusted and/or torqued: front axle nut; axle pinch bolts; upper and lower triple-clamp pinch bolts; fork-brace bolts; steering head bearings; front-fork oil level; fork- spring free length; fork air pressure; tire air pressure; balance and seating on rim; rear axle nut; swingarm bearings; all wheel bearings. I've also replaced the shocks with new stock units and tried about every possible combination of spring preload and damping adjustment. But the problem persists.
I'm stumped and the dealer is at his wit's end. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

To which the Cycle World reply was:
Most V-Maxes-as well as the Venture touring models from which they are derived- are inclined to wallow in the manner you describe, some worse than others. Primarily, this results from the mating of a huge, heavy and enormously powerful engine to an extremely long chassis that isn't nearly as rigid as those on most other high performance bikes. Another contributing factor to the wallowing is the rear wheel, which had to be offset 10mm to the right of the bike's centerline so the ultra-fat rear tire would clear the left swingarm leg (which also encloses the final-drive shaft). What's more, the V-Max's prodigious power, combined with the bike's use more as a stoplight racer than a backroad burner, tends to wear out rear tires faster in the middle than on the sides. This results in a squarish tread profile that adds to the wallow quotient.

There is no really good news here, except that our experience has shown that the wallowing can be minimized by using original equipment tires, which were specifically designed to optimize the V-Max's handling characteristics, and by replacing the rear tire if and when the middle section wears enough to alter the tire's original, round profile.

Wallow to the min
In regard to "Wallowing to the Max" in your October "Service", I'm a proud owner of a 1985 V-Max who also experienced wallowing problems like those described by Mr. Kohler. That is, until I joined Dale Walker's V-Max Club and ordered a front-fork brace from the club's catalog. This brace is much thicker than the original one and works wonders for the handling. I urge fellow V-Max owners to acquire this catalog to find high-performance and handling parts specifically for this fun, fast and unique motorcycle.

To which the Cycle World reply was:
Thanks for the tip. Judging by the volume of mail I get on the subject, a lot of V-Max owners will appreciate your suggestion.

It seems folks experience a lot of wobble / lightness / other handling problems. Is this unique to this bike or do all the other bikes of the genre have the same problem??
A cruiser style motorcycle, with its long rake and wheelbase, is usually stable at lower speeds. At higher speeds, however, all bets are off. Cruiser style frames are not as rigid as race bikes, and tend to wallow at high speeds. The Sabre, since its frame is early '80's technology, seems to exhibit this characteristic also. The cruisers of 'today' are for the most part 'pre-Magna' technology, and I they handle the same or worse. The solution to this difficulty is to use some hi-tech in the frame-suspension areas, as can be seen on all the modern race style bikes. Unfortunately, the cruisers are left out of this, and are gravitating towards 1950's Yugo-Davidson technology.