Love my Magna, 98 model, 112,000k and still rides like new. Yes tank capacity is a bit limiting and front brake needs improvement , but power, handling, looks, gearbox, comfort are excellent. I’m about to do a brake service, better pads, rebuilt calliper and master cylinder and braided line. I suspect that will all make a huge difference.
I bought a 95 magna 12 years ago. I thought I would sell it after a few rides but I was wrong. Riding pleasure, seating position, acceleration everything is perfect. I have a motorcycle that I will never sell.
Oddly enough, I just came in from the shop from starting the bikes that haven't been out in a while. Took a seat and found this vid. Have a few newer bikes (Tuono, Diavel V4 , assorted Ninjas) but chose the 2000 Magna to take a short ride on. God she still puts a smile on my face. Agree with your review 100%. Only 16K miles in 24 yrs. Never a problem, just routine maintenance. Had a new 94 Magna and spent 2 weeks/2 up in the Mountains touring. Ahh, good times.
I'm from Denmark. I have one just like yours, same year and colour. Its an awesome bike. I have just been cleaning the carbs/rebuilding and will be putting it all together again next week...can't wait to get back on the road again. 😁
A great review. I own a 1996 Magna and love it. The only negative for me is indeed the range as I wish Honda would have put a larger tank on it. Other than that it's perfect for me.
I have been tempted by the Magna but the lack of fuel capacity always put me off. I sold on my Eliminator 900 for the same reason. Scarcity of parts in the UK is also a concern. I have owned 2 Shadow 1100 ACE, which were grey imports. When I was side swiped by a car, it took me 6 months to get replacement parts and they came from the US. The Magna is still an amazing bike.
The fuel capacity is really inconvenient yeah, it's definitely the biggest issue with the bike. How did you like the Eliminator, aside from the range? I've quite fancied them for a while too, scratching a similar itch for a sporty cruiser.
@@haxan6663 Hmm, that's a shame. I like the look of them a lot but I'll have to give one a test ride at some point; I'm not really interested in a point-and-squirt bike.
@TheSpectre223 Kawasaki did make a 750 version but I am not sure how many of them were sold outside of Japan. I remember reading a rave review of one in the UK but I have never actually seen one.
@@haxan6663 I hadn't even heard of the 750, much less seen one. I've not seen a 900 in the flesh either though, just the little ZL600. I have been tempted by the 600 more than once, there was one for sale recently not long ago which I checked out at a bike meet. It was yellow, so it would have looked cute next to the Magna in my garage, but ultimately they are a very small bike and I think I'd be a bit Donkey Kong on it.
I'm currently riding a 99 shadow 750 ace deluxe which i love but the lack of power or aftermarket performance options has led me to look at the magnas. Great review I'm really tempted to jump over to that. I'm just torn between these more reliable super magnas and the older more powerful v65 models that were absolute speed demons. But I've heard it's hard to find parts for those when they do break down and they're not as reliable at this point as the super magnas from the 3rd gen.
Parts is a big concern for sure, though that will vary from place to place so it might be worth asking around some of your local garages and seeing what their perception is. For reliability I don't know enough about the engines to say either way, but in theory the older models shouldn't be that much more unreliable; they're all carb'd V4s after all. I'd love a V65 if I could, at least to try for a season alongside my current one, but you won't be disappointed with either. I've previously owned a Yamaha 1100 Virago and a Kawasaki Vulcan 800 Classic, and the Magna wipes the floor with them both for performance and handling.
@TheSpectre223 my brother is getting a vmax and he's pushing me for the v65. Which I see his points. In my area you can buy a v65 for 1500-2000 bucks running and around 3000 for a real pretty stock one. For that cheap I could always buy a parts bike or two. My whole plan is to chop the frame weld on a hard tail and I've found 39mm forks that are 6 inches longer than the stock magnas. I'm gonna turn it into a chopper. The 3rd gen you can just buy a bolt on kit but it's not that hard to piece one together for the older one
I get around 30mpg in city riding on my magna, i get close to 45mpg when riding out of town.. Seems kinda steep to me , but yeah.. i still love the bike.
Ooh, yeah to be fair I don't do a whole lot of urban riding these days so my averages are perhaps up a little. My friend that I bought the bike from was getting mid 30s I think, so I think it likes to be run.
@@TheSpectre223 yuup. 87, in blue, the 700 cc variant.. it has some missingn things from the exhaust and it needs new tires (they are from 99).. the price is kinda high for me.. still an old bike with limited parts even in europe.. 3200€ but it is what it is. 14k miles since 87 makes it almost brand new haha
Love my Magna, 98 model, 112,000k and still rides like new. Yes tank capacity is a bit limiting and front brake needs improvement , but power, handling, looks, gearbox, comfort are excellent.
I’m about to do a brake service, better pads, rebuilt calliper and master cylinder and braided line. I suspect that will all make a huge difference.
the only thing i dont like about the 3rd gen magna is the fuel tank. it would be easier to customize if it can take cheap aftermarket tanks
I bought a 95 magna 12 years ago. I thought I would sell it after a few rides but I was wrong. Riding pleasure, seating position, acceleration everything is perfect. I have a motorcycle that I will never sell.
Very few bikes compare to them for sure!
Oddly enough, I just came in from the shop from starting the bikes that haven't been out in a while. Took a seat and found this vid. Have a few newer bikes (Tuono, Diavel V4 , assorted Ninjas) but chose the 2000 Magna to take a short ride on. God she still puts a smile on my face. Agree with your review 100%. Only 16K miles in 24 yrs. Never a problem, just routine maintenance. Had a new 94 Magna and spent 2 weeks/2 up in the Mountains touring. Ahh, good times.
That's a nice sounding collection you have there, and I'm glad that the Magna can still hold its own against the others. Great bikes!
i have one for 2 yrs already. front right cylinder misfires at low rpm. even if its not in 100% condition, i still enjoy it a lot 😁
I just purchased a '94 Magna as my first bike. It's good to know many are still on the road.
*Canadian :P
Yeah they're still kicking. They were built so well that even when there's small numbers like there are over here, they endure.
Rebuilding 2 - 95' Magnas currently. Glad to see your content!
Nice! What sort of state are they in, both saveable or will they be boiled down to one good one?
I'm from Denmark. I have one just like yours, same year and colour. Its an awesome bike. I have just been cleaning the carbs/rebuilding and will be putting it all together again next week...can't wait to get back on the road again. 😁
Excellent! Happy riding once you get it back together
A great review. I own a 1996 Magna and love it. The only negative for me is indeed the range as I wish Honda would have put a larger tank on it. Other than that it's perfect for me.
Thanks mate, and yeah just a couple more litres would make all the difference!
Great bike. Maybe a forever bike.
Quite possibly yeah, as much as anything can be in my Goldilocks garage
I have been tempted by the Magna but the lack of fuel capacity always put me off. I sold on my Eliminator 900 for the same reason. Scarcity of parts in the UK is also a concern. I have owned 2 Shadow 1100 ACE, which were grey imports. When I was side swiped by a car, it took me 6 months to get replacement parts and they came from the US.
The Magna is still an amazing bike.
The fuel capacity is really inconvenient yeah, it's definitely the biggest issue with the bike. How did you like the Eliminator, aside from the range? I've quite fancied them for a while too, scratching a similar itch for a sporty cruiser.
@@TheSpectre223 incredibly fast. I wasn't too keen on the handling on anything other than straight roads. I didn't enjoy it and sold it after 6 weeks!
@@haxan6663 Hmm, that's a shame. I like the look of them a lot but I'll have to give one a test ride at some point; I'm not really interested in a point-and-squirt bike.
@TheSpectre223 Kawasaki did make a 750 version but I am not sure how many of them were sold outside of Japan. I remember reading a rave review of one in the UK but I have never actually seen one.
@@haxan6663 I hadn't even heard of the 750, much less seen one. I've not seen a 900 in the flesh either though, just the little ZL600. I have been tempted by the 600 more than once, there was one for sale recently not long ago which I checked out at a bike meet. It was yellow, so it would have looked cute next to the Magna in my garage, but ultimately they are a very small bike and I think I'd be a bit Donkey Kong on it.
I'm currently riding a 99 shadow 750 ace deluxe which i love but the lack of power or aftermarket performance options has led me to look at the magnas. Great review I'm really tempted to jump over to that. I'm just torn between these more reliable super magnas and the older more powerful v65 models that were absolute speed demons. But I've heard it's hard to find parts for those when they do break down and they're not as reliable at this point as the super magnas from the 3rd gen.
Parts is a big concern for sure, though that will vary from place to place so it might be worth asking around some of your local garages and seeing what their perception is. For reliability I don't know enough about the engines to say either way, but in theory the older models shouldn't be that much more unreliable; they're all carb'd V4s after all.
I'd love a V65 if I could, at least to try for a season alongside my current one, but you won't be disappointed with either. I've previously owned a Yamaha 1100 Virago and a Kawasaki Vulcan 800 Classic, and the Magna wipes the floor with them both for performance and handling.
@TheSpectre223 my brother is getting a vmax and he's pushing me for the v65. Which I see his points. In my area you can buy a v65 for 1500-2000 bucks running and around 3000 for a real pretty stock one. For that cheap I could always buy a parts bike or two. My whole plan is to chop the frame weld on a hard tail and I've found 39mm forks that are 6 inches longer than the stock magnas. I'm gonna turn it into a chopper. The 3rd gen you can just buy a bolt on kit but it's not that hard to piece one together for the older one
@@YerGoodBuddyKeith Ah yeah, the V65 will be a much better match power wise to a Vmax
I get around 30mpg in city riding on my magna, i get close to 45mpg when riding out of town.. Seems kinda steep to me , but yeah.. i still love the bike.
Ooh, yeah to be fair I don't do a whole lot of urban riding these days so my averages are perhaps up a little. My friend that I bought the bike from was getting mid 30s I think, so I think it likes to be run.
can't wait to get my first bike.. not this one but the super magna.. 14xxx miles.. it's almost brand new 🫠
Ooh with the upswept exhausts? Tasty!
@@TheSpectre223 yuup. 87, in blue, the 700 cc variant.. it has some missingn things from the exhaust and it needs new tires (they are from 99).. the price is kinda high for me.. still an old bike with limited parts even in europe.. 3200€ but it is what it is. 14k miles since 87 makes it almost brand new haha
Yeah that's crazy low, what does that average out to, 380 miles a year? Brand new haha. I'm sure it'll be worth every Euro once you get riding it.
@@TheSpectre223 i'll try to make it a historic vehicle so i can save some cash on insurance