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Tried the case guards from good old JC Whitney on my Cherry (phone
number 312-431-6102) (Part#02AB8804N in
Cat# 82a on page 35 - Total cost to the door $92.93. Got here
(Buffalo, NY) from IL in about 5 days. I'm a little disappointed
with the quality of the mounting hardware however the guards themselves
look great. Good quality chrome and substantial and neat welds.
Initial thoughts - seeing what I paid an extra $10.00 for, I would
probably opt for the cheaper version (Part# 02B8804N in Cat# 82a
on page 35). The "Touring Pads" as they call them, are
like a small brake pedals with the standard type foot peg bar
clamps on the back (Like the Footpad Set in the New Dennis Kirk
catalogue on page 177). I tried to mount them but was able to
figure out what Mr. Whitney had in mind. There seemed to be no
way to use them other than to ornament the guards (See Case1).
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I ended up with Custom Chrome foot pegs from a local Harley Davidson
shop, the best place to find such things, but also the most expensive.
Custom Chrome makes excellent quality hardware and the three piece
clamps are the best I've seen. They also are rock solid. No spinning
on the bars with these babies, but they should be all that and
a bag of chips for the $50 price tag. FYI, the OD on these guards
is 1 inch, most HD stuff is 1.25 inch OD.
The mounting location shown in Case6 below is a little short for
me (I'm 6 foot with a 31 inch inseam). I have been toying with
moving the pegs to the cross over support, but have not as of
yet had the time. It looks like this would give a couple more
needed inches to stretch out.
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Be warned that this is a two piece bar setup, kind of like two
halves that join under the radiator, then you are expected to
put this ugly clamp on it to hold the two halves together. I'm
still trying to think of a better looking clamp. (see Case3 below).
One of the list members (my bad - I lost his name and if he lets
me know I will edit this and give him credit or blame) suggested
putting a jack under the motor before removing the motor mount
bolts for the lower attachment points. This seemed like a sensible
precaution even though I did not experience the engine movement
he claimed he had. He also suggested leaving everything loose
until all the parts are bolted up and aligned. This is a very
good suggestion.
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I considered having my buddy TIG the joint and paint it silver,
I had good luck with this when I re-chromed the exhaust pipes
on my old Yamahammer, but welding would make it difficult or impossible
to remove the bars if the need arises. Since the top mounting
points of the guards use the lower mounts for the radiator,
the need will arise about every 8000 miles when it is time to
do the valves, although according to at least one SABMAG
list member (Mike Guillory), you don't have to remove the case
guards to do valve clearance adjustments, you just need to remove
the lower radiator bolts to swivel the radiator out of the way
to access the front cylinders. The case guards remain stationary.
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Notice the plastic covers for the back of the radiator (see Case2
above), even though they really serve no purpose, they will require
pushing and shoving to install. They will also be damaged and
if you are anal about such things (I am), it will piss you off.
I ordered two new covers(for 86 V65 Magna Right pn:19118-MB4-000
Left pn:19119-MB4-830 I think the left number is different for
Model Years 83-85) from Discount Honda (1-800-955-2925) at a cost
of $18.00 each (I intend on being able to put the bike back to
bone stock after any modification I make).
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After several trips to the local hardware store and at least as
many bolt on and take offs, the job was done, and for the most
part I am happy with the results. This mounting arrangement, especially
the use of the radiator lower mounts (they are a very weak), is
not ideal, but it is the best I have found. If you can get your
hands on the Honda Line Guards, by all means get them, but chances
are you are going to pay dearly for them ($200 or better and they
will probably need to be re-chromed for another $100). These are
the best I could find. If anyone has experience with the guards
from the site listed below or anyplace else, pass along the information
and pictures and I will include it here.
Magna Toys
- Has a listing for a few mid 80's Magna add-ons including a set
of pictured case guards.
