Honda Magna Deluxe
HONDA MAGNA DELUXE
CRUISING TO A DIFFERENT TUNE
IN THE LATE 1940s AND '50s, CUSTOMIZED motorcycles—rolling expressions of individuality—were popping up like suburbs. The only rule? No rules. Harley-Davidsons, Indians, BSAs, Triumphs, Nortons and the like acquired fresh looks and pumped-up performance.
For years, these styling marks were exclusive to backyard enthusiasts. Then, in the early ’70s, Harley began to embrace this “outlaw” imagery, creating the First factory customs. Later in the decade, the Japanese bike-makers followed, and the cruiser boom was on. Today, as witnessed by any current Harley-Davidson, by Honda’s Shadow American Classic Edition and by Kawasaki’s new Vulcan 800, torquey, low-slung, “American-style” rides are hotter than Elvis 45s at a 1956 high-school sock-hop.
Unfortunately, the mainstream has placed constraints on what began as individual expression. These days, if the look’s not what has come to be thought of as Milwaukeegenerated, it ain’t diddly. V-Twin powerplants are the calling card for most any kicked-out low rider. H-D’s arc air-cooled, of course, and the Big Four Japanese manufacturers speak pridefully of their ability to conceal radiators and related hardware for an air-cooled look.
Honda’s Magna Deluxe is a different kind of cruiser. At a glance, it appears to be V-Twin powered, but there’s a pair of slash-cut mufflers on either side, indicating V-Four propulsion. Few factory cruisers are faired, but the Deluxe gets a small, handlebar-mounted unit. Understated tones have become more popular colors for production cruisers, but Honda-which introduced the third-generation Magna as an early-release ’94 model-thumbed its nose at convention. It decked the Deluxe in a two-tone pearl purple and pearl white scheme (for those needing something less audacious, there is a black model with pearl mint replacing the splash of white on the tank).
In designing this motorcycle, Honda didn't entirely cast off convention. The 748cc V-Four is borrowed from the VFR750F sportbike and adorned with faux cooling fins and oversized valve covers. These make the engine appear to displace at least lOOOcc (nowhere on the bike is there anything stating that it is a 750). There were internal changes, as well. Honda swapped the VFR's pricey gear-driven cam arrangement for a quieter chain-driven setup. A 360-degree crankshaft was substituted for the VFR’s 180-degree unit, compression dipped from 1 1.0:1 to 10.8:1, and 34mm Keihin carbs-2mm smaller than those worn by the VFR-were fitted. Bore and stroke, 70.0 x 48.6mm, remain unchanged, as does the shim-under-bucket valvetrain assembly.
Although Honda says the dohe engine is tuned for midrange torque, the V-Four makes its peak power where few cruisers dare to rev. There are 81 horses at 9000 rpm-a whopping 27 more than Kawasaki’s Vulcan 750, the next best performer in the class. Torque peaks at 47 foot-pounds at 8500, 3 less than the Vulcan. Fortunately, the power curve itself is nearly pancake-flat; there’s 42 foot-pounds at 3500 rpm, 46 at 6500 rpm and 43 at the 9500-rpm rcdline.
As the numbers suggest, the engine alone makes the Magna uncommon among cruisers. Good luck finding
another cruiser powerplant that continues to pull as engine revs approach five digits. There is, however, a trade off: Although top-end punch gives the Deluxe class-leading acceleration, topgear roll-ons are
merely average. With its 12.3-second quarter-mile performance, the Magna is 1.3 seconds quicker than the Vulcan 800 and nine-tenths quicker than the Intruder 800. From 4060 and 60-80 mph in top gear, though, the bottom-endheavy Suzuki, at 3.45 and 4.3 seconds, is a half-second quicker than the Honda.
Honda’s five-speed transmission, operated by an easypull, cable-operated clutch, makes experiencing this performance a breeze. Shifts are precise, an easy snick-snick from one ratio to the next. Due to cost concerns, power makes its way to the rear wheel via an O-ring chain instead of a driveshaft.
CYCLE WORLD TEST
Conventional elements include the suspension, which provides a cushy ride. Up front, there’s a non-adjustable 4lmm Showa fork sourced from the CB750 (with altered spring and rebound damping rates suited to cruiser duty) that soaked up practically everything we threw its way-only Los Angeles’ nastiest potholes bottomed the assembly. Preload-adjustable twin shocks, also from the Nighthawk and similarly revised, are softly sprung but effective. Steering-there’s 32 degrees of rake and 5.2-inches of trail-is neutral and slow, and the wide handlebar offers plenty of leverage. By cruiser standards, ground clearance and cornering stability are excellent.
Also straight from the cruiser bible is the bike's 65-inch wheelbase, which gives the requisite stretched-out look and helps to make the rear drum brake an effective stopping tool. Up front, there's a single 12.2-inch disc and twin-piston caliper. Both setups are smooth and progressive in action.
The Magna has a low look, too. A mere 28 inches off the ground, the tractor-style seat is as plush as the suspension. The chrome handlebar requires a moderate reach and the folding footpegs are comfortably forward. Most riders will find themselves more reclined than on a standard, but not as stretched-out as on a Harley Softail. Passenger accommodations-there’s a removable rectangular pad that measures 12 x IO inches-are, at best, sparse.
Looking ahead, you see a speedometer and tachometer, an array of idiot lights and the bolt-on fairing and its low, lowwindscreen. which serves better as an ornament than a shelter from the elements. It’s fine for a moderate highway pace, but if you’re hanging in the fast lane, the windblast becomes fatiguing after 50 miles or so. That’s okay, since the fuel tank holds just 3.6 gallons.
If fuel capacity is a bit on the meager side, the Deluxe’s suggested retail price isn't, unless you compare it to even the least-expensive Harley-Davidson Big Twin. At $7499 (the monotone, unfaired Magna costs $7099) the Magna costs $1600 more than an Intruder 800, $1500 more than Yamaha’s Virago 750 and $800 more than a Vulcan 800.
Is it worth it? If a traditional V-Twin is what lights your fire, then you'll likely find satisfaction-and a good chunk of cash left in your pocket-by choosing from one of the Ameri-style cruisers available. But if you’re enamored with the hot-rod look, if you feel the need for superior engine performance, you’ll love the Magna Deluxe.
Like the original customs, it dares to be different.
HONDA MAGNA DELUXE
$7499
EDITORS' NOTES
THE BOTTOM LINE HERE IS WHETHER OR not the Magna Deluxe's handling, VFour engine and bold looks make the bike worth more than its competition.
Those last two elements are entirely subjective. Some people here and on the street loved the look, some didn’t, and the fairing is essentially cosmetic. Revving the engine and enjoying the motorcycle's huge power advantage over its competitors is fun, but some cruiser riders take a sink or Twin approach, too.
Handling, though, is certainly a big Magna Deluxe strength. Nobody in their right mind gets one of these bikes to comer like Kocinski, but it’s disconcerting to be on a Magna competitor and touch a peg down making a gentle, little turn at an intersection. That doesn't happen on this bike-it handles better than its rivals.
Unless you have a purple passion or a fairing fetish, there is a way to compromise, and it’s what I'd do, were 1 shopping for a cruiser: Buy the standard Magna, which costs $400 less. -Robert Hough, News EditorS
THE FIRST TIME I SAW A CRUISER, I thought it was a pretty neat deal. But that was back in the 1950s, and it was based on a machine that was contemporary. I’m no fan of most modem cruisers, I guess because they seem based upon obsolete technology: single-pin cranks in narrow-angle V-Twins? Engineering something, or buying it, mostly for sound effects?
This Magna is a different kettle of cruiser, a kettle from which 1 could sup. It’s based upon contemporary technology, it uses a super-smooth and nicely powerful V-Four and it shuns shaft drive for the light weight and effectiveness of an O-ring chain.
1 find the Magna’s styling a bit bulbous, and I wish its VFR-derived engine had the same suds the sportbike has. Even more, I wish it displaced 1 lOOcc, so that it could give Yamaha’s wonderful-but-ugly V-Max a run for its money. But even just as it is, the Magna works for me.
-Jon F. Thompson, Senior Editor
BE STILL MY HOT-ROD HEART! THIS thing is a barking good time, a hardleavin’ purple flash with a rorty exhaust note. In an era of cruisers trying to be Harley-Davidsons, isn’t it refreshing to see a bike-maker take a different approach to this market segment? Kudos all around.
But, Honda, you can do better.
As JFT mentions above, why stop here? It’s time to hunt down Mr. Max. My first day on the job at CW, way back in 1984,1 got to ride a then-new V65 Sabre. Its four-banger spat out a claimed 121 horsepower, with a positively addicting V-motor growl. What a rocket! It made my Seca 650 seem like a beat-up Schwinn with a rusty chain. Take that engine, bolt it into a chassis and bodywork taken from the slick little Japan-market Magna 250 (more crisp-looking than the 750), and we’re talking Great Balls of Fire!
So, a Magna 1100 Deluxe please, a cruise missile aimed at American hearts. -David Edwards, Editor-in-Chief
