1988 Honda Magna - The Super Magna

"Super Magna"


I purchased this bike exactly a week ago today. Happened across it on craigslist the night before, put some book time into researching it, then rode it, haggled for it and had it signed over that night.

To be honest, I've never really wanted a cruiser style bike. I've looked at a Yamaha V-Max or two, but the hype surrounding these 'Power Cruisers' is astounding, enough so to inflate the prices to a comfortable level for those looking to sell, and uncomfortably so to those looking to buy. I still love the V-Max, but after a test ride I didn't get very comfortable with it or the ergonomics, mainly footpegs and their tendency to catch my pant legs. The power delivery wasn't as breathtaking as reputation exclaims and I never liked its pitiful fuel economy or range of around 115 miles. Still wouldn't mind having one...

Being a Honda fan, I looked to see what they had in store. I had heard some great things about the old Magna's and Sabre motorcycles. Magna was the name for their cruiser style and Sabre was the standard. The motor from these bikes were pulled almost directly from the Honda VF and VFR sportbikes which was, at the time, near the top of the heap.

As the story goes, Honda was the originator of the Power Cruiser genre with its original '82-'84 Magna (V45 and the 10 second 1/4 mile V65 Magna). Nothing could keep up with it until Yamaha answered with their V-Max in 1985. Then there were no others even close. But Honda remade the Magna anyway in '87 and '88. 1987 saw the Magna with a 700cc motor, due to import bans, and in '88 it was back to 750cc. There were over 10,000 '87 Magna's but '88 saw even less at just over 3,000 accounted for. This is unsure because Honda never released their production numbers. There were so few Magnas in '88 because the market didn't have a desire for it.

After production stopped in '88, popularity soared for this bike and it was then that the name "Super Magna" was given to the '87 and '88. Honda brought back the Magna from '94 to '03 but it was tame in comparison to its predecessors. in 2004, Honda dropped the V4 Magna once again due to the demand for a V Twin cruiser.


The '88:

The Magna weighs in at around 530 pounds
748cc V4 motor puts out around 79 hp, redline is about 11,000 rpm. Thats sport bike territory
Has a 6-speed transmission and shaft drive, with a single disk up front and drum in the rear (not up to par, IMHO)
Fuel capacity is at around 3.5 gallons, good for 150 mile range.

Out on my test ride, I fell in love with the bike. It was so easy to ride at freeway speeds and comfortable. Plenty of passing grunt, and pretty darn agile in the corners for a cruiser. I'm very happy with it.


So far, I've gone over the bike giving it a tune-up. KDR Powersports handled the brakes and clutch fluid. I replaced some nasty corroded spark plugs, dumped the oil and filter, put an air filter on order and thats it, save for a little shine up on the wheels and painted parts.


The bike came with a wind screen and rear seat plus a sissy-bar. Rear seat needs some reupholstering but the rest looks alright. The windscreen I toyed with taking off to give it more of a knarley look, but I think it looks more aggressive with the screen on and slightly raked back.


So far, I'm sold on this bike. Looking forward to a few rides on this while the VFR is still under the knife and many more after its done.