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Joe Minton

Magna malaise

I own a 1988 Honda Magna with 10,500 miles on it. I am considering upgrading the front suspension (new springs, heavier oil and longer preload spacers) and the front brake (better pads, steel lines, maybe even another disc). What products have you had good luck with in these upgrades? I weigh 160 pounds, and use the bike for sport-touring and commuting.

Joel Perry Hope Mills, North Carolina

Honda fitted relatively good suspension components to its ’87-’88 Magnas, though suspension performance tended to deteriorate badly with extended use. One of the best things you can do to upgrade your bike’s suspension-especially if you are heavy or ride aggressively—is to fit aftermarket fork springs and shocks. I doubt that you’ll need fork oil heavier than 10weight if you do install heavier fork springs. Progressive Suspension (11129 G Avenue, Hesperia, CA 92345; 619/948-4307) has fork springs and rear spring/damper assemblies that will work quite well on your Magna. The difference these components will make on your bike’s ride, cornering stability and handling will probably surprise you.

I don't think you will need an extra caliper and disc up front. Fit a set of pads from Ferodo (1194 Shetland Way, El Dorado Hills, CA 95630; 916/9334166) or from Dunlopad (available at your local dealer) and a braided-steel brake line from Russell Performance Products (6301 E. Alondra Blvd., Paramount, CA 90723; 310/6021202), and I think you’ll be happy with the improved performance.

Shadow boxing

I own a 1987 Honda Shadow VLX 600. After 4000 trouble-free miles, I’ve noticed that the transmission action is growing rough and clunky, and the clutch seems to be engaging more abruptly and unevenly. Any clues to my problem? Kenneth S. MOSS

Harrisonburg, Virginia

Assuming that you’ve already consulted your owner’s manual or your dealer to ascertain that the clutch is adjusted correctly, and that you change engine oil on a regular basis, the symptoms you describe indicate a sticking clutch or warped clutch plates. In either case, the clutch is not disengaging enough to allow dragfree shifting.

The cure for a sticking clutch is to slip the clutch, under load, enough to burnish the friction plates, but not enough to damage them from excessive temperatures. My home-brewed remedy is to place the offending bike ’s front wheel against a sturdy wall, engage second gear and, with enough throttle to make a hard start, slide the clutch into engagement at a rate that will bog the engine in about two seconds. I do this three or four times. It nearly always improves the clutch release and, consequently, shifting.

A warped clutch is most often the result of repeated drag-race-style starts, and requires replacement of both the steel and friction plates.

Left in the lurch

The ’91 Kawasaki ZX-11 I purchased last May recently started lurching forward in second gear. It was very slight at first, but got worse as I continued riding it. My dealer told me that the transmission is broken and that something is bent in the clutch, and that the breakage is my fault for downshifting at too high an rpm. I told him that his accusation was untrue and that I’m always careful to do all downshifting under 5000 rpm. I’m a good rider and take care of my bike. I keep it clean and have all the recommended services performed.

The dealer said that Kawasaki will pay for the repairs this time, but not ever again. He told me that this is about a $1000 job.

I’ve also heard some “inside” information that the clutches Kawasaki puts in ZX-lls are cheap and can’t hold up to the power of the engine. I’m almost certain the dealer will put the same crap back in my bike, solving the problem for him but only adding about 5000 to 6000 miles to the time when I will have to pay him $ 1000 of my own. Benjamin Bridge

Lafayette, Colorado

Kawasaki acknowledges having trouble with second gear in 1990 and 1991 ZX-lls, and will warranty all necessary repair work on affected machines. The new gears used in the repairs are tougher than the original ones that caused the problem. Kawasaki 's tech people report that so far, they have no reports of replacementgear failure.

Maybe you 're abusing the gearbox without realizing it. Despite what your dealer claims, downshifting rarely results in gear damage; but powershifting-shifting up as rapidly as possible while leaving the throttle wide-open-is the easiest way to crunch any motorcycle gearbox. Powershifting results in enormous stresses on the shifting mechanism, the clutch, and the engagement dogs of the gears being shifted into. The manufacturers do not design transmissions to withstand repeated powershifting-nor should they be expected to do so.

On top ofthat, your “inside” information is erroneous : The stock clutches on all high-performance Kawasakis are of comparable quality, and they're far from “cheap." Rob Muzzy uses stock clutch plates in his ZX-7 roadracers, and so do many Pro-Stock drag racers. If your clutch is damaged, it may be because you are inadvertently slipping it during drag-race starts and powershifts. If you let the clutch engage completely before you apply full power, it won't wear out for a long, long time.

You can get the gears in your transmission modified to reduce the probability of shift-dog damage, or even replace the tranny with a special drag-race-only gearbox. But a simpler and far cheaper solution is just to take a little more time to get from first to second gear. □