Magnum Review 10/2010 (Archive)

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We received a new Magnum 300 R with the new independent suspension. There have been some nice updates to this Trike. First off is the way it is shipped. The Magnum is now shipped with the rear wheels already installed, which really helps in removing the trike from the crate. With the original Magnums the wheels were secured up front on the frame, which could cause rub marks or cracks on the body and also the crate had to be cut and wheels installed before the trike could be removed from the crate.

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IB has installed the battery in its holding fixture, instead of loose in the seat bucket, which protects the mirrors from being damaged. They now use more bubble wrap and cardboard on the windshield and rear fender assembly , protecting them from damage. They have also added a trunk, more on this later in this review.Final assembly is now down to filling and charging the battery, attaching the mirrors, rear fender assembly and windshield.

Rear Fender Assembly:
Unlike the early Magnums the modified Magnum comes with and independent rear suspension instead of a straight axel.

As seen in the picture, it is shipped completely assembled. Notice that the suspension now uses four shocks mounted to the newly designed rear differential. The original Magnum used two shocks and mounted them between the straight axel housing and underneath the seat bucket. By redesigning the rear it stops the movement between the rear of the original scooter body and the rear fender assembly eliminating rubbing between the two and the possibility of causing damage. Also the rear is now 5 inches wider than the original. New 45 inches wide, original 40 inches wide.
Ice Bear also changed the way that the rear fender assembly is mounted and the design of the assembly itself. Instead of using two fender brackets as the support for the complete rear fender assembly, the new design uses a welded bar attached to the fender brackets and that assembly is attached to the rear differential assembly. This should eliminate noise and protect the Fender assembly from stress cracking.


The rear assembly itself has also been changed. The curve at the bottom is not as long and doesn’t tuck under as far. The fenders now use 4 mounting screws each instead of 3 and the addition of two mounting holes in the middle of the fender assembly to mount tight to the new bracket assembly, supplying more support and rigidness. They also changed the side mount of the fender assembly, instead of using a “slip” mount, they provide one hole in the side and one hole through the side mount, again providing a more solid mount, which should reduce stress cracks.






Addition of a Trunk.
The trunk attaches to the plastic at the rear of the split seat. One thing that a person has to watch is that when you open the rear of the split seat to gain access to the battery, anything in the trunk will shift to the rear and place stress on the mounts as well as possible cracking of the trunk if you have something heavy in there. I am not sure I like how this was done, but feedback caused Ice Bear to add a trunk and this is how it had to be done. I think a removable trunk mounting bracket, like used on some Roketas, would have been a better choice.




Windshield
Ice Bear is still using plastic screws for attaching the windshield, so be very careful that you do not strip them by over tightening them.

PDI
As with and scooter the PDI is VERY important, not only for safety but also for longevity. Main Points: Change all fluids, check tightness of all nuts, bolts, screws, paying close attention to axel bolts and lug nuts. Remember these are aluminum wheels and need to be checked periodically, esp when doing the initial PDI. Check that the reverse cable has some slack in it when in the forward position and after doing the chain adjustment. Check all vacuum lines, fuel lines and electrical connections. There are numerous PDI instructions available, how deep you go during the PDI could mean the difference of very few problems or lots of problems later.
Chain
With the change to the independent rear suspension, adjusting the chain and keeping the rear differential square has become easier. There are now 4 adjusters on the rear of the trike, as well as 4 bolts per side of the differential housing for security. The adjusters have a nut on each side housing that helps in moving the rear differential either forward or backwards to adjust the chain. Ice Bear recommends 20 – 30mm slack in the chain.




I am impressed with the changes to the rear suspension and the redesign of the rear fender assembly. My vote is still out on the trunk as I said above.


More Later.