New Design Magnum 300

[rapidjim]

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.


Tires and wheels

New design on the rear wheels and they did change the tire size from a 235 30 12 to a 190 50 12. This change increases the side wall by 1 inch, and increases the diameter by 2.1 inch, this should increase speed @ 60MPH by 7.3MPH. (source Miata.net)



More Later.
Jim/Owner
Rapid Repair

[rapidjim]

Well just got back from it's first test ride and all went well. I rode this one first then took out a Magnum with a straight axel. Yes there is a big difference in how the modified version rides. The addition of the independent rear suspension coupled with the 4 shock system rides better and corners better in my opinion. Varied the speed a bit while I was riding it and seem to get to 50 quickly, didn't push it and harder due to not being broke in but plenty of throttle left. I don't care for the trunk, source of a vibration, took some screen door rubber ( that holds the screen in place on a door) and placed it in the channel of the trunk lid, readjusted the lock and this helped. Personally I would do without the trunk. The modified plastic rear deck and mounting system didn't have any vibration noises, so the redesign worked.

Overall I am impressed with the mods.

Jim/Owner
Rapid Repair

[rapidjim]

Another thing I noticed today when I took it out again, the rear of the rear deck is now 10 inches above the ground instead of 4 inches. This will lower the wind resistance since it is not curved as musch and is higher off thr ground. Also the seat height is now 28 inches from the ground vrs 25 iches on the non modified Magnum.

Jim/Owner
Rapid Repair


It seems lately I have gotten more than the usual emails and phone calls concerning charging systems on the IB 300cc trikes. After a call today, I sat down with my charging system reference materials and knowledge of electricity/electronics and wrote this guide. Hope it helps those that need help.


Testing a Charging System
On a 300cc Trike
3Phase Stator


This procedure is for checking a 3 phase stator. This stator is easily recognized by the fact it has a plug with 3 yellow wires in it. Although I wrote this for Ice Bear’s 300 cc trike, the same procedures apply to other Chinese 3 phase stators.

I will keep this as simple as I possibly can. You should have some basic knowledge of electricity and how to use a multimeter. I strongly suggest you use a good digital meter and not a cheap $10.00 one. Using a good meter will give you more accurate results. Keep in mind the voltages I give are optimum.

First and foremost make sure your battery is fully charged. These charging systems are not meant to charge a completely dead battery! Also check that all plugs and wires are tight and do not have corrosion on them. Double check chassis grounds! If you get all the way through Step 6 without a problem, then you have a bad battery.

Step 1 - Switch the multimeter to DC Volts. Switch the range to 20 vdc. Connect the multimeter leads to the battery terminals, Red lead to positive and black lead to negative. Start and rev the engine up to around 2500 rpm. You should be reading between 12.8 vdc to 14.2 vdc. Rev the engine up and the voltage should increase not decrease. If so, your charging system is working correctly and you stop here. Otherwise go to Step 2.

Step 2 – With the engine idling, connect the meter’s black lead to the battery’s positive post and the red lead to the red output wire on the voltage regulator. The voltage reading should be less than 0.2 vdc. If the voltage is above that repair the broken wire between the voltage regulator and the positive post of the battery then repeat Step 1. If the voltage is less than 0.2 vdc then go to Step 3.

Step 3 - With the engine idling, connect the meter’s black lead to the battery’s negative post and the red lead to the negative output wire (ground) on the voltage regulator or the case of the regulator. The voltage reading should be less than 0.2 vdc. If the voltage is above that then there is a ground issue. Check all grounds, connections and leads between the voltage regulator and the battery. Make sure they are clean and no corrosion, repair as necessary, and then repeat Step 1. If the voltage is less than 0.2 vdc then go to Step 4.

CAUTION!!

3 Phase stators are capable of AC voltages above 60 volts AC.

Be Careful!


Step 4 – Shut the engine off and disconnect the plug with 3 yellow wires in it from the wiring harness. This plug is located on the right side of the engine. You will see a wire harness coming out of the top of the right side case, above the oil fill dipstick. Follow this harness to the plug with 3 yellow wires in it. Check for corrosion and clean if necessary. Switch the multimeter to the ohms function and set the meter to the lowest range, usually this is 200. At this point we are checking the stator coils. Place the meter leads across 2 of the yellow wires, record your reading. Then move one lead to the other yellow wire, record your reading. Then move the other lead to another yellow wire, record your reading. I usually do this twice to make sure I have checked all possible pair combinations. 3 separate readings. All readings should be between 0.5 ohms and 2.0 ohms. If any of the readings do not fall in this range, then you have a bad stator. Replace it and return to Step 1. If all readings are good go to Step 5.

Step 5 – Leaving your multimeter in the ohms function and the lowest range, connect one lead to a GOOD motor ground. Using the other lead, check all 3 yellow wires. Your reading on the meter should show an open. What I mean by this is no resistance reading at all. Some digital meters will show OL others will show 1. If your meter shows 0 to 100 ohms, your stator is bad. Before replacing the stator, make sure there is not a frayed wire in the harness contacting ground. If not, then replace your stator and return to Step 1. If all 3 readings are good, then go to Step 6.

CAUTION!!

3 Phase stators are capable of AC voltages above 60 volts AC.

Be Careful!



Step 6 – Leaving the stator plug disconnected, start the engine. Set your mutimeter to AC. Set the meter’s range to 100 or better. Make sure you are using the ac function not the DC function. Once again we are going to check all 3 yellow wires like we did in Step 4 but, this time we are looking for voltage readings. At an idle, place the meter leads across 2 of the yellow wires, record your reading. Then move one lead to the other yellow wire, record your reading. Then move the other lead to another yellow wire, record your reading. I usually do this twice to make sure I have checked all possible pair combinations. 3 separate readings. All readings should be around 25 vac. Now, rev your engine RPM above 4000. Keeping your engine above 4000 take your 3 readings again. This time your readings should be above 60 vac. Let the engine return to idle. If any of the readings are bad, then replace your stator and go to Step 1. If all the readings are good then you have a bad voltage regulator. Replace it and go to Step 1.

Hopefully you have success using this troubleshooting guide. If not, feel free to contact me.
This guide was written using various sources and personal experience.


Jim/Owner
Rapid Repair

[kliff]

Hey Jim, are you selling these "long distance" now? Say........to Georgia, maybe??

What would a Magnum, w/indie rear end cost a guy down Ga. way? Hmmmmmm?

[bige]

that would be a interesting ride