Ryobi V-Mag 3 Schematic

[mo65]

   Mrmike, chances are that little reel takes the same size bearings as Bantam 100s and Daiwa Prolites. This size is pretty easy to find, but, I changed a Prolite 100 to bearings and it picked up little more distance than well lubed bushings. I think your polishing idea and some fast oil should produce the best results.

[oc1]

I really like this little reel.  It is so compact.  My son has commandeered my Curado 70 for now so I have been using the V-Mag 3 as the go-to reel.  It is on a ultralight 10 ft graphite rod.  Have not measured distances but think it is about 80 ft for a 1/4 oz jig and 130 ft for 3/8 oz jig.



I polished the bushings and spool shaft with jewelers rouge on a cotton buff while doing the pre-service and was surprised by how well it did.  Then I put in ceramic hybrid bearings and squeezed a couple of extra yards out of it.  The tail plate bearing is 3x6x2.5 mm with a flange and the spool shaft bearing is 5x11x3 mm without flange.  Below are the Boca item numbers for ceramic hybrid but they also have stainless.  



You need to put a thick spacer under the tail plate bearing.  I forgot to measure and take pictures but think it is probably about 1.3 to 1.5 mm thick.  You will know it is the right thickness when the spool is properly centered.  I filed down some Shimano composite spacers but you could also do it with brass.



There is no room for a third bearing under the head plate cast control knob but as long as everything is aligned and the inside of the knob is kept clean you should not need one there.

The things I do not like so much about the reel are the speed, lack of a thumb bar to take it out of gear (the fast-cast thing) and accessibility of the bearings for service.  Part of the reason it is so small is it does not have a large diameter main gear; hence the slower gear ratio.  Three screws are removed from the tail plate and the inner magnet ring is removed to access the bearings.  So, there is no quick and easy way to clean and dry the bearings.  Mine is splashed with saltwater at every outing so the bronze bushings would tarnish again soon and lubricated bearings would have to be cleaned frequently to get the emulsion out.  Hence, the choice of non-lubricated ceramic hybrid bearings.

Mike, thank you very much for drawing attention to this little gem.  If you still need that original bushing and shim I will send you mine.
-steve

[oc1]

I broke the cheap Mud Hole 2 wt fly rod blank this reel was on.  It was a two piece blank and broke a foot above the ferrule with a crack that ran upward another foot.  I think a good blank should only break at the fulcrum under the fore grip or reel seat.  Perhaps it had been damaged.  Perhaps it's just as well because I stayed with the reel as long as I could stand it.  This reel has been a maintenance hog.  

From my perspective, the Achilles heel of the V-Mag 3 is the aluminum spacer between the drag star and drag plate.  There is no shield and the reel takes in a lot of water between the spacer and brass head plate bushing and between the spacer and the shaft.  The grease will emulsify and disappear, salt will crystalize and the aluminum spacer will seize to the brass.   I tried shaving the spacer to increase the tolerance which helped a little.  I replaced the aluminum with a piece of delrin tubing and that helped even more, but it will still seize up between uses.

I've been into the reel so many times that the head plate and tail plate screws are starting to get sloppy.  The screws are really thin and the metal seems soft.

The clutch is a bit squirrely.  It is like an old Penn in that the spool sometimes needs to be rocked back to get it out of gear, especially if there is the least bit of tension on the line.

The casting distance is good enough (but not great) and the little reel feels great in the palm of your hand.  The footprint is similar to a Calcutta 50 but it is not as high (low profile).  It's just too much trouble.  Someone who fishes freshwater and is more fastidious than myself may have better luck with it.
-steve

[gt2003]

Thanks for the schematic.  I service reels and picked up a vmag3 off ebay last week, $26.26 total to my door.  Agree, this reel is TINY!  I serviced it today, spooled it w 10 lb mono and took it out front to test.  I'm guessing 20 yard casts which i'm pretty happy with.  I'll take it to the pond in the morning and see what it does.  I've got it on a 5 1/2 foot light action rod.  I'm going to start with an old Zell Rowland Pop-R.  Should be a fun morning.

Likes/Dislikes


I love the size of this reel.  For me, i consider it almost an ultralight baitcaster.

I don't like that it has zero bearings.  I could replace the spool bushing with a bearing but the other bushing with a flange is just not feasible to replace with a bearing then spacer.  Not sure why they made it that way.

The spool tensioner knob was tricky for me at first.  After a thorough cleaning and relubing, the tensioner knob was still pretty tight.  So tight that i almost thought the spool shaft was bent.  This seems to be user error.  Just something to be aware of if you are servicing the reel yourself.

Overall a fun reel.  If you want to see the service, check it out on youtube at gregsreelrevival.

 

[Rancanfish]

I still have Shimano Bantam 250 and 350 brand new in the box. I had stored enough of my favorites to keep me stocked forever. Then I moved where it isn't too convenient to travel to an area I would use them.

By the way, this thread was 8 years old. But I love when anyone brings up these reels.