Upgrading suspension instead of replacing bike

[henwil]

Yes, lots of range, but they do say not to go more than six turns.

If the spring ends up being over or under sprung for me, they can send me a different spring for $70. With a jig or two it should be easy enough to swap out.

 

[MCRIDER007]

My Hagon shock just arrived! Next step is to read the service manual and FJRTech.net, and start wrenching

I have some experience with Hagon shocks. Do you know the spring size? If so, give me the rider and luggage weight you intend to put on the shock and I can give you a pretty good starting point in regard to base preload.

 

[pcarnut]

Great, it shouldn't be too hard to pull out the old one, undo the pre-load mechanism, un-do and pull the top bolt, remove the lower dog bones and it drops out, and it's a straight bolt in affair with the new one. IIRC I put the bike on the center-stand and then put a 3/4" piece of plywood under the stand to further raise the rear wheel. Also, once you get the bike up on the center stand, put a block of wood under the rear wheel because it will drop once the shock is undone.

With the firmer spring the improvement in handling made the bike feel 100 lbs. lighter, much more nimble.

 

[henwil]

I have some experience with Hagon shocks. Do you know the spring size? If so, give me the rider and luggage weight you intend to put on the shock and I can give you a pretty good starting point in regard to base preload.

Thanks. Unfortunately I don't know the spring size. Is it easy to determine? It is the standard spring. I am 170lbs and minimal luggage.

Great, it shouldn't be too hard to pull out the old one, undo the pre-load mechanism, un-do and pull the top bolt, remove the lower dog bones and it drops out, and it's a straight bolt in affair with the new one. IIRC I put the bike on the center-stand and then put a 3/4" piece of plywood under the stand to further raise the rear wheel. Also, once you get the bike up on the center stand, put a block of wood under the rear wheel because it will drop once the shock is undone.

Thanks for the info!

 

[MCRIDER007]

I have some experience with Hagon shocks. Do you know the spring size? If so, give me the rider and luggage weight you intend to put on the shock and I can give you a pretty good starting point in regard to base preload.

Thanks. Unfortunately I don't know the spring size. Is it easy to determine? It is the standard spring. I am 170lbs and minimal luggage.

Take a close look at the spring and see if it is marked.

 

[henwil]

On the spring is printed: HAGON 120/200

 

[MCRIDER007]

On the spring is printed: HAGON 120/200

The first number may be the spring rate and the second the spring length. How long is the spring in inches or mm?

 

[henwil]

On the spring is printed: HAGON 120/200

The first number may be the spring rate and the second the spring length. How long is the spring in inches or mm?

The spring as installed is 184mm.

 

[escapefjrtist]

On the spring is printed: HAGON 120/200

The first number may be the spring rate and the second the spring length. How long is the spring in inches or mm?

The spring as installed is 184mm.

Makes sense Henry. I'd bet it's a 12.0 kg/mm (672 #/in) spring with 16mm of preload. Might be a touch too much initial preload, but '007 will be able to provide some pointers with his Hagon experience.

BTW - All you need to do is loosen the dog bone bolts enough so the stock shock will slide out of the bottom.

Good luck!

--G

 

[MCRIDER007]

On the spring is printed: HAGON 120/200

The first number may be the spring rate and the second the spring length. How long is the spring in inches or mm?

The spring as installed is 184mm.

It sounds like you have a 200mm spring with 16mm of base preload. The 120 probably means the spring rate is 120N/mm or about 685 lbs/in. I was going to recommend 12mm of base preload for your weight but 16mm of preload will probably result in about 40mm of rear sag and give some flexibility to add weight without an adverse effect on steering geometry. I would install it as is, measure the rear sag, and then decide if you want to fine tune the sag.

 

[henwil]

Thanks 007 and George! Will do.

Any input on the damping, or am I getting ahead of myself?

 

[MCRIDER007]

Thanks 007 and George! Will do.
Any input on the damping, or am I getting ahead of myself?

Can't help on the damping, I would start in the middle, find a road with different surfaces, and see what direction (softer or harder) feels the best and then try to fine tune it......or ride to George's house and let him do it.

 

[DennisJ]

Henwil, what model Hagon did you order?

 

[henwil]

Henwil, what model Hagon did you order?

Here are the emails I got. Customer service was great.

"Our part number M62087 is designed for your FJR1300.

The Hagon monoshock for your bike is $399.00 and we provide free ground shipping within the United States.

Our Hagon monoshock has an adjustment for preload as well as compression and rebound damping linked on a single adjuster.

It comes complete with all tools for adjustment and fitting instructions.

The Hagon shock is guaranteed for 2 years and is fully rebuildable.

We can also supply custom built Hagon monoshocks which include seat lowering options. You can specify reductions in your seat height in 10mm increments from standard to a maximum of 50mm.

Please state proportion of solo/passenger/luggage use and weights of rider(s) when ordering.

If you choose the bigger reductions you may need to modify your side stand as the bike will not lean sufficiently for stable parking. It will also be more difficult to lift the bike onto its center stand.

We can also custom build for heavy rider & passenger, light solo only, harder and softer springs. The price on these custom shocks is $469.00.

Many of our Hagon monoshocks can be supplied with the added convenience of our Hagon hydraulic preload adjuster at a cost of an additional $179.00. This is a great benefit if you are touring."


"Once it needs to be rebuilt give us a call. We'll have you send it back to us so that we can rebuild it for you. Currently, the cost is $150.00"


"Yes, you can order a softer spring. The cost is $70.00."

 

[MCRIDER007]

"Yes, you can order a softer spring. The cost is $70.00."

A word of caution....Hagon is located in England but owned by Wilbers and seems to be following Wilbers' guild lines in recommending light springs and installing those springs with a lot of preload. Do not order softer springs unless you are a flyweight.

 

[henwil]

Thanks '007!

I don't know what I don't know

I just wanted to find out my options.

Hagen said the standard spring would be OK for me. What do you think?

If it feels wrong for some reason I will definitely get input here.

 

[wheatonFJR]

I think there are aftermarket suspension specialists on the west coast out there. Why send away to Merry Old England when you have some experts in your own backyard?

 

[Fred W]

I think there are aftermarket suspension specialists on the west coast out there. Why send away to Merry Old England when you have some experts in your own backyard?

The Hagon seems to be considerably cheaper than he other options available, except maybe the 3rd gen A shock.

 

[henwil]

I think there are aftermarket suspension specialists on the west coast out there. Why send away to Merry Old England when you have some experts in your own backyard?

The Hagon seems to be considerably cheaper than he other options available, except maybe the 3rd gen A shock.

Hagon USA is in the San Diego area, which makes it easy to order a shock and to have it rebuilt.

 

[MCRIDER007]

Hagen said the standard spring would be OK for me. What do you think?

If it feels wrong for some reason I will definitely get input here.

I think the 120 N/mm spring is correct for your weight......as long as it really is a 120 (another problem with Wilbers springs). You wil find out once it is installed and you measure the sag.