Upgrading suspension instead of replacing bike

[escapefjrtist]

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.

Henry, if you need a hand with install give me a shout. With your '08, there 's a little more top bolt room than earlier GEN IIs so it should go pretty easily.

You know the way...

--G

 

[henwil]

Thanks George!

It would be unwise to turn down an offer like that

Would Saturday work for you?

It looks like it might not be raining, and it will give me an excuse to put some miles on her.

 

[Old Guy]

A question for those who have already installed the Hagon ........

How hard is it to get to the preload adjustment once it's installed? Once I get it set where I want it, I doubt I'll ever touch it again, so I'm questioning the necessity of buying the hydraulic adjuster.

thx

 

[MCRIDER007]

A question for those who have already installed the Hagon ........
How hard is it to get to the preload adjustment once it's installed? Once I get it set where I want it, I doubt I'll ever touch it again, so I'm questioning the necessity of buying the hydraulic adjuster.

thx

I don't have any direct experience adjusting a Hagon on a FJR but those spanner wrenches are hard to use when the Hagon is sitting in a vise, looks like a job for Superman when its on the bike. Shouldn't take more than one re-install to get it set where you want it.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Thanks George!It would be unwise to turn down an offer like that

Would Saturday work for you?

It looks like it might not be raining, and it will give me an excuse to put some miles on her.

Saturday works for me, say mid morning? Should only take us an hour to R & R the shock, test ride, couple of adjustments and on your way...

Do you still have my addy or need it again?

--G

 

[escapefjrtist]

A question for those who have already installed the Hagon ........
How hard is it to get to the preload adjustment once it's installed? Once I get it set where I want it, I doubt I'll ever touch it again, so I'm questioning the necessity of buying the hydraulic adjuster.

thx

We'll let you know Saturday.

Penske preload adjustment isn't too bad with a 6" spring. With the longer Hagon spring, the preload collar is going to be approximately 2" higher in the chassis.

--G

 

[MCRIDER007]

A question for those who have already installed the Hagon ........

How hard is it to get to the preload adjustment once it's installed? Once I get it set where I want it, I doubt I'll ever touch it again, so I'm questioning the necessity of buying the hydraulic adjuster.

thx

We'll let you know Saturday.
Penske preload adjustment isn't too bad with a 6" spring. With the longer Hagon spring, the preload collar is going to be approximately 2" higher in the chassis.

--G

The Penske has a very easy to use adjustment ring with over a dozen adjustment points. The Hagon appears to use the old style spanner wrench that only attaches in one position. If the Hagon spring is longer it makes adjustment even more difficult.

 

[escapefjrtist]

henwil and I Installed his new Hagon shock today. Easy peasy, fit like a glove in the bike.

Didn't fuss with any of the as-delivered settings, sag was close to spot on and with no reference for dampening, figured I'd leave it alone and ride a bit first.

Beautiful day in the PNW for a ride. Providing he went home, expect we'll hear from henwil shortly!

--G

 

[henwil]

Thanks so much for the help George! It was indeed very easy but it was great having someone show me the first time.

Fortunately it was good timing to get a not rainy day in November here in the PNW. The ride up was chilly (foggy and 36F for the first 1.5 hours, probably 45F when I arrived), but very nice and sunny back home (55F).

This is the procedure:

- Put the bike on the center stand.

- Remove the seats and two side panels.

- Remove the three nuts that hold the pre-load adjuster.

- Unplug two electrical connectors to free the two cables from the adjuster to the shock.

- Loosen the two bolts on the dog-bones by about 1/2".

- Remove the nut and bolt on the bottom of the shock.

- Remove the nut and bolt on the top of the shock.

- Pull the shock out the bottom between the dog-bones.

Repeat in reverse for the installation. If you know what you are doing you can probably do it in 20 minutes

I might do it again this weekend just for fun

Reaching the pre-load and damping adjustments after installation on the Hagon are no problem.

The ride home was much improved! Sitting higher again and not cringing each time I hit a bump.

I must admit that I am not really fond op people that set standards like George does. Getting there his large garden was perfectly manicured. He just finished polishing this car. All three his bikes are standing there shining like new. Everything in the garage is in its place and you can eat off the floor. All the tools are laid out ready to go. No guessing at the sizes needed.

I surely have a long way to go to reach that level!

 

[Old Guy]

Thanks so much for the help George! It was indeed very easy but it was great having someone show me the first time.
Fortunately it was good timing to get a not rainy day in November here in the PNW. The ride up was chilly (foggy and 36F for the first 1.5 hours, probably 45F when I arrived), but very nice and sunny back home (55F).

This is the procedure:

- Put the bike on the center stand.

- Remove the seats and two side panels.

- Remove the three nuts that hold the pre-load adjuster.

- Unplug two electrical connectors to free the two cables from the adjuster to the shock.

- Loosen the two bolts on the dog-bones by about 1/2".

- Remove the nut and bolt on the bottom of the shock.

- Remove the nut and bolt on the top of the shock.

- Pull the shock out the bottom between the dog-bones.

Repeat in reverse for the installation. If you know what you are doing you can probably do it in 20 minutes

I might do it again this weekend just for fun

Reaching the pre-load and damping adjustments after adjustments on the Hagon are no problem.

The ride home was much improved! Sitting higher again and not cringing each time I hit a bump.

I must admit that I am not really fond op people that set standards like George does. Getting there his large garden was perfectly manicured. He just finished polishing this car. All three his bikes are standing there shining like new. Everything in the garage is in its place and you can eat off the floor. All the tools are laid out ready to go. No guessing at the sizes needed.

I surely have a long way to go to reach that level!

Thanks for the detailed write-up. A friend had recommended the hydraulic preload adjuster, but for me, once it's set, that'll probably be it.

And no ..... I'll never be that organized either

 

[pcarnut]

Glad to hear it went in easily. Hope you are happy with it. IIRC I had my rebound damping set out 2 turns from being all the way screwed in. ymmv I chose to go with the hydraulic preload just for ease of adjustment for carrying a passenger but once I had it set I rarely touched it.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Thanks to George for assisting a fellow FJR member in need.

However, don't ever try to out-organize George. He irons his underwear and toilet paper.

 

[escapefjrtist]

<snip> I must admit that I am not really fond op people that set standards like George does. Getting there his large garden was perfectly manicured. He just finished polishing this car. All three his bikes are standing there shining like new. Everything in the garage is in its place and you can eat off the floor. All the tools are laid out ready to go. No guessing at the sizes needed.
I surely have a long way to go to reach that level!

LOL...me thinks henwil is embellishing a bit here, I haven't swept the garage out this week yet!

Glad to assist Henry. Anytime you want to make the trip north and get in a foothill ride, lemme know!

--G

 

[stealth1]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but that Hagon install seems fairly straightforward.

I noticed my OE shock is definitely toast now so I may go for the Hagon with no remote preload.

It's about the same price as a OE Gen III shock. Plus it's rebuildable.

I'm going to be in San Diego this summer so if I haven't bought one yet I may stop in and save the shipping.

 

[Old Guy]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but that Hagon install seems fairly straightforward.I noticed my OE shock is definitely toast now so I may go for the Hagon with no remote preload.

It's about the same price as a OE Gen III shock. Plus it's rebuildable.

I'm going to be in San Diego this summer so if I haven't bought one yet I may stop in and save the shipping.

Pick up two. I'll come out to Utah for a visit and we can install mine while I'm there

 

[stealth1]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but that Hagon install seems fairly straightforward.I noticed my OE shock is definitely toast now so I may go for the Hagon with no remote preload.

It's about the same price as a OE Gen III shock. Plus it's rebuildable.

I'm going to be in San Diego this summer so if I haven't bought one yet I may stop in and save the shipping.

Pick up two. I'll come out to Utah for a visit and we can install mine while I'm there

I don't know if I can wait that long for mine but your welcome to come out anytime.

Is that 2013 already in need of a fresh shock?

 

[Old Guy]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but that Hagon install seems fairly straightforward.I noticed my OE shock is definitely toast now so I may go for the Hagon with no remote preload.

It's about the same price as a OE Gen III shock. Plus it's rebuildable.

I'm going to be in San Diego this summer so if I haven't bought one yet I may stop in and save the shipping.

Pick up two. I'll come out to Utah for a visit and we can install mine while I'm there

I don't know if I can wait that long for mine but your welcome to come out anytime.

Is that 2013 already in need of a fresh shock?

It gets a little goofy-feeling sometimes in bumpy corners

I'm sort of on the fence, though. I still ride my ZRX more on spirited rides. The FJR usually goes along when I'm riding with David, so I'd be better off upgrading the ZRX. I should do both, but Cindy's cut back to part time, so I need to watch the budget.

 

[Last Chance]

While my 2013 Gen III is not old, I did upgrade the suspension with the KFG group buy. I was unable to get to KFG until recently, this week. All I can say is I no longer am envious of the 2014-15 Gen III ES! What an improvement!

 

[Alex]

I ended up installing the Race Tech front end and upgrading to the 2015 rear shock. What an improvement. I really notice the difference in the rear.

Is there a topic out there for tuning the Racetech fork setup? I've looked without success.