Hagon Shocks for the 1200

[Rednaxs60]

Have been working on my '85 Limited Edition and one of the items I wanted to upgrade was the rear shocks. When I bought the bike in the fall of 2015, I had the suspension upgraded with Race Tech springs and gold valves in the front, and Progressive non-air shocks in the rear. One of the issues with the rear shocks is that the eye to eye distance is 3/4" longer the stock OEM air shocks. Fast forward to 2021.

Have a Nitron shock on my 2012 V-strom DL1000. Have used Progressive as I mentioned. Read quite a few posts about Hagon shocks on this and other forums, WingAdmin likes these as well. Searched for a dealer, and the one in Canada is in Wolfville, Nova Scotia - British Cycle Supply Company. Had a good discussion with Mark Appleton about the Hagon shocks for my GW. He mentioned that he had Hagon provide rear shocks for his HD, but with a remote adjustable preload - RAP system. This is new to these large touring bikes. I mentioned that the RAP system would be a bonus for my GW because a manual adjustment behind the saddlebags is a royal PITA. We discussed the issue at length and I took the plunge and ordered a set of Hagon Nitro shocks with the RAP system.

Took a few months and received the shocks just last week. Shocks have an eye to eye distance of 13.7", closer to the OEM air shock dimension. Installed nicely. Had to rotate the upper shock RAP collar to suit the install.

Installed the remote RAP adjuster with a pair of driving light clamps.

Have been road testing the 1200 and have almost got the shocks dialed in for solo riding. I asked for a shock spring one stiffness higher than would normally be recommended. These are heavy bikes and do require a good spring rate. Hagon doesn't give a spring rate for whatever reason.

The shock came from the factory with no preload applied, and 4 clicks on the 8 click rebound adjustment. I adjusted the preload to clos to max and increased the rebound adjustment two clicks. I did this because of my experience with the Progressive shocks that have been on the max preload adjustment for solo and two up riding since installed in late 2015. Found the ride to be quite stiff, so I reverted back to the factory rebound setting of 4 clicks, and set the preload almost to minimum, only 3 mm of the 1 cm max preload. Much better ride. Will ride for a while with the shocks setup this way. May adjust the preload so that there is no preload for solo riding.

Took some measurements of the Hagon versus Progressive shocks. The Hagon shock has a spring diameter of 10.28 mm and a piston shaft diameter of 18.3 mm. The Progressive shock has a spring diameter of 8.3 mm and a piston diameter of 12.44 mm. Without knowing the Hagon shock spring rate, would have to surmise that from the substantial size difference, The Hagon shock spring rate has to be more than the Progressive shock.

The RAP adjuster fits nicely on the saddlebag guard.

So far so good. Thinking the Hagon shocks are a good alternative to the 1200 OEM air shocks especially with the RAP system. Would be good for the 1500 as well if you can find a suitable location for the RAP adjuster.

The following install pics in no particular order are for your viewing pleasure.

Driving light clamps

Hagon versus Progressive - side by side comparison

[Goldenponyboy]

They sound awesome. It sure would be nice to have that true adjustability. I few months back I got an NOS progressive spring kit for the stock showa shocks and some new seals. Cost me about $200 in total and a few days work. Plus I had to buy some new tools. And I barely noticed a difference.

[Rednaxs60]

The Hagon shocks are quite good, and are a step higher in the evolution of shocks than the Progressive 412. I have mentioned in other threads that motorcycle suspension upgrades can be expensive, and this is the main reason why the aftermarket add-ons are popular - least expensive, whereas a new upgraded/updated suspension setup is expensive - less popular. Depends on what you are looking for. By the time I have my '85 Limited Edition setup for myself, may not be riding any more.

The Progressive 412 are a good shock, but only have a rudimentary preload adjustment. I was informed this morning that Hagon shock rebound adjustment is a combined rebound/compression adjustment, something like 70% rebound/30% compression - going to clarify.

The newer technology that incorporates preload, rebound, and compression is a leap ahead of the air system. I have to caveat this with mentioning that the air system on the '85 Limited Edition, and '86 SE-i was state of the art for any motorcycle back in the day. This system when working properly still gives a great ride.

The motorcycle world is a small player in the scheme of things, but customer wants do eventually make it into the build. We now have a number of manufacturers incorporating adjustable suspension on the fly, and not just in its flagship models.

My foray into suspension is based on a want to know, and that there has to be something out there that can make my riding more enjoyable and the bike performance a bit better. I also wanted to learn about this black art.

Looking into what can be done with the front fork suspension to enhance the ride as well. Traxxion suspension makes and AK-20 fork cartridge for the 1100/1200/1500. Would need fork caps made - Traxxion does this, and installed to have external preload/rebound and compression adjustability.

Have some homework to do regarding the 1200 suspension and what I should look at for setup ,such as what the sag should be.

Cheers

[Rednaxs60]

Have a few Kms on the 1200 since I installed the Hagon shocks. I have about 2-3 mm of preload on the shock, and with the rebound set at 4 clicks, mid way, the ride is not bad. I decided to change the rebound one click counterclockwise, reducing rebound damping that allows the shock to extend faster. This is known to provide the bike with a softer, more supple feel and a bit livelier ride. Went for a 200 Km ride and the ride felt good. On the majority of the roads, the reduced rebound damping made the ride quite nice. Went on some secondary sideroads and where the bike "dropped" into a bump, you knew it. Will ride with the rebound setting at three clicks for a while, then try a five click rebound adjustment - increasing rebound damping, making the shock rebound slower. So the ideal setting is either the three or four click adjustment for my bike.

Next issue is to look at is the sag setting for my bike. The rear sag will not be an issue. Front sag adjustment will be a different story as there is no preload adjustment. I have the RaceTech (RT) emulators and RT front fork springs, 1.0 kg/mm, with a 1" preload applied.

[Rednaxs60]

Hagon shocks on rear, now to devote some time to a front fork upgrade. Found a set of Andriani cartridges for the 1500. These have preload/rebound/compression adjustments. My understanding after having owned a '95 1500 is that the front forks are the same size 41mm, same length from axle to fork cap, same travel. Only difference may be the 1200 has air assist, the 1500 does not. These cartridges are $554.00 USD plus $48.00 shipping. The P/N for the cartridge set is 105/H07E. Can be found on the Andreani web site, or at: https://www.genialmotor.it/en/andreani- ... 98570.html These cartridges use 5W oil.