Ideal rear shock setting?

[davsato]

Wish it was as easy to adjust the Hagon monoshock. You have to remove it to adjust it due to a locking screw on the adjuster ring.

Took mine off at the weekend and rolled it down to half way on the thread much firmer and makes the bike an inch higher and I’m the wrong side of 18 stone so with you being a lighter just keep playing with it until you get the feeling you want.

grendel i think you bought the bike with it already in? but if you buy one to put in, when you order it from hagon tell them how much you weigh, what bike you have and what sort of loads over what sort of roads you expect to ride and they will adjust it for you before sending it to you. wont be perfect but near enough (and dont forget a brand new shock will be much easier to adjust than a crapped up old one!). also, if its that hard to get to, the bike perhaps should have a remote adjuster as standard, and the previous owner bout the cheapest he could get?

im also 18st+ and have the heaviest bike ever made (varadero) and my shock is just a few clicks harder than standard. a 12st guy on a TA will never need a shock set fully hard, thats way too much you will have no bounce

[Grendel]

Hi davsato

This hagon I had put on a few years back by a Honda tech who said it was a bit too soft and other garages have now said the same. Annoying thing is I’ve adjusted it from 1/4 way down the thread as set by Hagon to 1/2 way down and its rock hard now so need to loosen it perhaps???

Bearing in mind I’m the wrong side of 18 stone and occasionally carry an 8 stone pillion I though harder would be better???

[davsato]

Hi davsato

This hagon I had put on a few years back by a Honda tech who said it was a bit too soft and other garages have now said the same. Annoying thing is I’ve adjusted it from 1/4 way down the thread as set by Hagon to 1/2 way down and its rock hard now so need to loosen it perhaps???

Bearing in mind I’m the wrong side of 18 stone and occasionally carry an 8 stone pillion I though harder would be better???

so what exactly is the problem with it? is it too hard now i take it? a bit of extra preload is better if your an anorexia beater like us, especially with an oem shock on a jap bike because they are made for midgets. a new hagon should come set for 'mr average', i wouldve thought. but too hard means you get no damping on big bumps and can actually slide in bends because the suspension wont compress. do you have a HD spring in it and 1/4 adjustment was too much?

i had lots of problems with the adjusters seizing on my triumph, i love having the remote preload on the varadero, its so easy to change up or down for loads and if i overdo it the standard settings are in the handbook.

[Grendel]

It was on 1/4 when hagon set it up for me before sending it out but it had become a bit spongy after being 2 up and full luggage a few weeks back so I cranked it up another 1/4 which now makes it too firm so looks like I need to knock it back down a few turns. So it’s gone from springy to virtually no bounce D’Oh!

I’ll send Hagon an E-mail and ask them what setting they suggest for lardarse weight.

[Grendel]

Just had e-mail from Hagon:

SPRING PRELOAD ADJUSTMENT
Hagon monoshocks have a wide load carrying range and are pre-set for average rider weights.To adjust spring pre-load, release the locking grub screw and rotate the adjuster ring. One full turn should give around 1.5mm alteration in pre-load. For most bikes, aim to achieve a rider sag figure of between 20 and 30mm, though individual rider preference should determine the best setting within this range.
Do not exceed 10mm increase as the spring may shorten or coil-bind. Be sure to re-tighten the lock screw, this screw is rubber tipped so do not over tighten.

That wold explain a lot i think i have ajusted around 30mm past there original ajustment.