Hagon V Original Confusion

[Chappers]

I'm in the UK, South West and took the bike to a local ish place for a ride in suspension set up. I've got Hagon Nitros on the rear and the guy basically said that they were cheap Chinese junk with a Hagon sticker on, and I'd be better off with the original units. They also didn't have me sit on the bike at anytime during the setup. I'd like some opinions on this please as I was going to use them to fit my Yoshi cams but this has made me think twice. If anyone knows anywhere down south worth taking the bike to please let me know, cheers guys.

[Speedy1959]

There is a VERY well respected Suspension guy not that far from me ( Ingol near preston ) who ALWAYS sets the suspension up with the rider sitting on the bike..
He services a lot of Race teams and is 2nd to None!
I had Hagon Notros on a Honda CB1300 I used to own..
They are totally made from Stainless Steel (even the springs).
Ive done a Google search and it seems they are a respected BRITISH company..
The only mild criticism I can find is that the springs are stiffer than the standard ones.
I would agree with this.. I remember finding that on the Honda CB1300

I looked on several forums and there are many positive comments on how you can talk directly to Hagon themselves and have custom shocks made if you say, are a Beefy Dude or carry a pillion / luggage regularly.

I smell "sour grapes" from your "Expert".

PS What shock is he trying to sell you ?

S

[hard road]

got to agree with speedy, Hagon have always had a good rep as far as i know.

[Speedy1959]

Hopefully I am allowed to show the link..
This guy is a wizard..

https://twsuspensiontech.co.uk/

S.

[Notty]

Some people talk bollocks - seems you have found one.
I have Hagon Nitros and top quality   
All Hagon products are assembled in the UK, and the vast majority of components are also sourced right here in Britain. Hagon might not be offering high-end shocks, wheels and suspension. Nevertheless, it's all good quality stuff, very competitively priced with a two year unlimited mileage guarantee.

[Chappers]

He said I'd be better off getting originals refurbed, or I should have a shock with the piggy back like the original, Guess I'll have to find somewhere else, Preston is a bit too far.

[seth]

Just fitted a set of hagons (the ones with piggy back unit on) to emmas bike and they are great .
As speedy says the springs are a little hard but ive adjusted them a bit .
I have a very expensive set of W.P. shocks one one of my bikes and a standard set in the other and the w.p.'s look and feel amazing but i ride the bike with the standard shocks just as hard and carry the same luggage in either bike without any problems .

Sounds like youve met a salesman not a suspension expert to me

[gsxbarmy]

I'm in the UK, South West and took the bike to a local ish place for a ride in suspension set up. I've got Hagon Nitros on the rear and the guy basically said that they were cheap Chinese junk with a Hagon sticker on, and I'd be better off with the original units. They also didn't have me sit on the bike at anytime during the setup. I'd like some opinions on this please as I was going to use them to fit my Yoshi cams but this has made me think twice. If anyone knows anywhere down south worth taking the bike to please let me know, cheers guys.

@Chappers "the guy" is talking absolute bollox, Hagon are a very respected company and Nitro's have been a unit of choice by 1400 owners for over a decade.

JHS Racing have a good reputation for suspension setup (Bristol way) - not too far from Warminster either (about 25 miles?)

https://www.jhsracing.co.uk/motorcycle-suspension-services/

[Tony Nitrous]

Ideally... Suspension should be set for the rider. Preferably on the bike in his gear but even the shop that did mine when it was in for work wanted to know about weight and solo/pillion etc.

A good suspension guy with want to have a chat, ask you about your riding style, touring or scratching, lazy or aggressive, how much of each. Suspension set for a 75kg rider isn't ideal for a 100kg rider with a Mrs who's been in the pie shop. Same as someone doing hour after hour on the motorway doesn't want peg dragging knee down suspension.

Set the suspension for the bike, and set it for the rider.

[steve porter]

It's a black art, two guys of the same weight that cover the same piece of tarmac at the same rate, but one is a deep, late braker and the other is a high corner speed guy need totally different set ups to get the best results, very hard to convey that info to someone else when you don't understand what you actually need yourself, with a std type set up set everything in the middle and make minor tweaks either way to see what feels right for YOU, fat bastard like me, set for 2 up to start and work backwards

[Tony Nitrous]

It's a black art, two guys of the same weight that cover the same piece of tarmac at the same rate, but one is a deep, late braker and the other is a high corner speed guy need totally different set ups to get the best results, very hard to convey that info to someone else when you don't understand what you actually need yourself, with a std type set up set everything in the middle and make minor tweaks either way to see what feels right for YOU, fat bastard like me, set for 2 up to start and work backwards

Yes, as I said riding style plays a part as much as weight, annd where you ride etc.  A good suspension guy will want to know that.


I'm know just enough about suspension to know that I don't know anywhere near enough about suspension!   I've set up a few and thought they were OK"ish" and better than I started with, but any that have been professionally set up were always noticeably better.

[Speedy1959]

Chappers I Just had a nasty thought..
Where did you get the Hagons from?
They weren't a "too good to be true" bargain price off eBay were they?

One can never rule out Chinese copies of just about anything these days!

[Chappers]

To be fair they did ask my weight etc, shocks were already on the bike when I bought it and I don't think the last owner was the kind of guy who would buy cheap off ebay. It was JHS that I took it to.

[grog]

When suspension bloke did mine, very easy process. Rebuilt forks n shocks, Wilbers springs in front only mod. Checked and adjusted with me off and on bike.Works just fine for me, have never touched adjustments since. When i first got bike tried adjusting myself, all those recod settings,did my head in, ended up so confused, just time wasting.Prob best thing ive done,got help.To me now its like there are no adjusters, just how i like it.

[gsxbarmy]

To be fair they did ask my weight etc, shocks were already on the bike when I bought it and I don't think the last owner was the kind of guy who would buy cheap off ebay. It was JHS that I took it to.

Wow surprised and disappointed in JHS then. No doubt the "guy" was trying to sell you a set of Ohlins or similar.

Only other shop (and GSX1400 owners in the past have used these guys before with great results) is Steve Jordan motorcycles in Surrey, but it is about 100 miles each way from you

http://www.stevejordanmotorcycles.co.uk/