Mounted my Hagon shock. Do I need to adjust for sag?

[Ned in Utah]

When I ordered my new Hagon shock I sent them my weight, and the weight of the stuff that I normally carry when I'm on the road. I believe they were supposed to match my shock and spring rates for those weights. Haven't had a chance to get it out on the road yet, but I was wondering if any of you adjusted the preload for sag when you mounted your shock?

 

[paulcb]

Yes, you will most certainly need to set your sag.

 

[Larry Fine]

When I ordered my new Hagon shock I sent them my weight, and the weight of the stuff that I normally carry when I'm on the road. I believe they were supposed to match my shock and spring rates for those weights. Haven't had a chance to get it out on the road yet, but I was wondering if any of you adjusted the preload for sag when you mounted your shock?

You need to adjust it for weight. Sag is merely a word for the difference between unladen height, which is irrelevant in my opinion, and laden height, which is what matters. The question is whether they pre-set the ride height to your specifications.

I bought my 1100 from a guy who weighs less than I do, and had to raise the rear because the steering response was awful. The bike resisted my steering efforts, and just wouldn't lean. It almost felt just like the couple of cruisers I've tried to ride.

I raised the rear suspension about 1/2" with the rings on the shock body, which probably translates to around 3/4" at the axle. The improvement was immediate and profound. The bike's steering response is now instinctive and predictable.

 

[SMSW]

I raised the rear suspension about 1'2" with the rings on the shock body, which probably translates to around 3/4" at the axle. The improvement was immediate and profound. The bike's steering response is now instinctive and predictable.

I know you are a big guy, but I thought you topped out at 6'3". Raising the seat 14" would put it at roughly 44", and unless you are almost 2/3 legs, flatfooting your bike would be impossible. That muist be quite a rear shock!

 

[Flexit]

Normally Hagon do it all based upon the figures provided. Don't know anyone who had to adjust one after receipt. They are used a lot in the sidecar world as well and are normally dialled in by the factory.

 

[Larry Fine]

I know you are a big guy, but I thought you topped out at 6'3". Raising the seat 14" would put it at roughly 44", and unless you are almost 2/3 legs, flatfooting your bike would be impossible. That muist be quite a rear shock!

Thank you for pointing that out. I thought I had corrected that before. I fixed it.

 

[Larry Fine]

Normally Hagon do it all based upon the figures provided. Don't know anyone who had to adjust one after receipt. They are used a lot in the sidecar world as well and are normally dialled in by the factory.

I bought my Nighthawk 750's Hagons through Dave Quinn (no longer in business), with whom I discussed my weight, the luggage and what I normally carry in it, the fairing, and my desire to accommodate a passenger.

I asked about adjusting them after installation, and he said they'll come set just right for everything we discussed. Along with the forks that I rebuilt myself, the Nighthawk still handles as well as any bike I've ridden.

 

[dduelin]

I would still check the static sag and rider sag with the new shock to benchmark and check settings. Hagon might have built the shock wrong or made an assumption that the bike's preload adjustment was different than what you have it set at or have available to you. Many ST1300 (and all bikes using that Showa preloader with a rubber hose) lose much of the original 10 mm of available preload adjustment and need to be serviced/topped off to regain it.

An earlier post was not accurate if one is interested in tuning the suspension to your needs. Both rider and static sag are important and their relationship tells you whether the spring rate of the shock is adequate for your riding weight. Rider sag is measured after preload is adjusted for your weight and normal cargo if any. Hopefully that rider sag on a stock 1300 is between 31 to 41 mm. Then static sag is measured with the preload setting that got you at the target sag or in the target range. If the amount of static sag is about 5 - 10 mm, the spring is in the ball park for your riding weight and the preload mechanism will have enough travel to adjust for passengers and luggage. If static sag is zero mm to 5 mm then most or all of your preload is used to make up for a spring that is too soft for you and adding rider(s) and cargo blows right past the target sag settings. This is unfortunately the case with all stock ST1300 OEM shocks - they are too softly sprung for riders over about 165 lbs as measuring rider and static sag will confirm.

I recently replaced the suspension on the RT with new YSS front and rear. When we did the rear shock build data over the phone I was right at the bottom end of the rider weight range of the stock YSS spring that comes with it. The tech recommended the next softer spring so that solo I would settle further into that spring and still have enough preload to account for pillion and/or luggage & cargo. When the shock came and I installed it and did the measurements he was absolutely correct. With the stock spring I would have had almost no rider sag. I did the measurements to satisfy myself it was the correct advice and to bench mark for the future.

I had a bad experience with Hagon ST1300 shocks, two of them. Dave Quinn was great getting the first one replaced under warranty when it leaked it's fluid soon after installation and my money back when the second one also leaked it's fluid within 1000 miles of install.

 

[Smudgemo]

My Hagon seems to work fine at it's base setting for me solo or with a passenger (total ~175 or 350lbs), but I have not been anywhere yet carrying more weight so I feel like the spring might be a touch stiff for my needs. But they're the experts and it sure was night/day over the old stocker. I never thought to ask about exchanging a spring if it wasn't right, though.

 

[Larry Fine]

An earlier post was not accurate if one is interested in tuning the suspension to your needs. Both rider and static sag are important and their relationship tells you whether the spring rate of the shock is adequate for your riding weight.

I based my statement on the presumption that the new unit was sprung for the expected load, and that the unladen height isn't as important as the laden ride height. I don't care how my bike sits when I'm not on it.

Yes, the ratio can tell you whether the spring rate is adequate, but the important thing is that the suspension is in the ideal part of the range of travel when loaded. You don't want the shock to top out or bottom out.

 

[Ned in Utah]

I put the new Hagon shock on, then measured it with full extension and then under full load like I would be on the road. Sag measurements came out to 28% loaded with the settings they sent. Everything I've read says 30% is optimum, but I figure 28% is close as that should be ok riding two up which I do occasionally.

 

[dduelin]

I put the new Hagon shock on, then measured it with full extension and then under full load like I would be on the road. Sag measurements came out to 28% loaded with the settings they sent. Everything I've read says 30% is optimum, but I figure 28% is close as that should be ok riding two up which I do occasionally.

Measure static sag now that you have measured rider sag. That will give you the answer to riding with a passenger. It’s entirely possible to make up for a too soft spring with excess preload but when you remove the weight the spring tops out. Riding over a bump unloads the “weight” for a moment, topping out the shock and destabilizing the suspension.