Three Sisters warrant new Hagons

[montmil]

The main result of my recent dash through the Texas Hill Country's Three Twisted Sisters has been my decision to upgrade rear shocks and alter the front fork's damping action a wee bit on the '81 R65.

Called Dave Quinn this morning and had him suggest what I needed in the way of new Hagon shocks. Kinda like going to see your personal medicine man; he asks lots of questions about rider, bike and riding preferences. I told him the "look" I was after and left the rest to him. Cool guy.
   I currently run age unknown Progressives on the rear. No clue as to spring rates. Chrome upper shields and springs are looking a bit rust pitted. How's that for an excuse to buy new shocks?

http://www.davequinnmotorcycles.com/

It hasn't been that long since I rebuilt the fork internals, so will initially bump up the BMW-recommended 7.5wt fork oil to a hefty 10wt. Doesn't sound like a big alteration -7.5 to 10wt- but expect to feel a noticeable difference. The front end seemed to blow through the damping stroke too quickly during spirited mountain riding.

Expect to wait 5-7 days for the UPS truck. Plenty of time to swap fork oil.

Monte

[Melena]

Great!  I am really happy with my Hagon shocks.   Dave Quinn was great to work with.  Good shocks really make a difference in the ride.   8-)  

[Yikes]

So Monte, did you go for the chrome or black springs?  The Hagons I'm planning to get in the golden future keen switching from black to chrome and will occasionally jump from trimline to wideline.  You really can't choose wrong, though.  They're all nice! [smiley=thumbsup.gif]
Looking forward to your ride report when you get them installed.  

[montmil]

So Monte, did you go for the chrome or black springs?  The Hagons I'm planning to get in the golden future keen switching from black to chrome and will occasionally jump from trimline to wideline.  You really can't choose wrong, though.  They're all nice! [smiley=thumbsup.gif]
Looking forward to your ride report when you get them installed.  

Dave's got a photo of my new shocks on his website. #1 in the mug shot lineup.

Black body, Type A shocks. Chrome Slimline springs -Dave sez spring rates are same for both styles, just a cosmetic choice. Plus no shrouds on my shocks.

Dave said I would enjoy the 100lb progressive springs much better than the stock 110 pounders. Me being a slim and handsome fellow. [smiley=wink.gif] Plus the R65 is a buck nekkid roadster and I don't carry passengers... ever.

When you buy shocks from Dave, he offers a two-time opportunity to change spring rates at no charge other than shipping. He wants you to be happy with his products.

Should be just a bit less than a week for a road test report. Dare I go back to Leakey (TX) and the Three Sisters for the proper test?

Monte

[Bob_Roller]

Are the Hagon shocks rebuildable ?

Couldn't find it mentioned on the website .

[montmil]

Are the Hagon shocks rebuildable ? Couldn't find it mentioned on the website .

Dunno. Me either. :-?

[NC Steve]

I put the very same Hagons on Britta a couple of months, and love 'em.

Unfortunately, now that the back end is so well behaved, I'm seeing just how completely worn out the front suspension is!  

[montmil]

I put the very same Hagons on Britta a couple of months, and love 'em.

Unfortunately, now that the back end is so well behaved, I'm seeing just how completely worn out the front suspension is!  

Any ideas on fork upgrades, Steve? I'm going to try 10wt fork oil up from the BMW 7.5wt. Just want to 'snug up" the damping a little bit. Too much negative feedback about the Progressive front spring offering to convince me to buy 'em.

Monte

[Bengt_Phorqs]

Dave said I would enjoy the 100lb progressive springs much better than the stock 110 pounders. Me being a slim and handsome fellow.Plus the R65 is a buck nekkid roadster and I don't carry passengers... ever.

Slim, yes, even for a guy that drinks mass quantities of cerveza.  Handsome, uh, don't push it Monte.  I seem to recall a photo of you with something that resembles a pork chop around your neck, probably so the dog would play with you.   [smiley=vrolijk_26.gif]

[NC Steve]

I put the very same Hagons on Britta a couple of months, and love 'em.

Unfortunately, now that the back end is so well behaved, I'm seeing just how completely worn out the front suspension is!  

Any ideas on fork upgrades, Steve? I'm going to try 10wt fork oil up from the BMW 7.5wt. Just want to 'snug up" the damping a little bit. Too much negative feedback about the Progressive front spring offering to convince me to buy 'em.

Monte

Well, the front end on Britta clearly needs everything. After checking into several springs and doing some research, a couple of people whose opinions I respect have recommended the Progressives, so that's the way I'm headed soon.

I'm told that those with the 10w will work wonders, and balance out the Hagons very well. I also plan to replace the seals, do the front brakes, and add a SS line while everything's apart, as soon as I can scratch up the $$$. Seems like there's been a lot more outflow than incoming here lately.  :-?

[Bob_Roller]

I installed Progressive springs on my '81 about 3 years ago .

I would say that compared to the OEM springs that had 78,000 miles on them, they seemed a bit stiff .

But after 5-6,000 miles, I'm quite satisfied with them .

Only negative comment I can make about them right after installing them, is a strange squeaking sound from the forks, but that noise is gone now .

I also installed gaiters at that time, should have done that a long time ago .

The other two R65's will get them when I do fork rebuilds once the temperatures cool down here in the suburb of hell I call home .

[Yikes]

I think that you can get Hagon springs for the front shocks.  I priced them a year or so ago when I was fantasizing about an all-new suspension and they were up there, about $135 for the pair from Dave Quinn and a 4-5 week wait.  I'm not sure how they compare to Progressives, besides being more expensive.  I personally wouldn't want stiffer springs than what I have now, which I think are OEM.

I had the springs out a couple of weeks ago when I was changing the  fluids and installing new rubber bumpers, the originals having melted into a semi-liquid state.  My spring lengths were in the good range according to Clymer, so I decided to just keep on with what I got.  I did move from 7.5 weight oil to 5 and can hardly tell any difference.

[montmil]

Five weight, Yikes? I'm bumping up the juice in the '81 to 10wt in an effort to keep the front end from blowing through the suspension stroke on even moderate bumps. I'll take a peak at Brother Quinn's front fork springs, but not until I give the new Hagon rears and the 10wt front juice a fair test.

Monte

[Barry]

I think Monte is right to be cautious about fitting stiffer front springs especially as the rear units are to have lower spring rate. Our basic damper rod forks are going to dive under braking it's in their nature. Dive can be controlled some with heavier oil and also by increasing the oil level.  

A good test is to fit a cable tie loosely around one stanchion and ride the bike hard to see how much travel is being used. The whole idea is to use most of the travel with say an inch or so left for emergencies. If you don't use most of the travel then the springs are already too stiff.  The cable tie can also be used to measure rider sag. Sit on the bike at rest and the forks should sag about 35mm.  For me (170lbs at a guess - Ive never stood on the bathroom scales in my helmet and leathers) these tests show that the stock springs are plenty stiff enough.

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

A good test is to fit a cable tie loosely around one stanchion and ride the bike hard to see how much travel is being used. The whole idea is to use most of the travel with say an inch or so left for emergencies. If you don't use most of the travel then the springs are already too stiff.The cable tie can also be used to measure rider sag.

Good info, Barry.  Of course, if you have gaiters, you will need to remove them to perform these tests.

And speaking of gaiters used on the Type-248's, these bikes were not made for them, and as such, a specific gaiter was never engineered for them.

When I installed mine, I had the top of the gaiter up as far as it would go, and I put the bottom nice and pretty right over the top of the fork slider, where the dust boot formerly sat.  (I thought it looked nice, that way!)

It was pointed out to me that on compression, the gaiter collapses, but once collapsed all of the way, the fork cannot compress any further.

The trick is, to pull the bottom of the gaiter as far down on the fork slider as it will go.  This will expand the gaiter a little more, giving you that much more fork travel.



If I had a bike with a aftermarket fork brace with gaiters, I think I would remove the brace to allow more gaiter travel.