[UncleErnie]

Waste of money?  Love 'em and kiss them after every ride?  What's a "Hagons"?

[Vince]

     the Hagon shock absorber is a very good unit. I works well, lasts well, and is reasonably priced. I have put them on Enfields as well as many Japanese bikes. Very good value.

[jdrouin]

I'm planning to get the Hagons soon, too. If you end up purchasing them, let us know what you think.

Jeff

[Ice]

I would like to know how they stack up  in a side by side comparison with the stock units.

[ace.cafe]

Well, my stock shocks on my 2000 Bullet were Armstrongs, and I think that's the standard shocks.
The Hagon shocks are basically updated Girling shocks. Girlings were the sporting shocks in the 1960s. Hagon bought the Girling company, so they are the direct heirs from Girling. Not highly adjustable or anything, like some of the more expensive racing shocks, but very period-correct type sporting shocks.
Armstrongs were the "plodder" shocks for more mundane riding tasks.
That should indicate something about their differences.

I have a set of the chrome-spring Hagons, but I haven't installed them on the bike yet, so I can't actually give any riding impressions about them. But, I've ridden on Girlings before, and they perform quite fine.

[UncleErnie]

Well... if I was going to build a bike piecemeal, I would do the opposite of many people and instead of tarting with the top end and working down- I would start with the crank and bearings and work up.  Much of that attutde has to do with selling car engines and heads.  The point is- I'm not racing.

However, I'm not plodding, either.  Riding in the mountains, I vary speeds and loads constantly.  I find the suspension is lacking.  For that matter- so is my bank account.  So I'm thinking hard about the choices I make.  For instance, there is an awful lot of sticktion in the front end and I'm wondering if progressive fork springs might be a better choice for now. 

So- new question;  What would the collective think is a better choice- progressive front end or Hagon shocks?

[REpozer]

I'm still toying with the idea of bolting on a pair of "Bullet-65"rear shocks.

For the money that may be a good option, vs Hagon, but can't speak for it personally ...yet.

Just me thinking out loud.

[cyrusb]

Hagons are probably very good, but I can tell you that just a spring change made all the difference in the world on my bike. Changing out those truck springs for the CMW springs was the biggest improvement from any single mod I've made so far. Funny thing is, my 05E had american units, Monroe , Gabriel or something like that.

[Vince]

     I would be interested in knowing what aftermarket springs you used in the front forks. Keep in mind you can fine tune the ride by trying different weight' and volumes of fork oil.
     the rear is a no-brainer. Those Hagons are really good.

[ace.cafe]

Well... if I was going to build a bike piecemeal, I would do the opposite of many people and instead of tarting with the top end and working down- I would start with the crank and bearings and work up.  Much of that attutde has to do with selling car engines and heads.  The point is- I'm not racing.

However, I'm not plodding, either.  Riding in the mountains, I vary speeds and loads constantly.  I find the suspension is lacking.  For that matter- so is my bank account.  So I'm thinking hard about the choices I make.  For instance, there is an awful lot of sticktion in the front end and I'm wondering if progressive fork springs might be a better choice for now.  

So- new question;  What would the collective think is a better choice- progressive front end or Hagon shocks?

Well, for me personally, I think my front springs  are pretty decent, but I do feel that the rear needs some improvement.
There's very little damping on the bump stroke in the fork valving, and the damping is predominantly on the rebound.  As Vince says, you can play around with that via different oil viscosities.

For me, I find the rear suspension to be pretty bone-jarring in alot of cirumstances, so to my taste it's the rear that needs the most improvement.
But my shocks are the old Armstrongs, and if you have some newer improved shocks on your bike, such as were stock on the Bullet 65 or some later models, your rear suspension may already be better than mine is.

[UncleErnie]

Mr Vince, I thought fork oil was more about rebound rate/speed/efficiency and less about absorbing a bump.  ?   Haven't tried, but I'm asuming a company like Progressive could take length and weight into account and come up with an appropriate spring.  Anyway- that's far away.

Mr Cafe, I've just got the stock late-model AVL shocks now.  A friend once told me I could sit on an ice-cream cone and tell him what flavour it is.  I hope that's a good thing- I never followed up...

[Cabo Cruz]

My 2000 Bullet had the Armstongs on it and my 2004 Sixty-5 has, of course, the newer (65) rear shocks.  The latter, without a doubt, offer a much better ride and, more importantly, great stability in the esses.

[Vince]

     Ernie, the springs hold up the bike. Oil controls spring movement. A thicker oil would slow movement. This would help avoid bottoming on big bumps, but would give a rough ride as it would not be responsive to small bumps. A lighter oil would give a more comfortable ride as it would be very responsive to small bumps, but big bumps would cause cause the forks to bottom. Another factor is the air space above the oil. Air is compressible. By adjusting oil level/volume you can take advantage of this to fine tune your ride.
     For starters I would change the fork oil with the specified amount. Fork / suspension oils are different than motor oil. Use fork oil. Try a 10W, 5w, and 15w. You can even mix them for a custom brew. Equal parts of 10w and 15w will give you a 12 1/2w.
     Play around until you get the ride you want.

[UncleErnie]

If you come back again, what causes sticktion?  That's really my concern now. 
I was thinking maybe progressive springs might help that?

[Ice]

 I have had good results in the past with Spectro fork oil in other bikes. I do intend to switch the oil in my Bullets forks in next month or so. I can let you know what I think then if you like.
Hopefully some else has already tried that oil in the Bullet so you don't have to wait for an evaluation.