Hagon Rear Shock Review

[dUh!_imp]

https://www.omniaracing.net/en/pair-rear...32969.html

I have a 2013. Yep. It is almost 10 years old. I have not done any maintenance on the front forks, yet.

Attributes that lead me look into rear shocks.
While riding the CB1100, I have been taking punishment through the seat. Indiana roads are not maintained well. Pot holes, swells, expansion joints ... you name it. The CB is delivering serious jolts into me. I replaced the seat a few years ago for 2 reasons. 1) to raise my seated position, straightening my legs a bit, and 2) to help provide more posterior cushion. The stock shocks have a rebound adjustment with a spanner wrench. I have the shocks set to the best I can achieve. If I go too loose, the bike seems to bottom out with ease. This causes the seat hit me very hard. If I tighten it up, the bike bounces and lands very roughly. Not really absorbing anything, but again delivering a hard smack through the seat.

Looking into options, I could not justify Ohlins prices. Ikon seems manageable but still risky if I do not like them. I stumbled upon the Hagon. For the price of $180US shipped, I was willing to take a chance on them.

I took the CB out for a 20mile loop including city and highway with the stock shocks. This was for a baseline comparison before the switch. The ride was just as rough as I remember.

Hagon shocks came preloaded for my weight. When I ordered them, I did tell them my true weight. 220lbs. They came well packaged, including a spanner wrench and 2 stickers. The top hats on the Hagons are smaller, being a smaller diameter. The shock body is also a different color from stock. There is an adjustable nut on the bottom, but I did not mess with it at any point. I left it set for my weight. I pulled 1 shock off, expecting to replace one side at a time. When I removed the 1st stock shock, the bike dropped to a point, I could not install the new Hagon. I could not compress the new shock enough by hand to get it onto the mounting points. I had to set a floor jack under the bike and raise it a little. Sprayed the posts with windex, new shock slid right on with ease.

Test Ride with new Hagon shocks. 20 mile loop starts off at a large round about. Indiana has 11 turns in 318 miles, so I had to be creative. I could not feel any difference with the bike leaned over. Everything was as it should. No complaints. Heading through the city going towards the interstate, the roads have man hole covers, and some serious swells. Rolling over man hole covers was indeed smoother. Going over the swells, was also improved. I could fell the front end compressing fast and hitting hard, but as the rear tire went over the swell, it did just that. It rolled over the swell. I did not feel like I was on a motocross track getting air over a jump. Interstate expansion joints were the same. My impression is the front end is compressing too much too fast, but the rear rolled over the bumps. Compression and rebound in the rear, feel well managed and under control. It did highlight that the front end is needing some attention now.

My honest opinion: For the price, the Hagon shocks are a nice replacement to a factory ride. I do not feel they are a performance upgrade, but they are getting the bike back to a factory smooth ride. I am pleased with them, and wish I would have purchased them sooner.

Stock rear shocks

[GoldOxide_imp]

Hopefully the Hagons will still provide the desired advantage after 5000 miles of use.

[KiowaEagle_imp]

Thanks for the review and the pics dUh! I might just consider them.