[Closed] PSA Motorcycles - Rear damper replacement. Where from?

I'd have thought Hagon the most likely.

Give MCT in Stowmarket a try - they could service and setup your old one for better results and it'll probably be much better than a generic new one.

Back of any of the comics will have loads of ads, you can go from cheap to a shock from Sweden which will cost more than the bike 🙂

Hagon is a very good call.

Hagon or Nitron I expect, Nitron make shocks for most things although they're not always all that model specific. Decent enough kit though, the good ones are better than my Ohlins and the cheap ones aren't so much worse. Hagon really aren't all that good, personally I wouldn't pay half the RRP.

epicsteve - Member
I'd have thought Hagon the most likely.

Hagon

I've had two rear shocks off them and they were spot on.

They're cheap and they take your weight and bike details so it's perfect for you.

A bad experience with a Nitron a few years ago means I wouldn't fit one to any bike of mine now.

For a bike like the NT650, the Hagon would be ideally suited.

Could sent it to k-tech to be rebuilt / revalved and sorted.

I'd probably go to maxton rather than hagon but my preference is properly set up ohlins.

Had two Hagon shocks for 1200 Bandits in the past-loads better than standard shock and the adjusters actually worked!

Suppose it depends what you're after, if you just want a slight upgrade over an old knackered shock then fair enough. (most people replace an old shock with a new aftermarket one and are impressed, but you'd be impressed if you replaced a worn out shock with a new version of the same shock)

But if you want any adjustability it's £300, and even that's not all that effective, the combined rebound/compression control isn't a bad idea but it was poorly executed on both the Hagons I've worked with- really nastily diverging rates so that anything far from the middle of the settings was a poor compromise. In the end, in one of those bikes we replaced it with a completely standard 636 shock and it worked better, despite being designed for a different bike entirely. The other one, the owner gave up and stuck it bang in the middle, it wasn't right for him but at least it worked properly.

Personally I'd be happy with the basic one at, oh, £100 maybe. I wouldn't buy the adjustable one at all. In either case I'd sooner track down a good condition stock shock. I realise that's an unrealistic price for a shock but that's what it's worth, IMO. For £200 or £300 you should get better.

Also, the website suggests they charge £50 for a "custom shock" if you want anything but the default spring rate on a new shock, that surely can't be right?

Hairy, I'd recommend this:

http://www.nitron.co.uk/nitron09/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_7_377&products_id=919

No it's not cheap either but I've used one of these Sports on an SV650, it's better made and works much better than the equivalent Hagon and there's no extra charge for getting the correct spring. It has the same combined damping control but it's much more effective, though still not perfect. The Track is considerably nicer but I'm not sure it's worth the markup unless you're a knob twiddler, a well set up basic shock is still better than a poorly set up top-end shock and most aftermarket shocks are sadly very badly set up.

Alternatively, might be worth seeing if there's a recommended swap from another model- it sounds seriously bodgy but sometimes it can work well and it's cheap. No offence to your Bros but for any decent shock you'll be spending probably more than is worthwhile (I have an SV650 myself with more spent on the suspension than the damn bike's worth, it rides brilliantly but at the same time, I'm clearly a damn fool for doing it!)

Thanks for all the info, food for thought.