Suspension upgrades finally done.......for now

[MikeM]

Well the rest of my bits came in yesterday so my suspension is done for now.

Front forks have Race Tech Gold emulators and 15w oil. Spacers were cut to add a 10mm of preload. CooperB fork tube extenders were installed to allow me to lower the forks in the triple tree about 20mm (lifting the bike).

Rear suspension has a Hagon shock with adjustable preload and rebound damping. I added Hitchcocks rear links to lift the rear about an inch (same as front).

Hitchcocks adjustable side stand which is very well built I might add, helps keep the bike from leaning over too far when parked.

Seat height is 34” even now. Not sure how much ground clearance change because I never measured it when stock. DOH!!!

The ride to work this morning was more enjoyable than ever. A slightly more commanding view down the road (I can see over cars now) and the front emulators are working really well with the Hagon shock. I might back off one turn on the rear shock spring preload. I also need to screw the adjustable side stand in at least one turn since I feel like she's sitting a little too vertical right now.

Also I ended up with a section of flat highway in front of me with no wind and decided to see if I could redline 5th gear. I've only ever had it up to 75 mph previously. I was a touch under 6300 rpm and that was about 84 mph. Ill have to toss on the GPS and try it again and see what the GPS reads. This carb, K&N and full exhaust is doing exactly what I wanted.

 

[MikeM]

Well 120 miles later I love this bike even more. I rode it on everything but rough trails and it’s just perfect. The weird thing is it “feels” lighter and more nimble. Maybe because I like taller bikes and I just feel more comfortable with it now? Amazing what a couple inches will do.

 

[Ligonier]

Mike, a few questions as suspension is a fascinating topic to me. I come from a long travel mtn bike background...even worked for one of the the big names as a tech/crash test dummy.... and as a result suspension tuning was something I was *fanatical* about. I'm in recovery now;-) and trying to learn to live with the Himalayan in stock form and....well......it works. It's functional. But there is obviously a lot of room for improvement.

Do the emulators and the Hagon rear work well together? Offer similar levels of damping and control? "Balance"? I suppose a better question might be if you have found both ends to have the adjustability to bring the front and rear into balance/performance harmony. Sounds like you have achieved this- wondering if you needed to do much tuning to get there.

 

[MikeM]

Do the emulators and the Hagon rear work well together? Offer similar levels of damping and control? "Balance"? I suppose a better question might be if you have found both ends to have the adjustability to bring the front and rear into balance/performance harmony. Sounds like you have achieved this- wondering if you needed to do much tuning to get there.

Not sure if I just got lucky but they do seem to be working well together and I say lucky because the adjustability in the Race Tech valves requires fork disassembly. You can change the spring rate on the valve as well as the preload and then fine tune with various oil weights. I went with Race Techs advice for my weight and it seems to be pretty good. Could it be better? Not sure until I do a some off road that's a little more rough. The rear shock has a simple adjuster for damping and a spring preload ring like a standard dirt bike.

 

[OldGuy]

Good to hear as I'm following the same path. I have the RaceTech springs and emulators ready to go in as soon as I have a spare weekend. Is the Hagon shock preload easily accessible once it's assembled? Hitchcocks claims it is, but in reality?
OG

 

[MikeM]

Good to hear as I'm following the same path. I have the RaceTech springs and emulators ready to go in as soon as I have a spare weekend. Is the Hagon shock preload easily accessible once it's assembled? Hitchcocks claims it is, but in reality?
OG

Yes they include a spanner wrench and you access it from just under the bottom of the fender liner. Im going to order the sock that goes around it I think before I do to much more off roading.

 

[OldGuy]

My Hagon shock arrived today, so it looks like a "suspension weekend"! Will do front and back at the same time.
Just out of curiosity, did you need the snap-ring for the emulator to seat against?
OG

 

[MikeM]

Yes I forget what they call it, adapter or spacer or some but yes I put them in.