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Brute act of strength... Now need help on new shocks

  • Thread starter Thread starter samboss260
  • Start date Start date
S

samboss260

Guest
So, was taking out the rear wheel as part of the tear down, and I was taking off the rear shocks.

The right hand one was first. I was giving it a few taps of my fist, yes you read it fist. No tools, no hammer, nothing. And this is what happened.
Looks like it has been welded up before. So I'm kinds glad this happened now like this and not at 80km/hr hitting a bump on the road. Still, not happy as I now need new shocks !!





What I did have planned was to take the spring off, and paint it the red/orange of the 650 Katana spec. Now that I need to replace the shock unit, I'm not so sure what to do. Can I get just a replacement shock , ie. something like a Progessive unit and fit it to my existing spring which I will have properly painted?

Or what else should I look at?
 
Do a search on here for shocks, especially the Hagons, and you'll find tons of threads about what most suggest.
 
Depends on how much you want to spend and what quality you want Sam... personally I'd be giving Ikon a call and seeing what a set of shocks are, I love mine on the 450.

I gotta agree it's so good to see that failure when *not* riding!
 
Have already sent them an email Pete, just waiting on a reply.

Agree, was ****ed about it breaking but when I thought about it, it could have been much worse if it gave way whilst riding.

In terms of budget, I'd want to keep it under 4 greenbacks.
 
Last edited:
Too easy Sam, saw your post on KA as well...

You probably won't get Ikons for under 4... cost me $630 to get my Ikon fork springs and shocks delivered to the post box...
 
Anyone painted their spring in terms of a colour other than black or chrome?
 
Wow, doing some research on these shocks.... my head is spinning !!
Hagon, Ikon, Progressive.... black, silver, do I paint, etc etc
 
So, my aim or end result is to have the springs colour coded to the red/orange of the original 650 Katana's. Hell, I'd be happy with just red springs. I don't want black or chrome being the end result. So after more research and a phone call, here is my summary. I really need some input about which springs / shocks are the way to go, as it is a decent amount of money to spend.

Sorry about the war and peace below....

Option 1 – Ikon shocks, So these are the ‘new’ Koni company, produced in Australia.
So I have spoken with them directly and this is what they can offer;
a. Black unit with black spring - $497 shipped
b. Black unit with standard cherry red spring - $497 shipped
c. Black unit with spring powder coated to try and match red / orange of Katana - $530 to $540 shipped
All units have 3 pre-load settings and 10 dampening adjustment settings, and all units are fully rebuildable

Option 2 - Hagon.
From their website, they have two units on offer;
a. Black unit with chrome spring, with 3 pre-load settings and 10 dampner settings – 199.50 EURO ( approx. $300 AUD) plus shipping
b. Same as above but pre-load settings only – 136 EURO (approx. $206 AUD) plus shipping

Option 3 - Progressive Shocks from Ebay.
Progressive 12 Series shock is around $190.20 AUD to buy and shipping is $61.00. Then you need to add the spring which is black for $88.66 AUD plus some more shipping.
So the cheapest I could get these for is $340-ish AUD, and they are black unit with black spring.
3 pre-load settings on these

Option 4 - Hagon Shocks again from a place in UK called ‘Brooks Barn’.
a. Black unit with Chrome Spring – 3 position pre-load - $261.10 AUD plus $45.37 shipping = $306.50 AUD
b. Black unit with Chrome Spring – 3 pre-load plus 10 dampening - $377.94 AUD plus $45.37 shipping = $423.31 AUD

Option 5 - There is another seller on ebay that sells Hagon, black on black for $368 AUD shipped with the 3 pre-load setting, same as Option 4a but obviously more expensive.

Option 6 - Another seller selling the unit as Option 4b exactly for $478 AUD shipped.


So, my cheapest option is Option 4a – Hagan black unit with chrome spring with 3 pre-load settings for $306 AUD. But this still leaves that I have the get the spring dis-assembled, painted or powder coasted red/orange and then assembled again.
Most expensive is $540 with it powder coated and assembled correctly.

As you can tell…… I’m totally confused……..Thoughts?
 
Can you get plasti coate paint that colour? I doubt it, but if you can get something similar you could have any shock you want?
 
If you don't want to repair the shock that you have and just paint your springs red, why not just get new black Progressive Suspension shocks and use your old springs painted red? (Those are old Progressive Suspension shocks BTW)
 
GSX1000E said:
If you don't want to repair the shock that you have and just paint your springs red, why not just get new black Progressive Suspension shocks and use your old springs painted red? (Those are old Progressive Suspension shocks BTW)
Click to expand...

I like your thinking...... with this approach, I'm still up for $250-ish.

So if I went down this path, what sags over 30 years, the springs or the actual shockie? I'd hate to buy the shockies only to find that the springs are shot.
 
Which pre-load setting were you using when it broke? If you were comfortable on the first or second setting, those springs have tons of life left in them. ;)
 
GSX1000E said:
Which pre-load setting were you using when it broke? If you were comfortable on the first or second setting, those springs have tons of life left in them. ;)
Click to expand...

I never rode the bike. Bought it last September and started the tear down in early February. So I can't tell you what it rode like.

It broke as I was trying to remove the shocks.
 
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