Rear shock shopping

[dpep]

I am looking for some rear suspension to replace the stockers on a recently aquired 850G. The consensus had been to go with Hagon both for its price/performance and for the customer service. But Hagon USA and particularly Dave Quinn who rendered that great service have left the business and the only option for US customers is to deal with Hagon UK. Without Quinn's personal service I would prefer not to deal out of country if there are alternatives. So I undertook a little project to see what is available from the U.S.

As of current date it appears the rear suspension options for GSers that don't start approaching the value of the bike are the followiing. The information is taken directly from the Progressive and Ikon websites plus a phone call to Progressive to confirm. Prices rounded to nearest dollar.

Progressive
412-4211C -- Chrome / standard springs / $300 ($30 less on some sites)
412-4212C -- Chrome / heavy springs / $300 ($30 less on some sites)

430-4211C -- Chrome / standard springs / $500 ($10 less on some sites)
430-4212C -- Chrome / heavy springs / $500 ($10 less on some sites)
430-4211C -- Black / standard springs / $500 ($10 less on some sites)
430-4212C -- Black / heavy springs / $500 ($10 less on some sites)

You also have the option of purchasing 12 series dampers and springs separately with the total cost about the same as the assembled 412s.

IKON
7610-1418 -- $420 (all black no cover) up to $580 (chrome spring, body, and cover) [just going from black to chrome spring is $120]

YSS
E 302-330 T-01 / $349
Z 362-330vTRL01 / $499 (adjustable damping)

If anyone knows of any other options or has other knowledge to share I will edit/update this OP with it.
...

 

[Burque73]

Dpep, are those the only Progressive shocks that will fit the 850? There are some on Amazon for under $300 but not the part numbers you listed from what I see using this tiny phone screen to search.

 

[Nessism]

YSS shocks look pretty nice. For $500 they have a set that comes with adjustable damping.

 

[Boriqua]

That is to bad about Quinn. He helped me select what I needed and what service. I do have to ask though .. why are you reluctant to order from england? Does the shipping cost make it a non bargain?
Alex

 

[dpep]

That is to bad about Quinn. He helped me select what I needed and what service. I do have to ask though .. why are you reluctant to order from england? Does the shipping cost make it a non bargain?
Alex

Certainly that plus if by chance I receive an incorrect or defective part the return is likely to be more work and expense than for a domestic purhase. Also the wait times are longer for international. If there no alternatives or if there were some clear advantage I would have no problem ordering from out of country. But the clear advantage Hagons had was Quinn.
...

 

[dpep]

Dpep, are those the only Progressive shocks that will fit the 850? There are some on Amazon for under $300 but not the part numbers you listed from what I see using this tiny phone screen to search.

The 412s are sold on Amazon and several other places for 269.95 (300 - 30). The interesting thing is that when I was able to pull up the 420-4212 on Amazon it said that it did not fit my bike. That directly contradicted what was on the Progressive website which is the reason I called Progressive. The rep assured me that the 412-4212 (heavy) and the 412-4211 (standard) were the right part numbers for the 850.

Progressive offers several different model numbers for a 13 inch shock in the 412 series. I assume they each have a different spec for the internals and/or the spring.
...

 

[Guest]

British Cycle Supply is a distributor for Hagon. they are based out of Nova Scotia Can, but have locations in USA. I ordered my Suzuki rear shock from them and it came from England through New York to Canada as the import costs were lower that way.

www.britcycle.com

 

[Fjbj40]

+1 for British Cycle Supply. Great guys to deal with, he was able to get me parts for my VM33's at an excellent price, better than Z1 actually and was able to get me more genuine Mikuni parts!
They are not just British parts!

 

[bwringer]

Whatever you're working on, whether it's a refrigerator, a Camry, or GS850G, Amazon's fitment data is worse than useless. Plus, they like to show you stuff with a part number that's one digit off in hopes that maybe it'll be close enough...


Anyway, it's tough to tell whether Progressive's various part numbers for shock assemblies correspond to different functional specs or simply to cosmetics. For the most part, the shock bodies seem to be the same within the shock "series" (so the same damping specs - lots of marketing wank about "high performance ride control" and "multi-staged velocity sensitive valving") but there are different spring rates available. Other than that, the variations seem to be cosmetic -- various combinations of black or chrome, spring rates, styles of spring covers, etc.

What is truly aggravating is that Progressive offers higher spec twin shocks such as the 490, 944, and 970 series, but their fitment data doesn't include our bikes. What I'd love to find (but haven't been able to locate) is a chart showing dimensional and functional specs; it's quite likely there are other options that would work fine on a GS but they simply haven't updated their information in 20 years.

 

[Dogma]

YSS shocks look pretty nice. For $500 they have a set that comes with adjustable damping.

I like mine quite well, but I paid even more to get separately adjustable compression and rebound.

 

[GSJim]

Another aggravation is that some of the old fitment data from the suppliers is just plain wrong. The best way to fit a shock is to measure an original shock and go from there.

Jim

 

[red1100]

I don?t know that much about shocks but I have aNIB set of piggyback style for a GS 1100E.

 

[salty_monk]

Whatever you're working on, whether it's a refrigerator, a Camry, or GS850G, Amazon's fitment data is worse than useless. Plus, they like to show you stuff with a part number that's one digit off in hopes that maybe it'll be close enough...

When we had an Amazon account at work what we found was that Amazon only allows one listing per part number. Whoever submits it first then becomes the "principal" listing & then other people can list their pricing for that same part.
If Amazon fulfills a part then it will automatically adjust it's pricing to beat the rest by a penny. It's a rigged game.

What this does is lead to other people adding spurious additions to part numbers in the quest of becoming the principal listing party. What also is very frustrating is that sometimes the original listing is correct in part number but incorrect in other areas such as what it fits etc.
There is no way to modify that once it is listed.

In short it's a big frustrating mess & the only way to control it is to be the only supplier for a certain part on Amazon & control others access via distributor contracts. Not that straight forward & a lot of older companies were too late to the game (i.e. their dist. channels got to Amazon before them) and as such have lost control.

Anyway... thought it might lend some insight. Amazon is not as easy to deal with as many assume.

 

[limeex2]

I'm also on the ZRX1200 forum. When upgrading ZRX shocks, most pick Ohlins or BiTubo from Italy. I got in a group buy, which happens often. Picked up these BiTubo's sprung for my weight with compression damping on a group buy for $350. Will be trying them out next season.

YSS offers a 14" shaft which quickens steering up considerably, but I believe is only offered in their high end shock. With good quality rear shocks, Race Tech valves w/good springs along with a already comfortable seat, GS's handle very well and do have all day comfort

 

[Admiral Beez]

I am looking for some rear suspension to replace the stockers on a recently aquired 850G. The consensus had been to go with Hagon both for its price/performance and for the customer service. But Hagon USA and particularly Dave Quinn who rendered that great service have left the business and the only option for US customers is to deal with Hagon UK. Without Quinn's personal service I would prefer not to deal out of country if there are alternatives. So I undertook a little project to see what is available from the U.S.

As of current date it appears the rear suspension options for GSers that don't start approaching the value of the bike are the followiing. The information is taken directly from the Progressive and Ikon websites plus a phone call to Progressive to confirm. Prices rounded to nearest dollar.

Progressive
412-4211C -- Chrome / standard springs / $300 ($30 less on some sites)
412-4212C -- Chrome / heavy springs / $300 ($30 less on some sites)

430-4211C -- Chrome / standard springs / $500 ($10 less on some sites)
430-4212C -- Chrome / heavy springs / $500 ($10 less on some sites)
430-4211C -- Black / standard springs / $500 ($10 less on some sites)
430-4212C -- Black / heavy springs / $500 ($10 less on some sites)

You also have the option of purchasing 12 series dampers and springs separately with the total cost about the same as the assembled 412s.

IKON
7610-1418 -- $420 (all black no cover) up to $580 (chrome spring, body, and cover) [just going from black to chrome spring is $120]

YSS
E 302-330 T-01 / $349
Z 362-330vTRL01 / $499 (adjustable damping)

If anyone knows of any other options or has other knowledge to share I will edit/update this OP with it.
...

Problem I’m having with Progressives is that they don’t have any with silver bodies. Sure you can get silver springs, but the inside is black, and more importantly the upper and lower mounting points are black, and I don’t want the silver covers that hide some of the black body. I want stainless steel or chrome piston bodies and mounting points, like my original Showas.

 

[Guest]

The US retailer for YSS shocks is EPM Performance. http://epmperf.com/get-a-free-quotes/
I got YSS E302 shocks from them. They asked about the bike & rider. Aren?t they doing the same sort of customization that Dave Quinn does with Hagons?

 

[Guest]

Hopefully this isn't too old a post to bump after several months, but I'm on the market for rear shocks, and dpep's OP is informative enough that I figured it deserved a nudge rather than starting another new thread...

My GS1000G (and its 230lb rider) is enjoying a new set of Sonic 1.0 springs, but is still running the original rear shocks. I was hoping to get away with <$300 for a decent set of shocks, and had originally planned to go with Hagons, though it sounds like YSS may be comparable? Either way, I haven't found much luck figuring out ideal damping rates, and I'm wondering if spending more $ for adjustable rate shocks might make more sense.

Dpep - what (if any) shocks did you end up going with?

 

[dpep]

By strange coincidence I yesterday came across some papers in the garage which included my packing slip for my Ikon shocks. I purchased from a vendor named Revival Cycles from which I got a very good price but had a very long delay in the shipping. They did not have them in stock and had trouble getting any from their supplier(s).

One factor that tilted me toward the Ikons is that their chrome models (though a bit more expensive) are the closest in appearance to the stock suspension on the 850. The bike is in near original condition (24000 miles). I am not hung up on being box stock but if performance and other factors are otherwise close I'll go with what looks original.

Performance wise I have no complaints but I've only taken it on short test and errand rides around my neighborhood. It at long last seems to be ready for long trips and curvy roads. Now all I need is the time.
...

 

[steve murdoch]

I'm also on the ZRX1200 forum. When upgrading ZRX shocks, most pick Ohlins or BiTubo from Italy. I got in a group buy, which happens often. Picked up these BiTubo's sprung for my weight with compression damping on a group buy for $350. Will be trying them out next season.

YSS offers a 14" shaft which quickens steering up considerably, but I believe is only offered in their high end shock. With good quality rear shocks, Race Tech valves w/good springs along with a already comfortable seat, GS's handle very well and do have all day comfort

Not a lot of reviews on-line about their dual rear shocks.
Are the ZRX guys saying good things?

 

[Guest]

By strange coincidence I yesterday came across some papers in the garage which included my packing slip for my Ikon shocks. I purchased from a vendor named Revival Cycles from which I got a very good price but had a very long delay in the shipping. They did not have them in stock and had trouble getting any from their supplier(s).

One factor that tilted me toward the Ikons is that their chrome models (though a bit more expensive) are the closest in appearance to the stock suspension on the 850. The bike is in near original condition (24000 miles). I am not hung up on being box stock but if performance and other factors are otherwise close I'll go with what looks original.

Performance wise I have no complaints but I've only taken it on short test and errand rides around my neighborhood. It at long last seems to be ready for long trips and curvy roads. Now all I need is the time.
...

I've also been looking at the Ikons (along with Hagon via BritCycle, YSS, and Progressive - I can't justify going any higher up the price range). The Ikon with chrome springs / no cover is currently $480 at Revival, which looks like it would be a good match visually for my stock springs. Though, at that price, I'm wondering if I should go just a bit higher for adjustable damping on the YSS. I'm a big guy (currently 230, though dropping), and while I doubt my wife will ever want to ride with me, I also have a trunk and may add hard bags at some point, so if the YSS damping adjustment is effective, it would be a nice feature to have.

When you ordered your Ikons from Revival, did they work with you to help pick the best damping rate?

Thank you for the feedback, and I do look forward to your extended road test results!