Rear Shock

Hagon Products in Essex, England sells a shock for the CXT. Their website is http://www.hagon-shocks.co.uk . hey prefer to route their US orders through Dave Quinn Motorcycles, Inc. in Connecticut. Website is http://davequinnmotorcycles.com . I have been running these shocks in two of my CXT's Since about October 2003. Performance is very good. The correct model number is 61045. The listed application is for a CX650ED Eurosport. They are a drop-in fit for the CXT.

The less expensive model offers shock-on adjustable damping, and shock-off adjustable spring preload. Cost is a very reasonable $335. For about $150 more you can have the shock fitted at the factory with a hydraulic spring preload adjuster. The adjuster knob can be stored under the seat in the included small bag. Or, as I did, with just a small amount of fabrication on the included mounting plate, the adjustment knob can be mounted behind the passenger foot peg on the left. I bought one shock without adjuster and one with. Although the hydraulic adjuster definitely makes it easier to change the preload, I concluded that the additional cost is unwarranted, unless you often switch back and forth between solo riding and two-up riding, or want to easily adjust between a soft, cushy ride and a stiffer, sportier ride. Otherwise, once adept at the task, changing the preload manually takes only a half hour or so.

It took me a few tries before I found the right preload, and the damping must be tweaked each time you change the spring preload. The damping is adjusted at the bottom left or right of the shock via an Allen bolt. You can point this bolt either left or right according to your preference by rotating the bottom half of the shock around. If you like to park the bike on the sidestand, I would point the bolt to the right. If you're a centerstand kinda guy, I would suggest pointing it to the left, if only to keep you from having to walk all the way around the bike to make the adjustment. I put a dot of white paint on the edge of the dark bolt as a reference to count the number of turns in or out from the stock setting.

I prefer my shock to be on the cushy side, so on my shock without the remote hydraulic adjuster, I set the preload rather soft, and turned the damping down a bit to match. When I pick the speeds up in the high speed sweepers, I dial up the damping a bit, and that seems to keep it from wallowing under those conditions.

Another thing is the aesthetics of the Hagon shocks, which some might find pertinent information. Red spring, gold anodized body. Pretty slick. It should look good on either the 500 than the 650.

Added January 2004

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