Moto Guzzi Club of Queensland Forum

Yeah
wondering if any riders have put aftermarket shocks
on their guzzi s spicifically Californian
Looking at Hagon and Icon brands standard road types
seems a fair price difference between the two
any recomendations or experiences appreciated
cheers stu w

The surprise of being able to log on has shocked me so much that I think I forgot your name, It's StuW, Right? Hope so anyway. Yes the Icons are good on my Cali. Only trouble is that the damping adjustments are concealed by the chrome panels. I have removed my panels permanently, so this isn't a problem.
Happy trails mate. Ya don't meet too many Cali riders. Even God sold his. Heaven help us.
Bill

G'day Stu,

I have Ikons on my Jackal and for 80+% of the time they do an excellent job for what they are, although in saying that, I am currently looking at replacing them. I am comtemplating either waiting for a set of Bitubo's to come from Italy or getting a set of YSS's up from SA......haven't made up my mind yet.
Just a little technical goobligob:

Ikons....Old tech twin tube hydraulic. Rebound adjustment is too narrow and will heat up and fade when given a hard time. Easily rebuilt.
Hagons...Single tube gas emulsion. More modern design than the Ikons but no seperator for the gas. Will also fade given a hard time. Will heat up quicker than the Ikons. Harder (not impossible) to rebuild due to gas recharging.
Others.....grouped as Single tube gas (with seperator, bladder or piston) eg: YSS, Bitubo, Wilbers, Technic, Ohlins, Progressive etc, etc. These are all more current tech, some rebuildable, some not. These would perform better than the Ikons or Hagons (in theory) price would be around $700 -$1500 per pair.

The most important thing is when ordering your shocks is to get the right spring rate to suit your riding weight. Shocks control the speed of the compression and return (rebound) of the spring, wrong spring and no matter how good the shocks are, it would not be ideal.

Wal's is hot air suspended

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Thanks Bill and Wal for reply, Bill I too have permanently removed my side covers so that would not be a prob, thanks for tip. Wal I was looking at yss brand also came inbetween the price of the other two. I will be two up with luggage alot more often so time is right to upgrade old suspension. You say the technology used to build yss is more advanced than the other models so i now will focus on this thanks for the tip on the spring load thats great. Cheers stu w

I haven't had any experience with the YSS, the Ikons have a very good reputation, I have Fornales on the rear of mine, very farkin' exxy, a real bitch to adjust the pressures unless you have a high pressure pump, (even the big compressor at the Dalby truck tyre place didn't have enough grunt to put any pressure in them), so unless you like carrying a high pressure bicycle track pump around with you, they are a right royal pain.

I personally would be going down the Aussie built track, not because of any loyalistic flag thing, but the after sales back-up should be quicker if not better, they are tested on local conditions rather than the billard-table smooth roads of Europe or the US & I think there is a significant price difference.

It more relies on set-up rather than actual shock, set a 'bad' shock up correctly it will be superior than a 'good' shock set-up badly, get your spring rates, damper & rebound settings right & most shocks will handle.

Told ya WAL"S was hot air suspension