With all the positives that have revealed themselves in my 2010 Scrambler, I was waiting for a glaring negative to arrive... sure enough, it did.
My wife and I ride double when ever we can. We enjoy each other's company and this gives us a chance to take day trips and have fun while traveling.
The Scrambler has plenty of room in the saddle for the two of us, and plenty of power to move us along. However, the rear shocks, which had been ok for me alone, turned to frightening when we are on together.
The bike squirms through turns and bottoms on anything larger than an acorn. Even with the preload turned up (which did help reduce the squirming) my wife was anticipating bumps and standing on the pegs.
Not good.
After a few days spent researching rider experiences with various brands and models, I decided to spend my money on Hagon Nitro shocks.
These are all stainless steel construction, nitrogen emulsion shocks, with 10 settings for simultaneous compression/rebound damping adjustment.
I ordered them from Dave Quinn: http://www.davequinnmotorcycles.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/Halcyon.html
I e-mailed him early this morning and got a reply only a few hours later. I called and Dave was kind enough to discuss my needs and what weight springs would work best for how my wife and I use the machine.
The Scrambler uses a 365mm shock length as standard. I ordered the 350mm version, which is about 19/32" shorter, to lower the bike's C.O.G a little. Not that it is heavy or difficult to balance -- I am already flat-footed when stopped and the bike just isn't top heavy -- but the 19/32" drop will make me that much more sure footed when coming to a stop, and can only improve the already great handling in the twisties. Naturally, I will raise the forks a corresponding amount. Dave agreed with my thinking; happily that shock body was on the shelf, so they are being shipped this morning. I should see them in a day or two.
I will follow up with a report with pictures on the install and performance of these shocks. Based on advice found elsewhere, I'm also going to change the fork oil from the stock 10 weight to 7-1/2 weight to lighten the damping. From there I may play with fork volume, if needed.
I just know you are all as excited for me as I am. :banana:
My wife and I ride double when ever we can. We enjoy each other's company and this gives us a chance to take day trips and have fun while traveling.
The Scrambler has plenty of room in the saddle for the two of us, and plenty of power to move us along. However, the rear shocks, which had been ok for me alone, turned to frightening when we are on together.
The bike squirms through turns and bottoms on anything larger than an acorn. Even with the preload turned up (which did help reduce the squirming) my wife was anticipating bumps and standing on the pegs.
Not good.
After a few days spent researching rider experiences with various brands and models, I decided to spend my money on Hagon Nitro shocks.
These are all stainless steel construction, nitrogen emulsion shocks, with 10 settings for simultaneous compression/rebound damping adjustment.
I ordered them from Dave Quinn: http://www.davequinnmotorcycles.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/Halcyon.html
I e-mailed him early this morning and got a reply only a few hours later. I called and Dave was kind enough to discuss my needs and what weight springs would work best for how my wife and I use the machine.
The Scrambler uses a 365mm shock length as standard. I ordered the 350mm version, which is about 19/32" shorter, to lower the bike's C.O.G a little. Not that it is heavy or difficult to balance -- I am already flat-footed when stopped and the bike just isn't top heavy -- but the 19/32" drop will make me that much more sure footed when coming to a stop, and can only improve the already great handling in the twisties. Naturally, I will raise the forks a corresponding amount. Dave agreed with my thinking; happily that shock body was on the shelf, so they are being shipped this morning. I should see them in a day or two.
I will follow up with a report with pictures on the install and performance of these shocks. Based on advice found elsewhere, I'm also going to change the fork oil from the stock 10 weight to 7-1/2 weight to lighten the damping. From there I may play with fork volume, if needed.
I just know you are all as excited for me as I am. :banana: