Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Well I took the advice of Steve Wood at Suspension Improvements in Brisbane and bought a pair of these Hagon's for the ER-5.



The quick ride I had this afternoon has convinced me beyond a shadow of doubt that the original ones were well and truly shagged.

He picked these over more expensive fully adjustable IKON's, and I must say it wasn't a bad choice.

I have also budgeted for the front end to be done as well, as I am sure it is similarly knackered. Can't wait.

If you want to see them in 1.5MB, 4MP glory then here is the big pic: Large file!

Well done Felix
Steve is my hero too

New suspension is tops, isn't it? , modding the suspension always seems to be one of,
if not THE first thing i do when i get a bike. I've got an Ikon on the back of my bike, best investment
i've put on the bike at $140 from a old-stock


Not to do a plug for them, but i'm just a very happy repeat customer for an ebay seller "proven-suspension",
keep a look out on what they sell, they have all sorts stuff suspension related for cars, bikes and anything
you can think of on there.

Bought 3 things, the first was killed by TNT postage (they must have run over the shock with the truck,
it was FLAT) and they refunded my purchase, the second and third worked fantastically .

b.t.w. what are you doing in here gloating? you shold be out there testing the bugger out!!!

Yeah, I would be, but I had very little sleep last night, and a bitch of a day doing an oil change.

I started work on the bike pretty much straight after I arrived back from Bris, at around 10.30. Shocks weren't too much trouble, but I did have a bit of trouble removing the rear-most bolts on the rack - rounded nuts. I had to go out and buy new nuts, and while I was at it I went to the local kwaka shop and got a filter and some oil.

The bastard mechanic that did the last service must have put the oil filter on as hard as humanly possible, and then some.

It took me half an hour of swearing and cursing to get the thing off. While the oil was draining I decided the sump plug gasket (the aluminium 'washer') needed replacing. Try getting one of those on a Saturday in Toowoomba. I ended up getting a copper washer, but only after trying both Supercheaps, Repco, Bunnings...etc. Incidently, I finally got it from Supercheap, after driving around for nearly 2 hours.

It wasn't the exact right size, about a quarter of a mm or so too big (it's imperial, not metric), but that isn't too bad and it seals just as well.

So tomorrow, I will check the torque settings again and check everything for leaks, but I think it was a success. Apart from the fact it took so long to get all the bits...at least I have 2 more washers for next time(s), and the oil filter isn't on so bastardly tight.

I might actually be able to do this normally simple maintenance in reasonable time the next time...

i had a similar prob with my oil filter, i found that my largest screwdriver hammerd through the oil filter does great as a "T" handle to spin it right off!! ever since (me doing the change) it has been always hand tight plus a 1/4 turn!!
anyhoo.... nice job on the springs!

I know a car mechanic who only ever puts on oil filters by hand. Over doing it can wreck the seal as it binds against the metal mating surface.

But yeah, I do like the rear now...can't wait to get it on the Warrego and see how it goes. I don't think it is my imagination, but it does seem to steer more sharply now. I might take it for a trip down the range and back after brekky.

Bananarama!

What an amazing difference! Instantly I am quicker down the Toowoomba Range, spurred on by this amazing feeling of confidence. The bike isn't jiggling around all over the place.

The real test was down the bottom of the range where it starts to flatten out. All the trucks use the left hand lane, and it is quite rough and very bumpy. It used to scare the crap out of me riding over it - the bike felt nervous and like it was a hairs breadth away from skating off to the side. Not any more!

Going up was also much more fun, with at least another 10-20km/h on my speed...and it felt really nice leaning in a bit for the bends. Wowies!

Ok...flu is abating...there is sun out the back...now it is time for some fork removal...

Wish me luck. I'm going in...

Not as easy as it should have been, but not too bad...

uhm i hate to tell you dude, but something's missing from your bike......

sum bastard stole ya front end..dont worry,its still rideable!!

neka79 wrote:sum bastard stole ya front end..dont worry,its still rideable!!

Another crack up from Neka !