Sway bar and Elkas

[ICE]

Just purchased Ron's sway bar. Will I need to make adjustments to my Elkas?

[Jeriatric]

No first hand knowledge but have read here in the recent past that you'll probably want to back them off some. The folks at Elka work closely with Pit Bull so they most likely have good feed back by now. Drop Elka a note or give them a call.

[TuckMiddle]

Some do and some don't adjust shocks. I left mine like they came and they and the sway bar make me think it!s a pretty good combo.
I guess I'll splurge for the kit to change the angle of the shocks, but I really can't imagine the handling getting any better particularly since I seldom go over the speed limit, especially in the hills and mountains.
Too many surprises around the blind curves for me. I've never been hit but have sure had some close calls, particularly an Explorer coming around a blind curve on GA19 north of Cleveland about 10 years ago. My wife has ridden darn seldom ever since. Not sure how I missed the 1/2 of his car that was over the centerline.
Enjoy what you think you need, that's been my approach to the add ons.
Tuck

[Bob Denman]

I took a quarter-inch (3 turns) out of mine, and have been pretty happy with them.
When I add the shock mount relocation brackets; I'll take another quarter out...

[Mad Mike]

Don't have a clue but wondering myself. The Elka Tech at Pit Bull saw my Ron Bar and measured the spring length (pre-load) till it was close to 9" and locked the red nut down. I will say that the front of my RT looks like I could straddle a cow. It increased the front end ground clearance dramatically. If using the re-locators, I know they soften the Elka's up..I do not have the re-locators.

[vrodrjs]

I got the Elka's at Cowtown late last year, Len was on vacation, so I am not sure if they were set right or not but they made a noticable difference. I put the sway bar on before I went to Spyderfest. It made an improvement without adjusting the shocks. While at Spyderfest I went with a group of 7 and rode 125. This was the first time I really pushed the bike. It handled better than it did before the changes but I can't say that I was totally happy with it. Went down to PitBull last week and had the relocators installed and was about to ask Len about adjusting the Elka's and he said "I reset your shocks because they weren't really right for you. You should be a lot happier with them."
I am not sure which change made the most difference but it is night and day. I spent last week in Arkansas riding the curves down there and I really can't believe the difference in the way it handles. Even riding home to Illinois the difference was noticable.

[ICE]

Len must be part physicist and part magician. I wonder what he saw and what he did.

[vrodrjs]

Len must be part physicist and part magician. I wonder what he saw and what he did.

He said he adjusted both the preload and the dampening, he knows his stuff for sure. I think if you talk to him he can get you close knowing your weight and riding style.

[pro10is]

Simply adjust the shock spring preload to your preference between comfort and handling. This is a personal preference and will depend on your style of riding. Fortunately the performance swaybar helps reduce body roll and the shock relocation brackets improve shock effectiveness so you can now lessen the spring rate and still maintain good performance handling while recovering a more comfortable ride.

[BajaRon]

Most find that they can take 3-4 turns off of their Elka shocks after installing my sway bar. But this is not universal. This will give you a smoother, less harsh ride. But some prefer to leave their Elka's alone. It is a personal preference.

I highly recommend putting the sway bar on and riding without making any other changes. This way you will get a good feel for what the sway bar is or is not doing for you.

If you change your Elka's at the same time you won't know what did what.

After you ride your Spyder some you can then experiment with changing pre-load and dampening. Then, if you don't like the change you know what needs to be done to get back to where you were.

If you do like the change you may want to make more pre-load or dampening adjustments in the same direction to see what you get.

I get some customers who have made several changes at the same time and not being happy with the end result. I can give them my thoughts but with all the variables from several adjustments it's difficult to nail down what went wrong.

[Bob Denman]

make just ONE change at a time...
Test for your results...
Document those adjustments and results...
Move on to the next experiment!

[NancysToy]

make just ONE change at a time...
Test for your results...
Document those adjustments and results...
Move on to the next experiment!

Words of wisdom!

[Bob Denman]

Thirty years of marksmanship competition...

[gypsy_100]

make just ONE change at a time...
Test for your results...
Document those adjustments and results...
Move on to the next experiment!

And under constant conditions. I spent the better part of a day just riding, adjusting, riding, adjusting, etc. One road for bumps, one for curves, one interstate for stability, etc. Then make an adjustment and do it all again. I ended up softening up the preload by two revolutions which resulted in a nice improvement in ride quality while still maintaining good stability and resisting lean in the corners. Obviously I compromised some lean resistance by doing that but the improvement in ride was worth it -- for me. Maybe not for you. I have found that opening up the rebound damping adjustment can further improve the ride but on your first really windy day, you'll pay for it. I systematically tested that after putting the Elka's on during a day with high, consistent cross winds. Confirmed it again after installing the sway bar. So I have the rebound where it started out, about 25 clicks from full open.

[BajaRon]

And under constant conditions. I spent the better part of a day just riding, adjusting, riding, adjusting, etc. One road for bumps, one for curves, one interstate for stability, etc. Then make an adjustment and do it all again. I ended up softening up the preload by two revolutions which resulted in a nice improvement in ride quality while still maintaining good stability and resisting lean in the corners. Obviously I compromised some lean resistance by doing that but the improvement in ride was worth it -- for me. Maybe not for you. I have found that opening up the rebound damping adjustment can further improve the ride but on your first really windy day, you'll pay for it. I systematically tested that after putting the Elka's on during a day with high, consistent cross winds. Confirmed it again after installing the sway bar. So I have the rebound where it started out, about 25 clicks from full open.

I know this amount of effort sounds like work to some. But the long term rewards are great. And the personal satisfaction is priceless!

[vrodrjs]

make just ONE change at a time...
Test for your results...
Document those adjustments and results...
Move on to the next experiment!

That really takes all the fun out of it Bob.