2020 RT Ltd - is this Air Bag Pressure right? Can I adjust?

[K80Shooter]

I have a question. After installing my Fobo 2 for my air bag I have noticed that the air pressure is around 65psi +/- most of the time when riding. I have saw it as low as 60 and as high as 70, 1up.
From what I have saw it should be 45-50psi or so.

I have not looked under the bike yet so is there a way to adjust this or is this something the computer controls? I know there is a linkage (solid 1 piece) so no adjustment there.
Is there and adjustment on the valve arm? In my other life dealing with anything with air bags the linkage was adjusted to get the required pressure.

Thanks for any suggestions/advice.

[Peter Aawen]

I dunno why people are worried about the ACS Air Pressure!!

On Spyders with ACS, the air bag pressure automatically adjusts to maintain the pre-set Ride Height.... so the fact that you've got 5 psi in the bag or 95 psi in the bag is purely incidental & a direct result of your Spyder's pre-set Ride Height. . Nothing in the ACS will allow you to adjust that pressure for a given Ride Height & it might even vary significantly to maintain that given ride height in response to any of the variables that can otherwise cause changes in ride height, but you (or your dealer) can use BUDS to get your Spyder's Ride Height re-calibrated if you feel the need to vary that!!

So unless your Spyder's suspension is bottoming out or topping out all the time; and if it isn't that implies that the pre-set Ride Height is basically OK, then you really should just ignore the specific air bag pressure & just

Ride More, Worry Less - particularly about the air bag pressure,

cos that air bag pressure's probably gonna change either a little or maybe a lottle all the time in response to any variations in things like the load; the temperature; how hard you're braking; how hard you're accelerating; where you &/or your 'load' is placed on the bike, etc, etc, etc!!

The only real reason you might want to be bothered about the air bag pressure is to watch it to see if it fairly rapidly drops to zero, cos that means there's an air bag puncture, a dud relief valve, a dud compressor, or a dodgy height sensor; or to watch it to see if it starts climbing up over 100 psi & stays up there, cos that means you've got a dud height sensor or a dud relief valve! But apart from those extremes, the air bag pressure is purely incidental & can vary anywhere between about 5-10 psi & 90-100 psi AND STILL BE NORMAL!! It's simply trying to maintain your Spyder's pre-set ride height!

[K80Shooter]

I dunno why people are worried about the ACS Air Pressure!!

Maybe because they are unsure of what the pressure should be, or maybe they think something is wrong.
If they don't ask, then they won't know.

Thanks

[Schreckftw]

Mine fat shames me. When I get off and my wife gets on I can hear what sounds like an automatic airsoft riffle firing on full auto all the way down the driveway. Its letting out all the pressure it added to keep my fat behind leveled out.....

[K80Shooter]

Mine fat shames me. When I get off and my wife gets on I can hear what sounds like an automatic airsoft riffle firing on full auto all the way down the driveway. Its letting out all the pressure it added to keep my fat behind leveled out.....

[Peteoz]

My FOBO pressure shows around 50-60psi when I turn the RT on, K80. It then moves up to around 85 when I load my large frame on it, and like yours, moves slightly up and down from there. As Peter says, it is primarily to level the Spyder to ensure your LED headlights aren’t blinding oncoming traffic. If you lowered yours to 40psi, I imagine that would indeed point your lights more skyward. I guess we just have to trust BRP’s algorithm on this (although making that statement causes me some concern )

Pete

[Mikey]

Mine fat shames me. When I get off and my wife gets on I can hear what sounds like an automatic airsoft riffle firing on full auto all the way down the driveway. Its letting out all the pressure it added to keep my fat behind leveled out.....

Love it!!!!!!! You know it's working right!!!!!

[Mikey]

My FOBO pressure shows around 50-60psi when I turn the RT on, K80. It then moves up to around 85 when I load my large frame on it, and like yours, moves slightly up and down from there. As Peter says, it is primarily to level the Spyder to ensure your LED headlights aren’t blinding oncoming traffic. If you lowered yours to 40psi, I imagine that would indeed point your lights more skyward. I guess we just have to trust BRP’s algorithm on this (although making that statement causes me some concern )

Pete

That's right or unhook it and pump it up to a happy pressure and forget it! When the pump craps the bed, you'll find out what I am talking about!!

[Peter Aawen]

Maybe because they are unsure of what the pressure should be, or maybe they think something is wrong.
If they don't ask, then they won't know.

Thanks

The bit about ask the question is certainly true, but the thing about your Spyder's ACS is, the PRESSURE itself is only a means to an end - the end being maintaining the Ride Height; and because it's an automatic system (unless you modify it) the pressure in the bag can and very likely WILL be changing all the time!! So THERE IS NO SET PRESSURE for a given height! THERE IS NO SET PRESSURE for a given 'feel'!! It's been asked and answered repeatedly, yet people keep on fixating on the bloody Air Pressure when it's basically irrelevant!

So FORGET THE BLEEDIN' AIR PRESSURE!! IT'S GOING TO CHANGE, AND IT'S GOING TO BE DIFFERENT from Spyder to Spyder; rider to rider; load to load; road to road; day to day; possibly even minute to minute!!

THERE IS NO SET PRESSURE for these air bags!!

The Air Bags are simply a HEIGHT ADJUSTING/SETTING TOOL and the pressure in them WILL vary!!

[Mikey]

Peter is very right about this, go ahead and put your fobo's on your air bags and have fun watching the pressure go up and down all ride long, just don't drive off the road doing it!!! If the pressure goes to 0 you THEN, have a problem. Good luck, have fun!!! Ride more worry less!!!!

[K80Shooter]

Peter, I think you need a cold one.. Here ya go. It's only a question.

And thanks for all the advice. It is appreciated.

[Steve W.]

A question for the masses, then one (or more) for K80.

All: do the 20-and-up Spyders have a height adjustment like the earlier ones? On our '17 RT-S, you can select from "SOFT" to "HARD", although I think those labels are misleading. They should simply be "LOW" and "HIGH", as they determine the right height.

K80: Take a few minutes to play with your suspension. You say you saw 65+ while riding. That is quite possible. If your height is adjustable (see question to all above), try a different setting. Do you ever carry a passenger? What is the pressure then?

Play a little bit at night, where you can park the bike with the lights shining across the yard or against a wall, so you can see where the edge of the beam is hitting.
1. Block a wheel to keep the bike from rolling.
2. Start the engine.
3. Turn the parking brake OFF.
4. Put tranmission in first gear.
5. Note where the lights are pointing.
6. Note your FOBO pressure.
7. Get off the bike. You should see the lights dip down, then rise back to where they were.
8. Note the FOBO pressure.
Next one will be a little tricky.
9. After noting the pressure in #8, step on the rear floorboard, quickly note the FOBO pressure.
10. Stay on the floorboard, you will notice the headlights shining into the trees, then come down as the compresssor kicks in.
11. When the compressor stops, the bike will be at the set ride height, but I'll bet the pressure is pretty close to what you saw in #8, even though the compressor has been running to raise the rear.

Air is an absolutely WONDERFUL spring. I feel it is unfortunate that it has to share duties with a metal coil spring, but it seems to do OK with that. If there were no coil spring, ALL the weight is carried by the air bag. The pressure in the bag will be whatever it takes to hold the weight. Add more air at that point, you will raise the bike, but the pressure will remain the same.

Bottom line: just like the others, don't worry about "what it's supposed to be".
It will be whatever it takes to do the job.

.

.

[K80Shooter]

A question for the masses, then one (or more) for K80.

All: do the 20-and-up Spyders have a height adjustment like the earlier ones? On our '17 RT-S, you can select from "SOFT" to "HARD", although I think those labels are misleading. They should simply be "LOW" and "HIGH", as they determine the right height.

.

This is not available on the 2020+ year models, at least not the RT-L

I have not carried a passenger since the fobo's were installed.

I honestly have not done everything in your 1 thru 11 list but I did some of that just to verify that it did indeed let the air out then add air when I was back on the bike.

As far as the lights shining in the trees........... I'm normally in bed by about dark 30 or so but, I'll make an exception and try that.

[PaqueGaet]

hi mikey
sept 2017 post , do you by pass a automatic air system on a spyder rt limited
with automatic adjustement , to much air on air cylinder , never have under 50 psi

please reply to paquet.gaet@videotron.ca
merci
Gaetan

[Joel The Biker]

On a side note.... If you have car tires that are not oem size and you take it to a dealer for suspension calibration, it will not calibrate properly. The calibration process involves placing blocks under the frame of varying heights to set the high and low points. Taller or shorter tires will greatly affect the calibration process. I know, because I have an Rt43 215/60-15 rear tire and used my BUDS2 to recalibrate my rear suspension to solve a topping out rear shock. When I used the stock block heights in the service manual, my suspension ended up too soft and the trailer hitch ball was actually hitting the license plate. I had to experiment with taller blocks to account for the taller rear tire. Its perfect now. Most dealer techs will have no idea they have to do this. They just go by the service manual and you end up an unhappy customer.