Is a rear suspension upgrade needed. 2017 RT

[Yspyder]

Good day.....we have a 2017 Spyder RT. we ride between 15 - 20,000 kms a year.
My wife only weighs about 130 - 135 lbs. I weigh about 200 lbs as the driver.
She gets bounced around quite a bit and quite often when we hit a sudden large pot hole or bump in the road, she gets a pretty hard jolt right up her spine. I know, I am suppose to miss them!!
I have used the usual adjustments with the on board compressor but I can't seem to find a perfect balance. We are not aggressive riders and enjoy the back roads more than the super slab.
Has anyone noticed a big improvement when they upgraded their rear shock?
I did put after market shocks on the front and I love them. The Spyder handles real well with no complaints. It is just the comfort for my wife that I am concerned with.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

[Peter Aawen]

Have you checked to make sure that your ACS is working properly, & that the compressor is actually doing what it should?? They are quite prone to failure, leaks, etc. and if anything there is not working properly, you'll very likely get a pretty harsh ride with a tendency toward those jolts simply because the standard shock & spring can't maintain the Spyder's intended ride height under any load without the assistance of the air bag to keep it up where it should be.

You can search on 'Air bag', ACS, 'suspension' & more to find a vast amount of info on these things, including on how to check the ACS as a system; the compressor as a unit; &/or the height setting is working properly, but the reality is that even if you aren't having problems with any of that NOW, it's quite likely that you WILL have those issues at some stage - so many simply bypass all the auto height setting & automatic bits of the ACS to just run an air-line direct from the Schraeder Valve under the seat into the air bag, and they set their desired pressure/ride height manually from there on in. That works, until/if the air bag fails... And there are other permutations/varying degrees of this sorta 'semi-permanent' fix for the ACS that's necessary cos the existing shock/spring simply can't carry much load and maintain ride height at the same time!!

The more expensive but more certain in the long run option is to replace the existing shock/spring assembly entirely, installing something that will work WITHOUT any assistance from the air-bag at all! You can go 'slightly more expensive' by upgrading just the shock or just the spring; you can simply fit a better but non-adjustable shock/spring assembly that's up to the task; or you can spend increasingly eye-watering amounts of $$ on shocks/springs that allow you to adjust them every which way & then some, altho I've noticed that very few of those who run those very expensive shocks/springs actually adjust them all that much after the first few months - they play with the adjustment when it's all new & shiny, then once they've found something that works OK for them most of the time, they leave it set & only touch the shock/spring when they invariably hafta remove it for servicing cos it's now worn out!!

You've got a lot of choices there, and a range of potential expenses, and exactly what you do is up to you... Good Luck!

[Mikey]

There is something going on back there!!!

[Yspyder]

Thank you so much!!! I will investigate further.