New member - 2017 RT Ltd. Love it, but the body roll is a little unsettling!

[kimmjoey]

Good evening all new to the Spyder picked up my dads 2017 Spyder RT Limited love it. I ride a Goldwing so the Spyder is for my wife she love it! I need to upgrade the suspension as many do. The body roll is a little unsettling. I look forward to checking in from time to time for some sound advise.

Joe

[JayBros]

Welcome! I recommend you tell your wife to read the Sticky on the "Dos and Do Nots for New Spyder owners" of riding a Spyder (see beliw) as well as the Operator's Guide, from cover to cover at least twice.

https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...-Spyder-owners

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Before you correct a bunch of what you think are suspension faults ..... Put at least 1000 mi. on it ..... most misconceptions about Spyders are due to a "lack of familiarity" with the Spyder and how it is DESIGNED to handle. ... you won't be the first to discover this ... nor the last ...... good luck ... Mike

[Mikey]

There is great advice above, and yes, I am one for putting a little seat time in before making changes to your set up. But there is one thing I would do, and that is check out to see if the past owner may have done any aftermarket stuff already? A sway bar would be the big thing in that body roll area! Unfortunately, I don't think your model came with any adjustments on the front shocks. If your bike's sway bar is stock, then that's what I would do first; then ride it another 1000 miles & I think you will be impressed in what you will feel! I went through this when I got my bike, hated it before I got mine home from the start; body roll, soft shocks, drifting on crowned roads, the whole works. Some of it was me, but some of it was the equipment.

A better sway bar was my first step, then I rode it a season and a lot of the roll was gone, and I got more used to the ride and relaxed at the wheel and stopped oversteering. Loosen your grip! Next season I got rid of the crappy shocks; that gave me a little bit of the ride I was looking for, and I rode it like that for a season. Somewhere in there, the air compressor decided to leave the room and I promptly changed that to a manual fill; once I figured out that the system works just as well this way, and that the lower models come that way from the factory, I found that it works great!

Anyway, good luck and have fun making your ride yours!!!

[Navydad]

Still have Kenda tires? That's the first thing I would replace. Car tires when properly inflated will improve the handling greatly. Next would be the anti-sway bar. After those two upgrades I have been happy with the stock suspension components. My Nanny kicks in long before I feel the need for expensive suspension upgrades so why spend the money.

[kimmjoey]

Thanks for link

[kimmjoey]

Yes I realized that I'm still on 2 wheels for now.... My wife took the course and is doing well when we take it out. small rides in the community that we live in has many curves, she drove it to gas station once did fine. Practice practice practice!!
Thanks
Joe

[kimmjoey]

We have a friend with the same bike same color same year, he also has the car tires and the laser alignment.... we'll see, I'm going to ride his to feel the difference. I also recognise that there is some controversy on tires... He has them on his bike for 6 years now... with out issues. We'll see thanks for reply

[larryd]

Good evening all new to the Spyder picked up my dads 2017 Spyder RT Limited love it. I ride a Goldwing so the Spyder is for my wife she love it! I need to upgrade the suspension as many do. The body roll is a little unsettling. I look forward to checking in from time to time for some sound advise.

Joe

MTV R&B Springs and a sway bar will fix your problem...

https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...hlight=springs

MTV has a nice video about his R&B springs on his website...Worth watching...And he's a sponsor here...

[Bangorbob]

Will changing just the front tires to car tires make a difference in the rolling sensation?

[kimmjoey]

good read thanks!!

[FrogmanDave]

Install a Baja Ron (anti) sway bar. You won't believe the difference.

[RapidSpyder]

Install a Baja Ron (anti) sway bar. You won't believe the difference.

Agreed. 1st mod I did after being passed by large vehicles on the interstate.

[Peter Aawen]

Will changing just the front tires to car tires make a difference in the rolling sensation?

It'll make some difference/improvement to that 'rolling sensation', Bob; but not as much difference to that as a sway-bar or coil spring upgrade.

However, upgrading to good quality car tires and running them at an appropriate (lower) pressure for the (lighter) load of a Spyder vs that of a car will make more of an improvement to the ride and handling, especially if you ride even just a little harder than sedate cruising.

It's one of those 'horses for courses' things... A Sway Bar Upgrade will reduce the rolling and keep the bike more stable thru turns; but then the OEM tires will be the limiting factor on your ride & handling. While upgrading the tires & running them at the right pressure will improve your ride & handling, but it will leave the OEM anti-sway noodle thingy as the limiting factor on keeping that rolling under control and holding the bike level during cornering!

Mind you, even tho it'll undoubtedly reduce the 'straight line rolling' that bothers many, one 'other' thing that many may overlook when upgrading the sway bar, is that if you do happen to push further towards the cornering and handling limits of the bike, running a sway bar that keeps the bike more level during cornering means that you as a rider (&/or the pillion also!) will need to increase your effort to counter the forces that'll feel like they're trying to throw you off the outside of bike as you corner harder cos now it's easier to do that!! Similarly, if you upgrade the tires & get the improved grip that comes with it, especially when running them at a more appropriate pressure for the load, you'll probably find you've increased the need/desire for that sway bar upgrade while cornering, cos the ramped up cornering forces will also ramp up the body roll & the on feeling that the bike is trying to throw you off towards the outside of the corner when you take advantage of that extra grip & better 'turn in'!!

So... which do you want to do - first??




You do know that it's infectious, don't you??

Add or upgrade just one thing like either of these two, things that'll make a noticeable difference to your ride, and you'll soon be finding excuses to justify adding more farkles &/or upgrading something else! All good tho, we all do it! So you might as well just succumb to the inevitable, and upgrade both the sway bar AND the tires, all three of them!

Go On - DO IT!! You know you want to.

And if people are being truly honest with themselves, very few ever regret making any of these particular upgrades!