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Air bag
- Thread starter manxman
- Start date
The air-bag doesn't really do a heap for your ride per se, it's more there to set your preferred ride height & maintain that height under varying loads.... :dontknow: The up-market RT models get a system that allows you to adjust the pressure & static ride height on the fly thru the compressir & dash control, but the lower market models require you to lift the seat & add/subtract air from the bag via the Schraeder valve under the seat, but as I said, that only controls the static ride height!! The shock & spring combination is what actually controls the ride & handling from the rear end of your Spyder, & in order to let these various components carry out their various functions independant of each other, the air-bag is mounted completely separately from the shock & coil, altho still on the swing arm for obvious reasons. 
So, if you really want to, it's not all that hard to take it right off & do away with it!! HOWEVER, before you hook in & do that, I had the same idea, only while I was playing around looking for alternative solutions, I quickly found out that after not too many miles of riding & the consequent sagging in the suspension that doing anything quickly brings, without ANY air in the air-bag on my 2013 RT, the now tired coil spaghetti.... errm, sorry, the tired coil spring won't even hold up the weight of the naked RT anymore, let alone hold the back end up once you load the Spyder up &/o sit a rider & pillion aboard - it's just too damn soft to even keep the rea wheel arch off the tire!! :shocked:
There are a few alternatives around, Elka do some pretty good shock/spring combos, albeit a little pricey; so do Wilburs & a bunch of others. IMO, the best replacement idea is a fairly similarly rated shock, with a two stage coil spring set up having a fairly heavy high load section & a 'normal load' section of coil that's only a little harder/stronger than the (new) stock coil spring. I'm sure others will correct me, but I'm vaguely recalling numbers like 300-350# for the longer upper 'normal load' section of coil & a shorter 420-450# High load section underneath that!! So for most use,mwhen you don't have a heap of load on board &/or you are riding solo, the softer/lighter coil will work very well for you & still let yo ride in comfort without hammering your tailbone into screaming agonising submission; but once you load it up the heavier coil still keeps both your arse & the bike's arse off the tire on the roughest of roads!! And the air-bag with either the manual or auto adjust system will continue to do it's best of trying to maintain your preferred ride height thru all this, leaving the bulk of the hard work of maintaining quality ride & handling to the shock & coil pack! :thumbup:
So, if you really want to, it's not all that hard to take it right off & do away with it!! HOWEVER, before you hook in & do that, I had the same idea, only while I was playing around looking for alternative solutions, I quickly found out that after not too many miles of riding & the consequent sagging in the suspension that doing anything quickly brings, without ANY air in the air-bag on my 2013 RT, the now tired coil spaghetti.... errm, sorry, the tired coil spring won't even hold up the weight of the naked RT anymore, let alone hold the back end up once you load the Spyder up &/o sit a rider & pillion aboard - it's just too damn soft to even keep the rea wheel arch off the tire!! :shocked:
There are a few alternatives around, Elka do some pretty good shock/spring combos, albeit a little pricey; so do Wilburs & a bunch of others. IMO, the best replacement idea is a fairly similarly rated shock, with a two stage coil spring set up having a fairly heavy high load section & a 'normal load' section of coil that's only a little harder/stronger than the (new) stock coil spring. I'm sure others will correct me, but I'm vaguely recalling numbers like 300-350# for the longer upper 'normal load' section of coil & a shorter 420-450# High load section underneath that!! So for most use,mwhen you don't have a heap of load on board &/or you are riding solo, the softer/lighter coil will work very well for you & still let yo ride in comfort without hammering your tailbone into screaming agonising submission; but once you load it up the heavier coil still keeps both your arse & the bike's arse off the tire on the roughest of roads!! And the air-bag with either the manual or auto adjust system will continue to do it's best of trying to maintain your preferred ride height thru all this, leaving the bulk of the hard work of maintaining quality ride & handling to the shock & coil pack! :thumbup:
Last edited:
Fatcycledaddy
Active member
:agree::agree: Air bag is more about consistent ride height with variable loads, shocks are more about ride smoothness or comfort. This being said, if the airbag is aired up too hard the ride will be harsh and stiff or you will fell like there is no suspension. When the airbag has to much air in it there is no, or little, give in moment so the shocks do not get a chance to function as they should smoothing out the ride.
Roadster Renovations
New member
We stiffened up the rear shock and that helped the ryde and let the airbag not have to work so hard. About $60.
I installed an elka rear shock acs does not even come on now that the shock supports the weight. If I play with the ride control it will flash on the screen manual mode
That flashing 'manual mode' on the screen simply means that either you need to put a little air into the air bag cos it's somehow been emptied; OR the ride leveling device has been disconnected &/or failed! I'd suggest you try adding some air to the air-bag - 10-30psi in there should be more than adequate now because, as you've already found out, the Elka shock & spring is now capable of carrying the load you & the spyder place upon it without bottoming the suspension all the time; but you can still benefit from the ACS & its ability to vary your static ride height if you want!!
And leaving that air bag empty all the time is not at all good for it either, even tho it's no longer necessary to have some air in there for your suspension to function (& function well with the Elka!) Leave it empty & you risk it developing holes & then potentially burning out the compressor when it tries to keep it filled to whatever setting you last used, only to have the bag empty via the holes as quick as the air gets pumped in... who knows, that might've happened already! :dontknow:
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