Lamonster
SpyderLovers Founder
I had a chance to install these the other day and yesterday was my first ride with them and it's time to do a little report. :doorag:
My stock shocks had been ridden pretty hard and it's no wonder that they were pretty much shot after 42K. I decided to give the Elka Suspension a shot as I've heard good things about them on this board and they were quite a bit cheaper than the competitors setup.
The install was pretty easy. You will need a jack for sure but other than that no special tools are required.
First you need to jack the Spyder and take some of the weight off of the shocks. I did the front shocks first.
You'll have to remove the two body panels that cover the top shock bolts.
I have fog lights on my Spyder and the shock wouldn't come out with them installed, or so I thought. I removed the fog light on the first shock but on the other side I just lifted the Spyder higher so the A-arm could drop a little lower. That was just enough to fish the shock out.
Remove top bolt
Remove bottom bolt and jack the Spyder up to remove shock
Now you can install the new shock with the adjusting ring facing up. Put the top bolt in first and then lower the Spyder to the bottom bolt. Tighten the bolts to spec and do the same thing on the other side.
Do the same thing on the rear shock but remove the bottom bolt first so you won't have to fight the top bolt so much.
Remove top bolt and remove shock.
If you don't have Corbin bags you'll be mounting your reservoir to the back side of the right passenger peg mount. Sorry I have the Corbin bags so I don't have a picture of that but it comes with the instructions.
I also didn't get the hydraulic preload adjuster so I have one less can to mount. I ride solo and didn't feel like I needed it but it you ride two up and solo I would get this option. That will allow you to adjust the spring preload without any tools.
This is what worked good for me with the Corbin brackets. It is harder to adjust at first but once again riding solo it's not a big deal as I will adjust it once and forget about it.
This is with the side panel on looking from the tire toward the outside of the bike. The reservoir tucks in real nice there.
Now for the ride report.
I got to say the shocks look great and it's too bad you don't get to see more of them. I hoped that they worked as good as they looked.
When you order the shocks you give them you weight and how you ride and they set it up accordingly. The shocks are all the same as I understand it, all they do it change out the spring and adjust the dampening.
Soon as I took off out of the driveway I knew I needed to make some adjustments. The front had too much side to side roll but I went ahead and drove it about 10 miles before I turned around and headed back to the shop. I was pretty sure I needed to adjust the preload on the springs but I called Elka to see what they recommended. They told me to try 5 full turns and see if that helped.
Adjusting the springs is real easy and you don't have to worry about popping a cast adjuster like you do on the stock shocks. I didn't even jack the Spyder up to make the adjustments.
They give you the tools to make the adjustment.
Loosen the pinch bolt and then turn the ring as needed.
You also have dampening adjustment at the bottom of the shock.
Once again as soon as I pulled out of the driveway I knew it was right or at least pretty close. No more side to side roll and the Spyder tracked so much better than it did with the stock shocks. This thing felt like it was on rails now.
The rear shock didn't need any adjustment that I could tell but I will play with that later just for fun.
I looked for every bump and pot hole I could find and hit them head on. The shocks soaked up the bumps great and I got to say I felt like I was riding a new Spyder, not new as in not old but new as in totally different than stock. I guess I should have done this a long time ago but I just didn't want to cut loose with that much money not knowing if it was worth it or not.
I worked my way up on the twisties starting off slower than I normally run them and finishing off running much faster than I should of.
The Spyder did great and I'm very happy with my investment. If I wind up with an RT this will be one of the first things I do to the front. The rear is great now but the front could use some help.
I'm pretty sure Magic Man is going to stock these but he was waiting to hear how I liked them first. Get a hold of him if you want a set. I give them a big :2thumbs:
My stock shocks had been ridden pretty hard and it's no wonder that they were pretty much shot after 42K. I decided to give the Elka Suspension a shot as I've heard good things about them on this board and they were quite a bit cheaper than the competitors setup.
The install was pretty easy. You will need a jack for sure but other than that no special tools are required.
First you need to jack the Spyder and take some of the weight off of the shocks. I did the front shocks first.
You'll have to remove the two body panels that cover the top shock bolts.
I have fog lights on my Spyder and the shock wouldn't come out with them installed, or so I thought. I removed the fog light on the first shock but on the other side I just lifted the Spyder higher so the A-arm could drop a little lower. That was just enough to fish the shock out.
Remove top bolt
Remove bottom bolt and jack the Spyder up to remove shock
Now you can install the new shock with the adjusting ring facing up. Put the top bolt in first and then lower the Spyder to the bottom bolt. Tighten the bolts to spec and do the same thing on the other side.
Do the same thing on the rear shock but remove the bottom bolt first so you won't have to fight the top bolt so much.
Remove top bolt and remove shock.
If you don't have Corbin bags you'll be mounting your reservoir to the back side of the right passenger peg mount. Sorry I have the Corbin bags so I don't have a picture of that but it comes with the instructions.
I also didn't get the hydraulic preload adjuster so I have one less can to mount. I ride solo and didn't feel like I needed it but it you ride two up and solo I would get this option. That will allow you to adjust the spring preload without any tools.
This is what worked good for me with the Corbin brackets. It is harder to adjust at first but once again riding solo it's not a big deal as I will adjust it once and forget about it.
This is with the side panel on looking from the tire toward the outside of the bike. The reservoir tucks in real nice there.
Now for the ride report.
I got to say the shocks look great and it's too bad you don't get to see more of them. I hoped that they worked as good as they looked.
When you order the shocks you give them you weight and how you ride and they set it up accordingly. The shocks are all the same as I understand it, all they do it change out the spring and adjust the dampening.
Soon as I took off out of the driveway I knew I needed to make some adjustments. The front had too much side to side roll but I went ahead and drove it about 10 miles before I turned around and headed back to the shop. I was pretty sure I needed to adjust the preload on the springs but I called Elka to see what they recommended. They told me to try 5 full turns and see if that helped.
Adjusting the springs is real easy and you don't have to worry about popping a cast adjuster like you do on the stock shocks. I didn't even jack the Spyder up to make the adjustments.
They give you the tools to make the adjustment.
Loosen the pinch bolt and then turn the ring as needed.
You also have dampening adjustment at the bottom of the shock.
Once again as soon as I pulled out of the driveway I knew it was right or at least pretty close. No more side to side roll and the Spyder tracked so much better than it did with the stock shocks. This thing felt like it was on rails now.
The rear shock didn't need any adjustment that I could tell but I will play with that later just for fun.
I looked for every bump and pot hole I could find and hit them head on. The shocks soaked up the bumps great and I got to say I felt like I was riding a new Spyder, not new as in not old but new as in totally different than stock. I guess I should have done this a long time ago but I just didn't want to cut loose with that much money not knowing if it was worth it or not.
I worked my way up on the twisties starting off slower than I normally run them and finishing off running much faster than I should of.
The Spyder did great and I'm very happy with my investment. If I wind up with an RT this will be one of the first things I do to the front. The rear is great now but the front could use some help.I'm pretty sure Magic Man is going to stock these but he was waiting to hear how I liked them first. Get a hold of him if you want a set. I give them a big :2thumbs:
pps:
