• There were many reasons for the change of the site software, the biggest was security. The age of the old software also meant no server updates for certain programs. There are many benefits to the new software, one of the biggest is the mobile functionality. Ill fix up some stuff in the coming days, we'll also try to get some of the old addons back or the data imported back into the site like the garage. To create a thread or to reply with a post is basically the same as it was in the prior software. The default style of the site is light colored, but i temporarily added a darker colored style, to change you can find a link at the bottom of the site.

Just added Ron's Ultimate Sway Bar - amazing difference!

WisconsinDavid

Active member
Just added Ron's beefed up ultimate sway bar to the new-to-me 2014 RT (with 15k). The difference in handling, just like adding his product to my previous RS, is amazing. Thanks for the support for Spyders, Mr. Baja. Your products are much appreciated!

Dave

* Leave Thursday am on the ride from Wisconsin down into Central Texas and wherever the wind blows us (4 buddies) for 11 days. 11th Memorial Ride since my wife passed in June of 2014. Reports now and then from the road. Ride safe everyone!
 
Just added Ron's beefed up ultimate sway bar to the new-to-me 2014 RT (with 15k). The difference in handling, just like adding his product to my previous RS, is amazing. Thanks for the support for Spyders, Mr. Baja. Your products are much appreciated!

Dave

* Leave Thursday am on the ride from Wisconsin down into Central Texas and wherever the wind blows us (4 buddies) for 11 days. 11th Memorial Ride since my wife passed in June of 2014. Reports now and then from the road. Ride safe everyone!

If you have not yet installed Vredestein Quatrac SL tires, that takes the Spyder the next step in handling improvement.
 
Pssst, don't put the SL designation on the Quatracs - people on here get real emotional about it. 😬 LOL

Nobody liked my suggestion that the SL designation was for a Spyder Lovers edition of Quatrac's.
Other than the fact that there is no Vredestein Quatrac SL (They are just Vredestein ⁰Quatrac), it's not a big deal. Tires have several parameters that they pigeon hole into, as you can see below. SL load range stands for 'Standard Load'. All Vredestein Quatrac tires fall into this category.

So, you could just as easily say Vredestein Quatrac Black Wall, or 91, or V, etc. But all of the Quatrac sizes will also have these same designators. So the manufacturer doesn't include these designators in the name. Though this doesn't mean that a particular vendor might not throw something like 'SL' at the end to make you think they are selling you something special. Marketing can take many forms. Not all of them are honest.

Brand: Vredestein
Style: Quatrac
Size: 205/60R15
Load Index: 91
Speed Index: V
Load Range: SL
Ply Rating: 4
UTQG: 400AA
Sidewall: Black Wall
 
If you have not yet installed Vredestein Quatrac SL tires, that takes the Spyder the next step in handling improvement.
I hope to run the kenda's off this one quickly. I had Vredestein's on my RS, the couple I bought this from at season end last fall had just put on new kendas (Ick). I'm hoping they are some improved from the ones shipped on the RS in 2010. Will change out all when I wear out the rear tire.
 
I have a 2019 Spyder that I purchased used last May. This is going to sound stupid, but... how can I tell if it has sway bars installed? Can you SEE them on the bike without going under it/lifting it?
 
I have a 2019 Spyder that I purchased used last May. This is going to sound stupid, but... how can I tell if it has sway bars installed? Can you SEE them on the bike without going under it/lifting it?
All Spyders have swaybars, they come with them from the factory; and yes, if you get down low enough you will be able to see the ends of the sway bars and the sway bar links that connect each of the 'A' arms to the ends of the sway bar running across the bottom of the frame, altho that cross piece is sorta hidden a little by the frame cross section. ;)

But like I said, ALL Spyders have sway bars, and I can tell you from experience that you don't want to ride one that doesn't have one fitted, or even ride a Spyder that has a broken sway bar link end for that matter! And the factory sway bars are not much better at reducing sway than a piece of limp pool noodle, while the OEM Links are some black plastic/poly/nylon dog-bone shaped pieces crap that're prone to deformation, deterioration, and eventual failure if you ride the Spyder at pretty much anything beyond a brisk walking pace! 😣

So what you really want to know is 'How can you tell if the sway bar fitted to this particular Spyder is a better quality upgraded sway bar', which can be a little more difficult to confirm.

The first giveaway is the links themselves, altho there are a few who have kept the OEM bar and just fitted a/mkt end links - but if the links are coloured &/or metal instead of the crappy placcy OEM end links, that's a good start! Then if the sway bar itself has a number of holes in the end to allow you to choose a closer or further away hole to connect the end link, you know it's not OEM, but it's also not a BajaRon Bar. If the bar is coloured anything but black, then you're likely heading in the right direction, but you'll need to get down there to confirm that the diameter of the bar itself is not the OEM dia, only now that've I've got this far, I can't recall the exact measurements to look for, so I hope someone can supply that for us. And if the a/mkt bar is one of BajaRon's Ultra bars, then the end of the bar isn't bent to allow the cranked end to reach the sway bar link, it'll be a straight thru shaft with a splined dog-bone piece keyed & bolted to the ends forming the 90° crank section to connect to the metal sway bar link. :sneaky:

Sorry I can't remember the appropriate diameters, or get them for you atm, but hopefully this info will at least help a bit, and maybe prompt someone else to come up with something a little more helpful. :unsure:

Cheers!
 
I have a 2019 Spyder that I purchased used last May. This is going to sound stupid, but... how can I tell if it has sway bars installed? Can you SEE them on the bike without going under it/lifting it?
Follow Peter's recommendations for a start. If the end links are plastic, you can stop there. You have an OEM bar.

It's always a good idea to give the year (which you did) and model Spyder/Ryker you're asking about because that will many times make a difference as to the correct answer. Which is definitely the case here.

RT - Use a 5/8" open end wrench to go over any straight part of the bar. If it goes over the bar on an RT, it's OEM.
F3 - Use a 9/16" open end wrench. If that goes over the bar, it's OEM. In both cases, if the wrench does not go over the bar, it's aftermarket.

You should never run an upgraded sway bar without upgrading the end links. The stock sway bar can eventually break the plastic end links. An upgraded sway bar surely will. And possibly at the worst possible time.

Hopefully the end links will tell you which manufacturer produced the bar.
 
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