2020 RTL BAJA Ron Sway Bar Vs Stock Vs Shocks - your experiences?

[Warfels]

I’m doing some research and would like to hear what people think.

I ride a 2020 RTL, ride 1 up, not very aggressive and weight 250 lbs. I looking to reduce the left to right sway I get when riding back roads in fl.

Question: Stock Sway Bar vs BAJA Ron Sway Bar

I know my 2020 RTL comes with sway bar. If you have a Baja Ron sway bar installed is the stock say bar different? I read the stock Tie Rod is hard plastic vs steel one with Baja Ron kit. Is the kit one steel vs plastic?

Question: BAJA Ron Sway Bar Vs ELKA Shocks ($288 vs $850)

I have read BAJA Ron Sway bars reduce Left to right sway and make handling in course better. Would ELKA Shocks do the same and more?

If anyone has installed either of these products on a Spyder 2020/2021 / 2022 please share your experiences.

thanks

 

[Pooch]

I ride a 2021 Spyder RTL. I find the handling fine compared to older models I had extensively test-ridden. However, I did reduce the front tire pressures from the operator manual stated 20# down to 18. I find the Spyder to be a pleasure to drive at that front tire pressure. I weigh +/- 138 lbs and am a solo rider.

I only have 5000 miles on the odometer but when these original Kenda tires wear out I will be buying one of the tire brands that so many owners here on this forum recommend.

I have Heli-bars and push back against a Utopia backrest while my feet are forward on the floorboards, while hugging the tank with my knees. This seems to keep me centered on the twisties.. as well, pushing down with the outside foot in a turn keeps me from feeling like the Spyder wants to throw me off. On a straight-out high speed road this thing handles almost as smooth as my GL 1800 Gold Wing trike did. Lots of saddle time helps to perfect your technique. At this time this Spyder has given me no reason to change the sway bar or shocks… only time will tell I guess.

 

[Longtimer]

Sway bar made a big difference don't know about shocks I did put shock adjusters on mine but only to keep ride height when I load to go on trips when not loaded I leave them all the way down stock height I don't ride real aggressive but I don't let in grass grow under my tires either I would go with bar frist

 

[Warfels]

Thanks for the comments above Pooch. I got my 2020 in January (2021) I have 10K on her . No real problems I would like to reduce the left to right swaying on the back roads of FL. I have read a lot of reviews and found the stock sway bars are hard plastic as well as the stock links were the BAJA Ron bars are all metal. I'm waiting for more input but it looks like the best solution is new BAJA Ron sway bars. What I read the additional shock make the bike stay flat on the curves but I'm not sure that is a problem with my riding style.

again thanks

 

[Warfels]

Thanks Longtimer - I think that is what I'm going to do

 

[Peteoz]

While I think the stock ‘20+ RT handles very well (as well as my ‘16 F3-L with Wilbers, Ron’s bar and aftermarket tyres), like you, I also wanted to reduce the amount of sway while cornering. I didn’t go with Ron this time, but a local Aussie company who have been around just as long. The new stabiliser bar has given me that flatter cornering experience, Warfels.:thumbup:

Aftermarket shocks will always give you a better ride, but I don’t think they are necessary on the ‘20+ RT, especially with the aftermarket bar. I would try the bar first, and then see if you need the shocks….like me, you may not.

Pete

 

[canamjhb]

The sway bar and the shocks do two different things. If you're looking to reduce sway, upgrade your sway bar. If you need to improve suspension movement and reaction to road anomalies then upgrade your shocks. If my memory is correct, I think there was a very good description about the effects and differences of changing shocks and sway bars on this forum. I believe it was done by BajaRon. You should be able to find lots of good information by doing a search on this forum. Good luck..... Jim

 

[RICZ]

I was asking the same questions and although I weigh 110 pound less than you, like you, I wanted to mitigate the body lean. Here's what Bajaron told me: Do one upgrade at a time, so will know what each one does. My first was putting car tires on the front. Holy cow, that helped a lot. Then I did the Bajaron sway bar. Holy cow, that helped a lot. So much so that I was content to stop there with suspension upgrades. That is, until a forum member put up for sale a used pair of Elka Stage 2 front shocks at a price I could not resist. Yes, they helped a lot too.
I ride quite aggressively and that trio of upgrades upped my yee haw factor by a lot. But you say you don't push it as hard, so here's my advice to you...get the sway bar, you will definitely feel the improvement immediately. The sway bar is money well spent in terms of handling improvement.
And mind the tire pressure advice. Just a couple pounds makes a difference.

 

[Warfels]

thanks I'll look for it

 

[spyder01]

Just remember that as you add these items to reduce lean you will be stiffening up the ride as well. Sway bars will have the least effect on rough roads and shocks with stiffer springs will have the most effect. I too would like to reduce body roll but am still debating wether its worth it to me to have a rougher ride.

 

[milryder]

I have a '21 RT and ride single, weigh 170 lbs. I went to Lamonsters last spring with the intention of installing both Elka shocks and Baja Ron sway bar. It was recommended I try the Elka's first and that they would have the most comprehensive affect on my ride and handling. The first time I rode the 1/2 mile of dirt/gravel road to my house to get to tarmac I could tell instantly I had a smoother ride.

I did a 2300 mi trip last spring and ride moderately aggressively. At this point I see no need to install an upgraded sway bar and I have little or no lean going into corners even now that I have a pedal box with quicker acceleration out of the corners. Even with gusty cross winds the RT seems stable. I think upgraded shocks are a better choice for a smoother ride with some of our deteriorating roads and I believe contribute somewhat to flatter cornering. Maybe a heavier rider or two up would notice leaning in the corners but I don't. For my situation and now with 7,000 miles I think the Elka's are a better first choice even though I was prepared to pay up for both.

 

[Steve W.]

My experience is with my wife's '17 RT-S, its suspension might be a bit different than the '20+ models.

When we got it last year, the first thing we did was change tires, out of necessity. The fronts were not too bad, but the rear was nearly bald at 4500 miles. Installed Vredestein Q-5s all around. The difference was night and day. NOW I was comfortable enough with the handling to explore the limits a bit. We went to the rally in Maggie Valley, had an ANTI-sway bar installed. My first ride did not impress me much, but after our ride the next day, my wife said she was not as tired, she did not have to fight the bike through the turns. THAT made it worth it.

We are not agressive riders by any means. By the sounds of the way others describe their riding styles, they would probably be miles ahead of us in just the first few minutes of riding. We enjoy our rides for the sights, smells and friendship, not for seeing how much rubber we can scrub off the tires.

.

 

[Mikey]

To each, his own, all three things are worth the money!! I have taken two of the three steps, bar, and shocks, a year apart from each other so I got some seat time to see what's what! As soon as I wear out the set of factory Crapola's the third part will come onto play!!!:2thumbs: The bike is very well planted as it sits right now and drives as straight as an arrow!! I would do the bar first, people are saying the shocks on the new rides are better than usual so you may save some coin and be happy with the rest, it will take the body roll out!! Good luck, enjoy!!

 

[RayBJ]

My 1st upgrade to my '20 RT was the sway bar. It made a big difference in body roll reduction. Soon after I did the tires for better traction. Then I put elka shocks up front and that made riding rough roads at higher speeds far more controllable.
You will benefit most from the sway bar and tires and maybe a spring upgrade based on your riding style IMHO.

 

[Warfels]

thanks all

 

[Baron14y]

Don't know about the newer ones, but on my 2015 RTL, the sway bar was steel. The BajaRon is also steel, but greater diameter and, as I understand, a different steel that makes it stiffer. I now have the BajaRon. Well worth it in my opinion.:2thumbs:

 

[EdMat]

Don't know about the newer ones, but on my 2015 RTL, the sway bar was steel. The BajaRon is also steel, but greater diameter and, as I understand, a different steel that makes it stiffer. I now have the BajaRon. Well worth it in my opinion.:2thumbs:

May have been a reference to a Ryker sway bar link.

 

[PMK]

My friend has a 2021 RT Limited. His weight is similar. I recommended these items to him in this order.
1) Replace the front tires with Federal Formoza tires and run them at 20 psi.
2) Replace the oem swaybar with a BajaRon swaybar. Or do a shock upgrade.

He got tires (Federal Formozas) and I installed and correctly balanced them. This made a noticeable improvement.

He then got the BajaRon swaybar. Again a noticeable improvement.

His last upgrade, he got BajaRon preload collars.

I had checked his alignment when he first got it. I checked it again after it settled with some miles on it. After installing the preload collars I checked the alignment again.

Since the Spyder front suspension is going toe out under compression, meaning a heavier rider will cause toe out and less stability, a proper alignment is important.

Installing the preload collars was a bit of a bother, but overall pretty easy. Tires and alignment is easy since I have the equipment to do that. Swaybar was also no big deal, just time.

So for my friend, he is very pleased, riding here in South Florida with good tires, a swaybar upgrade and preload collars, plus correctly aligned wheels. So with that, I recommend those be done instead of Elka shocks.

 

[DanDanTMM]

I have both the sway bar and Elka shocks all around. I would say that most people are like me and did sway bar first and then added the Elka shocks later due to the difference in price between the two options. I would also say that the majority of people find what they are looking for after the sway bar swap. For me on my 2021 RTL the sway bar made a noticeable difference and the addition of the shocks afterwards helped more with ride quality than handling in corners. I'm just not willing to go through the fun of putting the stock sway bar back in to see how much of a difference the shocks alone make.

I think if I lived in the Ozarks and rode twisty roads at speed all the time the shock addition would have been more noticeable. I think the shocks really shine in long fast sweepers where you going at a good clip, but that is just one guys opinion. I think they would also make a difference with riding two up where you have more weight trying to compress the suspension. I will say that with both the sway bar and shocks I can easily get the "nanny" to kick in through tight turns because the stability really lets me get on it now.

 

[Warfels]

thanks good advice ride save