Another Vote for the BajaRon's sway bar - Must have's

[Praireroads]

A little story first- I've been on Motorcycles for 52 years. Had 24 bikes, mostly Harleys. Sold the 2014 Road King a yr ago(more or less give away-if you have tried to sell a Harley the laste couple years-Major painfull Price Drop on HD)

I'm a BRP fan as I've had their ski-doo sleds for many years. I began looking at Spyders and liked the idea of many, who said get the 2014 & newer with the 1330cc engine. I started looking late 2019 winter last year, and found the one I wanted- Black with the Limited Chrome pkg. Had to travel about 500 round trip miles to buy it. None around here with the color and Limited pkg.

Got it mid July & drove it then, discovered the lously Kenda front tires. Changed those to Federal Formoza AZ01 & was happy with the increased control. My next add-on would be the famous Baha-Rons sway bar. I ordered after christmas from lamonstergarage.com who provided outstanding service/shipping. Just before Sturgis 2020 I began to install it. After I had the bike lifted up, to my surprise there was one on there already! I'm the 3rd owner. the original owner bought it new had died before he had 500 miles on it. The guy I bought it from put on 4,000+ miles. So it had about 5,045 act miles on it when I got it. Its hard to see the bar location so low and covered where it's mounted. I'm sure the guy I bought it from never knew he had one on. I unpacked the new bar and laid it out in front of the bike. I already had the new one and thought; heck I might as well just put the new one on. When I finally got the old one out I could see right away the "Newer-one" was noticecabily larger and more beefier than the one I took out. Got it put together and took a ride down "Boulder-Canyon" to the hair pin 1st curve & wow what a difference! Not even the same Bike! It made such a major difference. Curves down that canyon were now fun. The bar I took out must have been one of the earlier ones made...so is there a 2nd generation Baharon sway bar. I was very pleased with the difference:thumbup:. Took measurments and shows the new one was 2mm thicker...

 

[BajaRon]

I am a bit curious about your post. I'm also a bit confused so I'm just going throw out some shotgun statements not really having a complete grasp of what you're saying. Probably my lack of comprehension skills!

First, all Spyders come with a stock sway bar. Some customers are surprised by this, somehow thinking that they don't come with any sway bar at all. I've had some customers wanting to return the BajaRon Sway Bar Kit because they discovered they already had one mounted. Sometimes they mean the previous owner had my bar kit installed. But sometimes they simply mean that they unexpectedly discovered their Spyder already has a sway bar (OEM), so why would they want to change it out for another sway bar? Thinking that a sway bar is a sway bar, and all being the same.

So, here is where I am a bit confused. Did the sway bar you removed say 'BajaRon' on it? Or was it just the OEM sway bar? Because there is no '2nd Generation BajaRon Sway Bar' for the 2013-2021 RT. The bar kit, essentially, has not changed. The end links have gone through a few evolutions as I continually try to improve them. And the bushings are sometimes Black and sometimes White (depending an material availability) but are the same other than color. However, the bar diameter, materials, etc., have not changed since 2013. It is also true that BRP has not changed the OEM sway bar since 2013.

If it was a BajaRon bar kit. It would also have the BajaRon (or Lamonster) Billet Aluminum end links. If it still had the plastic OEM end links, it was almost certainly the original OEM sway bar. And your post would then make perfect sense.

If it was a BajaRon sway bar for the RT. You should have noticed zero difference. But, if it were somehow a BajaRon sway bar for an F3, which is a bit smaller than the BajaRon RT bar, your post would also make sense. But who would put an F3 bar kit on an RT?

There is only one other possible answer that I can think of. There is another aftermarket sway bar that might have been installed. But it would not say BajaRon on it.

An interesting post that just raised some questions in my mind. Bottom line, I am very glad you're happy with the bar.

 

[Praireroads]

Here are a couple photos of the old bar with red end links. Yes, I'm aware the spyders come with a factory SB. The new bar, measured with my digital gauge showed 2mm larger bar. The new kit had end links with the name "Lamonster"on each one. Regardless, this made a major difference in my spyder...would the newer end links make that much difference...thanks.

 

[BajaRon]

Here are a couple photos of the old bar with red end links. Yes, I'm aware the spyders come with a factory SB. The new bar, measured with my digital gauge showed 2mm larger bar. The new kit had end links with the name "Lamonster"on each one. Regardless, this made a major difference in my spyder...would the newer end links make that much difference...thanks.

It isn't the links. Though the current version is an upgrade over the previous dog-bone style. Rigid is Rigid, the sway bar doesn't care about style. My new links are not better in this department. They are better in that they resist salt, corrosion and rust much better than the dog-bone style pictured. The dog-bones work very well for the great majority of owners. But for those who ride in salt environments, not so good. The new style takes care of that.

The answer here is that you had a genuine, BajaRon, F3 sway bar installed on your RT. The RT bar is approximately 2mm (1/16") larger (diameter) than the F3 bar. I have no idea why someone would do that. There is no savings as they are priced the same. I have my suspicions. But we'll leave it at that.

Here is the order of stiffness in these bars from Weakest to strongest.

OEM RS, RSS, ST & F3 sway bar.
OEM RT sway bar.
BajaRon RS, RSS, ST, F3 sway bar.
BajaRon RT sway bar.

You can see, the BajaRon F3 (etc.) bar is stronger than the OEM RT bar, and will give you some improvement over stock when installed on an RT. But, as you have discovered, putting the right bar on the machine gives you the best results. Then I always get the question of 'Why can't I put a BajaRon RT bar on my F3? A valid question. I call the sway bar a 'Goldie Locks' mod. Whereas with some mods, more is better. With a sway bar, you want it 'Just Right'. Not too much, not too little. The OEM bar on all Spyders and Rykers is too little. Otherwise, there would be no 'BajaRon Bar'. Putting a BajaRon RT bar on an RS, RSS, ST or F3 is TOO MUCH! Believe me, you don't want too much sway bar. Those that come from an auto-racing background will know what I mean.

Too much of a sway bar is not good. I could go into the details but too much sway bar can actually be dangerous in some situations. This is why I am amendment that customers put the right bar on their ride. In the case of the RT, it's a matter of getting the best result as putting a weaker bar on will not present any hazard. In the case of the non-RT Spyders, it's a matter of safety. I provide the strongest sway bar that can be ridden safely. This is very important to me. And to everyone out there as well. My bar kits actually provide increased safety as well as a better ride. I am not bragging. It's simply a matter of physics. I just happened to land on it.:thumbup:

 

[Praireroads]

....The answer here is that you had a genuine, BajaRon, F3 sway bar installed on your RT. The RT bar is approximately 2mm (1/16") larger (diameter) than the F3 bar. I have no idea why someone would do that. There is no savings as they are priced the same.....,

Puzzle solved! Again, it made a major difference...tks.