I am just curiosity to hear from people that have installed Baja Ron’s sway bar. I had a 2015 RT that I did install the sway bar on. I do not really remember it improving the handling that much. I only weight 160 pounds and ride alone. I now have a 2019 RT and was thinking about purchasing one for it, but it is quite a job installing it and am wandering if it is worth it. I have put over 17,000 miles on my nineteen and it does handle well. What would I probable notice with the sway bar? I can really understand if you were carrying a lot weight and in corners and in wind it would probably really help.
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Baja Ron’s sway bar - what do YOU think of yours?
- Thread starter gerald37
- Start date
I will probably go ahead and in stall the sway bar.
I have changed the tires. I have Federals on the front and a General on the rear. They do make a difference. I will probably install the sway bar. I do all my own installation so I don't have that expense. I have checked the alignment and it is good.
RayBJ
Well-known member
I ride hard and push the limits of traction in curves. IF the pavement is smooth thru the curve :roflblack:, the sway bar and car tires are adequate for control. But if there's rough surfaces or pot holes (the norm :yikes
, the upgraded shocks are needed to recover from the bumps better.As JayBros said, depends HOW you ride. Not the ride itself.
I ride hard and push the limits of traction in curves. IF the pavement is smooth thru the curve :roflblack:, the sway bar and car tires are adequate for control. But if there's rough surfaces or pot holes (the norm :yikes
As JayBros said, depends HOW you ride. Not the ride itself.
I do ride pretty fast and do corners fast if the road is good. Do you think the adjustable shocks do more than the sway bar? I will probably end up with both. I was looking at a set of Elka shocks but they are a little to expensive.
RayBJ
Well-known member
The Elka shocks had a difference when on rough roads. The adjustable rebound keeps the rubber on the road. You can also set the pre-load but the major plus is controlling the RT in rough fast curves. Based on your 160lbs, you likely don't need much/any pre-load tightening over OEM.
Rednaxs60
New member
I ride hard and push the limits of traction in curves. IF the pavement is smooth thru the curve :roflblack:, the sway bar and car tires are adequate for control. But if there's rough surfaces or pot holes (the norm :yikes
As JayBros said, depends HOW you ride. Not the ride itself.
Agree with this.
Shocks and sway bars are used for different purposes. The sway bar is not in play on the straight, or sweeping curves unless the Spyder starts to lean, and/or has frame twist and torque. Shocks are used in this scenario in that the shocks give the ride quality and ride height that you want for your riding profile.
The shocks assist the sway bar in the corners, but only with the lean angle and as mentioned bumps and potholes, not the twist/torque of the frame - this is done by the sway bar.
You want better performance in the corners and on a good twisting road, go sway bar first. If ride quality is paramount, new shocks.
Suspension upgrades are expensive, primarily because of demand, small market these trikes and motorcycles. Watched a video the difference between shocks/springs and coilovers. The fellow doing the video mentioned that if you are doing a track day, off-roading, ditch banging, whatever - go inexpensive if needs be because ride quality is not an issue. When you get back to the road and ride quality is paramount, an inexpensive set of shocks may not fit the bill, ergo better shocks, better ride quality, and more expensive. There is always a trade off.
The other issue with inexpensive shocks is that if the shocks you get do not perform as expected, and you purchase another set, probably have spent the equivalent of the cost for the better shock up front, and still need to get the more expensive shock, BTDT.
My 2014 RT LE came with BajaRon's sway bar already installed. Good improvement over the stock OEM sway bar - test road a 202 RT with the OEM sway bar, corners were interesting. Not enamoured with the shocks, especially the rear. Air system works overtime when riding two up. Replacing all three shocks. Do the rear, you eventually will do the front. Putting on a set of M2 shocks.
Just a few thoughts, and my understanding of shocks and sway bars. Knew about these things years ago, but had to dust off the cobwebs for the Spyder.
Good luck.
Mikey
Well-known member
I started with the sway bar, that took a lot of the body roll out that the factory bar didn't do that well. Then this year I changed out my shocks for a set of Elka 2, that made the road smoothen out and take's the bumps much better, and in the curves makes it feel more planted!! My next change will be tires, as soon as I wear this set out!! I have for five years now read about the difference it makes and want to see if the hype is true, I know some will say I did it all backwards but I trend on changing the things that come out and slap me in the face first. So far it's not lead me wrong yet, every thing I have done has made a big difference in handling, and ride!! So to answer your question, is a sway bar worth it, I say yes!!! Go for it!!!
hyea:
hyea:
Rednaxs60
New member
I had an interesting issue regarding the BajaRon sway bar. My 2014 RT LE came with BajaRon sway bar installed by the dealer when purchased by the PO. I thought and convinced myself that my Spyder felt better in the corners than the 2020 RT I test rode that had the OEM sway bar installed because my Spyder had the BajaRon sway bar installed, but my Spyder still wallowed when going around corners.
Bought my 2014 RT LE with 9100 Kms on it 2 1/2 months ago and with the knowledge that the beefier sway bar was installed, ordered a set of M2 shocks to assist in my Spyder handling corners - next step in the process.
Was doing some maintenance a week or so back - had the Spyder on the lift, grabbed the sway bar and could move it, never a good sign - PO never did his own work or checked things. Checked the sway bar when off the lift, same result.
Checked the sway bar on a friends 2018 F3 - no movement. Went home, put the Spyder on the lift, crawled under and inspected - nylon bushing bolts loose, turn by hand. Checked install procedure on the web for BajaRon's sway bar. Tightened bolts until a small bump was forming at the bottom of the bushings. Road test and significant difference, liked. M2 shocks will be installed when received and should/will enhance the ride quality and performance that much more.
Does a sway bar work - yes, knew this. Having a sway bar installed, flopping around and not working as intended is not nice and can be misleading when trying to diagnose why your Spyder is not performing as expected. Is the BajaRon sway bar better than OEM sway bar - compared to the 2020 RT ride, yes.
Every upgrade you do will enhance the ride of the Spyder - how much is something only the rider can say. Sway bar, shocks, tires, air bladder inflation pressure, alignment, drive belt tensioner, and other items all work together in some form. When doing upgrades to make a change in how your Spyder works, rides and feels, do one at a time and ride for a while to determine if the upgrade did what you expected it to. Too many upgrades at the same time makes it difficult to determine what made an improvement if any.
Bought my 2014 RT LE with 9100 Kms on it 2 1/2 months ago and with the knowledge that the beefier sway bar was installed, ordered a set of M2 shocks to assist in my Spyder handling corners - next step in the process.
Was doing some maintenance a week or so back - had the Spyder on the lift, grabbed the sway bar and could move it, never a good sign - PO never did his own work or checked things. Checked the sway bar when off the lift, same result.
Checked the sway bar on a friends 2018 F3 - no movement. Went home, put the Spyder on the lift, crawled under and inspected - nylon bushing bolts loose, turn by hand. Checked install procedure on the web for BajaRon's sway bar. Tightened bolts until a small bump was forming at the bottom of the bushings. Road test and significant difference, liked. M2 shocks will be installed when received and should/will enhance the ride quality and performance that much more.
Does a sway bar work - yes, knew this. Having a sway bar installed, flopping around and not working as intended is not nice and can be misleading when trying to diagnose why your Spyder is not performing as expected. Is the BajaRon sway bar better than OEM sway bar - compared to the 2020 RT ride, yes.
Every upgrade you do will enhance the ride of the Spyder - how much is something only the rider can say. Sway bar, shocks, tires, air bladder inflation pressure, alignment, drive belt tensioner, and other items all work together in some form. When doing upgrades to make a change in how your Spyder works, rides and feels, do one at a time and ride for a while to determine if the upgrade did what you expected it to. Too many upgrades at the same time makes it difficult to determine what made an improvement if any.
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