bottoming out

[ARCTIC]

Im having too many instances where I'm bottoming out my spyder. Are others experiencing this as well? The last one scared me a little because it unlatched the catch for the footboards and I can't feel my feet real well so I continued to ride with the boards front edge pointed downward and figured out what had happened when I crossed a set of railroad tracks and it glanced off the rail.... I could only imagine what would have happened on a full catching impact:yikes: I think the rt's actually sit a little higher and I'm wondering if it's the adjustable preload that allows them extra clearance??? Would a set of fox podiums or a set of Elka shocks gain me some extra clearance? I weigh 200 lbs

 

[Bob Denman]

It's up under the nose; that's hitting? :dontknow:
I've put mine, "to the pavement", a couple of times as well. :shocked:
There's no doubt that a set of Elkas will raise the bike a bit at the nose. :thumbup:
The problem; will that affect the alignment of the front-end? :yikes:
:dontknow::dontknow::dontknow::dontknow:

 

[Chupaca]

Adjustment..!!

if you have preload adjustments on your shocks raise it to a higher level. If you have the non adjustable type not much you can do add air pressure but will change your comfort. How many miles are on those shocks..?? May be time to replace them. I installed the Pittbull shock relocators which raised my front end. Next time in have them test the shocks or pull them and run them by a shop and test them yourself...:thumbup:

 

[freebob]

Shocks

Im having too many instances where I'm bottoming out my spyder. Are others experiencing this as well? The last one scared me a little because it unlatched the catch for the footboards and I can't feel my feet real well so I continued to ride with the boards front edge pointed downward and figured out what had happened when I crossed a set of railroad tracks and it glanced off the rail.... I could only imagine what would have happened on a full catching impact:yikes: I think the rt's actually sit a little higher and I'm wondering if it's the adjustable preload that allows them extra clearance??? Would a set of fox podiums or a set of Elka shocks gain me some extra clearance? I weigh 200 lbs

A hard impact can blow out seals on shocks causing bottoming out. My rear shock on Rt blew seal twice. Now replaced with ELKA no more problems

Freebob:doorag:

 

[BikerDoc]

It's up under the nose; that's hitting? :dontknow:
I've put mine, "to the pavement", a couple of times as well. :shocked:
There's no doubt that a set of Elkas will raise the bike a bit at the nose. :thumbup:
The problem; will that affect the alignment of the front-end? :yikes:
:dontknow::dontknow::dontknow::dontknow:

:agree::clap::clap: Once I put Elkas on my 2012 it never bottomed out again.
My 2014 shocks are great except I now have the bottom out problem again.. guess it s back to Elka s again

 

[Bob Denman]

(He's got a 2013 ST... new front-end design.)

 

[Ed_H]

I find it hard to believe that BRP didn't notice that the 2014's bottom out and are too low in the front end. Don't they do any R&D? Same with the rear tires on the 2014's...evidently the tires are an inferior product. It appears that BRP has a "close enough, ship it out" mentality. I like my 2014 RT but I gotta say it appears that BRP has some people who drop the ball continually and can not design a complete package without unnecessary faults. All vehicles can have problems but I feel some of the recent faults should have been ironed out before the product hit the market. Geez, ya buy a RT and start telling the wife ya need new shocks, new swaybar, new rear tire, etc. and she questions your sanity....again.

 

[ARCTIC]

It's up under the nose; that's hitting? :dontknow:
I've put mine, "to the pavement", a couple of times as well. :shocked:
There's no doubt that a set of Elkas will raise the bike a bit at the nose. :thumbup:
The problem; will that affect the alignment of the front-end? :yikes:
:dontknow::dontknow::dontknow::dontknow:

The ones that I can feel is a frame bottoming up under my feet. Seems like it doesn't take a very sharp approach angle on a gas station or a very big rock to hit. I hit the gas station approaches at an angle to save the nose and it hits up underneath. I should maybe check for scrape marks and pinpoint better the location of the contact. For loading on a trailer the front fascia could definitely use another inch or so. I didn't consider the alignment....hmmmm....

if you have preload adjustments on your shocks raise it to a higher level. If you have the non adjustable type not much you can do add air pressure but will change your comfort. How many miles are on those shocks..?? May be time to replace them. I installed the Pittbull shock relocators which raised my front end. Next time in have them test the shocks or pull them and run them by a shop and test them yourself...:thumbup:

No preload adjustments on the ST-Limited. That's most of my question is if getting shocks with adjustment will make a difference or maybe I've got all I'm going to get for clearance. Almost 3,000 miles on them now.

A hard impact can blow out seals on shocks causing bottoming out. My rear shock on Rt blew seal twice. Now replaced with ELKA no more problems

Freebob:doorag:

I don't recall any hard impacts. This thing has been treated with nothing but gingerly love :roflblack:

 

[Bob Denman]

I only mention alignment, because I recall some discussions about the 2013s that discussed ride height affecting it... :dontknow:
I don't actually know what has been determined about the relationship between the two; but I'd want to know for sure, before making expensive changes. :shocked:

 

[sledmaster]

Me too

I've been fighting the same thing. I believe there is not as much belly clearance on my 2013 ST-S as what I have on my 2008 GS, BUT.....the GS has adjustable preload on the front shocks, and I have them cranked to full to get the a-arms level. On the 2013 ST-S I have a BajaRon sway bar and recently installed the Fox Podium shocks. The difference in handling and reduction in wandering is awesome, but I still will scrape the center on some of the nasty little g-bumps (rounded out gullies where the weight of the machine comes down on the frame).

I do not believe it is bottoming the front suspension, should be nowhere near full travel, this is high-centering bottoming. That said, it occurs at lower shock speeds, so ideally some more low speed damping would be nice to have. Never had an issue at higher shock speeds, quicker square-edge style bumps, so the high speed damping seems to be OK. Might have to look into shocks with adjustable low speed and high speed damping (that's shock rod speed, not vehicle speed).

As for spring preload, there is a very specific specification for shock center to center distance which can not be attained with the non-adjustable preload type shocks that were stock on the 2013 ST-S, I'm not sure what the Limited had last year. The preload is supposed to be set to get this desired center (mounting bolt centers). On the 2013-2014 ST and RS models this spec is 420 mm, or 16.5 inches. (All 2008-2012 models were 428mm, or 16.85", and the 2013-2014 RT models are 445 mm, or 17.5".) So basically we are supposed to be setting the preload to get the proper ride height, as determined by this shock measurement. Ideally. Past that, we need more clearance.....

The info I have states, "The importance of properly adjusting the shock preload is to set the vehicle at a ride height at which the vehicle was designed to operate. Alignment values are determined at precise ride height values. Ride height is also the position at which the alignment is the most stable and less influenced by bump steer.

In order to properly adjust the vehicle’s ride height, have the customer sit on the unit and add approximately what the customer loads in the front cargo bin. Measure the distance between the front shock bolt centers. Adjust the preload in order to reach the desired value in the ride height chart. Remember to lift the vehicle to adjust the shock cams or rings in order to avoid damage to these components.

Preload does not influence stiffness nor softness of the ride, it only adjusts the ride height."

 

[oldgoat]

Geez, ya buy a RT and start telling the wife ya need new shocks, new swaybar, new rear tire, etc. and she questions your sanity....again.

Mine has enormous difficulty in believing me on some of these purchases. :agree:

ie shocks, swaybar, seat, windshield, backrest etc. A serious bone of contention in this household.

 

[happyspyder2039]

:agree::clap::clap: Once I put Elkas on my 2012 it never bottomed out again.
My 2014 shocks are great except I now have the bottom out problem again.. guess it s back to Elka s again

I have seen that elka's on the 14's don't raise up much if at all compared to the earlier models

 

[skak72]

We have not had this problem, however when we had our Spyder in for its first oil change a couple months ago, i found out that they can do a computerized adjustment based on the weight of the rider
....combined weight of my husband and i is about
320...just thought is throw this out there because you may want to have that checked also....

Im having too many instances where I'm bottoming out my spyder. Are others experiencing this as well? The last one scared me a little because it unlatched the catch for the footboards and I can't feel my feet real well so I continued to ride with the boards front edge pointed downward and figured out what had happened when I crossed a set of railroad tracks and it glanced off the rail.... I could only imagine what would have happened on a full catching impact:yikes: I think the rt's actually sit a little higher and I'm wondering if it's the adjustable preload that allows them extra clearance??? Would a set of fox podiums or a set of Elka shocks gain me some extra clearance? I weigh 200 lbs

 

[Netminder]

Bottomed out a few times on the stock shock, but not once since I had the Elkas put on!:thumbup:

 

[Edsts]

Great info ,

I've been fighting the same thing. I believe there is not as much belly clearance on my 2013 ST-S as what I have on my 2008 GS, BUT.....the GS has adjustable preload on the front shocks, and I have them cranked to full to get the a-arms level. On the 2013 ST-S I have a BajaRon sway bar and recently installed the Fox Podium shocks. The difference in handling and reduction in wandering is awesome, but I still will scrape the center on some of the nasty little g-bumps (rounded out gullies where the weight of the machine comes down on the frame).

I do not believe it is bottoming the front suspension, should be nowhere near full travel, this is high-centering bottoming. That said, it occurs at lower shock speeds, so ideally some more low speed damping would be nice to have. Never had an issue at higher shock speeds, quicker square-edge style bumps, so the high speed damping seems to be OK. Might have to look into shocks with adjustable low speed and high speed damping (that's shock rod speed, not vehicle speed).

As for spring preload, there is a very specific specification for shock center to center distance which can not be attained with the non-adjustable preload type shocks that were stock on the 2013 ST-S, I'm not sure what the Limited had last year. The preload is supposed to be set to get this desired center (mounting bolt centers). On the 2013-2014 ST and RS models this spec is 420 mm, or 16.5 inches. (All 2008-2012 models were 428mm, or 16.85", and the 2013-2014 RT models are 445 mm, or 17.5".) So basically we are supposed to be setting the preload to get the proper ride height, as determined by this shock measurement. Ideally. Past that, we need more clearance.....

The info I have states, "The importance of properly adjusting the shock preload is to set the vehicle at a ride height at which the vehicle was designed to operate. Alignment values are determined at precise ride height values. Ride height is also the position at which the alignment is the most stable and less influenced by bump steer.

In order to properly adjust the vehicle’s ride height, have the customer sit on the unit and add approximately what the customer loads in the front cargo bin. Measure the distance between the front shock bolt centers. Adjust the preload in order to reach the desired value in the ride height chart. Remember to lift the vehicle to adjust the shock cams or rings in order to avoid damage to these components.

Preload does not influence stiffness nor softness of the ride, it only adjusts the ride height."


View attachment 90974

Having same issues bottoming out on my sts , it's all stock was wondering if I get the elkas installed would I have to get any other parts ,oh getting the sway bar for sure !

 

[Magdave]

Fox Shocks are out there too as far as adjustables go. Spyder pops skid plate on mine has plenty of dings but provides good protection. These bikes do not bottom out any where near as often as my Corvettes did.

 

[ARCTIC]

AWESOME!!!!!

I've been fighting the same thing. I believe there is not as much belly clearance on my 2013 ST-S as what I have on my 2008 GS, BUT.....the GS has adjustable preload on the front shocks, and I have them cranked to full to get the a-arms level. On the 2013 ST-S I have a BajaRon sway bar and recently installed the Fox Podium shocks. The difference in handling and reduction in wandering is awesome, but I still will scrape the center on some of the nasty little g-bumps (rounded out gullies where the weight of the machine comes down on the frame).

I do not believe it is bottoming the front suspension, should be nowhere near full travel, this is high-centering bottoming. That said, it occurs at lower shock speeds, so ideally some more low speed damping would be nice to have. Never had an issue at higher shock speeds, quicker square-edge style bumps, so the high speed damping seems to be OK. Might have to look into shocks with adjustable low speed and high speed damping (that's shock rod speed, not vehicle speed).

As for spring preload, there is a very specific specification for shock center to center distance which can not be attained with the non-adjustable preload type shocks that were stock on the 2013 ST-S, I'm not sure what the Limited had last year. The preload is supposed to be set to get this desired center (mounting bolt centers). On the 2013-2014 ST and RS models this spec is 420 mm, or 16.5 inches. (All 2008-2012 models were 428mm, or 16.85", and the 2013-2014 RT models are 445 mm, or 17.5".) So basically we are supposed to be setting the preload to get the proper ride height, as determined by this shock measurement. Ideally. Past that, we need more clearance.....

The info I have states, "The importance of properly adjusting the shock preload is to set the vehicle at a ride height at which the vehicle was designed to operate. Alignment values are determined at precise ride height values. Ride height is also the position at which the alignment is the most stable and less influenced by bump steer.

In order to properly adjust the vehicle’s ride height, have the customer sit on the unit and add approximately what the customer loads in the front cargo bin. Measure the distance between the front shock bolt centers. Adjust the preload in order to reach the desired value in the ride height chart. Remember to lift the vehicle to adjust the shock cams or rings in order to avoid damage to these components.

Preload does not influence stiffness nor softness of the ride, it only adjusts the ride height."


View attachment 90974

Thank you for the info!!!!! I actually seem to have experienced the same amount of low clearance issues as my 08 GS and I assumed that all spyders were that way until I saw a RT sitting next to my ST and then noticed that the RT had adjustable front shocks and it got me to thinking about adjustable preload. Does anyone have a set of 2013 ST shocks laying around to measure the unloaded center-to-center distance? Maybe I could find a set of fox evol X shocks for the same price or less than the spyder offerings :dontknow:

 

[gonker]

Mine has enormous difficulty in believing me on some of these purchases. :agree:

ie shocks, swaybar, seat, windshield, backrest etc. A serious bone of contention in this household.

Lets see...... get rid of the bike or get rid of the wife? So many decisions.....

 

[billrob71]

Ive hit mine a couple of times but I have preload adjustments tht I have not done yet just due that I have not got the correct wrench yet .