The surface area that has the greatest affect on your Spyder in a cross wind is your body. Total surface area may be less, but your biggest mass is very high and has a great deal of leverage. It is only natural to try and stabilize your upper body with the handlebars. This will help to keep you stable, but will drive your Spyder crazy. Better to let your upper body blow around a little and allow your Spyder to go straight.
The steering on a Spyder is VERY sensitive to any input (intended or not). As your body gets blown around, your movement can be transmitted down your arms to the handlebars. Even small input will be instantly transmitted to the wheels. So naturally you attempt to correct for this while you're being buffeted. It sets up a vicious cycle that you can't win. You have to become complete rubber between your shoulders and your wrists so that no matter how much your body is jerked around by the wind, no body movement makes it to the handlebars. Once you get used to this, it's no big deal.
Typically, as the rider perceives that they are not in complete control, they stiffen their body in an attempt to 'Lock' the handlebars straight ahead. Most do this without even realizing it. Doing this simply makes things worse. Everything feels mushy and vague. You're not sure how to get control and you're pretty much hating life. It takes a conscious effort to train yourself to relax.
Sway Bar Upgrade - When you and the Spyder experience side forces of a cross wind, or buffeting when passing large trucks at freeway speeds, it leans the Spyder over, or, in some situations, may rock it back and forth. With a stock sway bar there is little resistance to this effect. As the Spyder moves around on its suspension, the steering geometry changes which will change the direction of travel.
In a corner or curve, this force is predictable and usually consistent. Though you may still oscillate through an Under-steer/Over-steer experience through the curve. It's not the same feeling as buffeting.
Again, this is perceived by the driver as a lack of control and tends to set up the vicious cycle of correction discussed above. As you make correction you again change the steering geometry and things do not improve much. You usually find that you've over corrected and you have to then correct the correction. This can really wear you out, not to mention you get the feeling that you're not in complete control.
With the heavier sway bar, all of this side force has much less effect on the Spyder. Less lean, less steering changes, less need for correction. Your body may still be getting pushed around, but your Spyder is not. You'll find that you Spyder stays put where you want it to be and if you do want to change direction, it changes only the amount that you intended. It's a whole different experience which gives the rider confidence that they are in complete control. Most describe it as 'Being on rails'. And I think that is pretty accurate.
Hope this helps.
