OKAY......I am needing to get a sway bar. WAY to much rolling in corners. I feel the front shocks bottoming out before I am able to make the complete turn. Would the sway bar be enough for now until I get new shocks? or am I going to still get the rolling with the OEM shocks still on? I ride two up about 90% of the time, so we are traveling with 400 plus pounds on the RT. Just courious if I should just wait and replace both or would I notice a difference with just the sway bar for now?:read:
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Educated Answers needed
- Thread starter Yeochips
- Start date
triplethreat
New member
We have a 2019 RTL and ride two up almost every time the bike leaves the garage. I installed the sway bar not long after I got the Spyder at the end of February. My first couple of rides without my wife, while making several engine breakin runs, I knew right away that the sway bar was a must. I took her with me once or twice before the sway bar and it was pretty miserable trying to get through the corners with any speed. After the sway bar was night and day difference. We are probably a combined 325 lbs with gear and it still leans just a bit, but no where near what it was with the OEM sway bar.
You'll notice a difference (an improvement at that! 
) with doing just the sway bar! 
hyea:
Will it be enough?! Hard to say, that depends on a whole lot of things that are largely dependant upon you: how hard or gentle or aggressive or smooth you ride; to some extent where you ride ie how tight/fast/slow/cambered your roads are; your 'feelings' about how well it works; and maybe even how much your pillion rides 'with' you & the Spyder or how much they resist/react to the forces upon them during turning.... and probably a bunch more things besides that we have little knowledge about specifically &/or little ability to determine how much difference they'll make to the overall result! :dontknow: But certainly, swapping/upgrading the sway bar alone will reduce the rolling somewhat plus it'll share the load more across both front shocks & potentially avoid or at least reduce the bottoming out, and so upgrading it WILL make a difference! :clap: And if, after ryding with the new sway bar installed, you decide that the difference it's made is not enough for you/your needs & wants, then you can move on to addressing the shocks &/or springs..... it could be that the shocks are fine, only your springs are too light for you & your pillion, your ryding style, & the conditions you ride in! :lecturef_smilie:
You could try doing the shocks/springs first, but from what you've already told us, I'd think your biggest improvement will be gained by upgrading the 'widely recognised as not quite up to the task for many' sway bar first. Upgrading the shocks & springs will very likely make a similarly noticeable improvement to your ride, but they'd do it by firming up the entire front end feel without significantly improving the rolling/reaction to cornering relationship between each side, so your ride may become firmer in a way you/your pillion doesn't like &/or still leave you with much the same worries about the rolling & cornering..... it's generally harder to resolve body rolling & cornering issues by changing shocks & springs alone without adversely effecting anything else in the way of ride & handling than it is with upgrading the sway bar....
So it all comes back to being your choice - do the easier, cheaper, & simpler first option by upgrading the sway bar & end links, which also happens to be the option that's probably the most likely to solve your stated concerns, & then maybe consider doing the shocks/springs later if necessary; or do the more expensive & harder (? for most ? ) to do option first, spend more money, maybe make the ride less enjoyable, and still possibly (probably??) find you STILL NEED to do the sway bar to make the difference/improvement that you're chasing!! :shocked:
Good Luck! :thumbup:
) with doing just the sway bar! hyea:Will it be enough?! Hard to say, that depends on a whole lot of things that are largely dependant upon you: how hard or gentle or aggressive or smooth you ride; to some extent where you ride ie how tight/fast/slow/cambered your roads are; your 'feelings' about how well it works; and maybe even how much your pillion rides 'with' you & the Spyder or how much they resist/react to the forces upon them during turning.... and probably a bunch more things besides that we have little knowledge about specifically &/or little ability to determine how much difference they'll make to the overall result! :dontknow: But certainly, swapping/upgrading the sway bar alone will reduce the rolling somewhat plus it'll share the load more across both front shocks & potentially avoid or at least reduce the bottoming out, and so upgrading it WILL make a difference! :clap: And if, after ryding with the new sway bar installed, you decide that the difference it's made is not enough for you/your needs & wants, then you can move on to addressing the shocks &/or springs..... it could be that the shocks are fine, only your springs are too light for you & your pillion, your ryding style, & the conditions you ride in! :lecturef_smilie:
You could try doing the shocks/springs first, but from what you've already told us, I'd think your biggest improvement will be gained by upgrading the 'widely recognised as not quite up to the task for many' sway bar first. Upgrading the shocks & springs will very likely make a similarly noticeable improvement to your ride, but they'd do it by firming up the entire front end feel without significantly improving the rolling/reaction to cornering relationship between each side, so your ride may become firmer in a way you/your pillion doesn't like &/or still leave you with much the same worries about the rolling & cornering..... it's generally harder to resolve body rolling & cornering issues by changing shocks & springs alone without adversely effecting anything else in the way of ride & handling than it is with upgrading the sway bar....
So it all comes back to being your choice - do the easier, cheaper, & simpler first option by upgrading the sway bar & end links, which also happens to be the option that's probably the most likely to solve your stated concerns, & then maybe consider doing the shocks/springs later if necessary; or do the more expensive & harder (? for most ? ) to do option first, spend more money, maybe make the ride less enjoyable, and still possibly (probably??) find you STILL NEED to do the sway bar to make the difference/improvement that you're chasing!! :shocked:
Good Luck! :thumbup:
The bar will not stop the shocks from bottoming. First thing I installed were the Baja Ron adjusters on the front shocks. Big improvement. Second was tossing the Kenda's and going with car tires. Even bigger improvement. Next was the sway bar. I can notice the difference, but it wasn't as great as the tires and adjusters.
P.W.
New member
In my opinion the sway bar will defiantly help you out....but I believe your going to want to upgrade the springs/shocks as well.
Get a hold of Marcus on a set of custom M2 shocks/ springs set up for your particular needs.......at least That's the route I took to help with the body roll.
I can let you know more once our set arrives in a week or so.
My two cents,
P.W.
Get a hold of Marcus on a set of custom M2 shocks/ springs set up for your particular needs.......at least That's the route I took to help with the body roll.
I can let you know more once our set arrives in a week or so.
My two cents,
P.W.
spyderwing57
Member
I put the car tires on front I noticed an improvement. I put a sway bar and links and this took care of the rolling in corners. I might try the pre-load adjusters down the road before shocks due to cost. So far everything I upgraded worked with a noticeable difference. Thank you all.
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BajaRon
Well-known member
It would help to know what Spyder model and year you have.
Some models and years come with much better OEM shocks than others. The very worst OEM shock came on the 2010 RT. Pitiful, and nowhere near stout enough for that application. Same goes for the 2013 RT, where Can-Am made the same mistake, again, on the first year for the new, revamped RT platform. They did, finally, put a pretty good shock on the 2014+ models. Other than the lack of pre-load adjustability, these years have pretty decent shocks for OEM.
What you don't want to do is try to compensate for the weak sway bar with too stiff shocks. This simply makes for a very harsh ride. While the handling improves, the ride is not nearly as enjoyable. One reason that adjustablity is a good thing. With adjustablity, you can set your ride up just the way you like it. You get much improved handling while retaining the nice, cushy ride. The best of both worlds.
An advantage to doing 1 thing at a time is that you get a good understanding of what each modification is doing for you. Plus, you tend to get a better idea of which way you want to go for the next step, if indeed you feel the need for a next step.
Some models and years come with much better OEM shocks than others. The very worst OEM shock came on the 2010 RT. Pitiful, and nowhere near stout enough for that application. Same goes for the 2013 RT, where Can-Am made the same mistake, again, on the first year for the new, revamped RT platform. They did, finally, put a pretty good shock on the 2014+ models. Other than the lack of pre-load adjustability, these years have pretty decent shocks for OEM.
What you don't want to do is try to compensate for the weak sway bar with too stiff shocks. This simply makes for a very harsh ride. While the handling improves, the ride is not nearly as enjoyable. One reason that adjustablity is a good thing. With adjustablity, you can set your ride up just the way you like it. You get much improved handling while retaining the nice, cushy ride. The best of both worlds.
An advantage to doing 1 thing at a time is that you get a good understanding of what each modification is doing for you. Plus, you tend to get a better idea of which way you want to go for the next step, if indeed you feel the need for a next step.
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DougE
New member
I went with M2 shocks. The difference in handling is amazing. I don’t have experience with the Baja Ron sway bar, but everyone seems to like them. I might try one in the future. The M2 shocks are so good that there might not be any difference. The biggest advantage to the getting the shocks is that Marcus builds them for your load, and riding style.
MagYukon
Member
You have an RT and I have an 2016 F3T.
I never tried an RT so I can't compare.
But I went to the Bajaron Sway bar and it was a big improvement.
After that, I replaced my front shock with Elka stage 2.
If I was to do it again, I would have replaced my shock first and if still not happy with it, I would have replace the sway bar after.
As I ended up replacing shocks anyway, I should have made this one first.
I never tried an RT so I can't compare.
But I went to the Bajaron Sway bar and it was a big improvement.
After that, I replaced my front shock with Elka stage 2.
If I was to do it again, I would have replaced my shock first and if still not happy with it, I would have replace the sway bar after.
As I ended up replacing shocks anyway, I should have made this one first.
BLUEKNIGHT911
Sadly Passed Oct 2024 - RIP
You'll notice a difference (an improvement at that!
Will it be enough?! Hard to say, that depends on a whole lot of things that are largely dependant upon you: how hard or gentle or aggressive or smooth you ride; to some extent where you ride ie how tight/fast/slow/cambered your roads are; your 'feelings' about how well it works; and maybe even how much your pillion rides 'with' you & the Spyder or how much they resist/react to the forces upon them during turning.... and probably a bunch more things besides that we have little knowledge about specifically &/or little ability to determine how much difference they'll make to the overall result! :dontknow: But certainly, swapping/upgrading the sway bar alone will reduce the rolling somewhat plus it'll share the load more across both front shocks & potentially avoid or at least reduce the bottoming out, and so upgrading it WILL make a difference! :clap: And if, after ryding with the new sway bar installed, you decide that the difference it's made is not enough for you/your needs & wants, then you can move on to addressing the shocks &/or springs..... it could be that the shocks are fine, only your springs are too light for you & your pillion, your ryding style, & the conditions you ride in! :lecturef_smilie:
You could try doing the shocks/springs first, but from what you've already told us, I'd think your biggest improvement will be gained by upgrading the 'widely recognised as not quite up to the task for many' sway bar first. Upgrading the shocks & springs will very likely make a similarly noticeable improvement to your ride, but they'd do it by firming up the entire front end feel without significantly improving the rolling/reaction to cornering relationship between each side, so your ride may become firmer in a way you/your pillion doesn't like &/or still leave you with much the same worries about the rolling & cornering..... it's generally harder to resolve body rolling & cornering issues by changing shocks & springs alone without adversely effecting anything else in the way of ride & handling than it is with upgrading the sway bar....
So it all comes back to being your choice - do the easier, cheaper, & simpler first option by upgrading the sway bar & end links, which also happens to be the option that's probably the most likely to solve your stated concerns, & then maybe consider doing the shocks/springs later if necessary; or do the more expensive & harder (? for most ? ) to do option first, spend more money, maybe make the ride less enjoyable, and still possibly (probably??) find you STILL NEED to do the sway bar to make the difference/improvement that you're chasing!! :shocked:
Good Luck! :thumbup:
:agree: ..... Plus If you want to keep your ride fairly comfortable forget the shocks / springs ...... If you have switched to auto tires .... try 16-17 front and 18 psi rear .... tires are part of the suspension system - auto tires don't require the higher psi's that Kenda/s do ..... and as Peter said try the Sway bar first and see if that's enough ..... Mike :thumbup:
ChicagoSpyder
New member
One mod at a time, done matter if it's engine, drivetrain, or suspension related......One mod at a time so know what that particular mod did to the machine, once you have established a baseline for that mod then move on to the next mod, and so on and so forth.
I raced sleds cross country and the mods you were allowed were to the suspension and clutching (engines had to remain stock), guys would get all twisted up changing springs, shock valving, compression, rebound, and sway bars all at one time and just ended up with an ill handling machine that was more than likely to put you into the trees than ever making it to the finish line, and then they would wonder why they couldn't get the sled sorted out. Good tuning is done incrementally.
So start with the swaybar Yeochips and see where that gets you :thumbup:
BTW, I installed the Bajaron swaybar last year, I like it and I've been working my way up to the limits with it, I'm probably going to do something with the shocks in the future. I ride with my wife 30-40% of the time.
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