Hard turning - not sure what a sway bar upgrade will fix??

[manttila]

Sway bar and easier turning?

I have a 2014 and have put about 700 miles and it definitely feel different with and without a passenger. We are probably considered average weight and size. Have increased the tire pressure and run the rear shock on max stiffness. Is that the best way to minimize sway on the 2014?

My main question is ease of steering? I have wrist problems and would like to make it easier to turn this bike. Tire pressure seemed to help but would a stiffer sway bar be a POSITIVE or NEGATIVE when it comes to TURNING EASE?

Thanks,

 

[Magdave]

I have a 2014 and have put about 700 miles and it definitely feel different with and without a passenger. We are probably considered average weight and size. Have increased the tire pressure and run the rear shock on max stiffness. Is that the best way to minimize sway on the 2014?

My main question is ease of steering? I have wrist problems and would like to make it easier to turn this bike. Tire pressure seemed to help but would a stiffer sway bar be a POSITIVE or NEGATIVE when it comes to TURNING EASE?

Thanks,

It probably will not make much if any difference in the actual strength needed to turn the handle bars just the tracking and lean of the bike improves.

 

[Bob Denman]

:agree: It would take a major re-working of the "steering bits", to effect a change in the effort required... :shocked:
Would some sort of brace for your wrist help? :dontknow:

 

[manttila]

Wrist help.

Trust me there are a lot of people with more physical challenges than me but I was just looking for some options. I have had one wrist partially fused years ago and they wanted to do the other one. Glad I did not have it done. Believe it or not the Spyder created less pain after riding pain than the Goldwing I had. I think it is the clutch and brake action of the goldwing.

I do have some wrist braces that I use when there is some heavy wrist work and have tried them on the bike. I could probably get by with it on the left wrist but the right wrist when turning and using throttle make it very difficult. Thanks for the comments and suggestions.

 

[5-0 spyder]

Hard Turning

I've been reading a lot about the Baha Ron sway bar helping substantially while in turns and curves and I'm sure it was mentioned before and I probably have missed it, but how well does the Baha Ron sway bar work on straight aways? I live in Philadelphia (the land of crappy roads) and while I'm riding my 2012 RT-S on the highway it seems like it sways in the lane. Sort of like a wandering in the lane. Would the Baha Ron sway bar also help with this?

 

[Magdave]

I've been reading a lot about the Baha Ron sway bar helping substantially while in turns and curves and I'm sure it was mentioned before and I probably have missed it, but how well does the Baha Ron sway bar work on straight aways? I live in Philadelphia (the land of crappy roads) and while I'm riding my 2012 RT-S on the highway it seems like it sways in the lane. Sort of like a wandering in the lane. Would the Baha Ron sway bar also help with this?

It helps eliminate wandering (with laser alignment) and bump steer too.:thumbup:

 

[robmorg]

I would think that the laser alignment may help with weaving on the straight-a-ways more than the beefier sway bar, which is designed to reduce the centrifugal force you feel during a turn. If, however, you are talking about weaving because you are hitting potholes and other harsh road surfaces, then I'd agree that the heavier sway bar might help that situation. But I will defer to Dave who knows this stuff better than I.

I did BOTH the laser alignment and the sway bar at the same time, and it significantly improved the handling of the Spyder - but mostly in the turns. (My alignment wasn't off that much.)

Also, I don't know how many miles you have, but if you are a relatively new rider, you may be gripping the handlebars a little too tightly. That will cause a sway tendency on the straight-a-ways as well.

 

[Roadster Renovations]

I was getting a bit of swaying and I upped my front tire pressure and it seemed to help. Was 17 and I went up to 28. I plan on getting Ron's bar and links when I can. Since it is independent front suspension a stiffer sway bar should reduce that some when going straight. Not sure how much. On a automobile a sway bar gives greater stability control on both straights and curves, especially at interstate speed. It "dampens" the suspension so that you have less overcorrecting. I would think that the RT would work the same. Sure some of the senior members will be along that have actually done the mod and can give you more info.

 

[Magdave]

I was getting a bit of swaying and I upped my front tire pressure and it seemed to help. Was 17 and I went up to 28. I plan on getting Ron's bar and links when I can. Since it is independent front suspension a stiffer sway bar should reduce that some when going straight. Not sure how much. On a automobile a sway bar gives greater stability control on both straights and curves, especially at interstate speed. It "dampens" the suspension so that you have less overcorrecting. I would think that the RT would work the same. Sure some of the senior members will be along that have actually done the mod and can give you more info.

:yikes:28lbs is waaay too much. 20lbs max should be it. Even that is above Mfg recommendations of 17-19. These are very sensitive to front tire pressure and evenness between the two tires is just as important. :thumbup:

 

[robmorg]

Doc,

I'm a big guy, so I keep my front tires at 19 lbs. and that does seem to help, both on straight roads and curves. Another thing that helps is the laser alignment. When they do that, they induce a slight amount of tow-in to counteract the small degree of tow-out you get from the flexing of the suspension.

 

[TuckMiddle]

DPS, etc

hard turnning could mean your dps is not working properly. Usually you would have warnings if so but worth checking if this is something new and tire pressure can also cause this. Now as stated above the sway bar is an amazing improvement in the handling while ryding the open road. :thumbup:

Agreed. Six months ago my DPS was actually shutting down due to low voltage. My system voltmeter was dipping to 12.3 rapidly and recovering very rapidly. I thought it was probably the dps motor causing the problem. Turned out the fuel pump relay was shorting out and causing the lower voltage and the dps motor quiting. Gets your attention when on a bunch of curves and all of a sudden you are pulling a superman act to steer the Spyder. The relay had a connection filled with corrosion. They cleaned that up and all is well. Voltage stays 13.7 or 13.8 when cruising around the countryside. It does go down to 13.2 at idle. I watch the digital voltmeter like a hawk now. Strange part was I never got a dps warning or code. I pick my Spyder up tomorrow from my first association with the dreaded limp home mode. Walked out from a Harley HOG meeting last Sat and started up and immediately got the limp home screen and eng quit. All this surrounded by 100 or so Harley riders. After several restarts and the same LHM, took the key out for 20 minutes and had a cup of coffee - same thing. The Harley dealer loaded it up and delivered it to my Spyder dealer - have done a lot with the HD folks, but this was above the call of duty. Turns out the bike started when we unloaded it, no LHM. Shut it off after unloading and LHM comes right back, with 3 codes. Turns out the throttle positioning was suppossedly the problem. We'll see when I get it tomorrow. All this with 48,000 miles and pretty much trouble free, just a couple recurring minor electrical items. Life is good, coming up on 77 years young soon.
:cheers:
Tuck

 

[Marker]

I have a 2010 RT-S . Since I got a laser alignment done the spyder corners like it is on rails. As soon as I took the first corner after the laser alignment I could feel the difference.
I also ride with 22psi in the front tires and ride with 30 psi in the rear tires for me this really helps too. I also lean into the corners when turning a little body lean I thinks help the spyder turn.

When rode to Tennessee this May from Canada and Had my spyder laser alignment done int Tennessee so it helped my ride the twisties all week. We then rode back to Canada. I had a great week to test the laser alignment and it was the best money spent on my spyder to date.

The spyder alignment was out a 1/8" and the torque sensor was reset from -2 to zero using budds.

 

[Gray Ghost]

I will definitely do the laser alignment as soon as I find someone near me that does it
Stefan

You can find the folks that do the ROLO Laser Alignment at www.spydercomfort.com/dealers