Brian Kay
New member
Late last night, Fed-Ex surprised me with a signature required delivery of my Elka Shocks. Hmmmmm, do I start on the install at 7:45 pm after an already long day or do I wait? Georgia Bill and I texted a few times shortly afterwards and he wanted to see how hard the disassembly and install may be. So I opted to try the install at 7:30 Sunday morning, and invited him over to help out. Now, Sunday morning and after a hot cup of coffee and some PB & Crackers, I prepped for my friend to visit and for some tools to be thrown around. Already at 7:30 am the temperature was in the 80's and humidity up to 85%, needless to say it was a brutal morning to be out in the garage. BUT, when's it's Christmas in July, I am happy doing these types of things.
The install is always easier after you complete the job, and realize if you just remembered a few things it would be done quick. NO tupperware removed, and simply put it's two bolts on either side that are loosened and removed to get the shocks off and new ones installed.
1.) Loosen the bottom nylock nut and leave the bolt in place, then repeat by loosening the nut off the top bolt. You should be holding two nylock nuts with the bolts remaining.
2.) While using your helper, have him raise up the front end of the sypder with your car/motorcycle jack by placing it under the front end as far back towards the A-frame as you can get....mine was in line with the center of the wheels, center of the spyder (side to side).
3.) Now, while he is raising up the front end, you will see the compression on the shock start to lessen and if you hold onto the lower bolt, you can wiggle it while it's being lifted and you can find that sweet spot where the bolt is free to move.
4.) Simply remove the bolt from the lower bracket. Then you can easily remove the top bolt as well by lightly lifting the shock and taking the pressure off the upper bolt...I had to use the lower bolt and push the top one through because my hands are big and couldn't fit easily up in the available cavity to grab and remove the bolt.
5.) Now, if you raise up the front end more, you can get enough separation between the shock and bracket to be able to slide it out and away from the frame. Keep adjusting the height of the jack while trying to remove the shock from the support bracket, it does take a little time to again find the sweet spot to free it up from the bracket...You then carefully twist and turn the shock out of the A-Frame. Easy peezy.
6.) Leave the Spyder as is, related to front end being lifted, and put in the new Elka Shock in...again being mindful and careful not to bang up the frame or shock.
7.) Lower the front end and begin to slowly raise it up again until the holes and bracket line up for the bolts to be inserted by no more than the pressure from your fingers. Now, I say to lower it and raise it up again, because my jack doesn't allow me to slowly lower...it goes kind of fast. Makes me nervous every time because it's a sudden release and it's down, lol.
8.) Now you simply just have to put the nuts back on, tighten up and snug them up as best you can. The upper bolt and nut is a pain, because of the small confined space, but normal tools will get you to the finish line....just have to be patient with the amount of space you have to work with (unless you have small hands) and tighten in 1/4 turns. You will eventually get there and have them tightened.
9.) Lower the front end completely, remove the jack and you're done!
This job should not take any longer than 30-minutes...but it did for me, because I was not quick enough to realize that the lowering and raising of the jack was the most important part of the install...finding that sweet spot for the insertion of the shock and the insertion of the bolt. Hope this helps someone else in the future. The PitBull guys do a good job describing the install on the F3, and I don't think it was really any different on the RT except probably for the space I had to work with on the top side. If I only remembered what Len said about the jack positions, I would have saved some time for sure.
Performance wise, I didn't see that big of a change from the OEM shocks, except when going over a bump or during a quick swerve....I'll be on the look out for more advantages, but for now I'm happy. By the way, I have them rated for 250-270 lbs and recreational riding.
The install is always easier after you complete the job, and realize if you just remembered a few things it would be done quick. NO tupperware removed, and simply put it's two bolts on either side that are loosened and removed to get the shocks off and new ones installed.
1.) Loosen the bottom nylock nut and leave the bolt in place, then repeat by loosening the nut off the top bolt. You should be holding two nylock nuts with the bolts remaining.
2.) While using your helper, have him raise up the front end of the sypder with your car/motorcycle jack by placing it under the front end as far back towards the A-frame as you can get....mine was in line with the center of the wheels, center of the spyder (side to side).
3.) Now, while he is raising up the front end, you will see the compression on the shock start to lessen and if you hold onto the lower bolt, you can wiggle it while it's being lifted and you can find that sweet spot where the bolt is free to move.
4.) Simply remove the bolt from the lower bracket. Then you can easily remove the top bolt as well by lightly lifting the shock and taking the pressure off the upper bolt...I had to use the lower bolt and push the top one through because my hands are big and couldn't fit easily up in the available cavity to grab and remove the bolt.
5.) Now, if you raise up the front end more, you can get enough separation between the shock and bracket to be able to slide it out and away from the frame. Keep adjusting the height of the jack while trying to remove the shock from the support bracket, it does take a little time to again find the sweet spot to free it up from the bracket...You then carefully twist and turn the shock out of the A-Frame. Easy peezy.
6.) Leave the Spyder as is, related to front end being lifted, and put in the new Elka Shock in...again being mindful and careful not to bang up the frame or shock.
7.) Lower the front end and begin to slowly raise it up again until the holes and bracket line up for the bolts to be inserted by no more than the pressure from your fingers. Now, I say to lower it and raise it up again, because my jack doesn't allow me to slowly lower...it goes kind of fast. Makes me nervous every time because it's a sudden release and it's down, lol.
8.) Now you simply just have to put the nuts back on, tighten up and snug them up as best you can. The upper bolt and nut is a pain, because of the small confined space, but normal tools will get you to the finish line....just have to be patient with the amount of space you have to work with (unless you have small hands) and tighten in 1/4 turns. You will eventually get there and have them tightened.
9.) Lower the front end completely, remove the jack and you're done!
This job should not take any longer than 30-minutes...but it did for me, because I was not quick enough to realize that the lowering and raising of the jack was the most important part of the install...finding that sweet spot for the insertion of the shock and the insertion of the bolt. Hope this helps someone else in the future. The PitBull guys do a good job describing the install on the F3, and I don't think it was really any different on the RT except probably for the space I had to work with on the top side. If I only remembered what Len said about the jack positions, I would have saved some time for sure.
Performance wise, I didn't see that big of a change from the OEM shocks, except when going over a bump or during a quick swerve....I'll be on the look out for more advantages, but for now I'm happy. By the way, I have them rated for 250-270 lbs and recreational riding.
