tehrlich
New member
At 18K total miles of upgrades, here and there, and a visit to Thornoli's in Houston, I think my 2015 RT is finally at a "perfect ryde."
My opinion on the upgrades that are necessary to achieve it, and in order of importance:
1. Laser alignment.
2. Shock upgrade. Fox. Elka.
3. Car tires.
4. Centrimatic wheel balancers.
5. Baja Ron anti-sway bar.
6. belt dampening device.
I didn't do all of these at once, of course, but James Thornoli put the icing on the cake this weekend: Yokohama tires and belt tensioner!
Laser alignment: My RT has always been good in this department, but can only imagine the problem it must be when it isn't aligned properly. My original dealer (Central Texas Powersports) had it aligned, and James touched up the alignment with the laser this weekend.
Shock upgrade: I'm astonished that BRP puts such soft springs on their RT's, especially with it being for two up!! I put new Fox shocks on after only a few hundred miles of ownership, and it made a HUGE difference. Do not settle for the cheap stock shocks! It's an easy install.
Car tires: After riding on my new Yokohama's this weekend, I wish that I just dumped all three Kenda's at the beginning and put these on. With my next Spyder, I will definitely be doing this. I don't care if the Kenda's are brand new. There is too much stability gained with the harder compounds, cornered profile, and larger surface area that it's worth turning the Kenda's into flowerbed mulch.
Centrimatic wheel balancers: Bought the fronts from Lamonster at about 15K miles on the original Kenda's. These are a MUST HAVE!! They smoothed out minor vibrations that I didn't even realize! I swear it made the belt have less vibration, too, but that is hard to say. The fronts are an easy install. GREAT bang for the buck! The rear is obviously more difficult. I had the rear Centrimatic installed when James mounted the new tires. I don't know if it is a necessity with a new car tire, but I'm sure it would help with the weak original Kenda.
Bajaron Antisway bar: Another MUST HAVE. Obvious. No more fighting the corners! I placed this myself after I already had the Fox shocks upgrade. A bit tricky to install, but just follow the detailed instructions.
Belt dampening device: reducing that ANNOYING vibration at that 3800-4000 RPM range is a nice thing to have. In my opinion, not a MUST HAVE, but it makes it a nicer ride when you are at the MPH in that RPM range, and not having to bump it past it. James installed the BRP version. There are other options from sponsors here.
Gosh, doing just one of these upgrades will make a difference. Assuming that your alignment was in spec, if you could only buy ONE of those listed above, I would recommend a front shock upgrade. Move on from there.
My opinion on the upgrades that are necessary to achieve it, and in order of importance:
1. Laser alignment.
2. Shock upgrade. Fox. Elka.
3. Car tires.
4. Centrimatic wheel balancers.
5. Baja Ron anti-sway bar.
6. belt dampening device.
I didn't do all of these at once, of course, but James Thornoli put the icing on the cake this weekend: Yokohama tires and belt tensioner!
Laser alignment: My RT has always been good in this department, but can only imagine the problem it must be when it isn't aligned properly. My original dealer (Central Texas Powersports) had it aligned, and James touched up the alignment with the laser this weekend.
Shock upgrade: I'm astonished that BRP puts such soft springs on their RT's, especially with it being for two up!! I put new Fox shocks on after only a few hundred miles of ownership, and it made a HUGE difference. Do not settle for the cheap stock shocks! It's an easy install.
Car tires: After riding on my new Yokohama's this weekend, I wish that I just dumped all three Kenda's at the beginning and put these on. With my next Spyder, I will definitely be doing this. I don't care if the Kenda's are brand new. There is too much stability gained with the harder compounds, cornered profile, and larger surface area that it's worth turning the Kenda's into flowerbed mulch.
Centrimatic wheel balancers: Bought the fronts from Lamonster at about 15K miles on the original Kenda's. These are a MUST HAVE!! They smoothed out minor vibrations that I didn't even realize! I swear it made the belt have less vibration, too, but that is hard to say. The fronts are an easy install. GREAT bang for the buck! The rear is obviously more difficult. I had the rear Centrimatic installed when James mounted the new tires. I don't know if it is a necessity with a new car tire, but I'm sure it would help with the weak original Kenda.
Bajaron Antisway bar: Another MUST HAVE. Obvious. No more fighting the corners! I placed this myself after I already had the Fox shocks upgrade. A bit tricky to install, but just follow the detailed instructions.
Belt dampening device: reducing that ANNOYING vibration at that 3800-4000 RPM range is a nice thing to have. In my opinion, not a MUST HAVE, but it makes it a nicer ride when you are at the MPH in that RPM range, and not having to bump it past it. James installed the BRP version. There are other options from sponsors here.
Gosh, doing just one of these upgrades will make a difference. Assuming that your alignment was in spec, if you could only buy ONE of those listed above, I would recommend a front shock upgrade. Move on from there.
Last edited:
hyea:
