Shock upgrade....is it really worth it?

[irvin48]

i'll bet youre now as confused as i am. our '15 leans quite a bit 2 up.
my wife would rather i slow down than spend more money. i would like to try
rons spring adjusters but if the front end is raised , ive been told you need
to realign. for now, we slow down.

ps. i put on rons bar right after i got it.

 

[trikermutha]

i'll bet youre now as confused as i am. our '15 leans quite a bit 2 up.
my wife would rather i slow down than spend more money. i would like to try
rons spring adjusters but if the front end is raised , ive been told you need
to realign. for now, we slow down.

ps. i put on rons bar right after i got it.

You will not need to realign unless you raise the front end way up. Normally 2 turns is all you need and it keeps it around stock height

 

[Lew L]

Ron's anti-sway bar and Doc's spring stiffeners worked wonders. Thanks to the both of younojoke

 

[irvin48]

do the fox shocks have spring adjusters on the bottom or just the usual
4 or 5 step preload? if anyone as some good used ones i might be interested.
does the bottom preload keep the stock height?just trying to get some more
info. between the foglamps laying here and some shocks it would be a good
time to try frunk removal.:bowdown:

 

[BajaRon]

i'll bet youre now as confused as i am. our '15 leans quite a bit 2 up.
my wife would rather i slow down than spend more money. i would like to try
rons spring adjusters but if the front end is raised , ive been told you need
to realign. for now, we slow down.

ps. i put on rons bar right after i got it.

The adjusters are not so much to raise the front of your Spyder as to maintain the factory height. Your Spyder is aligned at a particular front end ride height. Let's say 6" from nose to ground for sake of illustration. So 6" is always going to be the ideal position for your front suspension. There is a relatively small window of suspension travel where this perfect alignment is maintained. As you move outside of this 'Ideal' ride height. Not only will your alignment be compromised. But handling is also negatively affected.

Let's say that when you load your Spyder (luggage, rider(s), etc) you lose 2" of ride height and your ideal 6" is now down to 4". Not only are you more susceptible to pavement strikes (entering steep driveway approaches, speed bumps, etc.) But your alignment and handling are compromised. What the shock adjusters do is give you the ability to return your Spyder to the original ride height of 6". They accomplish this by increasing the spring support which give the added advantages of reducing sway and dive, essentially giving you additional ground clearance when you need it most.

Slowing down is fine and everyone should ride in a manner that suits them best. But adding something to control the additional weight and loading makes the Spyder safer, easier to handle and increases your confidence in the machine and the ride more enjoyable. Especially in those rare emergency situations.

 

[canamjhb]

I am NOW very happy with the Elka upgrades. Whatever you do, make sure you verify and confirm and then double check everything. I had my shocks rebuilt and ASSUMED they were set for my weight and riding style. After a few thousand miles of fighting the bike in turns, I realized there was a difference in preload of the shocks. I could kinda feel that one side was stiffer than the other when standing on the floorboards and rocking back and forth. Measuring the shock preload reveled that there was almost a half inch difference in shock preload. After adjusting, I am now a very happy rider. A tremendous difference in handling and I couldn't be happier.....

 

[ThreeWheels]

It's a long thread, so I just skimmed it.
I'm sure someone else has said the same thing, so I apologize in advance for being redundant.

The biggest bang for your buck is replacing the stock Sway Bar with the RonBar. Single biggest improvement you can make to the handling of the Spayder, Bar None. (pun intended). Makes the Spyder corner like it's on rails, without affecting the plushness of the ride.

Installing new shocks, or shock adjusters affects the ride. You may want that, or not.
Try the RonBar first and see if that's adequate for your needs. If not, buy the Elkas.

Just my opinion, I could be wrong, and if I am, someone on this forum will surely let me know about it soon.

 

[SPYD1]

I've owned 3 Spyder's over 8 years. In my opinion, any improvements made to the suspension are worthwhile. I currently have added the sway bar and the adjusters from Ron. I have also driven Spyder's with just the Fox adds and Elkas. Not much difference to me if any. Again, just my opinion.