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Shocks vs. Swaybar...

LisaT

LisaT

New member
I need advice!!! I have been reading the pro's and con's to both adding swaybar and shocks...is one recommended more then the other? I have a 2010 RT SE5....I have an opportunity to buy a set of 2012 front shocks....and I am planning on buying the Swaybar from BajaRon....should I do both, do I need to do both? Any opinions are welcome!!!
 
We have a 2010, and when we got it my owner/boss/wife on the back was never really comfortable on the highway with the suspension on 5.

Dipping over while doing lane changes at high speed, really was her concern.

We added Elka Shocks and she said she really likes the improvement and highway riding was now OK.

Then we added the Sway bar and now it is, OK highway here we come.

Her words are, this is what BRP should have build in the 1st place.
 
I have a 2012 and recently added the Bajaron sway bar. Amazing improvement.
My opinion would be to go with the 2012 shocks and the Bajaron sway bar, as I understand the newer shocks are improved.
 
LisaT said:
I need advice!!! I have been reading the pro's and con's to both adding swaybar and shocks...is one recommended more then the other? I have a 2010 RT SE5....I have an opportunity to buy a set of 2012 front shocks....and I am planning on buying the Swaybar from BajaRon....should I do both, do I need to do both? Any opinions are welcome!!!
Click to expand...

Buy the 2012 Shocks and Use #5 Stiffness AND add the Sway Bar to help you in Hard/Sharp corners!!!

One BIG thing Positive about the SwayBar is that if you have to make a "Sudden Swerve" at Highway Speeds the Sway Bar will make the Manuver "Much More" user friendly and Keep you on the Spyder!nojoke
 
I have a 2011 and both. I would say, buy the bar first. If you are happy with it, you have saved $$$. If you want to make it even better & have adjustability, get the shocks when you can afford them!
 
I added an Evo sway bar on my 2010 RTS just month after I bought it. Had an after market bar not been avaibale I am sure bike would have been sold real fast. Ron,s bar I think is even better.
Shocks! I also a few weeks back installed almost new 2012 shocks. Here what I found out after they were installed. On 5-4- and 3 settings ride was way to hard for me. I now run them on 2. After 10,000 or more might move up to 3 setting. I really think the addition of Ron,s bar on any RTS is the best bang for the buck. I can not understand how any one could ride on a set of 2011 or 12 shocks on a high a setting and put up with the hard ride.
 
I can only speak for the sway bars available here in Australia (PM me if you want contact details) and they make an incredible difference. As far as shocks go, save your pennies and buy the Elkas; they have transformed the Spyder both from a ride comfort and handling perspective. Yes, they both cost a bit but they really are two purchases without buyer remorse.

Rob
 
One at a time..!!

I have installed BajaRon's sway bar and uped the shock setting witha noticeable difference. Will ryde this way for awhile before I invest in shocks. Next would be the RT shocks alot of them out there cheap. Last would be the big buck item although I don't think I will get there...not that wild a ryder...:ohyea:
 
I have a 2010 RT as well.
Maybe I'm not as aggressive a rider as others.
I upgraded to a set of 2011 shocks and have been very happy with them, having gone to the Dragon once with the 2010 shocks and once with the 2011 shocks. They are 80% as good as the Elka's at 20% of the cost.
I'm thinking about adding the BajaRon swaybar, but mostly because I'm afraid that they won't be available in a few years because BRP changed the suspension in 2013.
Pitbull is also developing a set of brackets that will allow you to relocate the shocks to a more vertical position, just like the 2013. This should also help.
So there are essentially three ways to improve your 2010 suspension. New Shocks (OEM or Elka) New Sway Bar (BajaRon) and New Relocation Brackets (PitBull).
Depending on your riding style, you can choose either door or all three.
As I said, I've done the shocks and I'm very happy.
I'm considering the other two upgrades "because they are there" but are not high priority.

I hope this helps. Keep us posted so we know how you make out.
 
As you can see, you're going to get a lot of opinions. I can tell you that the 2010 RT had the weakest shocks and sway bar of them all. So you will actually see a greater improvement that those with later model RT's.

Personally, I would get both the sway bar and shocks. You will be amazed.

The OEM 2012 shocks are not Elka's but they are much improved over the earlier versions. Better dampening and I believe a stiffer spring.

And the sway bar will probably knock your socks off. These 2 upgrades will complement each other and fix a lot of what was wrong with the suspension on the 2010 RT's.

If you do both, let us know what you think when you're done. For the money, I think you'll be very pleased.
 
BajaRon said:
As you can see, you're going to get a lot of opinions. I can tell you that the 2010 RT had the weakest shocks and sway bar of them all. So you will actually see a greater improvement that those with later model RT's.

Personally, I would get both the sway bar and shocks. You will be amazed.

The OEM 2012 shocks are not Elka's but they are much improved over the earlier versions. Better dampening and I believe a stiffer spring.

And the sway bar will probably knock your socks off. These 2 upgrades will complement each other and fix a lot of what was wrong with the suspension on the 2010 RT's.

If you do both, let us know what you think when you're done. For the money, I think you'll be very pleased.
Click to expand...

The 2012 RT shocks are identical to the 2011s...both spring and shock. The 2010 RT spring is the same, only the shock differs.
 
I had originally swapped out my 2010 shocks, for a set of 2011s. There was a very noticeable improvement in how the front-end of the bike felt and reacted.
I ended up using preload position #4 on both sets of shocks to get a fair comparison of the the differences between them.
But now that i'm all Elka'd up; I've got to wait and see when the weather improves! :thumbup:
The RonBar is next of the project list also...
Then PitBull's shock bracket...
And then... :shocked:
 
I have have and had everything including the 2011 shocks (came with my 2011 RT of course) set to firmest, then the Elkas which provided a very marginal improvement but raised the front end too much, then firmer springs on the Elkas which gave a bit better connering but made for a stiff sports car like ride and now the sway bar which adds to cornering control. I then reset my shocks to lower the front end again to regain a closer to stock center of gravity and added the skid plate/critter cutter. The ride is much less harsh and cornerking is improved but I need more saddle time to know how much as it was raining hard that day and I went for back surgery last week and cannot ride for a couple more weeks.

If I was on a budget I would buy the 2011 shocks (I have a set someone can have for a deal) and the sway bar. The shocks will help more on the staights and aid the cornering, the way bar will improve you cornering/swerving noticiable. The Elkas really seamed to reduce cross wind/large trucks effects so I expect the sway bar will help there too. The 2011 shocks did nothing to control those issues no matter what setting.

Now, last summer a group of us took a ride up a nice twisties moutain road and I had to keep slowing down to let the other catch up so it. When we hit the summit several of the RS and RT riders commented that they could not keep up so the Elkas with the firmer springs may have done more than I gave them credit for since at no time did I feel I was nearing the edge of control (well maybe once :opps: ).

Regards,

Randy
 
THE RON BAR

Is the way to go, I have a 2012 rt, and last week put the sway bar on , had the shocks set to 5 , just to handle the way i like to ride WFO, now reset the shocks to 3 , with the sway bay, 100x better and now u can hold that line at any speed, just get it ,only less then a hour to install , very few tools , wont make it look any difference but when you pass those 2 wheelers in a corner ,PRICELESS.
 

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A stupid question just popped into my head... :shocked:
When mounting Elka shocks; do they mount with the Springs up (like the OEMs); or springs down?? :dontknow:
 
:shocked:
Good thing that I asked... I could find nothing in the included manual that seemed to spell this out clearly.
Thanks a million! :thumbup:
 
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