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Bye bye sway bar!

15K views 12 replies 3 participants last post by  fjen 
#1 ·
Had my Ace out today for the first ride without the sway bar. It didn't feel any different to ride without it and much more flex. My husband rode behind me for a while and said it looked much better. Not stiff in the back anymore.
 
#3 ·
Not sure what you mean by "side hills"? We played in the dunes and I rode across the sides of hills there. Rode up some rocky and off camber places and it seemed to really help. I normally don't ride at high speed, so can't comment on that. My husband did take it for a quick spin around one of the bowls in the dunes area, probably the closest thing to turning at high speed it did.
 
#5 ·
By side hills, I mean steep off camber stuff. You know, when you are crossing a hill sideways instead of going up or down it, and the trail has not been cut level, so you're worried about tipping over on your side.
Riding across a dune face is kind of like that, but since the sand slips so much under the tires it's not quite the same.

There is lots of talk on the RZR forums about removing the sway bars. Most people are talking about the front sway bars, and not all RZRs have those.
But the "extreme" guys (there are ALWAYS some) removed the rear sway bars too.
Some of them compensated for it by installing aftermarket progressive springs, which get stiffer as they are compressed more. Others did not.

I tried disconnecting the sway bars on the rear of my RZR S (it does not have front sway bars), and I found that when crossing a hill sideways it leaned WAY over and I found it uncomfortable.
I also found that when going around turns at speeds of 25-30 mph on service roads, the "body roll" felt very scary, and it also created unpredictable behavior from the weight of the machine shifting so suddenly, because it was not being resisted by the sway bar.
Of course most of this is not a problem if you are driving slow, or on only moderate side hills, and it would be fantastic for rock crawling.

The bottom line was that removing the sway bars was not a good idea for me, and I reconnected mine at the first opportunity.
I was not willing to pay a few hundred extra for a set of specialized springs, and my riding style was not conducive to not having a sway bar.
A lot of people like the way the ACE feels "planted" and does not lean a lot in corners. That's the sway bar in action.

I'm not saying it's a bad idea for everyone - if it suits your riding style and terrain, then more power to you.

Maybe the ACE is different. I may try it again with the ACE, maybe.
 
#6 ·
Just an after-thought: I was not asking about this so I could shoot you down or anything, I was curious about how it feels/rides without the sway bar.
Then I felt compelled to explain my experiences with the subject, and then it kind of turned into something like "if we're going to talk about sway bars, people who come and read this thread later should hear the full story - pros and cons".

Anyway, shutting up now.
 
#7 ·
Lol, no problem. Most of our riding is in a park with woods, dunes, and a rock quarry. We ride in the creek where there are a lot of rocks, in the woods with plenty of off camber stuff and do some rock climbing. We don't really ride fast, so I think it's a good improvement. I wanted to try it here at home first before we head to WV next weekend and I'm pleased with the result.
 
#9 ·
I've had my swaybar disconnected for a while now. I do keep the stuff with me to reconnect, but I've never felt the need. I think it's a trade off. The pros and cons may shift depending on the type of riding one does. I tend to ride on slower trails (under 25mph generally). I tend to avoid side hills as a rule. I think Scoundrel is correct that excess body roll is the main con. Of course, that's what a sway bar is for. For me, the improvement in articulation outweighs the extra body roll. I ride in a lot of slow rocky rooty trails and with the swaybar connected it really beat me up. I felt the ride was much improved with the swaybar disconnected. Maybe I tend to slow down more for corners to avoid excess body roll. If you like to drift in corners, disconnecting probably isn't for you. It does lean a little more on side hills, so if you find that uncomfortable, disconnecting may not be for you. For me, the trade off is worth it.
I'm trying to come up with ideas to have an adjustable or defeatable swaybar control on the fly.
 
#10 ·
For me, the improvement in articulation outweighs the extra body roll. I ride in a lot of slow rocky rooty trails and with the swaybar connected it really beat me up. I felt the ride was much improved with the swaybar disconnected. Maybe I tend to slow down more for corners to avoid excess body roll. If you like to drift in corners, disconnecting probably isn't for you. It does lean a little more on side hills, so if you find that uncomfortable, disconnecting may not be for you. For me, the trade off is worth it.
I'm trying to come up with ideas to have an adjustable or defeatable swaybar control on the fly.
I think this is where progressive springs come in.
 
#11 ·
After riding the Ace on the Hatfield-McCoy trails for a week without the sway bar, I'm in love with the ride! It felt more sure-footed keeping all 4 wheels on the ground. The slight body roll while riding was actually kind of fun. To me, it felt stable at all times. We even rode some black trails after getting bored with the green and blue ones. It did great on those too. Had to turn back on a couple of them going up steep hills that had large boulders in the way. The angle would have been too much for the short wheel base. But, it was a wonderful week. Got in about 350 miles in.
 
#13 ·
Yeah, it definitely tackled some nice stuff! And yes, you need shorter bolts.
This video is a climb we do often at our off-road park. My FJ is the first one. :) Couldn't find the daytime video of it, but just wanted to share because I thought about doing it on the Ace, but decided against it. My husband actually gave it a try and it made it up, but wheely-style. Didn't think to record it and couldn't get him to do it again.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bT7Q0mkeTWk
 
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