Keep the sway bar or ditch the sway bar on the pro?

I pulled the sway bar out on my prior Mod Sled to help with side hilling. That worked great. This Pro however works very well just the way it is. Personally I'll leave it in. JMHO

Are you having problems sidehilling with the Pro? It is hands down the easiest sled to sidehill for me. I can stand on it in my garage and very easily pull it on it's side. Why mess with the setup if it works?

Keep it. On the Pro... definitely.

Here is an adaptation of a post I put up a while back.

Before you may get all riled up… I do believe that you can get good performance from the sleds without a swaybar… but your shocks will need to be re-sprung/valved. I've had a PRO with my dialed in $1500 Fox EVOL-X's on it and I did like it... but that is an expensive shock with a lot of time in the 5 different adjustments those shocks have.

This conversation is for the "Average Joe/Josephine" that does not have upgraded shocks or years of riding experience.

With the PRO Chassis ... With stock shocks...with the sway bar out... for the most part…. you are really not getting the sled "on edge" even though it may feel like it...You are compressing the front shock and flexing the track.

Many people have this misconception…. I Did too (until I worked with Dan Adams on my technique)

When the shock is collapsed, there is little travel remaining to deal with rough terrain or crusty snow. Even more evident on a steep side hill when the body panels are riding deep in the snow and want to push you back down the hill…much less evident on a PRO RMK than the Previous models.... usually resulting in a roll over or requiring that you turn down the hill and going, usually, where you don’t want to go.

Truly getting the sled "on edge" DOES require more effort (to learn) and balance... It takes a practice to get comfortable with it... but the efforts over a few days of riding will, IMO, transform your riding. Once you "get it"... there is not much effort to the tequnique and you don't get tired on long sidehills.

With the proper swaybar OR new shocks that are valved and sprung for no swaybar... the sled will get up on edge well and hold a line without the shock collapsing on a steep sidehill... and kept the travel in the shock to deal with terrain and not get bucked back down the hill...Nor buck you off when doing powder carves in a meadow.

Yes, you can throw it around easier without the swaybar out...BUT... this is a dead-giveaway that you need to work on your riding techniques...In most cases.

I had the same misunderstanding and needed to work on it. This is the key to better riding on a Mountain sled IMO.

Cranking up the preload on the spring or putting more air in the shock is not the answer either as you can get into coil bind or the air-shock does not want to compress fully and gets super stiff… especially in the standard floats. Plus… this throws off the engineered balance of the sled as it increases the ride heigh of the sled... though some people adapt to it.

In the end... it boils down to practice... get into a packed out field and spend the day getting and keeping your sled on edge in left and right turns. Throttle control is important here too. Sometimes, like for me, it took an hour of literally walking next to my sled with it on edge and controlling the throttle, skis and balance of the sled before I could ride it that way.

You should be able to ride on one ski indefinitely, with little effort, once you have perfected the technique.

My 2 cents.

WHAT HE SAID X2 :face-icon-small-hap

keep it on

I left mine in, but in hard or set up snow, I found the sled more difficult to handle, so I removed the sway bar and loved the ease I could handle the sled. Now that I have more experience on the sled, I'm finding it a bit too easy to lay over and I'm putting the sway bar back on. Easy to do, so try it both ways. It is easier to lay over without the sway bar.

Tim, Either way works fine and no right answer imo. I say take it out and try it. You could always put it back in.

I've rode two other pro's more then once with the sway bars removed before realizing they had been removed and then afterwards wondered why I should leave mine in and I'm a fan of sway bars including in the older chassis. The pro chassis handles very well with the sway bar removed.

After all the shocks will be cranked up for the big drops so you'll never miss it. Let us know how the tunnel holds up though. :face-icon-small-win

if your a tree rider you'll know what to do with it

You mean leave it in like Adams and Burandt???

no don't be a sheep and follow the heard i'm into working on my own technique and what works for me instead of trying to copy someone elses. i guess you have to get to a certain level to realize this:light: heck if those guys said to put peanut butter on your track to get farther up the hill half the yahoos out there with thier klim gear and 10k worth of mods, who still can't ride half a day off trail without almost killing thier lazy out of shape a$$e$, would be buying soo much there'd be a national shortage!!! i'm more into trying what works for me. they are great riders, i'm no slouch. not saying i'm in thier league, just a guy who has ridden all his life. i know what i like and what fits my style. don't need anyone telling me what will work for me or how i should set up my sled. I know they say no mt. bar or lefty, wouldn't leave home without mine!!! next they'll be telling you to take off your brake lever because its only slowing you down IMO, no gay bar...

warning: other opinions may vary, but i don't care

Sway bar in, or sway bar out with heavier shock adjustment...works great either way.

Get the shocks rebuilt by Carl's and take out the swaybar.

Please leave it in...That's what she said.

Eric's post is right on the money! You can NOT remove the sway bar and simply tighten up your springs. Doesn't work that way.

Revalves do not change the spring rate which is important to increase if you pull the swaybar.

The swaybar in effect adds spring force by sharing it bewteen the two shocks...separate them and the springs will feel soft.

A custom revalve and some springs would be the minimum...
IMO... leave it in and learn the benefits of getting the sled on edge rather than squatting the sled on one side.

It takes a while and you need to have good physical conditioning work on your balance... Once you do... you will be a better rider for your efforts IMO... I'm 45 and learned this late..... It was a "game changer" for me.

TIM said:

I ahve always been a remove the sway bar type of guy and i did that on a iq and that wasn't the best move.

I am coming off of a cat with out the sway bar and am wondering if i should remove the sway bar on the pro? personally i am thinking take the sway bar out and stiffen up the front shocks.

thanks
tim

Click to expand...

Tighten the spring more then 1.5 turns and you'll be riding a pogo stick.

It works fine for me with the sway bar in.

Trail riding to the alpine is a necessary evil and this sled already has a tough balance of ski lift and understeer when trying to make time through the corners. I would assume removing the sway bar would exacerbate this further.