Cognito's RZR S Replacement Sway Bar
A few months ago I got an e-mail from the guys at Cognito asking if I was interested in trying out a new RZR S sway bar and beating on it a little for them, and I couldn't say no!
While the stock bar is a light weight thin hollow tube design the Cognito bar is a strong solid bar of a smaller diameter with adjustments so you can adjust the handling characteristics of the machine. This kit came with the new heavy duty bar along with all new mounting hardware.
The stock thin wall hollow tube sway bar is far from par and will not handle the abuse that these machines throw at it and for that reason I removed the factory sway bar before my bike ever hit the trails. My general idea for this was I didn't want to get use to the stock bar and then have it break when I least expected it, if entering a hard turn at high speed with the stock sway bar and it was to twist and break mid turn could be a disaster. With all this in mind When I was waiting on this new bar from Cognito I got pretty excited to see what they had come up with to say the least!
By Taking measurements with both bars I was thinking the firm setting on the Cognito bar would be a little firmer than stock because it actually articulated less when sitting still in the shop but honestly it feels a little lighter than stock when in motion on the trails.. On the softer setting taking measurements in the shop it measured about the same as stock so it should feel about the same but on the trails it to feels softer. I assume the smaller diameter bar makes for a better feel because it allows more twisting when in motion. I am one to not normally run a sway bar but unless I am hitting larger diameter logs and/or rocks or articulating in a pretty deep rut I don't really notice this bar but when up at speed the bar really announces its presences with less body roll and a much tighter feel (when compared to no bar at all). I first done mostly riding in creek beds and washed out trails to try and put this bar to a strength/durability test and to check to see if it would get weaker with the flexing and it is right on so far with no noticeable differences. I have spent several miles on the pavement and a few on open gravel roads where I could have a little fun with it. I have rode several miles on both the softer and the firmer setting but so far I prefer the firmer setting for most of the riding I have done except for when I was rock crawling and looking for maximum articulation where then I would prefer it unhooked but hooked on the softer setting it felt a little better than the stock bar for a compromise between having a sway bar and not having a sway bar.
Like I said earlier I am not one to normally run a bar and I removed the stock bar from my RZR before it ever hit the trail so I had to reinstall it and ride it some with the stock bar to get an Idea so I could actually compare the two. So Far I am getting use to the Cognito bar on my RZR and liking it, it would be nice to have a quick disconnect for those tough rock climbs and deep wash outs but other than that for the most of my riding I am really liking having the bar and the ride it offers!