Tyres, Brakes and Suspension » ESA

I've just bought a sport version of the 1250 (non ESA) and have noticed that all reviews rave about the ESA settings. I've not picked the bike up tho have test rode it (found it a bit wallowy tho tweaks should sort that). My question is is ESA something I'll miss, most of my 1200 GS's didnt have it tho the 700 did so I'm not entirely sure .. any thoughts ?

Zitat von Exgser im Beitrag #1

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I've just bought a sport version of the 1250 (non ESA) and have noticed that all reviews rave about the ESA settings. I've not picked the bike up tho have test rode it (found it a bit wallowy tho tweaks should sort that). My question is is ESA something I'll miss, most of my 1200 GS's didnt have it tho the 700 did so I'm not entirely sure .. any thoughts ?

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Love the way that I can use the road soft setting on motorways and the much harder dynamic setting for other roads, would not do without the ESA.

Now that I've had two Beemers with esa, there's really no going back. Lots of makers are coming on board with their version of same.

Hit the highways, road mode. Get into the twisties, dynamic mode. Catch some wet slab, rain mode. Use the technology to your advantage. Yes, it's expensive, yes it's expensive to fix/replace, but then, most advanced technology is the same.

Zitat von himoverthere im Beitrag #3

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Love the way that I can use the road soft setting on motorways and the much harder dynamic setting for other roads, would not do without the ESA.

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Will you miss it? Not if you've not had it before.
Dynamic ESA on 1250's works really well but it's a very automatic system. You have two damping settings which are basically road and sport, no other alternatives or adjustment possible. And the rear preload can be set to min, max or auto. And that's it. Having said that there is a nice simplicity to the settings with little to worry or puzzle yourself about, it just gets on with the job of keeping you suspended and the tyres in contact with the tarmac. I leave mine in auto/road nearly all the time, if it only had one damping setting I would dial in something between road and sport.
With the non-ESA bike you can spend some time getting the settings exactly how you want them with what adjustment you have.

Zitat von Richard230 im Beitrag #5

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Zitat von himoverthere im Beitrag #3

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Love the way that I can use the road soft setting on motorways and the much harder dynamic setting for other roads, would not do without the ESA.

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I wish my 2016 (April 2015-build) was like that. My ESA rides hard on the road setting and switching to dynamic hardly makes any difference. The ESA on my bike is not nearly as good as the 3-setting one that was on my 2007 R1200R.

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" ... Are you in this ball park or an outlier on the bell curve like Richard? ..."

Yes, probably towards the outside of the curve - 70KG. Maybe I should strap on some weights or pursuade my wife to come out as pillion.

I am about 80kg wet. There is a road near me where the tarmac has been affected by the sun and it has an undulation that runs for a few hundred metres. In Dynamic I feel it, in Road I don't. I never carry passengers nor have I had the bike loaded up yet, so cannot comment on ESA on a heavy bike.

ESA is does two things, adjust rear shock preload. This automatically compensates for heavy luggage, two up riding, your weight, etc. It does NOT change the spring rate. A great idea. Keeps sag more or less the same over a wide range of loads.
It is most important if the load on your bike change often. ie if you use your RS only solo, do not carry heavy baggage, etc the change in preload does little for you.

The second thing ESA does is change the dampening rate. To my knowledge it only changes the compression dampening, NOT rebound. Increasing the dampening makes for a harsher ride, stiffens both front and rear and decrease dive and wallow making aggressive cornering more stable/predictable. This is a good thing giving you a smoother ride when you want it and a stiffer ride in the twisties. Again to my knowledge, the BMW is some what adaptive, ie adjusts dampening by it self..by sensing the suspension action. ie I've noticed this after riding on the smooth interstate and getting on a rough secondary road the bike wallows and some what po-gos for a couple of miles till it stiffens up a bit on it's own. Again a good thing.

ESA is a great compromise in suspension improvement. II is a great boon for most riders, especially those that some times carry heavier or lighter load.

It is NOT a great suspension if you are serious...really obsessed with the best suspension possible.

To have a great suspension you must get the spring rate that is suitable to your weight and riding style. In todays world that is getting the right springs that have the spring rate you want.

Having a suspension that does only compression dampening is OK but rebound dampening does make a huge difference. It helps respond to "sharp" inputs and often allows us of a thinner dampening fluid to give you a more compliant suspension, ie keeping the tire on the road better.

In today world the only way to get this is after market and $$$, realizing it set up for only one weight. and it will take you a while to fiddle with the manual preload, compression and rebound dampening to get things set up to your riding style.
From experience this $$$ and effort make a very noticeable different and well worth it if you are obsessed.

Maybe some day, ESA will evolve to include adjustable spring rates, add rebound dampening and going to much more compliant (thinner shock oil) suspension action....maybe be evan predictive (sensing road ahead) dampening control.
These change would make ESA close to great.....

The stock suspension is good, especially if you are the BMW target weigh, but is not better than ESA overall in my opinion .

It's major benefit it saves you money that you can put toward buy a great aftermarket suspension that can be great.

Note I have tried hard to find out technical specifications of the ESA in several parameters and have not been successful. So my opinion is based on my knowledge noting that void.

Zitat von himoverthere im Beitrag #10

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I am about 80kg wet. There is a road near me where the tarmac has been affected by the sun and it has an undulation that runs for a few hundred metres. In Dynamic I feel it, in Road I don't. I never carry passengers nor have I had the bike loaded up yet, so cannot comment on ESA on a heavy bike.

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Zitat von Ray im Beitrag #12

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Zitat von himoverthere im Beitrag #10

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I am about 80kg wet. There is a road near me where the tarmac has been affected by the sun and it has an undulation that runs for a few hundred metres. In Dynamic I feel it, in Road I don't. I never carry passengers nor have I had the bike loaded up yet, so cannot comment on ESA on a heavy bike.

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It's nice to be able to identify a piece of "test" road such as yours. Maybe the R1250RS ESA has been improved since the 2016 R1200RS.

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Zitat von Ray im Beitrag #7

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Zitat von Richard230 im Beitrag #5

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Zitat von himoverthere im Beitrag #3

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Love the way that I can use the road soft setting on motorways and the much harder dynamic setting for other roads, would not do without the ESA.

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I wish my 2016 (April 2015-build) was like that. My ESA rides hard on the road setting and switching to dynamic hardly makes any difference. The ESA on my bike is not nearly as good as the 3-setting one that was on my 2007 R1200R.

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I agree with Richard ... I can't really feel the difference on my 2016 SE Sport model. It is always too hard for me.

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