Tyres, Brakes and Suspension » R1200rs esa suspension

I just purchased an r1200 RS which I’m very happy with

Riding the bike with no passenger I find that the dampening is pretty inadequate

With 11,000 miles it’s not a high mile bike but on road, the rear is a bit of a pogo stick

On dynamic, it’s to firm

I changed to one plus luggage and it seemed as if the dampening actually improved a little bit

So my thought is if I have the preload recalibrated, will that help the situation with the damping on the one up Road setting?

Cheers

Hi, preloads are set based on a typical rider, passenger and luggage ( max allowable) values, if you are average in size then you may be right to look into calibration, if you consider yourself as significantly lighter or heavier than average it might just be that you need to use the alternate pre-settings such as rider+luggage.

Zitat von Farrboat im Beitrag #1

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I just purchased an r1200 RS which I’m very happy with

Riding the bike with no passenger I find that the dampening is pretty inadequate

With 11,000 miles it’s not a high mile bike but on road, the rear is a bit of a pogo stick

On dynamic, it’s to firm

I changed to one plus luggage and it seemed as if the dampening actually improved a little bit

So my thought is if I have the preload recalibrated, will that help the situation with the damping on the one up Road setting?

Cheers

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I use the ' 1 plus luggage' all the time for solo rides.

I find the road/road esa/throttle settings suit my riding and the higher rear (probably expecting more weight?) on a sport seat is all day comfortable.

Maybe 'solo + dynamic' is in the same area but I find now that solo tricks me to thinking the bikes too low.

Also lacking the speed/ability/road rider nerve to ride as fast as other forum users appear able, but it's ok for me.

I do play around with the settings on a ride, custom user set to dynamic/rain, but it never takes long before I relax back to road/road, i helmet + luggage.

As the suspension only has a finite spring/damping 'working range' from zero to ten no matter what we select then it is just finding which overlapping pattern suits you best.

I'm about 170 lbs and typically ride with panniers partially loaded, I find: 1 helmet + luggage/Road gives a smooth highway ride, but tends to pogo in certain conditions. I'll switch to Dynamic for a firm, but not harsh ride and will use this setting in the twisties as well. 2 helmets/Road gives a smooth, controlled highway ride, plus better ground clearance in the twisties. The only time I use 2 Helmets/Dynamic is fully loaded and/or with a passenger. I also never use the 1 Helmet setting, except to occasionally cycle through the preload settings. But if you're inclined to spend some $ to make it the best it can be, you'll find plenty of people satisfied with Beemershop - Ted Porter.

Zitat von duccrazydave im Beitrag #5

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I'm about 170 lbs and typically ride with panniers partially loaded, I find: 1 helmet + luggage/Road gives a smooth highway ride, but tends to pogo in certain conditions. I'll switch to Dynamic for a firm, but not harsh ride and will use this setting in the twisties as well. 2 helmets/Road gives a smooth, controlled highway ride, plus better ground clearance in the twisties. The only time I use 2 Helmets/Dynamic is fully loaded and/or with a passenger. I also never use the 1 Helmet setting, except to occasionally cycle through the preload settings. But if you're inclined to spend some $ to make it the best it can be, you'll find plenty of people satisfied with Beemershop - Ted Porter.

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The main problem with ESA is in my opinion its coarse adjustment.

Road setting not enough and Dynamic too much? Also no ability to adjust compression/rebound damping in isolation.

Pre-load is separate from damping and pre-load doesn't alter the spring rate of course but I suspect some bikes are better than others. I had a newish Pan European that had almost no damping at the rear.

My bike is okay in Road and too harsh in Dynamic except on really good roads or the track. I'm 11 1/2 stone and have pre-load set on one helmet.

If you can find someone to tweak your ESA setting that may be your answer. The non ESA is probably better but not so convenient.

Zitat von Sanemancured im Beitrag #7

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The main problem with ESA is in my opinion its coarse adjustment.

Road setting not enough and Dynamic too much? Also no ability to adjust compression/rebound damping in isolation.

Pre-load is separate from damping and pre-load doesn't alter the spring rate of course but I suspect some bikes are better than others. I had a newish Pan European that had almost no damping at the rear.

My bike is okay in Road and too harsh in Dynamic except on really good roads or the track. I'm 11 1/2 stone and have pre-load set on one helmet.

If you can find someone to tweak your ESA setting that may be your answer. The non ESA is probably better but not so convenient.

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I tried the one rider setting being 180#'s a few weeks ago as I moved all the panniers articles to the RT. Too bouncy, so I use one helmet plus luggage and it firms up fine in road mode. Throw into sport mode, even better on the twisties.

I have mentioned it before, but I am 155 pounds and typically ride solo with no luggage. The ESA suspension on my 2015-build RS is much to stiff for my type of riding when set to the one-rider position. When fully loaded, it rides much better. I have tried my friends 2015 GS and it is much smoother and absorbs bumps much better. Plus, it has 5 ESA settings, instead of just two damping selections. It seems to me that when BMW switched to Sachs suspension components in 2015 (I believe), that company just wasn't up to dealing with BMW's ESA damping programming. However, I believe that they switched back to the Italian suspension manufacturer again for later models, which it sounds like it works better than the bikes made in 2015 and particularly with the 1250 models.

Zitat von Richard230 im Beitrag #10

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I have mentioned it before, but I am 155 pounds and typically ride solo with no luggage. The ESA suspension on my 2015-build RS is much to stiff for my type of riding when set to the one-rider position. When fully loaded, it rides much better. I have tried my friends 2015 GS and it is much smoother and absorbs bumps much better. Plus, it has 5 ESA settings, instead of just two damping selections. It seems to me that when BMW switched to Sachs suspension components in 2015 (I believe), that company just wasn't up to dealing with BMW's ESA damping programming. However, I believe that they switched back to the Italian suspension manufacturer again for later models, which it sounds like it works better than the bikes made in 2015 and particularly with the 1250 models.

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ESA and DESA is a compromise at best. I swapped out the DESA for a Wilbers at the rear and a Tractive cartridge at the front. The Wilbers was worth it, but to be honest the Tractive is just marginally better than the Sachs cartridge at the front.

I believe the suspension varies from bike to bike. A tidbit of my personal experience. My original '16 RS and my '17 RS. With over 28,000 miles on the original, when I got the '17 I noticed immediately that the suspension was more compliant. There are 464 bikes between the two according to the vin's and 10 months between production dates. Even having both sets of front forks serviced by the same tech the ride of the newer bike is better. I weigh 190 lbs. and always set the suspension on road and single rider.

Frank

I've just had 4 great days touring North and Mid Wales, mainly on minor roads. I love Wales, stunning views and great but demanding roads.

I put the bike on rider plus one pannier as the preload setting and kept it there when the panniers were removed. Not that pre-load alters spring stiffness or damping to any extent.

I was finding the bike a little bouncy in 'Road' damping (as it normally is) and while at a stop with the engine running (waiting for a dozen other riders to get themselves sorted) I bounced hard on the seat and the bike goes 'down and up' noticeably twice before settling. I tried 'Dynamic' damping and it does it just the once. The rest of the trip I left it in dynamic and even though the roads were often potholed and rutted it has become my default from now on in.

The bike was relentlessly reliable and awesome clicking through 37,000 miles yesterday morning. Weather was generally good but yesterday was heavy rain. Great trip and socially a hoot.

One of our riders usually rides his 1200 Suzuki Bandit 2 up. None of us are youngsters and both him and his wife find the Bandit uncomfortable. He used his KTM 390 2 up for the trip as it's actually more comfortable and even though the pace wasn't hot (14 bikes in a line dictates speed somewhat) the 390 coped extremely well. Makes you think.....