Tyres, Brakes and Suspension » Smoothest ride?

I rode my wife's Ducati Diavel recently and noticed that the suspension seemed to deal with rough pavement/potholes much better than my RS does. The RS can give me quite a jolt on bad spots where her Diavel just seemed to absorb the bumps on the same road. I have the RS set on single rider/road most of the time. Per the manual that is what I assume to be the "softest" setting. Is that correct or am I missing something.

[quote="MexicoMike"|p570]I rode my wife's Ducati Diavel recently and noticed that the suspension seemed to deal with rough pavement/potholes much better than my RS does. The RS can give me quite a jolt on bad spots where her Diavel just seemed to absorb the bumps on the same road. I have the RS set on single rider/road most of the time. Per the manual that is what I assume to be the "softest" setting. Is that correct or am I missing something.[/quote
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Obviously not the potholes.

Right - I hadn't thought of just not riding on rough roads! Sadly, we can't afford to move again so TX is it! ;) I'll probably do what I usually do in this situation and play with tire pressure since tires are part of the suspension! On My 9T if I use BMW's suggested pressure, the ride feels like there is no suspension at all. I find that for that bike 6PSI below factory works well. Think I'll try 34/36 first or the RS and see how it acts.

I'm assuming you have the suspension set on 'road' ?. In dynamic the suspension is really hard so.


Ged

According to my tyre expert, 34/36 PSI is the correct pressure on bike types for optimum grip and comfort. It's what I use now and results in a softer suspension feel.

Raise the fork clamp slightly.

I'm really surprised by your comment,MexicoMike. I traded in a Diavel gen 2 for the RS and the suspension on the RS is much,much better than the Diavel. I even upgraded the rear spring and front forks to Adrianas and it was still jarring over bumps and rough roads.
The RS is probably the first bike i've had which i feel has no need to be upgraded from standard as it's so good. Tyre pressure on mine is set at 36 front 42 rear and seems right.

I guess it just goes to show that we all have different preferences/feel. For me the Diavel feels more agile and easier to turn as well as having a more comfortable suspension. My RS is set on Road/single rider. My wife's Diavel is set at...well however the dealer or factory set it. ;)

My '14 9T was one of the worst suspended bikes I have ever ridden as far as jarring my teeth on every rough spot and feeling unsure in the twisties,. The softest suspension setting was too harsh. - I bought it because it looked cool! I changed the front/rears to Ohlins and removed the steering damper. Those changes made the bike into a decent handler and relatively comfortable ride-wise in comparison with OEM though still nothing to brag about. Dropping the tire pressure around 6 lbs from the manual finally got it to be pretty good.

My impression - based on owning only 2 BMWs in my very lengthy motorcycle life ('14 9T, '16 RS) is that even their "softest" setup is for loads heavier than my 160 lbs.. It seems to me - though I have nothing else at the moment to directly compare and memory is a shaky reference - that all of my sport bikes were more comfortable as far as jarring over bumps. I can positively say that my '73 Norton Commando handles better than my 9T does even with the Ohlins. The Norton is much more stable/sure-footed on the cobblestone streets common in small Mexican towns. Makes no sense to me but that comparison is one I make on a regular basis when we're in Mexico.

Last ride on the RS I dropped the pressure to 34/36 and that made a substantial improvement all around.

"My impression - based on owning only 2 BMWs in my very lengthy motorcycle life ('14 9T, '16 RS) is that even their "softest" setup is for loads heavier than my 160 lbs"
As opposed to the Ducati norm, where everything is set up for a 160 lb, or less, rider

Be careful lowering tire pressure in the Texas heat. Depending on your load and tire, lower pressure may raise heat in the carcass high enough to cause delamination. In particular, Metzler is very insistent that riders use higher pressures in their tires for this reason.

I have exactly the same thought. After riding hundreds of bikes and in the last 10 years have owned R850R, K1200s, R1200GS along with Hondas (at the same time) The RS is probably the most uncomfortable bike I've had. So much so, If BMW can't come up with a solution I'm thinking of getting rid of it ! The GS had better handling and I could ride faster - maybe there's a problem with the tyres ? clutching at straws now !
Pillions hate the bumpy ride and complain about sliding forward.
I've tried different settings and tyre pressures, all ESA settings work.
I do like the bike for other reasons and I've done quite a few miles around Europe on it.
The best ride I've had in the BMW range was the K1200s which they don't make anymore which is probably due to the clutch and gearbox failures they're renowned for.
Getting it into the dealers this week.

Kind in the same boat. I am still on the fence , sell or dump some money in the suspension. I should just buy a RT and be done , but the bike runs like a clock and it cost me a lot to buy . So if I find a shock that works I will post my experience and if it is a improvement .I have been unhappy with the harsh ride I bought another bike tell I sort this one out. As far as tires I had Michelin pilots ,did not like them . I put pirelli scorpions on my other bike and they stick well , they are still new on the rs so I hope to try them out soon. Unfortunately with New esa 2 suspension , options are limited, and costly, in a few years once the aftermark shock company's are making parts for these ,once there is more demand. They will be a comfortable bike with aftermarket shocks that's easier to set up. Until then were kind of stuck fumbling around in the dark .

I have no concerns about the suspension, I find it comfortable both solo and 2-up and the ESA is easy to set up between the two. There are some rough bits of road around but that jolts the car around as well so that's poor road maintenance. We are all different and riding stance on the bike and age, cartilage/body condition can all have an effect. I only weigh about 145 pounds and my wife is slightly built so even 2-up we aren't a huge load on the bike (accelerates quicker that way) and the suspension I find very comfortable. Some posts (previous forum) mentioned people had experienced sticking front forks, I have heard when reinstalling the front wheel you should pump the fork before tightening everything up to align the suspension, perhaps give this a try if you are finding it jarring.....or perhaps yoga

I haven't had much luck pumping the forks up and down after a tire change as the suspension locks up with the ignition off. Even with the ignition on, the forks will barely move when I try to pump them. So what I do is to install the wheel with the fork tubes and wheel raised off of the ground with no tension on them and just tighten up the axle fasteners without placing any load on them. It seems to work OK. However, when I have my fork oil changed by my dealer later this year I will see if having a professional perform the installation makes any difference to the fork action.