How can you tell if your suspension is shot?

I used standard settings and standard tyre pressures. Just as I always have - how do you learn about all this stuff? I have only been riding for 45 years, it sounds like I have a lot to learn.

With the 1200GS it's all written in the manual. Big, easily accessible preload knob for when pillion or luggage goes on. Takes 10 seconds to adjust.
 
With the 1200GS it's all written in the manual. Big, easily accessible preload knob for when pillion or luggage goes on. Takes 10 seconds to adjust.

I think it is the same on te 1150s - big knob to turn at the back, but I just can't be bothered to turn it. When the Dragon gets on the back, it goes down a bit further (Ok a LOT further!) but then I am expected to not ride the same way as solo and keep her from getting frightened and home in one piece. If I twiddled th eknob, it would ruin it for solo and probably be wrong for two up / loaded as well. :blast
 
My current car has 150k on it. the shocks are good. Previous car (still in family) has 210,000 miles on it. Original shocks still good. Previous car had 650,000 miles on it. Front shocks were still good when it went to the great scrapyard in the sky.
I agree they do a very good job with very little oil, but they are very reliable.
You may, but I do not change gearbox, or for that matter, final drive oils as a matter of course. Bike has 40,000+ miles on it, and I have no intention of checking or changing either. No leaks, no problems.
Myke

Hard to believe this, if you drive at any kind of reasonable pace on roads in Ireland. I changed the shocks on my MkIV Golf GT TDI at 60K miles, replacing them with Bilstein PSS9 coilovers. I well remember the relative lack of damping left in the OEM front struts and rear shocks. The nearside rear shock, in particular, had no discernible damping left. Similarly, I replaced the standard shocks on SWMBO's old Fabia vRS at about the same mileage to very good effect.

As ever, since damping goes off progressively through time, it can be hard to evaluate on a day to day basis just how shot your suspension really is. It's the old boiling a frog trick... :) That's usually less true on motorcycles, where an absence of correct damping is usually felt more keenly as it induces bobs and weaves when cornering and seriously increased tyre wear. I changed the rear shock on my old '99 VFR800 at 16K miles, replacing it with an Öhlins because the OEM shock was very tired.
 
The old Merc turbodiesel estate I have just got rid of had 1,337,000 miles on it - I bought it with 887,000 on it (former taxi). It was still on the same shocks, engine, gearbox and even exhaust as when I bought it. Obviously, I don't know what was done prior to me buying it - the only thing other than tyres, oils & filters, brake pads and one set of discs I had to renew was the wiper motor! So those shocks clocked up at least 350,000 miles, and probably 100,000 of that towing the boat (over 1 tonne all up rig)
 
Crank the damping up to max and compare it it when set to minimum. Chances are there is no real difference. The shocks will be a lot happier for an internal clean and some new oil.
At 100K they don't owe you anything.
 
My bike felt fine on her original shocks at @75k.

By chance (well thats what I told my wife anyway:D) I ended up with a set of ohlines so fitted them, BLOODY hell what a difference.

I hadn't realised the slow degradation.

Best/cheapest advice I can give you is test an identical bike fitted with new/ish shocks and I'm 99% sure your reaction will be the same as mine.
 
My bike felt fine on her original shocks at @75k.

By chance (well thats what I told my wife anyway:D) I ended up with a set of ohlines so fitted them, BLOODY hell what a difference.

I hadn't realised the slow degradation.

Best/cheapest advice I can give you is test an identical bike fitted with new/ish shocks and I'm 99% sure your reaction will be the same as mine.

Same happened to me but at as low as 40k miles on my 1150. I didn't like the way the bike was handling, didn't quite know why, and asked a mate who is more "sensitive" than myself to ride it and see what twiddling could be done. So we swapped GSs for a short ride and when we set off i could instantly feel how much firmer but at the same time plusher his bike felt. Within a mile he was no longer in my mirrors. I turned round and he was sat with the bike looking at the shock. he said "the damn thing nearly put me in the hedge at that first fast right hander, How the hell have you been riding this thing!?!! "

Put on Ohlins on the back and WOW!
 
Just revive this old thread. The 1150Adv has now clocked up 103,000 miles and is still on the original clutch and shocks and everything else other than consumables - 1 set of stick coils could be argued as not being consumables I suppose.

last month I loaded up and went to The Faroes - I did as people suggested and turned the knob at the back to counter the extra payload. The bike rode happily and smoothed out bumps without trying topitchme out of the saddle, until i got home and rode without the extra load on the back - it was STIFF. So after a few rides like that, I remembered to turn the knob back down, only I turned it too far, because I couldn't remember how much I had turned it up. :D It went way to squishy, so I pulled in for fuel and remembered to give the knob one turn up again - perfect.

It would seem, despite all the naysayers, that the adjustment still works fine. I don't doubt the shocks could do with a service and I think this winter I will do just that. Anyone know a good (not race tune) shock service man for BMW suspension?
 
Just revive this old thread. The 1150Adv has now clocked up 103,000 miles and is still on the original clutch and shocks and everything else other than consumables - 1 set of stick coils could be argued as not being consumables I suppose.

last month I loaded up and went to The Faroes - I did as people suggested and turned the knob at the back to counter the extra payload. The bike rode happily and smoothed out bumps without trying topitchme out of the saddle, until i got home and rode without the extra load on the back - it was STIFF. So after a few rides like that, I remembered to turn the knob back down, only I turned it too far, because I couldn't remember how much I had turned it up. :D It went way to squishy, so I pulled in for fuel and remembered to give the knob one turn up again - perfect.

It would seem, despite all the naysayers, that the adjustment still works fine. I don't doubt the shocks could do with a service and I think this winter I will do just that. Anyone know a good (not race tune) shock service man for BMW suspension?

The Pre-Load adjuster (knob) changes the ride height only, helping to compensate for increased sag when extra load is applied.
It does not adjust the level of rebound or compression damping so therefore does not make the ride either stiffer or softer those
things are controlled by different adjusters (if you have them).
Serviced/new reasonably adjusted shocks would probably be a revelation to you :thumb2
 
It seems that there are a few of us with many years experience who don't feel the need to fine tune for every ride and every mile ridden.

I have also been riding for 43 years and would have no idea if my shocks were worn. They seem fine to me and the ESA makes a difference. I adjust it for solo or pillion, check the tyre pressures when I remember (I have the monitoring system) and get it serviced when needed. It has 60 k kms on a 2013 LC and feels fine to me. Perhaps if I rode a new one I might feel a difference, but I don't feel the need to do so. Unless I see a leak or fell it bottom out or go super bouncy, I'll live with it and ride round gradual wear.

I'm sure there are purists who would mock this attitude, but it works for me.
 
It seems that there are a few of us with many years experience who don't feel the need to fine tune for every ride and every mile ridden.

I have also been riding for 43 years and would have no idea if my shocks were worn. They seem fine to me and the ESA makes a difference. I adjust it for solo or pillion, check the tyre pressures when I remember (I have the monitoring system) and get it serviced when needed. It has 60 k kms on a 2013 LC and feels fine to me. Perhaps if I rode a new one I might feel a difference, but I don't feel the need to do so. Unless I see a leak or fell it bottom out or go super bouncy, I'll live with it and ride round gradual wear.

I'm sure there are purists who would mock this attitude, but it works for me.

Why mock? what goes for one doesn't always go for another :thumb2

I have ESA on my 2011 GS. and can tell the difference between all 3 modes not only me but, so can the Mrs.
on the back! That's no bullshit either. She can pretty much tell me what mode the suspension is in.
i have been riding for 52 years and have had all sorts of bikes with varying suspension set ups and without a doubt
my riding enjoyment is enhanced by having a reasonably well set up suspension which means the bike is set up
to suit the current riding mode.
 
Same happened to me but at as low as 40k miles on my 1150. I didn't like the way the bike was handling, didn't quite know why, and asked a mate who is more "sensitive" than myself to ride it and see what twiddling could be done. So we swapped GSs for a short ride and when we set off i could instantly feel how much firmer but at the same time plusher his bike felt. Within a mile he was no longer in my mirrors. I turned round and he was sat with the bike looking at the shock. he said "the damn thing nearly put me in the hedge at that first fast right hander, How the hell have you been riding this thing!?!! "

Put on Ohlins on the back and WOW!

Exactly the same happened to me, but at 24k miles, put a set of Ohlins on and it was a huge difference, the back was much stiffer, yet all those bumpy roads dissapeared,

actually I think we may be talking about the very same shock :D
 
Good suspension is worth a big handful of BHP. You can have the craziest performance motor between two wheels, but if you can't put the power down because the bike is still unsettled .... then it's no good to you.

In real world terms (so getting away from the macho talk of 'getting the power down' .. :D) picture yourself on a bumpy back road and you're just tipping your bike into a corner that has a rippled / repaired / deteriorated/ cambered surface. You want to get on the gas as early as you can, just by a hairs width, and gently squeeze on the gas and pick up the drive through the corner. The time that you can't do that, is when yer bike is still trying to deal with the road surface. It doesn't want power now if it's still hopping and bumping and wallowing.

But if you've got good quality suspension, you will float over all that crap, and you'll be able to pick up the gas like you want to mid turn, and drive the bike through the corner and out.

If you like a good old back b road hoon, yes fancy exhausts and all that malarky (I have one too ..!!) but great suspension will always win the day ... :thumb2
 
Why mock? what goes for one doesn't always go for another :thumb2

I have ESA on my 2011 GS. and can tell the difference between all 3 modes not only me but, so can the Mrs.
on the back! That's no bullshit either. She can pretty much tell me what mode the suspension is in.
i have been riding for 52 years and have had all sorts of bikes with varying suspension set ups and without a doubt
my riding enjoyment is enhanced by having a reasonably well set up suspension which means the bike is set up
to suit the current riding mode.

Not mocking at all. Just saying that perhaps, in spite of many years riding, I can't tell the difference.

Or perhaps I'm mocking me :nenau
 
Not mocking at all. Just saying that perhaps, in spite of many years riding, I can't tell the difference.

Or perhaps I'm mocking me :nenau

You mis-understood me. I wasn't suggesting you were mocking i was saying why would anyone mock you, referring to the line;

"I'm sure there are purists who would mock this attitude, but it works for me"

:thumb2
 
I am going to get 1150 Adv no2 sorted for the rest of the summer and get the Adv no1 suspension serviced and see if it really does make that much difference. It can't hurt anyway. I am not going to spend £1000 on new shocks, which would then represent about 30% of the value of the bike.
 
At that kind of mileage any suspension will have deteriorated and the rider will have adjusted their riding style to
compensate and ride around any deficencies
Pointless riding newer different models as there is no comparison ,better to have a go on an Ohlins or similarly equipped 1150 and let its owner try your bike
I thought my old r1150gs was fine at 39,000 but as Ihad a big two up trip due I got ABE to service both shocks and fit a new set of Hyperpro springs. The bike was transformed.
As for nay sayers who say good suspension is not worth the money my new in 2011 non esa r1200gsa had relatively poor suspension so I had a pair of Maxton shocks made up, couple of people who rode the bike including main dealer mechanics commented on how good the suspension was.As an aside Maxton or other speciaists will tell you they recommend shocks are sefviced every 4 years or so
Only problem is that it shows up how poor the esa suspenion is on my 2014 gsa wc
 
I burrowed through all the info here after having got a 04 R1150GS with 38k miles recently. Having come from road bikes (SV650 and R850R), felt the GS suspension was too soft and especially the front forks dipping in and out about 6 inches made me think my shocks were shot. To prod me along this line of thought, the drain hole from the fuel tank was blocked with lots of reddish mud. Put two and two together, was convinced bike has seen rough life and as per views/comments both shocks must be crying for support. So got them out and sent them to ABE last week.

Had a call earlier this afternoon, saying both my shocks were in pristine condition and did not need any re-work doing. While I beam when people with mileages around 100k say they never have bothered with their shocks, I wonder why some others say shocks will be looking for a new lease of life around the 35-40k'ish miles...

:confused:
 
Good suspension is worth a big handful of BHP. You can have the craziest performance motor between two wheels, but if you can't put the power down because the bike is still unsettled .... then it's no good to you.

In real world terms (so getting away from the macho talk of 'getting the power down' .. :D) picture yourself on a bumpy back road and you're just tipping your bike into a corner that has a rippled / repaired / deteriorated/ cambered surface. You want to get on the gas as early as you can, just by a hairs width, and gently squeeze on the gas and pick up the drive through the corner. The time that you can't do that, is when yer bike is still trying to deal with the road surface. It doesn't want power now if it's still hopping and bumping and wallowing.

But if you've got good quality suspension, you will float over all that crap, and you'll be able to pick up the gas like you want to mid turn, and drive the bike through the corner and out.

If you like a good old back b road hoon, yes fancy exhausts and all that malarky (I have one too ..!!) but great suspension will always win the day ... :thumb2

Wisdom from a crap photographer!!:augie

Sorry Giles , , couldn't resist!:D
 


Back
Top Bottom