Another "first" for Rally-Raid Products & Torque Racing, as the UK sales & service centre for Touratech Suspension, was fitting one of the new electronic closed-cartridge fork kits to a local BMW S1000XR owner.
The ESA damping control is only in the left leg of the BMW sports-tourer, and the upgraded closed-cartridge has been specifically developed by Tractive Suspension in Nederlands for Touratech Suspension to adress the harsh feeling from the front end of this popular model, due to the fact it has the same internal damping as the sports-orientated S1000RR.
It was a fairly straight-forward job to remove the left fork leg, extract the OEM closed-catridge and take the spring off, before fitting the new TT cartridge and OEM spring.
Apart from the main advantage of having much more progressive damping profiles to suit the sports-tourer rider, it also incorporates a hydraulic bump-stop, rather than the OEM rubber doughnuts, and a selection of plastic preload spacers to dial-in the correct static sag for rider weight.
Our S1000XR rider, Bob, took his bike for a brief spin and returned with promising initial feedback, commenting on the plusher feel from the front.
Hopefully, we will be hearing more from him over the next couple of weeks, once he has clocked up many more miles
The ESA damping control is only in the left leg of the BMW sports-tourer, and the upgraded closed-cartridge has been specifically developed by Tractive Suspension in Nederlands for Touratech Suspension to adress the harsh feeling from the front end of this popular model, due to the fact it has the same internal damping as the sports-orientated S1000RR.
It was a fairly straight-forward job to remove the left fork leg, extract the OEM closed-catridge and take the spring off, before fitting the new TT cartridge and OEM spring.
Apart from the main advantage of having much more progressive damping profiles to suit the sports-tourer rider, it also incorporates a hydraulic bump-stop, rather than the OEM rubber doughnuts, and a selection of plastic preload spacers to dial-in the correct static sag for rider weight.
Our S1000XR rider, Bob, took his bike for a brief spin and returned with promising initial feedback, commenting on the plusher feel from the front.
Hopefully, we will be hearing more from him over the next couple of weeks, once he has clocked up many more miles