1300 GS Suspension and Adaptive Ride Height Errors

Hi botus - yes thanks for this. I have a lithium battery and I believe the can-bus was setup correctly.
 
do you have the lithium battery - are you aware of the battery connection procedure ?

earth
then linbus
then the postive
Don't have a lithium battery, but have had them in the past. Quick question, is there a 3rd connection to the battery, if not, if you connect the earth, so no power from the battery to the bike, how do you connect the "Linbus"? If the positive to the battery isn't connected, then surely there is no power to the bike, or is there something else to connect? For my info only :)
 
I don't have one yet - I guess some how its a trigger for the bike to know the drain so the alternator can do its bit - without, the bike doesn't output as much charge as its supposed to

some dealers didn't realise and either left off, or connected in the wrong order

linbus is a certain type of single wire canbus - LIN may be used over the vehicle's battery power line with a special LIN-over-DC-power-line (DC-LIN) transceiver. LIN over DC power line (DC-LIN) was standardized as ISO/AWI 17987-8

Two bus states – sleep-mode and active – are used within the LIN protocol. While data is on the bus, all LIN-nodes are asked to be in the active state. After a specified timeout, the nodes enter sleep mode and will be released back to active state by a WAKEUP frame. This frame may be sent by any node requesting activity on the bus, either the LIN Master following its internal schedule, or one of the attached LIN Slaves being activated by its internal software application. After all nodes are awakened, the Master continues to schedule the next Identifier
 
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so i have discovered if it dont use the trickle charger i dont get the failure messages (tested on my 2 week france trip recently when i got the messages on leaving the house) then didnt get any further messages for the two weeks i was away.

had the bike in yesterday for it's 6500 service and they did all the software updates. collected it and headed into the tea time traffic. when i accelerated to join the motorway and the suspension should rise - got the messages!

i can live with it but dam annoying for a £22k bike noting this is the replacement to my first broken one. Only issue i have is when it goes it is fantastic.

Barry
 
so i have discovered if it dont use the trickle charger i dont get the failure messages (tested on my 2 week france trip recently when i got the messages on leaving the house) then didnt get any further messages for the two weeks i was away.

had the bike in yesterday for it's 6500 service and they did all the software updates. collected it and headed into the tea time traffic. when i accelerated to join the motorway and the suspension should rise - got the messages!

i can live with it but dam annoying for a £22k bike noting this is the replacement to my first broken one. Only issue i have is when it goes it is fantastic.

Barry
Is your bike now stuck in the low suspension setting?, or is it intermittent.

My 1300gs suspension failed & it was stuck in low. Its now in the dealers for a new rear shock & pump.

Check underneath your rear shock to see if there's any sign of oil leaking. Also push up and down on the rear of the bike to see if there's any damping. Mine had both symptoms.
It could be ridden in low mode but didn't t handle well & grounded out on bumpy corners sometimes.

Dealer is struggling to fix it , firstly had to wait over 2 weeks for a new shock & pump. After fitting new shock & pump it doesn't work. They've now been waiting a week for BMW to advise on the next course of action. They did waste 3 days before asking the dealer to check the battery voltage (which the dealer already knew was ok. Seems like every contact from dealer to BMW UK has to be done online rather than phone??. So they ask a question one day and get a reply a few days later!.
Hopeless system all round.

I've been without my bike now for 6 weeks luckily the dealer has lent me a demo 1300gs base model.
 
Is your bike now stuck in the low suspension setting?, or is it intermittent.

My 1300gs suspension failed & it was stuck in low. Its now in the dealers for a new rear shock & pump.

Check underneath your rear shock to see if there's any sign of oil leaking. Also push up and down on the rear of the bike to see if there's any damping. Mine had both symptoms.
It could be ridden in low mode but didn't t handle well & grounded out on bumpy corners sometimes.

Dealer is struggling to fix it , firstly had to wait over 2 weeks for a new shock & pump. After fitting new shock & pump it doesn't work. They've now been waiting a week for BMW to advise on the next course of action. They did waste 3 days before asking the dealer to check the battery voltage (which the dealer already knew was ok. Seems like every contact from dealer to BMW UK has to be done online rather than phone??. So they ask a question one day and get a reply a few days later!.
Hopeless system all round.

I've been without my bike now for 6 weeks luckily the dealer has lent me a demo 1300gs base model.

Morning, I think mine is purely electrical although I am going to poke around the shock now!

How it occurs:
Switch bike on.
Bike rides off in low setting.
Up to speed and when bike should rise, it doesn’t.
3 warnings pop up.
Pull over
Turn off and back on.
Ride on and no more warnings.

Dealer has told me the system is so spiky that if the battery drops to 12.3v or drops a certain amount post trickle charging between switch8ng on and starting it registers an error, stops the adaptive suspension to leave enough power to start the bike, even though 12.3v is no issue.

Barry
 
Morning, I think mine is purely electrical although I am going to poke around the shock now!

How it occurs:
Switch bike on.
Bike rides off in low setting.
Up to speed and when bike should rise, it doesn’t.
3 warnings pop up.
Pull over
Turn off and back on.
Ride on and no more warnings.

Dealer has told me the system is so spiky that if the battery drops to 12.3v or drops a certain amount post trickle charging between switch8ng on and starting it registers an error, stops the adaptive suspension to leave enough power to start the bike, even though 12.3v is no issue.

Barry
Sounds a bit of an excuse from the dealer to me, if the engine is running it will be charging the battery & the voltage available will be high anyway.
Mine was intermittent for a couple of weeks but then went into a permanent low suspension mode.
 
I’m no expert but I’m told it’s the voltage drop from when the bike is switched on (power up) to when it’s started. And yes it is frustrating.

Barry
 
Haven’t had the errors since I first brought the thing home. Was playing around too much with the centre stand raise options and other electrics that suddenly the errors came up. Dealer said it was because the battery was low and that the adaptive ride height was sensitive to a full battery. Put it on the trickle charger and now 5K in not had an issue ……. Yet😱
 
Morning, I think mine is purely electrical although I am going to poke around the shock now!

How it occurs:
Switch bike on.
Bike rides off in low setting.
Up to speed and when bike should rise, it doesn’t.
3 warnings pop up.
Pull over
Turn off and back on.
Ride on and no more warnings.

Dealer has told me the system is so spiky that if the battery drops to 12.3v or drops a certain amount post trickle charging between switch8ng on and starting it registers an error, stops the adaptive suspension to leave enough power to start the bike, even though 12.3v is no issue.

Barry
Mine was totally the opposite ,ok from start up then after a couple of hours warning lights appeared and wouldn't lower until I switched the ignition off.
Thankfully it got sorted in the end,I've done about 6,000 m since and it's been perfect ,maybe shouldn't have said that!!!
 
My 1300gs suspension failed & it was stuck in low. Its now in the dealers for a new rear shock & pump.

Dealer is struggling to fix it , firstly had to wait over 2 weeks for a new shock & pump. After fitting new shock & pump it doesn't work. They've now been waiting a week for BMW to advise on the next course of action. They did waste 3 days before asking the dealer to check the battery voltage (which the dealer already knew was ok. Seems like every contact from dealer to BMW UK has to be done online rather than phone??. So they ask a question one day and get a reply a few days later!.
Hopeless system all round.

I've been without my bike now for 6 weeks luckily the dealer has lent me a demo 1300gs base model.
RTFM - see bold

Before replacing the hydraulic pump, carry out the “Hydraulic suspension pump actuation” test module in ISTA and “lower the chassis”.
Ensure that the chassis is completely lowered. If in doubt, repeat the “Lower Chassis” procedure again and press the chassis downwards as well.

Note: The chassis must be in the low position. If the chassis is not in the low position, suspension struts that are not in the low position must be replaced as well.
 
Mine was totally the opposite ,ok from start up then after a couple of hours warning lights appeared and wouldn't lower until I switched the ignition off.
Thankfully it got sorted in the end,I've done about 6,000 m since and it's been perfect ,maybe shouldn't have said that!!!
Yea, don’t jinx it. 🤣🤣🤣
 
RTFM - see bold

Before replacing the hydraulic pump, carry out the “Hydraulic suspension pump actuation” test module in ISTA and “lower the chassis”.
Ensure that the chassis is completely lowered. If in doubt, repeat the “Lower Chassis” procedure again and press the chassis downwards as well.

Note: The chassis must be in the low position. If the chassis is not in the low position, suspension struts that are not in the low position must be replaced as well.
It's no use being rude to me and saying RTFM !.

I'm not fitting the new shock & pump the BMW authorised dealer is.
I trust they will have followed their instructions.

I could ask them to contact you on this forum instead of BMW technical support to see how well that goes down with them !.
 
its aimed at them - I left in the bit you wrote "they" fitted new bits and it doesn't work

the update to the technical documents on these ride height errors was updated - specifically to remind techs to set it low before replacing the pump
 
Just had these warning messages flash up at the weekend when riding towards home. Call Sycamore Motorrad this morning and notified them of the fault, 1st October is the earliest date avialible to have this checked out - 3 weeks !! I appreciate they are busy but 3 weeks to take a look seems a long time, a little disappointed as I was planning to take a long weekend away on the bike to see friends but will have to postpone now.
Hopefully it's the software update it needs.
Other than that I can't fault the bike.
 
Sorry to hear that mew - but you can still ride with the error message, no need to cancel your trip.
It's a little 'wooden' compared to when all is working properly - but a safe and swift ride is more than possible, several on here (myself included) have done hundreds of miles if not more in the 'low' setting
Very irritating all the same - Hope you get it sorted soon.
 
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Just had these warning messages flash up at the weekend when riding towards home. Call Sycamore Motorrad this morning and notified them of the fault, 1st October is the earliest date avialible to have this checked out - 3 weeks !! I appreciate they are busy but 3 weeks to take a look seems a long time, a little disappointed as I was planning to take a long weekend away on the bike to see friends but will have to postpone now.
Hopefully it's the software update it needs.
Other than that I can't fault the bike.
Mew, this is a genuine point. did the faults disappear on turn off / turn on? if so the bike is still very useable (albeit needs sorted in due course).

when i get the faults i do that and dont see them again that day. I went to both Scotland and Spain on days when i got the messages first thing.

Barry
 
First gen new models are always plagued with issues like this.

If you buy a new model BMW, you are in-fact part of the R&D team.. Pat yourself on the back.


Most of the issues are fixed with software. Eventually.
 
Mew, this is a genuine point. did the faults disappear on turn off / turn on? if so the bike is still very useable (albeit needs sorted in due course).

when i get the faults i do that and dont see them again that day. I went to both Scotland and Spain on days when i got the messages first thing.

Barry
Hi Barry, It happened about 2 hrs into a Sunday ride, about 10 miles from home, concrete hard suspension. It did soften slightly by the time I got back. When I restarted the bike at home no messages appeared, and it seemed Ok. I will be using the bike for my 12 mile commute just to see if it happens again, hopefully it will just be a software update, strangely the the dealer told me there was a hand brake update to do as well !
 
Hi all,
Just a qucik udpate regarding my problems with the height control system. After the first visit in the service and recalibration/software update the issue popped up again. This time the recomendation from BMW provided to the dealer was to replace the pump. The dealer also told me they had ordered four new pumps for other affected bikes. This suggests that BMW finally realized that the problem is more serious (good for them!) and the pump has to be replaced.
 
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