1300 GSA Adaptive Vehicle Height Comfort

[biggerbananas]

I recently took delivery of an R1300 GSA with Adaptive Vehicle Height Comfort - as I'm not blessed with long legs.

I know there are a few threads out there already about ride height issues - but I'm considering rejecting the bike and thought I'd risk getting a sanity check...

So the story is that the bike is a bit taller than I would like - which surprised me given the seat height measurements from BMW. I came from an r1250rs which BMW measure at 820mm and the 1300 GSA comfort is supposed to be 820mm with the standard seat in the low setting.

The bike felt high from the moment I collected it - so I measured it and found it was considerably taller than 820mm. I've had lots of discussion with the dealer have not been overly useful or helpful. They are arguing that the measurements given by BMW are taken laden - i.e with rider. According to the BMW docs this is not the case - it states in some manuals that the measurements are taken unladen - without rider. Though interestingly this page is no longer present in the UK manual. I've also asked that they take measurements of a non comfort version (they have a few in stock) and compare them to mine, but they say this is pointless.

Anyway, as I read it the comfort spec is supposed to be 20mm lower than the stock bike at all settings - though the dealer are disputing this suggesting that "comfort" is a function of the height control that should lower the bike further. I have a least been lent a low seat from the dealer which does take the bike down to 820mm - I have measured with low and standard seats in high / low and with the suspension up and down and it always measures the same as a the non comfort bike - i.e at no point is it ever 20mm lower.

So long story short despite the dealer assuring me it will be fixed if BMW confirm there is an issue, from the other threads I read BMW may well know about the issue but are refusing to acknowledge it - so should I let the dealer continue investigating or do I return it before my 30 days are up? I figure I may as well have a non comfort bike as the seat height appears to be the same and at least I won't be stuck with a bike that has a fault / does not meet the specifications....

 

[GrinningGSer]

Try another one , and if that’s perfect , then reject yours before 30 days are up ; save yourself unnecessary angst. No need to get into any arguments. Then order another .

 

[gateway77]

I would have assumed that a 20 stone rider would compress the bike more than someone who is 10 stone.
But maybe the Adaptive height control equalises that out to come to a consistent height form the floor.

After all it is self adjusting for one rider - or rider with pillion and luggage.

I've no experience with your specific option (Comfort) so cannot comment on that - but I've found on my GS1300 with Adaptive Ride Height that the low setting for height varies somewhat.
ie - sometimes I can pretty much flat foot at a standstill and other times I feel I'm on my toes - whether this is down to other variables I'm not sure, but I certainly feel that the low setting is not totally consistent.

Hope you get it sorted one way or another.

 

[biggerbananas]

Try another one , and if that’s perfect , then reject yours before 30 days are up ; save yourself unnecessary angst. No need to get into any arguments. Then order another .

Thanks - this was my thought, but I can't find another one anywhere to try... Going to try a stock one for comparison if nothing else.

 

[botus]

check the VIN - do you have "sports suspension" option - that is 20mm taller than a std bike
then make sure the seat is set to low position

as for the height control option - its not BM can't fix - it that its a learning curve for the dealership to understand how to do as they are told and for BM to find the cheapest fix - the reality is the accountants choose the cheapest supplier, stitch then in to a contract to supply something that can't be made for the price - and with a bit more time they bodge up a mostly functioning solution

 

[Nick Marshall]

I have a R1300GS Adventure with comfort setting.
Have you got the suspension on soft?

Mine came with the low seat, sold that and got a standard height seat. Front of seat on the high setting. Back on low.

My previous bike was a low chassis R1250GS Adventure with standard height seat in the same position.
This 1300 feels slightly lower than my R1250GS Adventure.

If your up this way, you are welcome to sit on it and compare. But sure you will find one more local.

 

[biggerbananas]

I have a R1300GS Adventure with comfort setting.
Have you got the suspension on soft?

Mine came with the low seat, sold that and got a standard height seat. Front of seat on the high setting. Back on low.

My previous bike was a low chassis R1250GS Adventure with standard height seat in the same position.
This 1300 feels slightly lower than my R1250GS Adventure.

If your up this way, you are welcome to sit on it and compare. But sure you will find one more local.

Thanks. When you say suspension on soft - do you mean by way of a specific mode e.g Road over Dynamic - or tweaking the suspension settings directly somewhere?

 

[leadfarmer]

If you ride two up or loaded the suspension will still have some preload when you stop, so it can be high when you get off

To check, put the center stand down with the engine running to jack up the suspension fully (you don’t need to actually put the bike on the stand) then put the stand back up with the engine still running

The suspension will drop to its lowest possible height

 

[biggerbananas]

If you ride two up or loaded the suspension will still have some preload when you stop, so it can be high when you get off

To check, put the center stand down with the engine running to jack up the suspension fully (you don’t need to actually put the bike on the stand) then put the stand back up with the engine still running

The suspension will drop to its lowest possible height

Thanks - good plan. I've not done any two up riding - and have taken lots of measurements, but will def do this to try and confirm. The problem really is that the dealership have confirmed it does sit higher than the spec - but they argue this is normal as the measurements should be taken laden (of course it sags a bit under load so gets lower). I've argued that this is not the way seat height is measured and indeed the manual states the measurements are taken unladen. Ultimately it doesn't really matter what the actual measurements are compared to the stated figures - it just needs to be -20mm on a non comfort one. Think I'm going to go to the dealership today and insist they measure mine against a normal one.

 

[stever1]

Didn’t you try one before you ordered yours ?

 

[biggerbananas]

Didn’t you try one before you ordered yours ?

Yes - but they didn't have a comfort demo. I sat on a used comfort model and thought it was perfect but was only able to ride a normal one. This is part of my frustration as I had to make a decision based on the figures being accurate. The normal demo was ride-able - but I wanted it lower if poss and it seems that mine isn't. I could be wrong and find that it is all in my head, but I don't think it that big of an ask for the dealership to confirm.

 

[JoeBiff]

Wrong deal
Wrong dealership ?

 

[Portobello Ell]

I recently took delivery of an R1300 GSA with Adaptive Vehicle Height Comfort - as I'm not blessed with long legs.

I know there are a few threads out there already about ride height issues - but I'm considering rejecting the bike and thought I'd risk getting a sanity check...

So the story is that the bike is a bit taller than I would like - which surprised me given the seat height measurements from BMW. I came from an r1250rs which BMW measure at 820mm and the 1300 GSA comfort is supposed to be 820mm with the standard seat in the low setting.

The bike felt high from the moment I collected it - so I measured it and found it was considerably taller than 820mm. I've had lots of discussion with the dealer have not been overly useful or helpful. They are arguing that the measurements given by BMW are taken laden - i.e with rider. According to the BMW docs this is not the case - it states in some manuals that the measurements are taken unladen - without rider. Though interestingly this page is no longer present in the UK manual. I've also asked that they take measurements of a non comfort version (they have a few in stock) and compare them to mine, but they say this is pointless.

Anyway, as I read it the comfort spec is supposed to be 20mm lower than the stock bike at all settings - though the dealer are disputing this suggesting that "comfort" is a function of the height control that should lower the bike further. I have a least been lent a low seat from the dealer which does take the bike down to 820mm - I have measured with low and standard seats in high / low and with the suspension up and down and it always measures the same as a the non comfort bike - i.e at no point is it ever 20mm lower.

So long story short despite the dealer assuring me it will be fixed if BMW confirm there is an issue, from the other threads I read BMW may well know about the issue but are refusing to acknowledge it - so should I let the dealer continue investigating or do I return it before my 30 days are up? I figure I may as well have a non comfort bike as the seat height appears to be the same and at least I won't be stuck with a bike that has a fault / does not meet the specifications....

I had exactly the same problem I came from a 1250 with 850 seat height. I bought an adaptive height with standard seat supposedly 840. The lowest I could get it was 870. I took this up with BMW and the solution was a low seat I can use the balls of both feet. However I can’t spend more than one hour on the wooden plank of a seat. I have been left with a rather sour taste on otherwise a fantastic machine.

 

[tomtom1200]

Couple of points worth adding.

Are you measuring with the bike switched on or not. The behaviour of the active suspension changes significantly once everything is switched on.

Did you do a test ride or at least have a sit on another gs1300 before you bought this one, If you were comfortable on that but not on the one you have it points to a problem with your bike.

Regarding the dealer's comment about the saddle height when it's loaded. I'm almost 100% sure that the GS is meant to automatically adjust the preload based on weight once the bike is up and running. Therefore, I assume they should be able to give you a target value for saddle height. I also think they are telling you bs on this.

 

[Larry Langford]

I recently took delivery of an R1300 GSA with Adaptive Vehicle Height Comfort - as I'm not blessed with long legs.

I know there are a few threads out there already about ride height issues - but I'm considering rejecting the bike and thought I'd risk getting a sanity check...

So the story is that the bike is a bit taller than I would like - which surprised me given the seat height measurements from BMW. I came from an r1250rs which BMW measure at 820mm and the 1300 GSA comfort is supposed to be 820mm with the standard seat in the low setting.

The bike felt high from the moment I collected it - so I measured it and found it was considerably taller than 820mm. I've had lots of discussion with the dealer have not been overly useful or helpful. They are arguing that the measurements given by BMW are taken laden - i.e with rider. According to the BMW docs this is not the case - it states in some manuals that the measurements are taken unladen - without rider. Though interestingly this page is no longer present in the UK manual. I've also asked that they take measurements of a non comfort version (they have a few in stock) and compare them to mine, but they say this is pointless.

Anyway, as I read it the comfort spec is supposed to be 20mm lower than the stock bike at all settings - though the dealer are disputing this suggesting that "comfort" is a function of the height control that should lower the bike further. I have a least been lent a low seat from the dealer which does take the bike down to 820mm - I have measured with low and standard seats in high / low and with the suspension up and down and it always measures the same as a the non comfort bike - i.e at no point is it ever 20mm lower.

So long story short despite the dealer assuring me it will be fixed if BMW confirm there is an issue, from the other threads I read BMW may well know about the issue but are refusing to acknowledge it - so should I let the dealer continue investigating or do I return it before my 30 days are up? I figure I may as well have a non comfort bike as the seat height appears to be the same and at least I won't be stuck with a bike that has a fault / does not meet the specifications....

//////////////////////
I have the same problem, 30" inseam. I also have a 1250RS and a 1250GS with sport suspension (GSA). When both bikes are covered in the garage the GS is a monster beside the RS in spite of them having the same engine.
On the RS I can flat foot, being fairly heavy myself. And I have much more control over the bike, having been able to catch the bike at at least forty five degrees and still lift it back to strait up while in the saddle. The RS is also noticeably lighter. It reminds me of a 29er medium frame and the GS is like an extra large frame. If you fit the medium you will be uncomfortable on the XL frame for sure.
So, a couple of days ago I dumped the GS in a parking lot. Too much multi-tasking I guess. Tried to turn left, just as I started and then killed the bike and it lurched back and started over, I wasn't there fast enough to catch it and it went right on over, with me laughing all the way. It did put a serious scratch in the left crash bar and some flea bites in the hand protector and the vario pannier. I was able to lift it back up right away (very very heavy) and drive off. Very embarrassing truly, hope no one saw that, lol.
So it looks like I may have to look for a lowered GS to have any confidence to getting back into any rough stuff. Only with a couple of other riders with you for sure. I don't mind the bike being tall but with the weight it only has to get over just a touch before you can't stop it seems.
So, i will probably start looking for a factory low GS of some sort to be the dirt capable machine. But only after I run out the warranty I bought for this on. As long as I'm paying attention I think it will be ok for a spell. I had the GS out agian saturday and I almost killed it again when I was setting to turn around using the turn lane at a light. But I was ready and stopped that from happening again.
So I sympathize with this problem for sure, but I don;t have solution other than a factory lowered GS, aside from my fantastic RS .......