Damping on the 1250 GSA

[BigKev67]

I have 200 miles on my 2021 1250 GSA Rallye.
I wonder how others find the damping on the Dynamic ESA.
We have ROAD and DYNAMIC damping settings
ROAD - I find this quite soft. Its good for normal roads but if the road has bumps and hollows I find the bike is underdamped and bounces up and down. If you increase speed the bike settles down, but slow down and it starts to bob up and down at the bumps and hollows.
DYNAMIC - Less bouncing up and down and noticeably firmer with jolts being felt sometimes rather than bouncing. Rough road surfaces seem to get transmitted through the bike more.

I have decided to leave it in ROAD

So what I am feeling is that my ideal setting would be between ROAD and DYNAMIC. But the system dosnt allow that - or does it ? Has anyone found a way of setting up a user preference for damping, maybe at the dealers ?

 

[Arsey]

There’s a hidden sub mode called DYNAROD. Should be perfect .

 

[boxer]

Pretty much mirrors how I've found my '21 RT. In ROAD it can get fairly unsettled on anything other than a smooth bend [especially rh], though a pillion improves thing dramatically.

I have 200 miles on my 2021 1250 GSA Rallye.
I wonder how others find the damping on the Dynamic ESA.
We have ROAD and DYNAMIC damping settings
ROAD - I find this quite soft. Its good for normal roads but if the road has bumps and hollows I find the bike is underdamped and bounces up and down. If you increase speed the bike settles down, but slow down and it starts to bob up and down at the bumps and hollows.
DYNAMIC - Less bouncing up and down and noticeably firmer with jolts being felt sometimes rather than bouncing. Rough road surfaces seem to get transmitted through the bike more.

I have decided to leave it in ROAD

So what I am feeling is that my ideal setting would be between ROAD and DYNAMIC. But the system dosnt allow that - or does it ? Has anyone found a way of setting up a user preference for damping, maybe at the dealers ?

 

[tanneman]

I suggest you look at the sag. Going by your username you will struggle with normal settings and thus the spring would not cope with you onboard. Even though the dynamic bit adjusts there is nothing it can do about the laws of physics.

 

[Subaruvich]

I gave up on crappy oem shocks and went with aftermarket(Tractive) that have manual low speed and high speed compression adjustment possibility. Difference is huge. But rebound is still fully controlled by computer which is not ideal. My next GS will be non ESA bike with fully adjustable shocks for sure.


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[RedRick Esq.]

I have 200 miles on my 2021 1250 GSA Rallye.
I wonder how others find the damping on the Dynamic ESA.
We have ROAD and DYNAMIC damping settings
ROAD - I find this quite soft. Its good for normal roads but if the road has bumps and hollows I find the bike is underdamped and bounces up and down. If you increase speed the bike settles down, but slow down and it starts to bob up and down at the bumps and hollows.
DYNAMIC - Less bouncing up and down and noticeably firmer with jolts being felt sometimes rather than bouncing. Rough road surfaces seem to get transmitted through the bike more.

I have decided to leave it in ROAD

So what I am feeling is that my ideal setting would be between ROAD and DYNAMIC. But the system dosnt allow that - or does it ? Has anyone found a way of setting up a user preference for damping, maybe at the dealers ?

Try adjusting the pre load

I.E stick it into rider and luggage or rider and pillion see if that makes a difference to the auto weigh you setting

 

[Barnoe]

Try adjusting the pre load

I.E stick it into rider and luggage or rider and pillion see if that makes a difference to the auto weigh you setting

If he has the same as me it doesnt have those choices (the ones with the little helmet displays)
He literally has Road and Dyna

Mines the same, the front end dips like a bastard when stopping, its really annoying.
Even at slow speed, stopping at the lights its dangerous.
IMO its the worst thing about the GS, its hard to ride with a pillion.

No pillion its great.

 

[tanneman]

You are suppose to transfer pressure to rear brake pedal coming to a a stop. It helps to settle the suspension so not all the weight is on the front.

 

[BigKev67]

I dont understand those that mention preload as a way of improving suspension response.
Pre load is a way of ensuring the bike sits at the optimum height for different weights, its dosnt affect suspension response to roads conditions.
Three things affect suspension response, compression damping, rebound damping and spring rate.
Its such a shame that the BMW dynamic suspension is so limited in tuning. A manual system that allows comp/rebound damping adjustment would allow a person to set up his requirements and then leave it at that.
Although I am Big kev its height not width. 14 stone 9 lbs without clothes, 6 foot five.

 

[CPJS]

If he has the same as me it doesnt have those choices (the ones with the little helmet displays)
He literally has Road and Dyna

Mines the same, the front end dips like a bastard when stopping, its really annoying.
Even at slow speed, stopping at the lights its dangerous.
IMO its the worst thing about the GS, its hard to ride with a pillion.

No pillion its great.

If your bike is DESA go read the manual. You can set the preload for Min, Max and Auto. that is done by holding down the left hand suspension button till those choices appear then press again to select Auto.
The GS is great two up. The best bike I have owned for travelling fully loaded. There is a limit of course, if it overloaded, then yes it will handle badly. You would need to get the shock fitted with a stronger spring to cope.

 

[tanneman]

Sag, not preload. Sag will help to set the suspension up for your weight. It is the 1st step to set suspension up.

 

[Deleted account 210609001]

Try adjusting the pre load

I.E stick it into rider and luggage or rider and pillion see if that makes a difference to the auto weigh you setting

Can't adjust the preload in that way. Only preload settings are Auto, Max and Min. Not like previous incarnation (that I had on K1600) or one-up, two-up and two-up-plus-luggage.

I have to say I have no problems with mine on Auto. It's not the GSA. But I would respectfully suggest the OP needs to give it more than 200 miles before taking any drastic action.

 

[Winjar]

GS is big sofa in road auto, put Dynamic and max and all will be better for you.

 

[stick]

I gave up on crappy oem shocks and went with aftermarket(Tractive) that have manual low speed and high speed compression adjustment possibility. Difference is huge. But rebound is still fully controlled by computer which is not ideal. My next GS will be non ESA bike with fully adjustable shocks for sure.


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Good luck with that one ..

 

[CPJS]

Sag, not preload. Sag will help to set the suspension up for your weight. It is the 1st step to set suspension up.

You cannot adjust sag, it is a measure taken. The preload is adjusted to vary the sag measurement.
The manual refers to adjusting the preload, so to save confusion it is best refered to as that.

 

[tanneman]

It also helps to determine if the weight of the spring is correct. Set that up and you are good to carry on.

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[BigKev67]

I feel confident that BMW have got the spring rate of the front and rear suspension right for the 2021 GSA and my 15 stone. The pre load is taken care of automatically every time I ride to ensure the correct sag and hence ride height.
For me its the damping thats not ideal on the GSA. As others have said the ROAD setting (claimed as the default setting by BMW) is indeed soft and sofa like. On open roads with a decent road surface its fine. Switch to bumpy country lanes at lower speeds and the bike starts bobbing up and down, a sure sign of under damping. I will try a full days riding in DYNAMIC to see if I can get used to that - trouble is I fiddle too much switching between ROAD and DYNAMIC !

 

[CPJS]

I feel confident that BMW have got the spring rate of the front and rear suspension right for the 2021 GSA and my 15 stone. The pre load is taken care of automatically every time I ride to ensure the correct sag and hence ride height.
For me its the damping thats not ideal on the GSA. As others have said the ROAD setting (claimed as the default setting by BMW) is indeed soft and sofa like. On open roads with a decent road surface its fine. Switch to bumpy country lanes at lower speeds and the bike starts bobbing up and down, a sure sign of under damping. I will try a full days riding in DYNAMIC to see if I can get used to that - trouble is I fiddle too much switching between ROAD and DYNAMIC !

My findings exactly, loading up for touring makes it worse. This is one of the reasons I switched to TT D-ESA shocks.
Ask Denzo if he can alter the baseline rebound damping setting as it is that which is lacking.

 

[Subaruvich]

I feel confident that BMW have got the spring rate of the front and rear suspension right for the 2021 GSA and my 15 stone. The pre load is taken care of automatically every time I ride to ensure the correct sag and hence ride height.
For me its the damping thats not ideal on the GSA. As others have said the ROAD setting (claimed as the default setting by BMW) is indeed soft and sofa like. On open roads with a decent road surface its fine. Switch to bumpy country lanes at lower speeds and the bike starts bobbing up and down, a sure sign of under damping. I will try a full days riding in DYNAMIC to see if I can get used to that - trouble is I fiddle too much switching between ROAD and DYNAMIC !

It could be undersprung for your 15 stone. Usually they are sprung for 75-85kg rider if I’m not mistaken.


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[tanneman]

Preload doesn't alter the spring rate. You need to determine what the sag is with you onboard. That will give you an idea of what spring rate should be used. Fat fuck = higher spring rate, anorexic Tosser = lower spring rate. Then go from there. ESA works within set parameters, it is not a one touch magic button. If the spring rate is not correct then the sag wouldn't be correct and thus a few things to note. The front steering will feel vague or unresponsive as the bike squats with you onboard or powering out of a corner, the damping will not cope with the continuous shock movement and feel like an old shock, the rebound won't feel to have an effect.

Preload is then used to alter the sag if you carry a bit more weight. The sag won't be perfect because springs come in set rates measured in N.m. Therefore preload is used to adjust sag slightly for the rider.

But we are wrong because this is the best bike ever made. I read it on here. Therefore the problem must be something else.

https://www.bmw-motorrad.co.uk/en/e....html#/section-even-more-technology-in-detail