Electronic Suspension
- Thread starter the director
- Start date
Have to say giving it dixie around the Isle of Mann I used it quite a bit so + however many
Chris iow
Registered user
I have it, like it, use it and it makes a difference.
candyhead
Guest
How do i change teh ESA settings?????
Can anyone out there tell me how to change the ESA settings on my R1200GS Adv.... it seems no amount of button pressing calls up the rider+pillion/rider+luggage/off road options.... All i can get are the comfort/normal/sport for rider only.... where am i going wrong?
Can anyone out there tell me how to change the ESA settings on my R1200GS Adv.... it seems no amount of button pressing calls up the rider+pillion/rider+luggage/off road options.... All i can get are the comfort/normal/sport for rider only.... where am i going wrong?
(RIP) Johno23
Registered user
Use mine, definitely makes a difference especially when touring 2 up with luggage.
1. You need to be stopped with the engine running (not 100% sure about the engine bit, you might just need the ignition on).
2. Press and hold the ESA button to get it to switch - you'll see the new settings flash on the display when you've held the button for long enough.
Sit on the bike... Start the engine... Don't put it in gear and dont move off.
Hold the ESA button in for a few of seconds... You'll see the symbols change... Press and hold again... the symbols change... After a few seconds you should feel pressure coming off your feet as the preload winds on.
Short presses only change the damping
sven
Registered user
I use it, but can't honestly say that I feel a huge amount of difference - to the extent that I'm still not convinced that it's working properly, despite what the dealer says.
Assuming it is ok, I wouldn't pay the extra for it again.
I test rode both and the ESA makes a huge difference - the bike handles much better as it's more firmly sprung and better damped.
Maybe you could get the standard suspension set up to your taste, but ESA gives me the flexibility of switching between comfort/normal/sport damping on the move (and they are noticeably different) and allows me to quickly change the preload when SWMBO comes along
I wouldn't buy a GS without it.
Deleted account Cooperman
Registered user
I test rode both and the ESA makes a huge difference - the bike handles much better as it's more firmly sprung and better damped.
Maybe you could get the standard suspension set up to your taste, but ESA gives me the flexibility of switching between comfort/normal/sport damping on the move (and they are noticeably different) and allows me to quickly change the preload when SWMBO comes along
+1
Just need to remember the SWMBO setting when stopping
61nearlybold
Registered user
ESA
I have had 2 previous GS's with no ESA. My SE came with it as standard. I ride on my own just for enjoyment. The only off road is coming onto the drive.
Does it work? well yes as at standstill you can hear the servos working. Am I a good enough rider to notice the differance, NO.
I have ordered a 30th and I have not asked fro ESA as I cannot justify the extra cost. Does it increase future value? I do not think so but any sales person will sale yes.
I have had 2 previous GS's with no ESA. My SE came with it as standard. I ride on my own just for enjoyment. The only off road is coming onto the drive.
Does it work? well yes as at standstill you can hear the servos working. Am I a good enough rider to notice the differance, NO.
I have ordered a 30th and I have not asked fro ESA as I cannot justify the extra cost. Does it increase future value? I do not think so but any sales person will sale yes.
Really handy to have it.... weird watching the system jack itself up when you'r about to carry a passenger
I have it and use it on nearly every journey - regardless of distance. There is a massive difference between sport and comfort.
Comfort in town and on rough Devon B roads and Sport once you're up and moving..also switching between single and pillion + luggage is great.
personally I wouldn't buy a GS without it.
Comfort in town and on rough Devon B roads and Sport once you're up and moving..also switching between single and pillion + luggage is great.
personally I wouldn't buy a GS without it.
snerkler
Registered user
Was a bit sceptical at first,but use it all the time now and think it's definately worththe money. wouldn't buy another gs without it
I wouldn't
Didn't have it on my 07 GSA, wasn't available then but fitted Wilbers which were superb.
I do have ESA on my new '10 GSA but I really miss the Wilbers. Ride quality with ESA is not half as good as with the Wilbers. I'm going to have to fork out fortunes to have the Wilbers ESA conversion
Didn't have it on my 07 GSA, wasn't available then but fitted Wilbers which were superb.
I do have ESA on my new '10 GSA but I really miss the Wilbers. Ride quality with ESA is not half as good as with the Wilbers. I'm going to have to fork out fortunes to have the Wilbers ESA conversion
bmwbikeruk
Registered user
But I think you'll find that those who don't have it will say it's a waste of money.
I have to disagree in my opinion but dont know about Wilbers above.......however my 07 GSA dont have ESA but I really loved the ESA on 2010 GSA as tested on the roads....great for setting different levels of suspension and the differences are noticeable. In sport mode, I found GSA more fun to ride fast in winding roads whereas my GSA was rather lumpy! Very handy when you ride solo, two up or with luggage whereas my GSA is a pain to reset front and rear suspensions separately with tool provided. ESA is indeed not a sore thumb to change settings at the touch of a button! I'd not hesitate to buy next GSA with ESA. Note Ducati Multistrada, she has different modes to play with like GSA with ESA
ESA=EASYLIFE!!!! go for it best extra you can get ,I use comfort or normal mode ,being a big boy ride it with settings of rider +luggage which works very well for me
. My last 2 GS's have had it and I've made sure my new Anniversary GSA has it
. My last 2 GS's have had it and I've made sure my new Anniversary GSA has it
GSband
Registered user
Hi, here's another one of my long posts. Please bear with me.
It took me a while to completely understand ESA, and then I studied aftermarket shocks. Here's why I decided to go with the latter. I'm not discussing price and value for money, thats' up to each individual.
First : SPRING/DAMPING QUALITY. Buying into the ESA system doesn't mean that you are buying a better spring or damper than standard BMW. It just means that instead of manually changing preload and damping as you can on the standard spring/damper, small motors do it for you at the push of a button. Nobody knows if the spring or damper are of any better quality than the standard BMW suspension.
Then : PRELOAD. BMW has estimated (= scientific guess) how much a solo buyer weighs, and has called this the 'solo' position for ESA. If you are significantly heavier the 'solo' position will give incorrect preload, and you will have to ride around with 'solo+luggage' as a minimum. Which of course implicates that the other settings will not match either. But, if your solo weight is less than the BMW estimate, the 'solo' position of ESA will always be wrong. A rider who weighs 70kg or less will find an ESA equipped bike unpleasant to ride with. This basic error is the reason why the aftermarket is providing systems that match the 'solo' position to your specific weight. Examples : there's WESA by Wilbers, and Ohlins have their TTX electronic suspension that can be adjusted to specific rider weight (the Ducati Mulistrada 1200 offers this adaptability).
But let's assume that the riders' solo weight coincides with BMW's estimate, then there's still the question what to do with additional weight not coinciding with BMW's definition of luggage and pillion. There is a difference between riding solo with topcase loaded, and riding solo with all cases loaded, but that difference isn't considered by ESA. The logical conclusion is that ESA only has rough correctness when it comes to preload.
What about BMW's claim that ESA on the GS allows 15 free choices ?
'On road' the weight on the bike is a GIVEN factor (you decide how much weight you put on the bike) and then you MUST adapt preload to the weight; there isn't really a FREE choice what position you put preload in.*
If you ride offroad the terrain dictates what position you put preload in. Again, a GIVEN factor, there's no free choice. What remains is a free choice between the 3 modes of damping.
*Even when a rider decides to use a different setting than BMW prescibes, he'll still use that same setting for that specific weight. Again, a given.
So let's talk about DAMPING.
First of all, the ESA system doesn't take changing temperatures into account, which means that the damping characteristics of each position (comf/hard/sport, or soft/norm/hard) will change with the change of season, as the oil viscosity of the damper changes.
BMW has chosen these three damping settings with big differences damping wise. The customer really feels the difference and says 'Wow this really works' , which is OK by itself.
The disadvantage of these big differences in damping steps is that some positions don't necessarily please the rider. If you browse through different posts and read comments of owners you'll often find the phrase : 'I don't use the 'X' position, because it's too hard/soft'. Some riders state that they always leave damping in the same position. This indicates that for some owners the choice of damping is limited to 2 positions... or even less. And then you may wonder why you'd spend money on settings or choices you will not or hardly ever use.
Now, there are some clear advantages to ESA :
- userfriendly : at the push of a button
- ease of change : for riders who alter the charge on their bike several times a day, it's heaven being able to adjust preload pushing a button (instead of having to turn a knob)
- changing damping characteristics on the fly : not having to stop to fiddle about with damping when road surface suddenly changes from bad to slick (or vv).
- preload or damping are always adjusted at front and back together, so a rider can't put the bike in a 'bad' setup
In conclusion, the ESA system is an extremely easy to use system with a few shortcomings (preload), and with a limited amount of possibilties (damping).
Compare this to the standard BMW/aftermarket suspensions :
- preload can be set EXACTLY according to charge on bike, even in small increments. Dynamic sag will always be right, be it riding solo, solo + topcase, solo + sidecases, solo +all cases, solo + pillion, solo + pillion + topcase, and so on... The disadvantage being that the rider has to know what he's doing. As preload is always adjusted before take off, there's no real disadvantage in user friendliness.
- damping can be adjusted not in mere 3 steps, but in extremely small steps (Wilbers : 22 steps). The beauty is that while I ride around with damping between positions 11 and 16, the next rider may like positions 14 to 20. Individuality rules. The disadvantage is that you have to stop and get off the bike if you want to change damping somewhere en route.
- damping can be adjusted to change in temperature. I use less damping in winter, compared to summer. That way my bike behaves the same throughout the year.
- most aftermarket shocks are of better-than-BMW-standard-shock quality
You may have guessed : I preferred a quality shock with a wide range of possibilities and some user unfriendliness (Wilbers) over the ease of use with limited possibilities and possible wrong preload (ESA).
Sincerely : I'm happy that so many owners of ESA are satisfied with what they bought. I wouldn't want it any other way.
It took me a while to completely understand ESA, and then I studied aftermarket shocks. Here's why I decided to go with the latter. I'm not discussing price and value for money, thats' up to each individual.
First : SPRING/DAMPING QUALITY. Buying into the ESA system doesn't mean that you are buying a better spring or damper than standard BMW. It just means that instead of manually changing preload and damping as you can on the standard spring/damper, small motors do it for you at the push of a button. Nobody knows if the spring or damper are of any better quality than the standard BMW suspension.
Then : PRELOAD. BMW has estimated (= scientific guess) how much a solo buyer weighs, and has called this the 'solo' position for ESA. If you are significantly heavier the 'solo' position will give incorrect preload, and you will have to ride around with 'solo+luggage' as a minimum. Which of course implicates that the other settings will not match either. But, if your solo weight is less than the BMW estimate, the 'solo' position of ESA will always be wrong. A rider who weighs 70kg or less will find an ESA equipped bike unpleasant to ride with. This basic error is the reason why the aftermarket is providing systems that match the 'solo' position to your specific weight. Examples : there's WESA by Wilbers, and Ohlins have their TTX electronic suspension that can be adjusted to specific rider weight (the Ducati Mulistrada 1200 offers this adaptability).
But let's assume that the riders' solo weight coincides with BMW's estimate, then there's still the question what to do with additional weight not coinciding with BMW's definition of luggage and pillion. There is a difference between riding solo with topcase loaded, and riding solo with all cases loaded, but that difference isn't considered by ESA. The logical conclusion is that ESA only has rough correctness when it comes to preload.
What about BMW's claim that ESA on the GS allows 15 free choices ?
'On road' the weight on the bike is a GIVEN factor (you decide how much weight you put on the bike) and then you MUST adapt preload to the weight; there isn't really a FREE choice what position you put preload in.*
If you ride offroad the terrain dictates what position you put preload in. Again, a GIVEN factor, there's no free choice. What remains is a free choice between the 3 modes of damping.
*Even when a rider decides to use a different setting than BMW prescibes, he'll still use that same setting for that specific weight. Again, a given.
So let's talk about DAMPING.
First of all, the ESA system doesn't take changing temperatures into account, which means that the damping characteristics of each position (comf/hard/sport, or soft/norm/hard) will change with the change of season, as the oil viscosity of the damper changes.
BMW has chosen these three damping settings with big differences damping wise. The customer really feels the difference and says 'Wow this really works' , which is OK by itself.
The disadvantage of these big differences in damping steps is that some positions don't necessarily please the rider. If you browse through different posts and read comments of owners you'll often find the phrase : 'I don't use the 'X' position, because it's too hard/soft'. Some riders state that they always leave damping in the same position. This indicates that for some owners the choice of damping is limited to 2 positions... or even less. And then you may wonder why you'd spend money on settings or choices you will not or hardly ever use.
Now, there are some clear advantages to ESA :
- userfriendly : at the push of a button
- ease of change : for riders who alter the charge on their bike several times a day, it's heaven being able to adjust preload pushing a button (instead of having to turn a knob)
- changing damping characteristics on the fly : not having to stop to fiddle about with damping when road surface suddenly changes from bad to slick (or vv).
- preload or damping are always adjusted at front and back together, so a rider can't put the bike in a 'bad' setup
In conclusion, the ESA system is an extremely easy to use system with a few shortcomings (preload), and with a limited amount of possibilties (damping).
Compare this to the standard BMW/aftermarket suspensions :
- preload can be set EXACTLY according to charge on bike, even in small increments. Dynamic sag will always be right, be it riding solo, solo + topcase, solo + sidecases, solo +all cases, solo + pillion, solo + pillion + topcase, and so on... The disadvantage being that the rider has to know what he's doing. As preload is always adjusted before take off, there's no real disadvantage in user friendliness.
- damping can be adjusted not in mere 3 steps, but in extremely small steps (Wilbers : 22 steps). The beauty is that while I ride around with damping between positions 11 and 16, the next rider may like positions 14 to 20. Individuality rules. The disadvantage is that you have to stop and get off the bike if you want to change damping somewhere en route.
- damping can be adjusted to change in temperature. I use less damping in winter, compared to summer. That way my bike behaves the same throughout the year.
- most aftermarket shocks are of better-than-BMW-standard-shock quality
You may have guessed : I preferred a quality shock with a wide range of possibilities and some user unfriendliness (Wilbers) over the ease of use with limited possibilities and possible wrong preload (ESA).
Sincerely : I'm happy that so many owners of ESA are satisfied with what they bought. I wouldn't want it any other way.
candyhead
Guest
Thanks C-J and Andy-E for your help... I've now managed to change the settings... I didn't realise you had to "Hold" the button for a few seconds... I'm sure the owners manual doesn't tell you this!!! Thanks againSit on the bike... Start the engine... Don't put it in gear and dont move off.
Hold the ESA button in for a few of seconds... You'll see the symbols change... Press and hold again... the symbols change... After a few seconds you should feel pressure coming off your feet as the preload winds on.
Short presses only change the damping
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