ESA or No ESA is that is the question?

[snerkler]

I would say do not bother
Yes it changes the ride height and the softness/hardness but the bike handles just as well in sports mode one up as comfort mode two up with luggage.
I simply could not tell the difference and I ride reasonably quickly; it goes around corners with no fuss in every mode
It is a very expensive button to go wrong
It is entertaining playing with the modes at traffic lights
It will be easier to sell the bike afterwards with it but you will have paid a lot for that button upfront.

As said before you're joking right? Either that or your ESA's not working. I ride with preload set to one up plus luggage and there's a huge difference between sport and comfort. On comfort it wallows round corners. Sometimes I forget it's on comfort, get into the twisties and sometimes think I'm losing tyre pressure until I remember it's still in comfort and it's just the bike wallowing around.

 

[NLC]

Yes. Using it more now. Was in France on some twistys in Sport mode and what a difference. Handy when going from motorway to b roads. However almost got caught out when I forgot to take luggage setting off and got on bike.

 

[Big Nick]

The ESA option gets a yes from me, I like the options available for adjustments and they do make a definate difference to the handling.

I regularly switch between the preload settings as its so easy to do and being able to choose the three rebound settings on the move is cool!

That said if it failed out of warranty I may have a different viewpoint!

 

[ajmac]

just fittd wilbers

my 2nd gsa had manually adjustable and i think they were white power(never a problem with these).it was good for crossing gt central desert in oz being able to adjust the back and front independantly.the bike i have now(2009) had ESA until 2 days ago.i had the front fail on me in alaska last year and had huge hassle with bmw alaska.eventually got it replaced in edmonton bmw in canada.
esa is great when they are new but like all shocks need servicing .i have just installed the wilbers from the gents in stowmarket.as i am travelling for a while with extra gear(on the rd now for 15months) i am happy for stiffer springs rated for me plus loaded up to gunnels.i will miss the ease of changing settings but have a remote preload for the rear.i was sick of the slumping around corners and wanted a stiffer shock
esa is great but imho think simpler is best in the end.put the money into ohlins or wilbers and keep the normal bmw ones as spares.
hope that helps

 

[Rasher]

It would be a right royal pain in the arse to have to manually adjust compression and rebound several times during a ride.

Well it would be if you could adjust compression damping at all on the OE shocks, in fact there is not any damping adjustment up front, just pre-load, which I why I avoided ESA.

This has got to be as personal choice, I wanted excellent suspension, the OE kit is not great (like most mass produced bikes) and it is very limited in adjustment (pre-load only up front and pre-load and rebound at the rear) having said that I was amazed at how much difference the ESA settings did make considering the limited adjustment available, but even on a brand new demo bike it felt clunky and un-sophisticated.

The money I saved on a lower spec bike went towards Wilburs with a lot more adjustment, the bike ride bumps better, handles better and even two up with luggage can be set so it still handles a treat being thrown about on the twisties.

If your not likely to need to change settings much it is pretty pointless, if you constantly switch between one and two up and from motorways to B-Roads all the time it is bloody handy.

I can see why people love it, and as I do swith from one-up to two up a lot I would like to do it at a press of a button, but the changes I need to make take about 30 seconds which I can live with, especially for the much better ride the Wilburs provide.

I bet bikes with ESA are more popular used, possibly being easier to sell and maybe worth a fair few quid more.

If buying used I would suggest you look more at the bikes condition and mileage if you really do not need ESA, if buying new it is a tougher call as there are no other factors invloved, just a yes / no.

As most people would want a comfort pack anyway I guess moving up to premium to get the ESA is not a huge amount more

 

[Stretchamus]

Deffo. YES.Makes all the difference.

The amount of difference it makes is also well documented on here on other Threads and if I was daft enough to ever buy another BMW, I would go for ESA every time.
Also when the Shocks are past their best change for ESA Wilburs, simples.


Best regards Stretch

 

[thosoneill]

As said before you're joking right? Either that or your ESA's not working. I ride with preload set to one up plus luggage and there's a huge difference between sport and comfort. On comfort it wallows round corners. Sometimes I forget it's on comfort, get into the twisties and sometimes think I'm losing tyre pressure until I remember it's still in comfort and it's just the bike wallowing around.

i have never read such shit in all my life - reckon you ought to get a life - wallows round corners WTF ?????????????

 

[Stretchamus]

i have never read such shit in all my life - reckon you ought to get a life - wallows round corners WTF ?????????????

It does TEND to wallow, in any case if it is in comfort there is no frikin ground clearance and the side stand grounds on the left and the centre stand on the right.

Best regards Stretch
PS Tendency is subject to individuals perceptions and experiences, Snerks like myself have come from sports bikes

 

[thosoneill]

It does TEND to wallow, in any case if it is in comfort there is no frikin ground clearance and the side stand grounds on the left and the centre stand on the right.
Best regards Stretch
PS Tendency is subject to individuals perceptions and experiences, Snerks like myself have come from sports bikes

reckon you are full of shite as well - its a tractor FFS -who you kiddin trying to compare it to a sports bike - if you wanna get the pegs down go get yersel a blade !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Stretchamus]

reckon you are full of shite as well - its a tractor FFS -who you kiddin trying to compare it to a sports bike - if you wanna get the pegs down go get yersel a blade !!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK thosoneill it doesen't wallow, you obviously know your onions.

Not comparing the bilge barge to anything, just making a comment on what I think of the comfort setting

 

[thosoneill]

point taken

 

[Big Derek]

pillion or not its a yes for me i use mine all the time its great to be able to change settings on the fly

 

[sven]

Mine also wallows around in comfort mode, although it does have its uses on really bumpy backroads in the Dales and Lakes e.g. Barbon to Dent.

Normal mode works really well 90% of the time and sport makes a huge difference when really going for it in the twisties, although the tyres ultimately compromise the handling on the limit (Trail Attacks) - must try some road tyres...

 

[cookie]

i've tried it for a day on a couple of loaners.

comfort is too soft for any use i can think of & sport was unnecessarily hard for any riding i tried or envisioned. normal was a surprisingly good ride compared with non esa, stock bikes i've ridden, so maybe the core shock is an improvement over earlier OEM fitment.

might be an advantage if i did a lot of switching between 1 up and 2 up. i don't really, and it only takes 30 secs to adjust damping and preload on my wilbers. i've never seen the need to change settings for different roads/riding style on the wilbers, which just seem to cope with it all.

in short: ESA seems massively unreliable (so many units being replaced at one time, that bmw ran out of stock for weeks), offers me no advantage whatsoever, so i wouldn't have it as a gift.

i would however spend twice the asking price of esa on wilbers/ohlins/wp without hesitation.

 

[AdamA]

i've tried it for a day on a couple of loaners.

comfort is too soft for any use i can think of & sport was unnecessarily hard for any riding i tried or envisioned. normal was a surprisingly good ride compared with non esa, stock bikes i've ridden, so maybe the core shock is an improvement over earlier OEM fitment.

might be an advantage if i did a lot of switching between 1 up and 2 up. i don't really, and it only takes 30 secs to adjust damping and preload on my wilbers. i've never seen the need to change settings for different roads/riding style on the wilbers, which just seem to cope with it all.

in short: ESA seems massively unreliable (so many units being replaced at one time, that bmw ran out of stock for weeks), offers me no advantage whatsoever, so i wouldn't have it as a gift.

i would however spend twice the asking price of esa on wilbers/ohlins/wp without hesitation.

That.

I also prefer the predictability of well set up quality shock to a constantly changing (at the touch of a button) feel. I don't see the need to change settings for different roads.
My bikes setup quite firm at the back and softer at the front. Works for me and not an option on ESA.
Even on the same roads Sven rides I don't find myself wanting for different settings (or stickier tyres for that matter - I must be dog slow).

 

[Beemerman59]

I guess I'm just lucky then as I must be the same weight of the test riders who BMW used to set up the ESA shocks because on my GSA the handling is perfect. I cannot fault it in any way, I have no unused rubber on the new rear Roadsmart as of last weekend and the bike is stable through any corner I chuck it into. I cannot see how any other shock could improve it for me. As far as the ESA settings are concerned, I do tend to adjust the preload in combination with the soft, normal or sports settings depending upon how I want to ride on any particular day so its well worth spending time to try all the different combinations and know how they work for you.

Having said that, my experience with aftermarket shocks is limited to what I have done with my previous bikes where I have recognised I have a problem to solve but with the GSA I don't have anything to solve.

My tuppence worth.....

 

[Paul Wakefield]

ESA seems massively unreliable

I find that surprising. I don't recall seeing many threads on here about ESA failure. And you normally hear here first.

There was a batch a while ago which had problems (though that was not with the ESA bits).

 

[Dainese Brave]

I can't say I've heard of too many failures either....but I've heard a lot of the fear of it failing because of the cost.

All said and done...it's how much you want it, and how suitable it is for you.

It's a good system, but not something that is a major requirement. I didn't find manual adjustment a problem on my previous Gsa, but I wanted ESA on my new one.

Would I get it on my next one?.....I think I would.

Would it matter if it didn't have it?.....not really.

But I'd still go for it if given the option. ......so it can't be all that bad.

 

[cookie]

I find that surprising. I don't recall seeing many threads on here about ESA failure. And you normally hear here first.

There was a batch a while ago which had problems (though that was not with the ESA bits).

are you saying there was a problem, but now it's fixed, they're not failing anymore?

as i said before, BMW ran out of spare esa struts. bikes were waiting weeks off the road. this forum is where i read about it. it can't have been an isolated incident.


i've got 2 BMWs. i've had several of them previously, so reliability is clearly not my main concern.
the main reason i wouldn't have esa is because it offers me nothing i want, and i'd have to pay extra for it. your requirements (and, i admit, the majority of responders) is clearly different.

i cannot see the need for suspension adjustment on the fly. the thought of pissing about altering settings for the widely variable road conditions in the uk change is ludicrous to me. doubly so as in my test rides, moving away from Normal was never anything but a retrograde step whatever the conditions. route included dual carriageway, A roads, and tiny dorset back roads.

that's just me though. i thought i'd give my opinion, and my opinion is: i've tried it (approx 120 miles), i thought it was just a stupid gadget and useless for me + it ads complexity and weight, so ESA? no thanks

 

[sven]

That.

I also prefer the predictability of well set up quality shock to a constantly changing (at the touch of a button) feel. I don't see the need to change settings for different roads.
My bikes setup quite firm at the back and softer at the front. Works for me and not an option on ESA.
Even on the same roads Sven rides I don't find myself wanting for different settings (or stickier tyres for that matter - I must be dog slow).

I agree that high quality shock absorbers offer the best performance; the only bike I've ridden with Ohlins was an R1200S and that was superb compared to the standard R1200S with a firm but well damped ride and excellent feedback.

However, I just wanted the best solution out of the factory and the ESA bike is definitely better than standard. Mine was pre-registered anyway including Dynamic and Premium packs, so the ESA was effectively free and is very convenient for someone like me who's constantly switching preload as I ride two-up a lot of the time.

As for the tyres, I don't like the "feel" of the Trail Attacks when pushed hard, even though they rarely lose grip. The front is now knackered after 8500 miles (rear was replaced at 5900), so a set of Dunlop Roadsmarts should be getting fitted soon.