snerkler
Registered user
It does do everything, I just think with the ESA it does it better. Just my opinion
ESA or No ESA is that is the question?
- Thread starter buttyboy
- Start date
Just to add my 2pence worth, if you take a GSA or GS off road. All that electric trickery is not going to thank you for it. 99% of GS riders probably wont venture offroad any more than the odd gravel road. A friend of mine spends a couple of minutes when we go offroad thumbing a multitude of buttons on his gs, abs off traction control off suspension this suspension that, Whats the point, if you are sticking to the black stuff then esa is worth the extra expense. I dont have it and never will, my GSA is bog standard apart from the heavy duty protective gear, and i leave the suspension pretty much set on one setting. It works in all environments. Its all about the rider and what you plan to do with the bike.
Most important thing enjoy your bike.
I would have thought the shock is the most likely item to fail off road rather than the electronics which just set the adjustments. The shock can fail ESA or non-ESA. I can't recall any posts where the ESA itself has failed - usually its an oil leak. Might be wrong of course - just my impression.
Vibrations are the biggest killer of automotive electronics.
Guess what there's a lot more off off road....
Horse1200
Registered user
Vibrations, deep mud and submerging the bike in deep water holes, isn't going to do the bike with more electronics on than mine in a basic format any good. To be fair these modern GSA & GS's aren't built as well as the older bikes. My 2010 model at the moment seems to be fairing up pretty well though. 
I take the point of both of the above posts. I do get the impression generally that the ESA electronics rarely fail, in fact I can't recall any posts on that subject, it has always been the shock itself that has failed. Of course, I do now expect the next 10 posts to confirm that I'm wrong....
How many of em go off road regularly, if at all?
trainman
Registered user
at the end of the day its more complex so do you need the adjustability over the increased risk of issues (especially if you keep it a while)
i also dont believe it adds value, to my mind it would put me off a used bike being someone who doesn't want it (2nd only behind servo brakes!!)
Horse1200
Registered user
My point exactly. Most GS`s and GSA`s stay firmly on the black stuff, so the rear shock doesnt get a real work out.
Im sure someone on may know, but does the bmw offroad school run gs`s and gsa`s with the electronic gizmo`s.....
My point exactly. Most GS`s and GSA`s stay firmly on the black stuff, so the rear shock doesnt get a real work out.
Im sure someone on may know, but does the bmw offroad school run gs`s and gsa`s with the electronic gizmo`s.....
But my point concerns the reliability of the electronics in ESA not the shock. Having been on this forum for over two years, I don't recall a failure of the electronics irrespective of road or off road. The shock I get, these have failed, but they have probably failed on bikes that don't go off road as well as those that do. This bit is relevant to those who may think about getting the WESA upgrade.
Any my point is as not many of them do go off road (and those who do only seldom) there is unlikely to be many recorded failures due to off roading.
Doesn't mean that it isn't likely to happen if its used offroad tho.
Im sure someone on may know, but does the bmw offroad school run gs`s and gsa`s with the electronic gizmo`s.....
The school use GS's for the students (not GSA's) and they don't have ABS or ESA.
Any my point is as not many of them do go off road (and those who do only seldom) there is unlikely to be many recorded failures due to off roading.
Doesn't mean that it isn't likely to happen if its used offroad tho.
That being the case then, the truth of the matter is that you don't know - you are making an assumption. You may be right, but it's an assumption none the less and not based on fact.
No I am not. Learn to read.
What I said was:
Not one assumption there.
Plenty of fact though.
I guess we will just have to disagree then on the semantics. Anyone had an ESA failure? On the road or off the road? Not the shock just the electronics.
There are no semantics.
ALL I have said is vibrations are the biggest killer of automotive electronics (I know this for fact because it's my job) and there are more of them off road.
I then pointed out not many GSs spend much time off road anyhow, so not many (any?) failures will show up because of it.
Any other point you think I have made is entirely in your tiny little brain.
Are you always this stupid?
So, my question remains, how many have had the ESA fail on their bikes, irrespective of whether they ride on tarmac only or off road? The electronics, not the shock.
WindyChuffer
Registered user
Just to add my 2pence worth, if you take a GSA or GS off road. All that electric trickery is not going to thank you for it. 99% of GS riders probably wont venture offroad any more than the odd gravel road. A friend of mine spends a couple of minutes when we go offroad thumbing a multitude of buttons on his gs, abs off traction control off suspension this suspension that, Whats the point, if you are sticking to the black stuff then esa is worth the extra expense. I dont have it and never will, my GSA is bog standard apart from the heavy duty protective gear, and i leave the suspension pretty much set on one setting. It works in all environments. Its all about the rider and what you plan to do with the bike.
Most important thing enjoy your bike.
I'd go along with Horse on this, and add that ESA suspension is just too hard compared to the normal suspenders. The button tomfoolery you have to do to disable ABS/Traction etc is silly, and worse, you have to do it each time you cycle the igntion.
However there is a good workaround. ABS / Traction can be permanently disabled by just unplugging the front ABS speed sensor. As the ABS control unit gets no signal from the front wheel, it assumes there is a fault and shuts the ABS/Traction gubbins down. There is a connector on the RHS of the handlebars above the fork crown that can be relatively easily disconnected. I installed a switch on my last bike by modifying the wiring loom giving me an instantly switchable on road / off road braking mode.
M.
Any thread on Esa, oil, or Sargent seats just run and run don't they...
On the off-road debate.... I think that it just makes sense that if you're going to do a lot of it you're probably wise to keep all gizmos and trickery to a minimum.
If you go off-road occassionaly then it's your choice...and your risk, if the vibration/drops/abuse will take it's toll.
If you stay on the road then you're back to the initial quandary of cost/performance/use etc.
It's worth on an off-roader is a different concern to most GS/GSA owners (I for one never wondered how going off road would effect it when I was waying up the options) which I think is Adam's point.
On the off-road debate.... I think that it just makes sense that if you're going to do a lot of it you're probably wise to keep all gizmos and trickery to a minimum.
If you go off-road occassionaly then it's your choice...and your risk, if the vibration/drops/abuse will take it's toll.
If you stay on the road then you're back to the initial quandary of cost/performance/use etc.
It's worth on an off-roader is a different concern to most GS/GSA owners (I for one never wondered how going off road would effect it when I was waying up the options) which I think is Adam's point.
Any thread on Esa, oil, or Sargent seats just run and run don't they...
On the off-road debate.... I think that it just makes sense that if you're going to do a lot of it you're probably wise to keep all gizmos and trickery to a minimum.
If you go off-road occassionaly then it's your choice...and your risk, if the vibration/drops/abuse will take it's toll.
If you stay on the road then you're back to the initial quandary of cost/performance/use etc.
It's worth on an off-roader is a different concern to most GS/GSA owners (I for one never wondered how going off road would effect it when I was waying up the options) which I think is Adam's point.
I don't disagree - If I was going off road or buying new I would not spec ESA. I have it because it came with the bike and I got a good deal. What I was trying to find out though was not about it's suitability for off road use. I ask the question about reliability in general on the electronics. The actual shock being used is a different question. As I'm toying with the idea of going the WESA route I want to be able to have an idea whether its cost effective to put 3 or 4 year old electronics onto a brand new Wilburs shock. And I just would like an idea of how many failures of the electronics have actually occured irrespective of use - based on evidence not an educated guess.
If I have offended anyone in anyway by the means I have asked my questions then I apologise unreservedly. No offense or personal critisism has ever been my intention.
Modern electronics are normally bloody reliable, and although BMW are doing a fine job of bucking this particular trend I would suspect the mechanics of ESA to be far more likely to cause problems.
I can see the whiry windy bits being likely to seize, break or jam - although if a motor jams I suppose you could call it electronics but the reality is moving parts are liekly to stop moving rather than electronic circuitry breaking down, unless it was designed by the same bloke who sorted the EWS and FPC although if that were the case hundreds would have failed by now so I guess it is looking pretty good.
I can see the whiry windy bits being likely to seize, break or jam - although if a motor jams I suppose you could call it electronics
but the reality is moving parts are liekly to stop moving rather than electronic circuitry breaking down, unless it was designed by the same bloke who sorted the EWS and FPC although if that were the case hundreds would have failed by now so I guess it is looking pretty good.
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