Failed ESA Shock at 6000 miles (!)

stevelup

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Hi Folks,

The damper in my rear shock has failed. The bike has only done 6k miles but is six years old so no chance of any goodwill from BMW.

As I see it, I have a few choices.

a) BMW want £1800 for the replacement part - that simply is never going to happen, just ridiculous.

b) get a second hand one from a breaker / eBay - how would I know that's any less knackered than mine?

c) get mine re-built. Research suggests that the OEM part is fundamentally crappy to start with so this is throwing good money after bad

d) aftermarket - I've spoken with Revs Racing and based upon my circumstances (never carry load / never carry pillion) he's recommended the Wilbers 640

I'm very much leaning towards d) but the disadvantage compared with the other options is of course the bike is no longer 'factory'.

Will I end up with errors / warning lights - if so can they be bypassed permanently?

Thanks!
 
Do you ever watch the Missenden flyer on youtube? This happened on his1200 lc and he wasnt prepared to part with the stupid money bmw wanted... He sourced through ebay a new shock from italy i think, if i remember rightly it was about £600.
When it was fitted he couldn't believe the difference and how good it felt,that much so he doubted if his original shock actually ever worked properly in the first place.
Just search missenden flyer rear shock fail...you should find it ok.

Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Tapatalk
 
leadfarmer said:
Wilbers do WESA shocks based on the original ESA unit but much cheaper
Click to expand...


Ah, interesting... thanks. Wonder why Revs didn't suggest that. I'll have another chat.

Perhaps, based upon what I told him (me always solo / no luggage), he felt it wasn't relevant.
 
B15ape1981 said:
he doubted if his original shock actually ever worked properly in the first place.
Click to expand...

To be honest, I'm wondering the same. I actually cannot feel anything unusual when riding, but then this is the only R1200GS I've ever ridden. Loan bikes have always been different.

The fault is undoubtedly there - I can feel it easily when checking now it's been drawn to my attention. And it has passed its two previous MOTs without a problem - in the current state, it's clearly a failure. I have no disagreement with the diagnosis.
 
Dens0 of this parish does refurbs.
A couple hundred quid will get it back like new and good to go for another 6 years.
 
Thanks - just watched the Missenden Flyer video - sounds just like my story. The exact same cost, the same signing of a disclaimer... Also, yes, like him, I never really could tell a massive difference between the soft and hard settings, so perhaps you're right.

Incidentally, his fix was -much- cheaper than £600 - he got the shock for less than 200 quid and paid 75 in labour to have it fitted.

Whilst I like the idea of the Wilbers units - I'm sure they're better than the OEM ones - there is an attraction towards keeping things 'stock'.
 
Looks like MF eventually got a freebie from BMW for this. Oh to be a social media influencer...!

I might naggle at them a little bit just for the hell of it. I mean to fail at 6000 miles is ridiculous, and then for the repair to be 20% of the value of the whole bike...

I don't hold out much hope though.
 
stevelup said:
Thanks - just watched the Missenden Flyer video - sounds just like my story. The exact same cost, the same signing of a disclaimer... Also, yes, like him, I never really could tell a massive difference between the soft and hard settings, so perhaps you're right.

Incidentally, his fix was -much- cheaper than £600 - he got the shock for less than 200 quid and paid 75 in labour to have it fitted.

Whilst I like the idea of the Wilbers units - I'm sure they're better than the OEM ones - there is an attraction towards keeping things 'stock'.
Click to expand...
Ahh much cheaper than i remember...bloody bonus

Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Tapatalk
 
AberdeenAngus said:
Dens0 of this parish does refurbs.
A couple hundred quid will get it back like new and good to go for another 6 years.
Click to expand...

This would probably be your best route to go, however, if the fault is caused by a failure of the electronics you are stuffed. Dens0 I am sure would have enough bits and bobs kicking around his workshop to sort it.
 
I'm quite sure it's a 'fluid' issue - there's damping downwards but none on return. So basically I press down on the seat and can feel resistance, but if I pull up on it, there is none at all.
 
My bike only done 10k. If the shock has not failed by 20k it is going to Denso for a refurb anyway.
Previous shock of mine failed at 16k. Friends at 6k.
It will fail it is just when..
 
I complained about mine behaving erratically at the 6k service, but AJ’s couldn’t diagnose the issue. The damping became really harsh at times.

It eventually failed at 16k (locked solid) and they wanted £1500 to replace it, but I reminded them that I’d already complained about it during the warranty period and this was noted on their system, so BMW agreed to a goodwill warranty claim.

BTW Firefox Racing in Keighley can also rebuild them for a couple of hundred quid.
 
if you post your old unit to firefox it will be back in about ten days 260 quid all in ,i had mine done on the 2013 r1200gs,lc i had a few weeks ago,i have now traded that in and got a 1250 now .
it was easy enough to take of the bike ,but i did find i had to slacken the rear swingarm to get it out .the two multiplugs are under the ecu under the seat
when the old one is off and away do not turn the ignition on at all and it wont need recoding to the bike when it comes back
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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