Now have 34,500 miles on the 1250RS (2019) and suspension was err what's the phrase? 'Tired' or more accurately fornicated.
I was already concerned that fork dust seal were weeping part time, and ominous brown patches were occurring on chromed tubes.
Over last 2,000 miles the D-ESA shock had lost almost all damping, yet both motors were still adjusting when I asked suspension wizard Darren Wnukowski to take a look.
It's nearly 20 years since I first consulted Darren, owner of MCT Suspension
https://www.mctsuspension.uk/ to look at my 1st BMW, a K1200RS.
And every bike I have taken to him since has been transformed so I knew that his advice would be rock solid.
Forks - the original BMW dealer had marked up servicing them them at 18,000 miles. Yes he would service the forks - Darren explained the brown shading was caused by the dust seal lip running dry and burning (in the meantime I cleaned them again and pushed in a little red rubber grease). Opened up these were in a poor state, with destroyed bushes and heavily contaminated oil was 'Full to the top - no air gap at all".
Shock - when I bought the bike at 21,000 miles this performed well, although the Road mode was already saggy and no use in todays increasingly potholed roads.
A replacement D-ESA unit is £1800 -and would probably at best last as long, but still not be rebuildable.
Because the ZF-Sachs shock was clearly heavily worn inside, and the damper rod was not great overhauling it left some unknown costs. NB these are not fitted with a gassing valve (they are assembled inside a pressurized tank) so he recommended either the Wilbers rebuild kit which reuses the two motors refitted into a new damping unit, or a complete manual shock - which would be much cheaper, and then I need not rely on s/h parts, and a simple electronic device would keep the ESA control happy. Darren told me the price ZF sells these as OEM to BMW, and it explained the cheap build.
I went with the 640 shock, set up for me, in which the compression and rebound damping curves are 'tied together' with just one adjuster. An external hydraulic adjuster allows me to add some spring if I put on a (rare) pillion etc. This is is a solid but graceful unit (lovely piece of machining) that weighs much less and moves in proportion to the road, and does not throw me around.
RESULT: Now the forks and especially the shock actually move to respond to the road, and the control is massively better. My bill for both ends was £1275 and far better than replacing the OEM shock.
Where the Wunderlich seat felt 'too hard' before, it now works: and the brakes at both ends feel like they have been boosted.
From bang and smash to more adhesion and quicker cornering without the drama! I had been unconsciously avoiding small road defects, but now can ride over them noticing the absorption and easy feedback that they were there but have been dealt with.
If the bouncing gets to you go get help - ESA is not the only way!
