Harsh Suspension, Has it Been Addressed On the Newer 2016+ GS's?

[Clifton]

I on my 2014 GSA, and some others here, have experienced our suspension become very harsh and jarring. Some have had theirs to the dealer multiple times with little improvement or if any it seems to revert back to harsh mode. My dealer was clueless saying he tried it and "your suspension seemed to me moving up and down so it's ok". Mine does this occasionally and disconnecting the battery seems to reset it to normal for a while at least.

My question is has anyone experienced this on newer GS(A)'s say 2016 and 2017's yet? Does anyone know if the semi-active suspension been tweaked or upgraded since model year 2014?

 

[ChazzyB]

Seat of the pants impression says my 2017 TE has a plusher ride than my previous 2015 TE. Damping setting on Road. D-ESA (coding plug not yet fitted) now only has Road and Dynamic, rather than Soft, Normal and Hard.

 

[Clifton]

Thanks Chazzy. I set mine on either normal or soft, never "sport". So with yours on Road the suspension is not in Dynamic mode, just traditional functioning shocks? And Dynamic puts it into electronic computer controlled, servo damping mode?

 

[ChazzyB]

I understand Dynamic refers to ones anticipated riding style . It's still semi-active in Road. I never used Soft on my old bike; just Normal and Hard.

 

[Neil W]

As a matter of interest have you owned your bike from new and if so when it was new was the suspension fine and was there an obvious difference between the the soft/normal and hard setting and also a notable difference between the compliance of the suspension between rain/road and dynamic modes.

Also following the ecu updates did the suspension settings seem to be 'dumbed down' with very little difference in its performance whatever the settings or between various modes .

What you describe is a known problem and yes it may only effect a small percentage of the bikes produced but BMW don't seem to have a definitive fix for the bikes that have the problem.

Had a ride on a late 2016 model last year and to be honest the suspension was still in my opinion far too harsh with little compliance .

I honestly thought that manufacturers believing that hard suspension mean a well handling bike went out with 1970's Ducati's but obviously not.

I on my 2014 GSA, and some others here, have experienced our suspension become very harsh and jarring. Some have had theirs to the dealer multiple times with little improvement or if any it seems to revert back to harsh mode. My dealer was clueless saying he tried it and "your suspension seemed to me moving up and down so it's ok". Mine does this occasionally and disconnecting the battery seems to reset it to normal for a while at least.

My question is has anyone experienced this on newer GS(A)'s say 2016 and 2017's yet? Does anyone know if the semi-active suspension been tweaked or upgraded since model year 2014?

 

[AP11 LAD]

I have a 17 gsa triple black. The suspension behaves most of the time but every now and again it does weird things. Irrespective of the setting it is in at the time, the suspension goes firm with excessive amount of rebound. After a few minutes but sometimes takes longer, it goes back to normal. In addition I think that even on soft setting the ride is a bit too hard and made worse still by the Annake tyres.

 

[Clifton]

As a matter of interest have you owned your bike from new and if so when it was new was the suspension fine and was there an obvious difference between the the soft/normal and hard setting and also a notable difference between the compliance of the suspension between rain/road and dynamic modes.

Also following the ecu updates did the suspension settings seem to be 'dumbed down' with very little difference in its performance whatever the settings or between various modes .

What you describe is a known problem and yes it may only effect a small percentage of the bikes produced but BMW don't seem to have a definitive fix for the bikes that have the problem.

Had a ride on a late 2016 model last year and to be honest the suspension was still in my opinion far too harsh with little compliance .

I honestly thought that manufacturers believing that hard suspension mean a well handling bike went out with 1970's Ducati's but obviously not.

Yes Neil since new, February 2014. Actually we had exchanged a couple PM's regarding this issue and you were helpful.

I really noticed mine during the second riding season or Summer 2015 but it may well have been doing do earlier.

Sorry to hear it still seems to be a problem, with some at least, including the 16 you rode. I'm at the point that if I would decide to buy a new GS I'd order a base model w/o the servo suspension.

I have a 17 gsa triple black. The suspension behaves most of the time but every now and again it does weird things. Irrespective of the setting it is in at the time, the suspension goes firm with excessive amount of rebound. After a few minutes but sometimes takes longer, it goes back to normal. In addition I think that even on soft setting the ride is a bit too hard and made worse still by the Annake tyres.

At least yours cycles back to normal. I agree I wish "soft" was a bit softer.

Thanks.

 

[ChazzyB]

Clifton, just a thought. I hope you don't think this a too personal question, but how much do you weigh? My club had a talk from a well-known UK suspension specialist (MCT) a few years back. He related a tale about a larger gentleman who came to him wanting softer suspension for his bike as the ride was much too harsh. The fix was actually stiffer springs to get the ride height sorted out so the dampers could do their work.

 

[Clifton]

No not too personal at all Chazzy, 170# (or 12 of your stones), plus gear.

When I first rode my bike the compliant suspension was maybe what impressed me the most but over time it seemed to become less compliant. After a year later I distinctly recall riding on a poor surfaced paved road full of holes and broken sections of pavement. The ride was so jarring I was literally concerned the wheels or frame would incur damage. On curves the bike skipped sideways, even though it was set on soft. I had ridden the same section of road a few weeks prior on my R100R and recall it wasn't anywhere near as rough riding. I knew then that something had happened.

I took it to the dealer who said they'd never heard of such a thing and all seemed to be working as far as they could see. Then I stumbled onto a thread here where the problem was being discussed by a number of people, Neil included, and some said BMW were aware of it.

No doubt BMW wouldn't come out and admit "we've addressed the GS(A)'s suspension's tendency to pack up and change to full hard mode with revisions made in 2016" or 2017. But was hoping for first hand experience from someone who experienced the problem on a 2014 then changed up a couple years.

 

[sven]

I got nowhere complaining until it failed completely (it went nearly rigid) a few months outside the warranty period. Luckily Allan Jefferies had logged my complaint about it being harsh at the 6k service, so BMW replaced it FOC It now rides very smoothly, even on very bumpy backroads

 

[ChazzyB]

170lbs, that's about BMW's standard rider weight. And lighter than me.

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

I wonder if a non ESA bike would be preferable

Shame there are no demos to try

 

[sven]

I wonder if a non ESA bike would be preferable

Shame there are no demos to try

That's a very good question, but not if they're like the older 1200's which had horrible, soggy, under damped non-ESA suspension.

I like ESA on the GS LC, but I'm worried that it'll fail again

 

[wileeeeeey]

On my 2017 GSA I always have the suspension on hard. I find the even medium too bouncy but that could be to do with my weight.

 

[CPJS]

Clifton, Has the dealership ridden the bike? If they have not, ask them to do so. The problems are in the software of the shock itself, not the ECU, and cannot be rectified. The only fix is a new shock.
My bike had the shock recalibrated twice and they said it was all within the tolerances permitted. When they eventually road tested it they agreed that the damping had failed and replaced the shock. The problem with my bike was the opposite to yours in that the suspension went very soft.
Book in a demo at the dealers and tell them why, that you wish to compare with yours, if it confirms your thoughts then invite them to do the same there and then, ride the bikes back to back. If the dealer declines take it up with BMW, Golden rule, write it down, keep notes.

 

[Clifton]

I wonder if a non ESA bike would be preferable

IMO; proper functioning ESA shocks > conventional shocks > improper functioning ESA shocks.

Clifton, Has the dealership ridden the bike? If they have not, ask them to do so. The problems are in the software of the shock itself, not the ECU, and cannot be rectified. The only fix is a new shock.
My bike had the shock recalibrated twice and they said it was all within the tolerances permitted. When they eventually road tested it they agreed that the damping had failed and replaced the shock. The problem with my bike was the opposite to yours in that the suspension went very soft.
Book in a demo at the dealers and tell them why, that you wish to compare with yours, if it confirms your thoughts then invite them to do the same there and then, ride the bikes back to back. If the dealer declines take it up with BMW, Golden rule, write it down, keep notes.

The mechanic rode my bike back when I took it back and said he could "see the forks moving up and down over bumps and all seemed fine to him but bring it back if it persists". Now it's out of warranty. I must say though that disconnecting the battery leads then reconnecting them resets it back to normal so that's what I've been doing when I notice it feeling harsh.
I should have been more persistent and like you said booked time for the mechanic and I to demo a new bike along with mine while switching back and forth. It's water over the dam now.

 

[CPJS]

The fact that it is out of warranty should not prevent the dealer from fixing your bike gratis, they were notified of the problem when the bike was under warranty. The fact that they could not diagnose it at the time should be their problem not yours.

 

[FastestGSA]

If your ever in the position to upgrade I would highly recommend it. I thought the ESA was the best thing since sliced bread but from now on I will order it without. The metaphor would be Ford or Rolls.


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[sven]

The fact that it is out of warranty should not prevent the dealer from fixing your bike gratis, they were notified of the problem when the bike was under warranty. The fact that they could not diagnose it at the time should be their problem not yours.

Agreed - that's why they fixed mine outside the warranty period

 

[sven]

I got nowhere complaining until it failed completely (it went nearly rigid) a few months outside the warranty period. Luckily Allan Jefferies had logged my complaint about it being harsh at the 6k service, so BMW replaced it FOC It now rides very smoothly, even on very bumpy backroads

After a week of riding two-up and fully loaded on bumpy Irish roads, the harshness seems to have returned I like the bike, but the lack of confidence in its ESA suspension means it's probably time for a change

Oh, and the horn bracket has also broken due to fatigue, so I've spent the last two days with no horn, which is a bit unnerving as I've already been pulled out on twice and nearly reversed into when the horn would have alerted the drivers earlier