Hyperpro Lowering Springs for 1200gs Adventure

[fastidiousphil]

Hi Everyone.
I have a 2013 1200gs adventure with ESA and WP shocks for which I have bought Hyperpro Lowering Springs. I took the bike to a local BMW dealership who agreed to fit the springs. However, when they tried to fit the rear Hyperpro spring they found the spring to be too short and was flopping around all over the place. I was told they were unable to fit the 'collets' to keep everything in place and refitted the original spring. Has anyone had a similar problem or are the dealers missing a trick? Is some sort of spacer needed to make up the difference in length? The length of the Hyperpro spring is 210mm whereas the original spring measures 228 mm when in place and under compression. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks for any help.

 

[Mistacat]

Recently fitted a set of Hyperpro lowering springs to 2008 R1200GSA They did not flop around, in fact you want a good press as there is considerable pre-load on them. Especially the rear.
No spacers required.
I think they lowered the Bike about 40mm.
I would check with Hyperpro.

 

[fastidiousphil]

Thanks for that. I have been having loads of talks with Calsport - who supplied the springs - and they have been talking to Hyperpro who maintain the springs are the correct ones. Been struggling with this for a fortnight now! But thanks anyway. I have a feeling that its the springs that are the problem. We'll see.
Phil.

 

[Hman]

revs

send the shock and the spring to revs to fit if they say it cant be done then i'd say game over , they are the dogs bol**ks when it comes to suspension

 

[Mistacat]

Set the ESA to one helmet. ( Minimum rear pre-load)
Put the Bike on the center stand and measure the (Standard rear) spring.
If the Hyperpro spring is shorter than this then it is the wrong spring.
If the Hyperpro is longer then it would not be loose when mounted.

 

[Nick dj]

Recently fitted a set of Hyperpro lowering springs to 2008 R1200GSA They did not flop around, in fact you want a good press as there is considerable pre-load on them. Especially the rear.
No spacers required.
I think they lowered the Bike about 40mm.
I would check with Hyperpro.

Does the ESA still work OK Mistacat? does it bottom out a lot 2 up?
Would really like to lower my !200gs 25 -30mm Anybody done this with these springs?

 

[Pukmeister]

I put 40mm lower progressive springs on my GSA with ESA. I'd say your dealers must either be doing something wrong or are bullshitting you.

I borrowed the proper press tool from Daffy on this forum, the rear spring change was the easier of the two. I then found it was a bit too low for my liking so went back to stock springs and a low sargent seat instead. I still have the 40mm lowering Hyperpro springs if anyone wants a set.

There is a YouTube video of the Hyperpro spring change somewhere on the web, I'll see if I can find it for you.

Edit:

http://youtu.be/gCnIZj8QD3M

 

[fastidiousphil]

Hi Pukmeister,

Thanks for that. I have just set the ESA to rider with pillion and watched as the ESA compressed the spring downwards from the top. I then re measured the length of the (stock) spring and this was 200 -205mm. Given that the Hyperpro spring measures 210mm, this means that when fitted to the bike with the ESA on this setting, the Hyperpro spring would be compressed by 5 - 10mm. Is this what you did? I am wondering what would happen if I put the ESA back to 'rider only' when the new spring has been fitted?

 

[Pukmeister]

I can't remember exactly what I did to set the preload prior to the spring swap, but once fitted the new springs gave no problems at any setting. My bike is a 2008 GSA with ESA.

Are you sure you have the correct springs for your application eg GS or GSA versions, they might be different lengths (I believe they are). They are progressively wound springs so no idea how they determine spring 'rates' as that varies with compression.

I just didn't feel right somehow for me with my bike lowered, not sure why really, so I changed the seat instead and refitted the original springs.

 

[Bendy toy]

Maybe the spring lengths are different. BMW used shocks made by WP and Showa. ESA / non ESA might also be different.

 

[fastidiousphil]

Latest News

Many thanks to everyone who replied to my thread. The problem has finally been resolved. Calsport offered to fit the (rear) spring for me if me if I removed the spring/shock unit myself. They also offered to send a courier to collect the unit and for a courier to return the unit after the springs had been swapped over. They asked me to set the ESA to rider and pillion to compress the spring a little and as an aside measure the resultant length. This I did. The length was 200 - 205mm (5 - 10 mm less than the uncompressed length of the Hyperpro spring - so things were looking good). I removed the unit from the bike - straight forward but had some trouble fathoming how to separate the electrical connectors. The courier collected the unit on Tuesday and Calsport phoned me 11.30 Wednesdayday to say that they had fitted the spring without ANY trouble in 15mins! The unit was back with me by 9.30 Thursday. I refitted the assembly in 18mins and fired the bike up. I then set the ESA to rider only and the spring fits without any slack and the bike sits as good as gold. I am now having the front spring fitted by my local BMW dealer.

I cannot praise Calsport enough. I was phoned and texted at regular intervals to update me and to check the arrival of the spring/shock unit. What a great company and what sterling service they have given me. I have spoken to others who are equally as impressed as me - so this is clearly not a one off. Well done guys - I shall use you again without hesitation.
Thanks everyone - I'll keep you posted about the front end. Phil.

 

[birdseye]

why buy a bike thats too big for you and then lower it. wouldnt you have been better off with a 1200gs some spare cash and a petrol can for the rare day when you go a long distance and there are no petrol stations.

 

[fastidiousphil]

Why Not?

Why not lower a bike? If you read various threads on this forum, you will find many riders have done precisely this because they reqiure a little more margin of safety when circumstances work agaiast you. If you research this as much as I have you would realise these springs only lower the bike when the rider is sat on it giving the same result as the standard springs with a much heavier rider. If I was 15 or 16 stone instead of 11, the bike would sit at the same height.

I took the bike out yesterday for a 200 mile ride. Only the rear spring has been changed so far. Not only was the bike slightly lower, but the quality of the ride was significantly improved - because the springs are 'progressive'. I can't wait for the front to be changed on Saturday.

I bought an Adventure because I wanted a brand new oil head gs as I did'nt like the watercooled gs. There are no standard oil head gs's to be had. I was lucky enough to find a brand new Adventure in a showroom which had been pre registerd by the dealership. It had all the options fitted as well as many extras. With a low seat from a standard gs fitted, I had a seat height which manageable. The Adventure has a ground clearance which is 20mm higher than the standard gs. By fitting these springs, I have a seat height and ground clearance which is the same as that of standard gs. RESULT!

BTW, why do you think BMW themselves offer "seat height reduction" as an option?