Leaking front shock (ESA)

[Falco9]

Wondering if anyone else has suffered fluid loss from the front shock on the ESA equipped GSA.

Started the bike up today as she hasn't been run for a few weeks, and after a couple of minutes I noticed fluid pooling on the floor behing the front wheel.
A quick inspection revealed fluid leaking from the front shock and also onto the alternator cover.

Luckily the bike is still under warranty but I'm interested to know if anyone else has suffered this failure?

My bike has only done 4,000 miles hope this isn't a sign of things to come

F9

 

[littleredrooster]

Wondering if anyone else has suffered fluid loss from the front shock on the ESA equipped GSA.

Started the bike up today as she hasn't been run for a few weeks, and after a couple of minutes I noticed fluid pooling on the floor behing the front wheel.
A quick inspection revealed fluid leaking from the front shock and also onto the alternator cover.

Luckily the bike is still under warranty but I'm interested to know if anyone else has suffered this failure?

My bike has only done 4,000 miles hope this isn't a sign of things to come

F9

Not sure what I'm missing here, but what has starting the engine got to do with the shock suddenly leaking? Are you sure the leak is coming from the shock?

 

[jpooch00]

From what I've seen on this and every other BMW bike forum, this is not at all uncommon for the ESA shocks - and non-ESA's for that matter.

Also, that shock is over $1700 plus the labor to install it if the bike is out of warranty.

There are aftermarket ESA-type shocks available from Ohlins & Wilbers that most people change to for out-of-warranty replacements since they're generally far more durable and also repairable and cost about the same as the stock units. Wilbers can also install their shocks into your original ESA unit which is considerably cheaper than buying the whole assembly from them.

Good luck, and keep an eye on the rear shock too, since they reportedly fail quite regularly also.

 

[Falco9]

Yes its definately the shock, I only mentioned starting the engine because theres no sign of the shock leaking whilst its been parked in the garage.
Its probably unrelated, but I don't normally believe in coincidences

The irony is, that having "upgraded" from a stock GS to the "all singing & dancing" GSA version with all the bells & whistles fitted; I've just sold my WP shocks I had fitted to the last bike

Oh well, lets see whats Rainbow make of it. If this is going to be a regular thing the extended warranty is going to be a "must have"

F9

 

[jpooch00]

Yes its definately the shock, I only mentioned starting the engine because theres no sign of the shock leaking whilst its been parked in the garage.
Its probably unrelated, but I don't normally believe in coincidences

The irony is, that having "upgraded" from a stock GS to the "all singing & dancing" GSA version with all the bells & whistles fitted; I've just sold my WP shocks I had fitted to the last bike

Oh well, lets see whats Rainbow make of it. If this is going to be a regular thing the extended warranty is going to be a "must have"

F9

I don't know what your extended warranty will cover in the UK, but I got the dealer to send me a copy of the contract he sells and it DOES NOT cover shocks, clutches, brakes, discs, hoses and many, if not most, of the rest of the things that regularly fail on these bikes. It doesn't even cover the FD bearings or seals. Essentially worthless, but costs $1500.

Screw that!

My advice is that you read a copy of the actual contract carefully BEFORE you spend any money on it.

Good luck.

 

[Falco9]

I don't know what your extended warranty will cover in the UK, but I got the dealer to send me a copy of the contract he sells and it DOES NOT cover shocks, clutches, brakes, discs, hoses and many, if not most, of the rest of the things that regularly fail on these bikes. It doesn't even cover the FD bearings or seals. Essentially worthless, but costs $1500.

Screw that!

My advice is that you read a copy of the actual contract carefully BEFORE you spend any money on it.

Good luck.

Good point, Luckily the bikes only 6 months old so I still have almost 18 months warranty remaining but I'm not surprised they omit almost everything that could fail.
Typical BMW these days I'm afraid (and there not on their own)
Thanks for the heads up though, appreciated
F9

 

[jpooch00]

Good point, Luckily the bikes only 6 months old so I still have almost 18 months warranty remaining but I'm not surprised they omit almost everything that could fail.
Typical BMW these days I'm afraid (and there not on their own)
Thanks for the heads up though, appreciated
F9

I've seen many stories of BMW doing "goodwill" out-of-warranty replacements on high cost parts that are known to have issues. FD's & shocks are among these items. So there's always a chance they would do that for you if the need arose.

Plus, some of these shocks go many thousands of miles with no problems, but most of them have been failing either right away or at around 30,000-35,000 miles.

Best wishes,

John

 

[webbel]

mine did the same thing..six months old ,front shock failure
replaced under warrenty

 

[The G Man]

38.5k for my rear on 2009 GS

G

 

[doctorsmudge]

Front Shock

Yes, me too, exactly the same scenario as the original post. Been ion the garage unused for a few weeks, took it off the centre stand, wheeled it back and noticed the snail trail of oil. 12K miles. Not impressed if this is the quality of components BMW puts into their machines.

 

[Flipper_Man]

28k on my GSA and the front shock has gone.....it stopped leaking after 600miles (2wks) so I'm going to leave it.......the forks seem to be damping ok on their own and the ESA changes on front shock are tiny - the rear apparently does all the work (with regard to changing ESA settings)

 

[Beemerman59]

28k on my GSA and the front shock has gone.....it stopped leaking after 600miles (2wks) so I'm going to leave it.......the forks seem to be damping ok on their own and the ESA changes on front shock are tiny - the rear apparently does all the work (with regard to changing ESA settings)

Jeez, your bike must be jarring the skin off your bones. When my front went I ended up with inch long cracks in my screen! There's no damping in the front forks so you must be poggoing up the street. Why didn't you get a new one fitted when it was 2 weeks old?

 

[doctorsmudge]

Just reported the issue to Douglas Park Motorrad in East Kilbride, Scotlandshire and they are not interested. Seem they think its an acceptable failure after 12000 miles. Guess where I WONT be going for anything.

 

[Flipper_Man]

Jeez, your bike must be jarring the skin off your bones. When my front went I ended up with inch long cracks in my screen! There's no damping in the front forks so you must be poggoing up the street. Why didn't you get a new one fitted when it was 2 weeks old?

I meant it stopped leaking 2 weeks and 600miles AFTER it started leaking at 28k miles (and 2.5yrs).
Doesn't seem to be jarring. Little bit of pogo action but not sure if I'm just imagining that....

 

[Bendy toy]

Yes its definately the shock, I only mentioned starting the engine because theres no sign of the shock leaking whilst its been parked in the garage.
Its probably unrelated, but I don't normally believe in coincidences

Coincidence? Did you check the oil cooler isn't holed?

BMW will often replace a low mileage shock under warranty - if the bike has always been serviced with them. To be honest, a Wilbers WESA conversion would be my choice.

 

[Sooty09]

After adjusting the rear preload on my R1150R I noticed a large pool of oil under the shocker. After removing it I found a seal had blown in the hydraulic collar which compresses the main spring. The oil in the collar and adjusting mechanism had all drained out. This oil is completely separate from the damping oil (May be different on the later ESA shocks) I could not purchase a seal so I ended up filling the whole assembly with industrial silicon and adjusting the preload to my normal setting before it set solid.
Its run that way for six years (The bloke who bought it had no need to adjust it) with no problems.
Not something you would want to do on a new bike but I think the shock absorber will be working fine, just at its lowest setting.