R 1150 GS moving around a lot when driving hard.

[Fretkart]

• R 1150 GS with 100,000 KM (62,000 miles)
• My weight 88-90 KG (190-198 pounds) with gear
• Stock suspension (front on second strongest preload, rear 2 turns out)
• Refilled oil reservoir rear shock

I've been canyon carving with the GS for some weeks now and i have been having a blast with the bike.

Although as i drive it more and more i find that it feels quite "loose" and i didn't have the feeling when i first got it. Important note is that it doesn't pogo in the corners so its not completely shot.

What's loose you might think? When driving hard i feel the bikes moves forward and backwards quite a lot, i know the bike doesn't really dive because of the telelever suspension, but it sure is moving a lot. I can also notice this by looking at the headlight beam moving up and down.

One suspect could be the ball joint which might need re-tightening or replacing. It feels like the front has play somewhere, but its hard to determine where exactly...

I know that if i ever spend money on the bike, it will be suspension first, but at this moment i don't feel like spending up to 1000 euros on a bike that cost me 2300 euros, if that makes sense.

I'm writing this wondering if there's anything i can do, my previous R 1100 GS had about 30k km's more and it did not feel that loose.

 

[Mzokk]

OK for the front end to check if you've got wear in the front ball joint - put the bike on the centre stand and rock it back and forwards gently so the front wheel just comes off the ground. As it goes back down you'll hear/feel a small clunk if its shot. Dismount the bottom shock mount and telelever ball-joint mount and wiggle the trailing arm from side to side. There should be no play. Ditto the angular bearing and fork mount bushes in the upper fork brace.

At the rear check the crown wheel bearing and Telelever bearings for play. That said it could be that the shocks have run out of damping.

 

[Riceburner]

OK for the front end to check if you've got wear in the front ball joint - put the bike on the centre stand and rock it back and forwards gently so the front wheel just comes off the ground. As it goes back down you'll hear/feel a small clunk if its shot. Dismount the bottom shock mount and telelever ball-joint mount and wiggle the trailing arm from side to side. There should be no play. Ditto the angular bearing and fork mount bushes in the upper fork brace.

At the rear check the crown wheel bearing and Telelever bearings for play. That said it could be that the shocks have run out of damping.

Just for the sheer pedantry of it.... : Telelever is the front suspension system, Paralever is the rear system. (Parallel Lever).

In regards to the OP:
My money would be on something wearing at the rear end, but manifesting itself by visible/feelable movement at the front. Crown bearing or Paralever bearing, or even potentially the gearbox bearing, but paralever / crown bearings are the main suspects.

At 62,000 miles I'd also be looking at the shocks. The original Showas are good... but not that good.

 

[Mzokk]

You are of course correct . My money would be on dodgy paralever bearings as well. and shot shocks. I had my 35,000 mile original shocks on while my Ohlins shocks were being rebuilt and they were shocking

 

[Fretkart]

Really good comments guys! I recall it feels like the rear is moving slightly to one side on acceleration, at the the time i disregarded it due too the shaft drive, but my R 1100 GS didn't do that.

Time to have a good hard look at all the bearings and shock mounts. I wonder how i could determine if the bearings or ball joint need replacing, any tips?

 

[Mzokk]

Paralever bearings will still have detectable play if the rear brake is applied. If the play is in the bevel drive bearing then applying the rear brake will stop it.

 

[Wrigsby1]

If your riding hard then the rear shock will lose damping to a degree and lead to it feeling flighty... It's just not quite keeping up ... On my 11GS I keep it on lighter damping and it's predictably loose and floaty... It will be accentuated if your front is set harder...

 

[Slipperyeel]

Front and rear shocks... Good socks will transform the bike. What you describe in your opening post sounds very familiar - all the other joints mentioned above were fine - so got my wallet out and never regretted it.

It's an expensive detail. But as I say, transformative. My money is on the shocks

Sent from my SM-S908B using Tapatalk

 

[GedJack]

Front and rear shocks... Good socks will transform the bike. What you describe in your opening post sounds very familiar - all the other joints mentioned above were fine - so got my wallet out and never regretted it.

It's an expensive detail. But as I say, transformative. My money is on the shocks

Sent from my SM-S908B using Tapatalk

Agree totally

 

[DrFarkoff]

WHY have you got the Front shock on Max preload ??

If its hard as fuck and you only weigh 90Kg ??????? Of course its going to Fuck about!!

Allegedly you want the front suspension like a pair of 20 year olds Boobies Firm but with a bit of swing and still supple

the back end like a pair of 40 year old boobies Bit of sway and movement But no harshmess

What you basically have is the hard front end fighting the hard rear end and no suppleness !!!

SOooooooooooooooo

Set everything back down to minimum and go try it again with The rear to about 2 further full rotations of the preload knob on past the Moyen marker and the rebound screw 3 X HALF turns in from fully out

The front shock set to the second step off softest preload

Remember it's not conventional suspension and jacking it to Maximum does not work !

Hopefully that makes a HUGE difference as the suspension can now move !

 

[DrFarkoff]

Oh and re Shocks ....https://www.protechshocks.co.uk/find-your-bike/bmw/

I just bought this for my aged RT because the front Spring / Shock was just not good

So this arrived the other day for just over £210 inc set up for 140Kg rider

I couldn;t afford to spend another £100 on a YSS and this outfit has a GOOD rep! Anyone remember Realm Engineering and their range of shocks RamShox?? Looks similar?? Yeah Guess why These look to be Excellent well made stuff Hopefully get it fitted and a test ride tomorrow

 

[Wrigsby1]

WHY have you got the Front shock on Max preload ??

If its hard as fuck and you only weigh 90Kg ??????? Of course its going to Fuck about!!

Allegedly you want the front suspension like a pair of 20 year olds Boobies Firm but with a bit of swing and still supple

the back end like a pair of 40 year old boobies Bit of sway and movement But no harshmess

What you basically have is the hard front end fighting the hard rear end and no suppleness !!!

SOooooooooooooooo

Set everything back down to minimum and go try it again with The rear to about 2 further full rotations of the preload knob on past the Moyen marker and the rebound screw 3 X HALF turns in from fully out

The front shock set to the second step off softest preload

Remember it's not conventional suspension and jacking it to Maximum does not work !

Hopefully that makes a HUGE difference as the suspension can now move !

One of the oft used but misunderstood set ups is setting everything hard... I remember having one of the 1st 1150gs demos out while my 11 was getting a service and stopping a couple of miles up the road to wind everything off... It was most obvious from people coming off sports bikes where they though hard settings made them some sort of racer...
I'm in the Jamie Whitam camp of liking a bit of movement perhaps I set up on the edge of too soft but it works well for me that way...
Your analogies should be added to the Ohlins/Wilbers etc set up instructions...

 

[Fretkart]

Oh and re Shocks ....https://www.protechshocks.co.uk/find-your-bike/bmw/

I just bought this for my aged RT because the front Spring / Shock was just not good

So this arrived the other day for just over £210 inc set up for 140Kg rider

I couldn;t afford to spend another £100 on a YSS and this outfit has a GOOD rep! Anyone remember Realm Engineering and their range of shocks RamShox?? Looks similar?? Yeah Guess why These look to be Excellent well made stuff Hopefully get it fitted and a test ride tomorrow

View attachment 346379

Look really good, but they only have front shocks...

 

[Fretkart]

WHY have you got the Front shock on Max preload ??

If its hard as fuck and you only weigh 90Kg ??????? Of course its going to Fuck about!!

Allegedly you want the front suspension like a pair of 20 year olds Boobies Firm but with a bit of swing and still supple

the back end like a pair of 40 year old boobies Bit of sway and movement But no harshmess

What you basically have is the hard front end fighting the hard rear end and no suppleness !!!

SOooooooooooooooo

Set everything back down to minimum and go try it again with The rear to about 2 further full rotations of the preload knob on past the Moyen marker and the rebound screw 3 X HALF turns in from fully out

The front shock set to the second step off softest preload

Remember it's not conventional suspension and jacking it to Maximum does not work !

Hopefully that makes a HUGE difference as the suspension can now move !

Alright, this is the next step!

I going to be honest, initially it wasn't on full preload at the front, but because i watched videos about modern bikes and how they stiffen up suspension i thought, fuck it. Lets put everything on max and lets go for a ride, Honestly i didn't feel it was to bad now as the bike moved around less. But! i like this comment so for my next ride I'm going to wind everything down as described in this post, see how that feels and work from there.

About the knock in the front. I'm quite sure that its coming from the ball joint or the headstock bearing as the feeling feels very similar to when my headstock was loose on my Yamaha YP 250 Maxi scooter, but it's less obvious and present on the GS

 

[Udders]

It’s very rare for the ball joints to wear. I was told this by a very excellent bike mechanic! ( Mikeyboy ). Check your front shock mount top rubber. And the two funny spherical bearings at the top of each fork leg.

 

[Fretkart]

It’s very rare for the ball joints to wear. I was told this by a very excellent bike mechanic! ( Mikeyboy ). Check your front shock mount top rubber. And the two funny spherical bearings at the top of each fork leg.

Something i haven't checked yet, good one!

 

[Udders]

I took my 1150 to him with a strange clunk every now and then at the front end. We ( he ) changed both the small spherical bearings, ball joint ( but it was still perfect ) and the top shock mount. This shock mount was the main culprit on mine but swapped everything anyway. At least I know I’ll never have to worry about them going in the future.

 

[Fretkart]

I figured It out. The knock is coming from the small spherical bearings, or it might be the headstock bearing which is shot.

WHY have you got the Front shock on Max preload ??

If its hard as fuck and you only weigh 90Kg ??????? Of course its going to Fuck about!!

Allegedly you want the front suspension like a pair of 20 year olds Boobies Firm but with a bit of swing and still supple

the back end like a pair of 40 year old boobies Bit of sway and movement But no harshmess

What you basically have is the hard front end fighting the hard rear end and no suppleness !!!

SOooooooooooooooo

Set everything back down to minimum and go try it again with The rear to about 2 further full rotations of the preload knob on past the Moyen marker and the rebound screw 3 X HALF turns in from fully out

The front shock set to the second step off softest preload

Remember it's not conventional suspension and jacking it to Maximum does not work !

Hopefully that makes a HUGE difference as the suspension can now move !

Alright so what can I say, I look like a fool. I drove with the suggested settings and guess what, I don't think the bike has ever driven this good before. I honestly don't think I have bad shocks even.

I turned up the rear a bit and one click up the front. Bike handles so damn well. Only had to get used to the bike feeling a bit lower to the ground, but wow i had a blast. I don't feel the immediate need to replace the shocks to be honest

Thanks so much for that advice

 

[Wrigsby1]

I figured It out. The knock is coming from the small spherical bearings, or it might be the headstock bearing which is shot.


Alright so what can I say, I look like a fool. I drove with the suggested settings and guess what, I don't think the bike has ever driven this good before. I honestly don't think I have bad shocks even.

I turned up the rear a bit and one click up the front. Bike handles so damn well. Only had to get used to the bike feeling a bit lower to the ground, but wow i had a blast. I don't feel the immediate need to replace the shocks to be honest

Thanks so much for that advice

Good on you... Whatever bike I get I usually set things soft or standard settings and add more if needed... It's all about reaction and feel to make it right, especially on our quality roads...

 

[Fretkart]

Good on you... Whatever bike I get I usually set things soft or standard settings and add more if needed... It's all about reaction and feel to make it right, especially on our quality roads...

Suspension will always be an interesting topic, but i learned a lot from this topic, also for the future bikes i will own. Maybe in some point i will upgrade the stock suspension, who knows. Also, of course people who splashed on fancy Ohlin's aren't going to down talk their upgrade, maybe I'll drive a GS with Ohlin's one day haha One the road i drove yesterday there's a section where its quite bumpy, but with these settings i could just roll over them while cornering, But i loved it, i might take the bike out this evening again

Another point is smoothness of the driver, maybe in my last drive i wasn't smooth at all, trying to push the bike to move so much, maybe in this drive i was much smoother with my inputs transferring to a better ride.

To give you guys an idea of the roads I'm driving on, this is one of my favorite sections, and there's no people as well, this place is like motorcycle paradise