To ESA or to not ESA? Buying Advice needed

[Andrew997]

Hi all, currently in the market for a twin cam gs, I would like an esa equipped bike, however I'm worried about potential problems (i.e. costs) and also I have seen a couple of really nice bikes for sale at a good price without esa, the question is; would i regret buying an non esa bike? I know you can't miss what you never had and all that but has anyone experienced both and thought that esa would now be a deal breaker?

Apologies if this has been done to death, I did search the forums but just couldn't find the answer I was looking for.

Thanks in advance

 

[unibar]

I think if you're not worried about resale and the non esa is good value go for it.. Personally i never use the modes, and when 2 up turning a knob ain't too hard.. Plus you have infinitely variable pre load

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

[steveC]

My ESA experience was a underwhelming experience. I had a new 2015 GS lc I found no decernable difference in the settings. But I am unsure if it was me or the suspension. Yes the suspension altered height and I assume other characteristics but I could not feel the difference.

But the engine modes settings were noticeable. I sold the bike and went back to a twin cam with manual suspension.

As I said perhaps its me. there are those that speak highly of the system and others bemoan its problems.

Ride the bikes and alter the suspension throughout the entire range. If you can feel the difference its working. No difference, and its either you or the suspension.

For me if it was a better ride on the ESA equipped bike I would get it. Shame mine wasn't.

 

[oddshapedballs]

My old SC had no ESA or ABS, I've since had one TC without ESA and two with ESA and can tell the difference in the suspension especially toggling through Rider/Rider + Luggage and the amount of luggage, the bike also rises and falls significantly which you won't get with non-ESA bikes.

That said, (as unibar said) twisting the odd knob to adjust at the rear is no big deal.

An ESA/ABS/ASC equipped bike will always fetch a premium over non-ESA/ABS, so you also need to consider how long you tend to keep your bikes for before trading in/selling.

 

[Bendy toy]

My bike has ESA but for now the shocks are replaced with non ESA GS units.
Do I miss ESA? Not really.
The GSA with ESA has softer springs so the bike squats under power and every gear shift. The GS shocks don't do that. It's not a wear n tear issue the GSA units have always done it.
Ride height range on the GSA is much wider than the GS. I like having it on full mountains setting and it handles surprisingly well even on the softest damping.
What are my plans? Finance allowing -Wilbers ESA but with a shorter shock. The lowest OEM height is still a bit much for me and even more so with the GS springs. I'll be careful avoid over-spring the Wilbers.

So, how will you use the bike?
Pillion and solo then get ESA as you can easily adjust damping to suit. Twiddling the ride height is no biggy of course.
Solo only with mostly road use go for non ESA.


Sent somehow.

 

[Tango]

I had all the gizmo crap on my twin cam RT SE, never used any of it. The only thing I found useful was the electric powered screen, and heated grips.

When I bought the GS, I deliberately purchased a twin cam bike with heated grips as the only extra.

I intend this bike to be a keeper, but that aside in future times I think the simpler bikes will fetch more, if they don't dissolve first that is.

 

[sproggy]

I had an R1200R with ESA (bought ex-demo, so no choice of spec). I hated the suspension - there was no preset preload/damping option that suited me as I wanted something in between. Which of course you can't have. I wished I had regular suspension with stepless adjustment of preload and damping.

This is just opinion, of course, and you may love ESA. But it's not perfect for all riders in all situations.

My GS doesn't have ESA and if/when I replace it with a newer model I will seek out another non-ESA bike. More control over suspension adjustment, less to go wrong, less weight and easier/cheaper to switch to quality aftermarket shocks.

 

[Simon-GS]

Mine has ESA, mainly I only change between solo and two up mode. Maybe very rarely I will increase from comfort to normal or sport but to be honest its a gimmick and if it wasn't there I wouldn't miss it. In the old days of manual adjustment I played with settings when I got a bike until I found something that suited then never change. I don't go off road so maybe that is something that could affect your decision?

 

[Greenman14]

I have ESA and do use it. It's good to set suspension to Comfort towards the end of a long ride when tiredness and sore butt start to set in. The modes do make a difference. The preload adjustment is less useful but I rarely carry a pillion so it's limited to either rider or rider+luggage. For a keeper and on a budget I'd be happy with to do without ESA as the shock replacement is much cheaper. FWIW when I felt the need to refresh my suspension last year (2012 TC 20k miles) I went for Wilbers ESA, mostly because I could.

 

[UturnTony]

I have ESA on my twin cam GS and like it.
Why do i like it? I can easily change the ride height to suit the load ie. one up two up with or without loaded panniers etc.
and this can be done with a minimum of fuss while (if needed) still astride the bike (sans passenger). I can change the damping
whilst on the move which means i can set it to suit the road surface or just the way i want to ride and, i can tell the difference between the modes.
All this can be done manually of course and it was what i was used to before my ESA kitted GS came along.

 

[Andrew997]

Thanks for your replies! Just to clear up , I don't think that i will ever be off road and I may occasionally go 2 up, (if the missus likes being pillion.. yet to be decided!) My thoughts would be to keep the bike for a long time, so resale value wouldn't be top of my worry list.

Does anyone know off the top of there head, how much difference in price there is between plain wilbers and esa wilbers roughly?

 

[Bendy toy]

The cost premium of Wilbers ESA over manual hydraulic preload is not that great. The original ESA kit is reused on new shocks so you are paying only labour to switch it over. If Revs Racing fit the suspension you'll already have a labour to pay so the addition cost isn't huge.
IIRC Around £1300 for WESA pair against £1100 for plain with hydraulic preload on rear.

Sent somehow.

 

[RedRick Esq.]

My 2p worth

The none ESA suspension is pretty shit IMO

I specced my TC with no ESA and after a year of getting used to the bike came to the conclusion that no matter what i did i could noot set it right. It was either too firm on straights but great for cornering or nice and plush on straights and bimbling but soggy and vague when pushing on.

Simple solution was a set of Wilburs and for the money i.e buying a good non ESA bike and fitting a set will give greater reward than ESA

All that said i love the active set up on the XR but as and when it fails i will go down the Wilburs or Ohlins route

 

[Bendy toy]

Wilbers WESA is new shocks and springs with the original equipment for preload and damping adjustment. People say it gives a much more defined difference in the three damping settings. I don't know if there's a manual adjustment as well.

If you have deep pockets there's also WESAx that can put ESA onto non ESA bikes.

 

[Greenman14]

The Wilbers ESA reuses the BMW damping and preload adjusters. As far as I know the preload adjuster is not repairable and can seize, as my mate can testify. Replacement is not cheap. I think the damping adjusters are easier rand cheaper to replace. For a long term keeper, road use only, I'd be very happy with non-ESA. It's just another thing you probably never had before and managed ok, but once you have you do get used to it.

 

[rodsharp]

You will get as many differing views as asking about tyres , but I have had 2 non esa and by playing a bit to decide my preferred setting am more than happy and a touch more preload for 2 up is dead simple. What makes me even happier is the comfort of knowing there is less to go wrong and if you keep the bike for a long time replacement shocks are a lot cheaper. PS. I have tried esa and was totally underwhelmed

 

[comberjohn]

I've had ESA on my last two bikes and like it. But if it was the choice between a clean non ESA bike and a slightly grubby ESA bike, the ESA wouldn't influence me that much.
On a long motorway run, it's nice to put it into comfort mode for a jiggle free ride. Equally, some of the roads the Irish Photo Rally takes you down, it's nice to have.

 

[Toddmeister]

I had Wilbers ESA on my last LC and it as a definitely an improvement over the OE ESA ( it also comes with additional manual adjustment of compression damping).
I would also say that ESA is an improvement over OE manual suspension, HOWEVER IMHO none of them are as good as well set up aftermarket manual suspension system such as Ohlins and Wilbers.

 

[GSTourer]

I have a 2010 RT with ESA and have never been able to tell the difference between settings. Had it checked twice when I initially bought it from a dealer to check it was working OK, which it was.

I only ever ride alone with and without luggage and when it comes time to replace the shocks I will go for a decent pair of non ESA ones.

 

[ricalnic]

None ESA here, nor ABS, bought my GSA TC new, to my spec. It's a keeper, and I wanted to minimise the risk of failure and future maintenance costs, not least the initial outlay.