To change the ESA Preload setting the engine must be running and the bike stationary. I have never tried changing the preload whilst moving - I would assume it only changes the damping settings (comfort, normal etc) and the preload icons will just stay the same. The first press just brings up the current setting, the second push changes the damping if you're moving and a second long push changes the preload if the bike's stationary with engine running.
Just as it says in the 1200's manual.
On my K1600, which is near enough the same system, just a later variant with a different set of buttons and display, I can change the damping (Comfort, Normal, Sport) on the move. But to alter the pre-load (One up, one up with luggage, two up with luggage) the bike has to be stationary. I can't do it on the move.
If the OP is doing it exactly as it says in the manual and the pre-load is not changing, then the fault can only lie in:
The push button switch and its associated electronics (if any)
The signal wire between the switch and the suspension unit
The electronics of the suspension unit
Or, at a push, the physical mechanics of the suspension unit itself
Given that the screen shows no activation / switching of the pre-load levels, it suggests that it is simply not activating, so start with an electrical signal problem and work through logically from there..... And read the manual one more time, just to be sure.
