GSA/wilbers/ESA questions.

Hi All.

Couple of questions for you.

1. I had ESA Wilbers installed by the chaps at Revs on my 2011 GSA, how easy/expensive is it convert to manual adjustment and ditch the ESA? The Revs Service is due sometime soon.

2. Bearing in mind the 'do it all' nature of the GSA would I get better road handling/suspension if I sacrificed the off road end of the suspension spectrum? The nearest I get to off road is the odd drift of loose chippings (fairly close to off bike though, sometimes).

Thanks.

stratblue said:

Hi All.

Couple of questions for you.

1. I had ESA Wilbers installed by the chaps at Revs on my 2011 GSA, how easy/expensive is it convert to manual adjustment and ditch the ESA? The Revs Service is due sometime soon. First of all not sure why you would do this. You can fit non-esa shocks but it would mean ditching the ESA one's you have. While you could recoup some of the cost by selling the old ones I am not sure what the problem is with what you have. If you mean can the ESA shocks be adapted to become manually adjusted. You would have to ask Wilbers or Revs, but I doubt it as both ESA motors on both shocks are pretty much integral to the shocks. You could just disconnect the wiring - under the tank at the front one connector does the preload, the other the damping but you would loose all adjustment then.

2. Bearing in mind the 'do it all' nature of the GSA would I get better road handling/suspension if I sacrificed the off road end of the suspension spectrum? The nearest I get to off road is the odd drift of loose chippings (fairly close to off bike though, sometimes).

Thanks.

No you couldnt do this as the rear preload for on road is the same preload in the mountain settings. Just don't use the off road settings if it bothers you. The off road settings add preload to both shocks. 50% in low mountains and 90% in high mountains. The on-road settings for preload only adjust the rear shock - 50% for one helmet + luggage and 90% for two helmets. AFAIK the 3 damping settings in off road have the same effect as the 3 in the mountain settings. They are just called something different.

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Why ?

If you want to replace the shocks because the ESA shocks are showing signs of wear, keep in mind that Wilber service their shocks, and it might be cheaper to service your existing shocks than replacing them.

@Austin. Thanks, good info there. If I was to go down the manual Ohlins route, presumably I could tune the suspension exactly the way I like it rather than presets?

I recently ordered manual Wilbers shocks for my ESA RT. What swayed my decision was when the chaps at Revs mentioned that a number of their customers had experienced failures to the electrics of their esa motors. The replacement cost of these motors is high.
Also with manual shocks you can dial in a better range of adjustment, rather than the preset settings f the esa. And they are a little cheaper too!
You also get to keep your esa shocks which can be repaired by Firefox racing in the uk or www.esarepair.com in the Netherlands,

regards...

stratblue said:

@Austin. Thanks, good info there. If I was to go down the manual Ohlins route, presumably I could tune the suspension exactly the way I like it rather than presets?

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Yes that is correct. Also worth looking at Tractive Suspension (used to be called White Power and who developed the ESA system for BMW). I think they do some manual shocks.

GORILA said:

I recently ordered manual Wilbers shocks for my ESA RT. What swayed my decision was when the chaps at Revs mentioned that a number of their customers had experienced failures to the electrics of their esa motors. The replacement cost of these motors is high.
Also with manual shocks you can dial in a better range of adjustment, rather than the preset settings f the esa. And they are a little cheaper too!
You also get to keep your esa shocks which can be repaired by Firefox racing in the uk or www.esarepair.com in the Netherlands,

regards...

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Strange isn't it, when I spoke to Revs about a year ago after my front ESA motor had failed (2011 GSA) they said they had only ever come across one failure before and it was highly unlikely to be the motor. Similar story from the guys at Tractive in Holland (who make the units). This set me off down many blind alleys while the answer was staring me in the face all the time - the ESA preload motor was fecked. A new/used one sorted it.

With hindsight if I was buying Wilbers or A.N.Other's aftermarket shocks I would replace the ESA with an easily accessible manual system, although I would miss the ability to switch from Comfort to Sport when I am about to hit the twisties as I glide down the motorway slip road.

Thanks for the info, guys.