ESA Preload Setting GSA

[Edmund Kean]

Hi

Just curious as to what other owners have their ESA preload set to. 2011 bike with just top box, 14.5 stones rider (fully kitted) riding solo. I prefer preload set at 1 helmet + luggage. Bike handles nicely on B roads but interestingly in town is very very well balanced at slow speed manoeuvring.

Ed

 

[DC]

dont have it set at 2 helmets when riding solo ,it can cause an issue at the rear diff ,Im sure i read that on here, some people just think with the 2 helmets the shock will be stiffer even more

 

[bisbee]

Hi

Just curious as to what other owners have their ESA preload set to. 2011 bike with just top box, 14.5 stones rider (fully kitted) riding solo. I prefer preload set at 1 helmet + luggage. Bike handles nicely on B roads but interestingly in town is very very well balanced at slow speed manoeuvring.

Ed

ESA design assumes a notional weight of rider as 80kg

 

[Alan R]

ESA design assumes a notional weight of rider as 80kg

Is this an actual verifiable fact, or GSer hearsay? Is it in the manual? If so where?
Alan R

 

[adventuredon]

exactomondo Bisbee. So ESA is not all that useful IMHO as it only gives set adjustments not taking in rider weight or preference. I like my non esa adjustability just fine. Takes me all of 15 seconds to tighten up the damping if I want with the BMW key and preload is adjusted on the fly..

 

[Bendy toy]

I like the ESA damping adjustment but the ride height (preload) is tedious to use.
When can we have Citroen BX/CX style hydropneumatic suspension. Instant ride height self levelling load sensing, blah, blah.
The driveshaft front U/J will be fine. Running it at max angle every now and again will help to recirculate grease in the UJ bearing needles. The rear U/J is another story. It only moves very few degrees regardless of suspension setting so it rubs out the grease and fails first. A part solution is to change the oil by tipping the FD backwards (the old way). This also helps to spread grease in the bottom paralever bearing.

 

[bisbee]

Is this an actual verifiable fact, or GSer hearsay? Is it in the manual? If so where?
Alan R

 

[Alan R]

Well, RTFM and can find no mention of 'ESA design assumes a notional weight of rider as 80kg'. So, can you point me to the page where it is mentioned?
Alan R

 

[Edmund Kean]

So is the consensus from the information in the opening post that riding 1 helmet + luggage symbol is going to be detrimental to the bike? Does no one else do this?

 

[robb]

So is the consensus from the information in the opening post that riding 1 helmet + luggage symbol is going to be detrimental to the bike? Does no one else do this?

I measured the sag when I first got mine and that was the nearest to "ideal" for my weight riding solo. Used it most of the time up until recently when I changed to Wilbers which are sprung for my weight. I'm now on 1 helmet and the bike sits the same.

 

[Pukmeister]

I always ride at 'Solo plus luggage', had a slightly notchy rear driveshaft joint (replacement shaft fitted).

 

[Roymondo]

Well, RTFM and can find no mention of 'ESA design assumes a notional weight of rider as 80kg'. So, can you point me to the page where it is mentioned?
Alan R

You won't find it no matter how many times you RTFM. For starters, BMW assumes a rider weight of 85kg, not 80kg. But this figure is only mentioned in the paragraphs about suspension adjustment on a non-ESA bike...

 

[Alan R]

You won't find it no matter how many times you RTFM. For starters, BMW assumes a rider weight of 85kg, not 80kg. But this figure is only mentioned in the paragraphs about suspension adjustment on a non-ESA bike...

So not only is RTFM is an inaccurate response, but so is the initial information, posted with such authority gotta love this place.... But not necessarily trust it
Alan R

 

[Bendy toy]

I quite often ride mine on full mountains setting. The soft damping floats the bike over rough roads and surprisingly the view over traffic is noticeably better. It does rock about more than the normal one helmet setting but no big deal. Thanks to the TeleLever, it never gets into a hinged frame wobble.

 

[Beast]

I'm 19 stone and and have no problems with my ESA set @ 1 helmet no luggage, don't see any reason to change this set-up.

 

[Neil W]

Mate has an Aprilia Caponord with active suspension, every time you get on the bike it has the ability to assess rider weight , luggage, pillion etc and set the ride height accordingly.
Dealers reckon all of the modern esa equipped bmw's could do this as the electronic hardware is in place just not the software.
The other suggestion was the ability for the dealer to set the suspensions electronic base map based on the owners individual weight and then let the electronics take over from there

 

[Flipfly]

I'm pretty sure that it is one helmet for a single 1200 rider and 2 helmets for a 1200 rider and pillion.

2 or more 1200 riders are a brace of helmets

Thank goodness for windy up preload adjusters (also referred to as knobs ).

 

[Roymondo]

Mate has an Aprilia Caponord with active suspension, every time you get on the bike it has the ability to assess rider weight , luggage, pillion etc and set the ride height accordingly.
Dealers reckon all of the modern esa equipped bmw's could do this as the electronic hardware is in place just not the software.
The other suggestion was the ability for the dealer to set the suspensions electronic base map based on the owners individual weight and then let the electronics take over from there

Don't think that's true about the hardware - to assess weight etc ESA would need to have some feedback to tell it how much the suspension has "sagged" when the rider(s) and luggage were added. TTBOMK there is no such feedback system in place.