• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

  • Beginning April 1st, and running through April 30th, there is a new 2024 BMW MOA Election discussion area within The Club section of the forum. Within this forum area is also a sticky post that provides the ground rules for participating in the Election forum area. Also, the candidates statements are provided. Please read before joining the conversation, because the rules are very specific to maintain civility.

    The Election forum is here: Election Forum

ESA pre-load: is it real spring pre-load adjustment?

D

dhthorpe

Guest
To change pre-load with ESA, the bike must be running, so I assumed more electrical power was needed to compress the springs. Funny thing though, when I cycle through the settings (one helmet, two helmets, etc.), there is no mechanical change on the spring ÔÇö it stays stationary. Even with my hand on the spring, you can't feel anything when going from one setting to the next. Either my ESA is not working, or "spring pre-load" is something other than spring compression. Does anyone know the answer to this?
 
Nevermind, I just answered my own question. I was checking this with the bike on the centerstand...nothing happens. But it definitely works while sitting on the bike, the back end rises and falls with the various cycles. Must be a Can-bus lockout feature while on centerstand.
 
Does anyone know the weight ranges for the different preload settings?
While I don't think BMW has ever published that spec, Motorcycle Consumer News estimated that the Solo + Luggage setting was optimized for an additional 70 lbs. over a solo rider, and the 2 rider setting for 180 lbs. over solo.
Tom
 
Back
Top