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ESA worth the extra $$$?

Advice, no. Opinions... sure.

Prior to the '13 I was not interested in ESA. It let you switch between pre-load and damping settings, but unless you happened to be exactly BMW's target weight there was no guarantee that the settings are close to what you could get with a good set of after market shocks set up your way. Ease of adjustment changes didn't seem worth the extra complexity

The GSW, however, adds something... dynamic on the fly damping adjustments to go along with the ride modes. Switching between road, dynamic, and enduro modes make a big differences in the feel of the bike. Some of those differences are due to the different throttle response mappings. The shocks play a big role, too. It's like having three different bikes.

I'm glad I have it on the GSW. I hope I'll still be happy with my choice several years from now.
 
Is ESA worth the money? That's debatable. Although I didn't want a bike with ESA it was tough to locate one that had the options I did want without it. Having the bike for approximately 14 months and almost 11k miles I am happy that I have it. It allows easy adjustment for preload and damping that I can certainly detect, especially when going from solo to riding with a passenger.

Sure there is the concern of a failure and the high cost of replacement. Knowing there are a few quality companies out there that sell replacement shocks that work with the ESA electronics is certainly comforting. I will enjoy the ESA as long as it is working and deal with the replacement when/if that time comes along. For now I will enjoy every mile of the ride.

My opinion: We all have our reasons for buying BMW bikes. I don't believe anyone buys them to save money or to eliminate features that help make a BMW unique. That being said, if you are remotely interested in the option I say include it and don't have regrets.

Scot
 
One aspect of ESA that is cool, is that if you have a passenger, you can set it at solo, have the passenger mount (as the bike is lower), then switch to either rider with luggage (if passenger is not too heavy) or 2 up and then when ride is done, put it back at solo for passenger dismount. Makes it a lot easier if the bike is high to begin with (as RT's and GS's generally are).
 
Are you able to adjust ESA to your particular weight and riding conditions? Cost is important, but if ESA is configurable then the extra cost is acceptable. Also are there ESA replacements outside BMW? My understanding is that there is no non-BMW replacements, but it's early so three years from now who knows right? Finally, I hear that ESA is not covered by extended warranty, if it starts to leak, it's considered wear and tear.....any truth to this?
 
esa

Are you able to adjust ESA to your particular weight and riding conditions? Cost is important, but if ESA is configurable then the extra cost is acceptable. Also are there ESA replacements outside BMW? My understanding is that there is no non-BMW replacements, but it's early so three years from now who knows right? Finally, I hear that ESA is not covered by extended warranty, if it starts to leak, it's considered wear and tear.....any truth to this?

33k on2005RT 38k on 2007RT 59k on 2010GT and now over 11000k on 2013 water GS all had ESA and never any trouble and I can truthfully say I used the ESA modes every ride. Now how many of you with manual suspension ever adj your suspension the day you ride. I adj the suspension for early morning cold temp at 6000ft and adj for later 90 deg temps. in the afternoon i adj for 4 lane smooth roads and again for 2 lane twists. I again adj later in day going home tired and wanting a softer ride.With the new ESA that adj damping as you ride in the mode you select and according to your map overlay it becomes the best ride you can buy. No one can convince me that manual is better. Warranty covers the shocks and extended warranty covers the shocks. do yourself a big favor and buy the ESA you won't regret it. Unless you never use it and I have talked to some that never reset the ESA. This type of electronic advancement is for the riders who use the bike for it's intended propose.
 
I have ESA on my 2012 GSA, and I'd get it again if I were configuring a new bike - particularly since the new GSW ESA incorporates dynamic suspension adjustment.

Sometimes I commute on my GSA, and ESA seems superfluous. Then I'll go on a two-up moto-camping trip, and suddenly I'm using ESA all the time as I adjust for the weight of the gear, for the weight of the pillion, and for the type of riding I'm doing on the trip (canyon carving? forest/fire roads? single-track?).

My favorite aspect of the ESA is lowering the bike when it's time to get off. When I have the ESA set to two-up with luggage, the bike is pretty high up. When it's time to unload the bike and get my 8 year old passenger off the bike, I put the suspension in one-up/no luggage mode, and the bike drops down to a reasonable height, making dismounting and unloading simpler tasks.
 
I have the ESA on my GSW. For my last 2 BMWs, I found myself purchasing aftermarket shocks to the tune of around $1500 in order to bring ride and handling to where I wanted them to be. Although somewhat skeptical, I decided to try the latest ESA on this new bike. I have been pleased with it, especially the convenience it offers for making damping and preload changes (with real and noticeable differences) at the touch of a button. At this time, I cannot see any need to go aftermarket for new shocks. I like the system. Time will tell about durability, but I am liking it.
 
Probably wouldn't have bought it before I rode with it. Now, yes it is worth the bucks. When it wears out, I won't be using a BMW replacement. Wilbers, HyperPro or Ohlins.
 
Are you able to adjust ESA to your particular weight and riding conditions? Cost is important, but if ESA is configurable then the extra cost is acceptable. Also are there ESA replacements outside BMW? My understanding is that there is no non-BMW replacements, but it's early so three years from now who knows right? Finally, I hear that ESA is not covered by extended warranty, if it starts to leak, it's considered wear and tear.....any truth to this?

I don't know about adjusting the ESA system to an initial baseline for my weight and loading. So far, I've felt no need to do that. The factory settings have proven to be very close for me, at least running solo. I've got a potential week long ride coming up in mid October so that'll be my first long ride with the bike and running it with a load so we'll see how it goes.

As for non- BMW ESA replacements, here's a few links on the subject.

http://racetech.com/page/id/97

Race Tech rebuilds the factory shocks and maintains the ESA functions. They rebuild with their own upgraded components set to your specifications. I didn't see anything on their web page that talked about doing this for the GS models but they do it for the RT models which is what I ride. Seems like they'd be able to do this for any of the ESA bikes. It would be worth asking.

http://wilberssuspension.co.uk/wilbersesa.php

http://www.beemershop.com/

Wilbers does a similar service as Race Tech. They are a British company. The Beemer Shop is, if I understand it correctly, an American representative for Wilbers so we have a couple of options when it comes time to update our ESA equipped suspension systems.

FWIW! :)

Ride Safe,
Steve R.
 
I have found this type of option is sort of "expected" at the time of resale. A bike with it will cost more in the beginning but will yield more (than one without) in the end. YMMV
OM
 
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I have found this type of option is sort of "expected" at the time of resale. A bike without it will cost more in the beginning but will yield more (than one without) in the end. YMMV
OM

You mean a bike "with" it will cost more in the beginning but yield more than one without in the end?
 
One aspect of ESA that is cool, is that if you have a passenger, you can set it at solo, have the passenger mount (as the bike is lower), then switch to either rider with luggage (if passenger is not too heavy) or 2 up and then when ride is done, put it back at solo for passenger dismount. Makes it a lot easier if the bike is high to begin with (as RT's and GS's generally are).

Very bad idea. Ride height should only be changed when bike is UNLOADED so the above just doesn't make sense.
 
A good deal of what ESA in its earlier versions did was addressed by the superior design of good aftermarket shocks - their valving allowed better performance across a wider range of conditions without adjustment,

I haven't tried the current dynamic version of ESA- but there is nothing new about the concept. It has been in use on a variety of fast cages which I've had the chance to work out on tracks. Dynamic shocks do represent a useful improvement over other street use shocks in such conditions but are not generally better than properly designed race shocks. Folks have in some cases blended the two but that gets really pricey.

I don't see a problem with a BMW bike with ESA as long as one remembers that all shocks wear out, sooner or later, and will need rebuild/replacement.
BMW has never had ESA repair/replacement priced at a reasonable level for what is a wear item needing normal service and that's a good part of why many disdain it- replacement stock stuff is over twice the price of an FD blown out of warranty. It has always been cheaper to buy the best aftermarket shocks available and simply scrap factory ESA. The various ESA aftermarket rebuilds represent a compromise price point. The best aftermarket shocks like Ohlins are so superior to stock designs that some who use them say they won't ever purchase ESA again. Understanding how you feel about superior shock performance is part of the equation of making the choice and on really smooth roads, superior shocks have less of an advantage than on rougher surfaces- generally it is those who ride the hardest that are the most vocal advocates of high end aftermarket shocks, all of which also need periodic (but typically reaasonably priced) rebuild.

Again, I haven't used BMW bike dynamic shocks but I have enough experience with such types on fast cages that I doubt they can match the performance of the best aftermarket stuff in a carefully defined window- but ESA will offer a few features covering a range of loading that aftermarket stuff cannot duplicate no matter the price.

The worst of all choices would be to buy a BMW bike without ESA and simply leave the stock shocks- one way or another you're better off spending $ on either ESA or good aftermarket stuff right from the beginning.
 
http://wilberssuspension.co.uk/wilbersesa.php

http://www.beemershop.com/

Wilbers does a similar service as Race Tech. They are a British company. The Beemer Shop is, if I understand it correctly, an American representative for Wilbers so we have a couple of options when it comes time to update our ESA equipped suspension systems.

Wilbers [url]http://www.wilbers.de[/URL] is a German company. The link above is to the UK distributor. Ted Porter's Beemershop is the US distributor.
 
Wilbers [url]http://www.wilbers.de[/URL] is a German company. The link above is to the UK distributor. Ted Porter's Beemershop is the US distributor.

Hi Dave,

I had done a bit of web searching on the subject because I really like the ESA and the UK address was the first Wilbers reference I ran into and just assumed after that. Thanks for setting me straight. I think the point is, if someone needs to have their ESA suspension worked on and they really want to keep the ESA functionality, there are options out there.

Ride Safe,
Steve R.
 
I was skeptical of ESA as being a future money pit when the shocks ultimately wear. After owning the bike since June and logging miles I am impressed though with what that setup does. With the manual shocks on my old GSA the setting was either a compromise across different riding styles or I needed to adjust for each. The ESA is very convenient and I am glad that I decided to get the bike with it on (though try to find a bike other than loaded at that time).

My wife likes the ride better on this bike than on the GSA with Ohlins and that ultimately makes the purchase worthwhile.
 
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