Anyone Have Lowered Suspension and Satisfied?

After buying my '07 RT, I went first with Wilbers -40mm (keeping ESA) from Ted Porter at Beemershop. The ride was too harsh, and likely bottoming out, so we swapped them out for a set of Tractive shocks at -25mm with hydraulic preload adjuster, no ESA.

Exchanging emails as we speak with Ted about sag values and such, as the ride is still too harsh - going over bumps of any size is jarring. I have no reference point for 'normal', not sure if the shock is bottoming out, not the right spring, not adjusted properly, or just what I need to expect with a lowered shock. The OEM ESA shock was not nearly this rough.

Would like to hear from anyone who has a lowered suspension and is very happy with the results. What ya got?

I'm 5'7", just under 200lbs with gear, ride solo with side cases only.

Thanks.

Lowered rt

Stock low model 2011 rt. Standard height Corbin seat. No esa on this model. It rides and handles fine. Just adjust rear shock per manual. Had a 2008 tiger 1050 and lowered 1" with hyperpro progressive springs. Rode better than stock.

Lowered Suspension

I have an 05 RT. I ride solo, and only use panniers on tour. Five years ago I purchased a Non-ESA Wilbers set of shocks lowered by ( I think ) 25mm. The shocks damping setting, spring rating and pre-load were set by the then Wilbers importer to Australia, on data supplied by me at ordering, all done remotely.

I also had the seats remodeled with better foam. I have a 30 inch inside leg

Result 1 - both feet on ground while stationery. A feeling of security at last

Result 2- great handling. Handles like a sportier bike. My mechanic tested the bike soon after and wanted to know what I had done to the handling-he said it was much better than standard. So do others who ride the bike

Downsides. On small off-camber roundabouts I occasionally ground the warning spike under a footpeg. Once experienced, no big deal-just noise, no impact on handling.

You need to shorten both the stands.I replaced both with genuine BMW stands from the factory lowered version of the RT. One downside is a little more effort needed using centre-stand

The verdict- fantastic!! Do it, just get the set-up correct

Bill
Canberra
Australia

I have a 2012 R1200R - that has Hyperpro suspension from EPM Performance (Klaus Hueneke).. and I'm quite happy with it.

40mm lower is a lot. BMW lies a bit on the stock suspension travel. If you calculate it out - the only way to get the travel they claim is the rubber bumper on the shocks would have to be fully compressed. 120mm claimed travel is actually a bit less than 100mm real world travel. Subtract 40mm from that - you have 60mm. Set it for initial "sag" with your butt on the bike - you are down to 40mm - maybe. That's less than 1.75" of travel remaining.

Mine is lowered about 13-14mm. The difference between mine and most others (including BMW's lowered factory suspension) is - Klaus and I worked out a design that kept the full original travel of the suspension. Most shocks are "lowered" by adding a spacer in them that keeps them from extending quite as far. Mine involved a custom shock body that is shorter - but the piston/rod assembly remained stock length. That means full travel is available. BMW went the spacer route on their lower shocks. IMHO - a cheaper - but less-good solution.

This isn't without it's own concerns. One concern is - at full compression - do any hard parts on the bike touch, especially as the front wheel is at full-lock to either side. We determined on my R1200R that this wasn't an issue. The rear tire also doesn't hit my fender-liner in the rear at full compression. The other concern is - under hard cornering - it might be possible to compress the suspension enough that parts of the bike will touch down on the pavement (Bill from Canberra's issue.) I don't corner that hard. I've never touched a foot-peg feeler to the ground.

Setup of the shock can be confusing. Especially as you start adding adjustments. The problem is - most people start adjusting things - sometimes multiple things at one time - and get the shock so out of adjustment that getting it right can be elusive.

I'll point you to a writeup I did after figuring out what I was doing adjusting mine - and other people have said it was helpful: http://www.eilenberger.net/Suspension/suspension.htm

HTH,

My first post on MOA.

I have just taken delivery of a used MY11 RT with low suspension with low comfort (1 pc) seat. Based on the first weekend of riding (200 miles), I can tell you the following:

-I really appreciate the lower seat height. I'm 5'6" and 29"-ish inseam. 150 lbs. On tippy toes when I'm by myself, but one flat/one tippy toe with the MRS on the rear. Considering that it's a relatively heavy bike, the extra 0.9" is confidence-inspiring. Anyone with 30"+ inseam would not understand the predicament, IMO.
-Not having the ESA is inconvenient. Only when I have the MRS on the back. (Perfectly ok when I ride by myself) I had to change the damping (and preload) once the ride started. The ESA would have been much convenient.
-I haven't tested the cornering clearance yet. As an occasional track day rider, I like going around corners, fast. Obviously, testing the RT's cornering clearance with my wife on board wasn't something I wanted to try, especially during the first week of ownership. (but the real reason is because it came with the original Bridgestone tires with flat center)
-Factory low-suspension has other benefits such as pre-shortened side and center stand. I used to have a VFR with lowering suspension links, and using the center stand with 1 inch lower seat height required a lot of work!

Overall, given the decision between an LC with low seat and DOHC air cooled with low suspension, it was the price that made the difference.

I think this whole controversy about the low suspension is overblown. The convenience outweighs the tradeoffs if you are inseam-challenged. Get one and try it
out.

panaray said:

I think this whole controversy about the low suspension is overblown. The convenience outweighs the tradeoffs if you are inseam-challenged. Get one and try it
out.

Click to expand...

Controversy? I didn't see any. I saw people trying to help the original poster understand how lowered suspension behaves, and explain the compromises made when you do lower the suspension. BTW - 29" inseam? I'd love to have those additional 2 inches of inseam length. (based on about 160,000 miles on lowered BMWs..)

OP checking back in, thank you for the replies, much appreciated. Ultimately I was able to dial in a preload setting (with much less preload than I thought I needed) that made the ride more "compliant" and is quite acceptable now. With 25mm less travel than stock, there is obviously a tradeoff, but I'm ok with it for now.

The nice thing about the Tractives I got is that they are actually made to keep the ESA functionality but I opted for the hydraulic preload adjuster anyway. So for preload I have much more granular control than the three ESA settings, but the 'Comfort/Normal/Sport' rebound damping options still work electronically through the ESA button. I like the combo (and have an ESA motor for sale )

Howard