Lets talk riding modes please

OK for me and some other simple thinkers here, I think I understand the modes between Dynamic, Road, Rain, and combining them with Hard, Normal, and soft,,,, but what I would like to talk in combination of these setting is with the options on single rider to single rider with luggage, or Two rider setup.

I would assume and I hope I'm right is the Single rider, single rider with luggage and two rider options is based on the amount of WEIGHT the bike is taking on for rider or riders, with all gear to optimize the handling of the bike in either or Dynamic, Road, Rain along with Hard, Normal, and soft settings.

So does anyone or can anyone provide information on the rider to rider w/gear to two riders and help us define the amount of weight each one of these setting represents, because to me it should show weight amounts in each of the three settings because every owner has different weights to deal with so to me it would be great instead of seeing one helmet, helmet with gear, or two helmets is would show instead three weight categories for each. IMO

Thanks

1. I don't believe there is a "fine adjustment" for weight. If there were I'd like to see ones for "Before / After Lunch" and then "One, Two, or Three Course Meal". Perhaps a "Did You Have Fries With It?" qualifier.

2. The settings are arbitrary to begin with.

The amount of weight is not the issue, and the jumps from one setting to the next are preset as you would never be able to reasonably afford a setup that allowed fine adjustment at each level. What IS an issue is that the baseline setting, the starting point for “one helmet & comfort”, cannot be adjusted—and that is what really limits the usefulness of ESA.

Best,
DG

ballen262 said:

So does anyone or can anyone provide information on the rider to rider w/gear to two riders and help us define the amount of weight each one of these setting represents, because to me it should show weight amounts in each of the three settings because every owner has different weights to deal with so to me it would be great instead of seeing one helmet, helmet with gear, or two helmets is would show instead three weight categories for each. IMO

Click to expand...

The adjustable pre-load is of course based on an approximation of average weights for people and their luggage. It's only to get the rough mid-point of the suspension set and really has nothing to do w/ the various D-ESA settings. Why isn't there a more fine adjustment? Well, I guess if for example you weighed 320lbs and were riding solo w/ no luggage you'd have to choose the 2 riders no luggage option, etc. If you weigh 100lbs, the bike would ride a little high, but with the lack of weight you'd likely not depress the suspension as much and so the risk of an over return is lowered, etc, but it wouldn't be ideal for that 100lb rider. My F800GT had an analog manual adjustment so you could set it wherever, but once again, it didn't really matter at all since I'm close enough to average so I'm happier w/ the electronically adjusted pre-load as a convenience.

I have asked the very same question on this forum in the past. It puzzled me as to what defines as one luggage icon, for example.

I know it is mostly just a general guideline but it would be useful to give the rider a rough ideal...

I believe that the pre-load issue has been solved with the auto-leveling feature on the 2018 models.

Modes

I am on the opposite side of your question. I understand the loading. What is Dynamic? Is that the "sport mode"?

Dynamic ESA range of adjustment

Dynamic ESA enables you to adjust your motorcycle's suspension to suit the load and the road conditions.

Via ride height sensors, Dynamic ESA detects the movements in the chassis and suspension and responds to the same by ad- justing the damper valves. The chassis and suspension will thus be adapted to the characteristics of the terrain.

You can set the damping to a harder (HARD) or softer (SOFT)
setting than the basic setting (NORMAL).

ESA calibrates itself at regular intervals when stationary with the engine running to ensure the correct operating principle of the system. During this calibration, chassis and suspension adjust- ment is not possible.

lstayner said:

I am on the opposite side of your question. I understand the loading. What is Dynamic? Is that the "sport mode"?

Click to expand...

lstayner said:

I am on the opposite side of your question. I understand the loading. What is Dynamic? Is that the "sport mode"?

Click to expand...

Yes and No. There is the Dynamic mode and there is the Dynamic ESA. The "dynamic" for mode refers sport, but for the ESA it refers to the system being able to adjust/adapt to changing conditions on-the-fly without user intervention or selectability.

From BMW Motorrad Press Release 2013:

... The sporty side of the new BMW R 1200 RT can be experienced to the full in “Dynamic” mode. Instant throttle response, restrained intervention from the ASC and ABS and a firm damping set-up for the Dynamic ESA (when fitted as an option ex-works) let the bike unleash its full performance potential.

Click to expand...

... when fitted with the optionally available semi-active suspension BMW Motorrad Dynamic ESA (Electronic Suspension Adjustment), the new R 1200 RT attains unprecedented levels of riding safety, performance and comfort, with the damping being automatically adapted to the prevailing conditions to suit the riding situation and the manoeuvres being carried out.

Click to expand...

From Motorcycle Consumer News:

BMW’s optional Dynamic ESA (semi-active Marzocchi suspension) - Designed to resist brake dive, acceleration squat and the centripetal forces of hard cornering by increasing compression damping at one or both ends

Click to expand...

Modes

AlanColes said:

Yes and No. There is the Dynamic mode and there is the Dynamic ESA. The "dynamic" for mode refers sport, but for the ESA it refers to the system being able to adjust/adapt to changing conditions on-the-fly without user intervention or selectability.

From BMW Motorrad Press Release 2013:



From Motorcycle Consumer News:

Click to expand...

Thanks for clearing that up.

So why even have the settings for 1 helmet, 1 helmet plus luggage and two helmets??

ballen262 said:

So why even have the settings for 1 helmet, 1 helmet plus luggage and two helmets??

Click to expand...

To adjust rear preload when adding weight, like full panniers. This is separate from adjusting the riding mode, or damping (soft/normal/hard).

marcopolo said:

To adjust rear preload when adding weight, like full panniers. This is separate from adjusting the riding mode, or damping (soft/normal/hard).

Click to expand...

So is it fair to ask like l did above, what are the average weights acceptable for each of the settings of 1 helmet, 1 helmet + luggage, 2 helmets.

There has to be a guide,,,, the reason I ask is some here that ride one up or two up with tons of luggage without luggage some who weigh more than others.

When Im taking a trip with the wife and we are loading up the bike with gear and more gear or less gear I would like to know which setting OPTIMIZES the riding of the bike, of the three loads.

ballen262 said:

So is it fair to ask like l did above, what are the average weights acceptable for each of the settings of 1 helmet, 1 helmet + luggage, 2 helmets.

There has to be a guide,,,, the reason I ask is some here that ride one up or two up with tons of luggage without luggage some who weigh more than others.

When Im taking a trip with the wife and we are loading up the bike with gear and more gear or less gear I would like to know which setting OPTIMIZES the riding of the bike, of the three loads.

Click to expand...

Ultimately it is your bike. Load it up as you like, then play with all the various choices until you find the OPTIMAL setting for YOU. There lies YOUR answer.

Friedle

Friedle said:

Ultimately it is your bike. Load it up as you like, then play with all the various choices until you find the OPTIMAL setting for YOU. There lies YOUR answer.

Friedle

Click to expand...

For those of us with less riding knowledge or very experienced riders to me it would of been better to put weight limit amounts on each setting instead of pictures of helmets and luggage because their can be SO MANY VARIANCES of weights imposed on bike rider to rider.
And it would be even nicer that depending on modes you ride in the weight variances change, unless weight limits have no effect on mode in any way.

JUST my thoughts.

Well, obviously your thoughts are incorrect! If they were, Germany would have made it that way.

I'm guessing that the idea was, pictures are a universal language, let's use that! As Mr Friedle has said, find what works for you and use it. My settings rarely change.

If someone wants weights for the three settings, a reasonable guess would be to use the average weight for people and the maximum weights for the cases.

Average male weight:
United States 191 lbs (87 kg)
Germany 182 lbs (82.4 kg)

Average female weight:
United States 164 lbs (74.4 kg)
Germany 149 lbs (67.5 kg)

Side and top cases each:
22 lbs (10 kg)

So:
1 helmet = about 190 lbs - 90 kg
1 helmet + luggage = about 250 lbs - 115 kg
2 helmet = about 410 lbs - 185 kg

I don't know if those were the design parameters the engineers had in mind, but I don't know how else they could do it. I am pretty light (60 kg), so me + luggage is about the 1 helmet setting. I have tried the other two settings and it feels too stiff if the road has even a modest amount of bumpiness.

azgman said:

Well, obviously your thoughts are incorrect! If they were, Germany would have made it that way.

I'm guessing that the idea was, pictures are a universal language, let's use that! As Mr Friedle has said, find what works for you and use it. My settings rarely change.

Click to expand...

I normally run one helmet with 20#'s in the panniers. I'm 180 #'s myself. When I ride two up, two helmets obviously. Both settings run in "normal" mode on the streets putting around. One the twisties, I move to "sport" mode.

When I went to Ak. last month with panniers weighing 17#'s each and rear seat removed and 2 dry bags that weighed a total of 61#'s, I rode two helmets normal until we hit mountain twisties and dirt and changed to sport mode. When I got back on the main highways coming home, within 100 miles I could feel the bike wasn't riding as I thought it should, and remembered to switch back to "normal" mode from sport. The bike then behaved much better when taking bumps [ meaning it was more gentle and rolling over them not stiff ].

I could tell the difference between sport and normal mode quickly based on how the bike took bumps in the road. I rarely run comfort mode at all unless it's newly tarred road, mainly long straights and few twisties.

When I play on the fire roads or trailhead roads I use first mountain mode one up with the 20#'s on the panniers. I can instantly tell the difference in how the bike performs on those roads and I feel as if mountain mode gives me more control and stability. It may or may not, but I believe it does and isn't just in my head.