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Riding Modes

5 week trip Ride Mode Revelations R1200GS LC

During 4 long days on freeways, I put the stock windscreen up all the way and it was pretty good.

Since the two up portion of my trip was over, I put the rear shock on one helmet and the rear lowered about 1 1/4", making the windscreen seem perfectly high.

Also the front wheel and handlebars quivered less as the suspension wants to go straight more with a lower rear (more sag).


Switching modes while rolling went from easy to impossible, the more we rode dirt roads. something about the deep clutch microswitch getting Yucked Up. During the 4 days of high speed highway driving, the modes could easily switch again and I could start it in gear again.
 
There are new modes on the 2021 bikes. One is ECO and it’s downright dangerous because of the awful throttle response!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Cross country without know how to change modes most of the way…

I wish that I’d given riding modes a bit more research before setting out last Saturday from California (via US 50, mainly) for home in Maryland on my “new” 2014 RT. I knew that the bike has Dynamic in addition to Road and Rain, but for most of the trip I was confusing Dynamic ESA for the stability control. Midway through the ride (I arrived home after six days on the road), I started seeing ROAD and DYNA on the dash, but couldn’t figure out how/why it was changing. When I first acquired the bike a few months ago, it was already in DYNA; I think that for much of the trip it was in ROAD, though. It wasn’t until my last day when i started hitting rain on Wednesday in eastern Illinois (with a good drenching above Evansville, IN, that I starting thinking more about that RAIN mode. Yesterday, maybe 400 miles into the day, I was reflecting on some news I’d heard about a tropical storm bearing down on the DC area and decided to call my brother (a GS owner) for some guidance. At a rest stop, after some searching on the web, we learned how to switch modes with the mode button which until that time had associated with selecting the ESA setting. (I see now what was happening as I saw the change to Hard with DYNA and thought I was adjusting the suspension.) Anyway, about 100 miles out from home, now in RAIN mode, I was in the eye of the storm with serious winds and a downpour of Biblical proportions (at least on a bike). I slowed to 30-40 with the traffic and moved to the right lane with my hazards on due to the darkness. I wasn’t sure what was going on in the bikes brain, but I know in my own brain I had at least a sense of confidence of a good outcome (not having to explain to my wife why I lost it in the final stretch home). Looking forward now to experimenting with the modes. Even without the knowing about them, I did have some amazing rides along the way, including a memorable canyon ride out of Moab on the Old Cisco Highway.
 
I forget they even exist. Leave it in Road mode all the time. Sometimes, after I've been riding in the rain for hours, it will occur to me, "Oh, I guess I could put it in rain mode." Usually, by the time I remember to do so, the sun comes out. :)
 
I forget they even exist. Leave it in Road mode all the time. Sometimes, after I've been riding in the rain for hours, it will occur to me, "Oh, I guess I could put it in rain mode." Usually, by the time I remember to do so, the sun comes out. :)

Same here. I played around with all settings when the bike was new, but now I just leave it in Road and will adjust the preload depending on payload (hard, soft, helmets and bags icons on a 16RT, etc). I’ve never been disappointed with the Road throttle response.
 
Road 80% of the time
Dynamic 5% of the time
Enduro 10% of the time, 100% when on Gravel
Rain the 5% of the time it is wet if I remember
 
I was waiting for my 2017 GSA to be serviced at the local BMW dealer, and one of the guys also waiting asked me if I had tried my bike in Rain mode from a dead stop, drag race style. I told him I had not, So then I did, there was no wheel spin, no front wheel lift. It's like you are glued to the ground. Add in shift assist and it is quite a feeling. Don't try this at home. I have a place to do this.

Also in Enduro Pro it seems like the cruise control does not work, not that you would use cruise off road. I'm just saying.
I was just trying every configuration that I could think of after talking t0 these enthusiast.
 
I'm very new to Wet Head ownership - days. I was wondering what the difference was between Road and Dynamic - now I know! I've been riding around on "Road" since buying the bike and it feels right. I think I'll just leave it there.

Oh, and I set ESA to "Soft". Our Midwest roads are horrible and that setting does wonders for my spine.
 
I'm very new to Wet Head ownership - days. I was wondering what the difference was between Road and Dynamic - now I know! I've been riding around on "Road" since buying the bike and it feels right. I think I'll just leave it there.

Oh, and I set ESA to "Soft". Our Midwest roads are horrible and that setting does wonders for my spine.

I used to ride on Dynamic all the time, but I didn't like how sensitive the throttle was when rolling off... it was tough to keep the inputs smooth.

I find it easier to keep the bike on Road and twist it a little farther in each direction as needed.

I also find that I prefer NORMal suspension most of the time rather than HARD.

Ideally we could set all of the settings independently - Throttle, suspension, and ABS/Traction Control sensitivity.
 
Late to the party, but I'll offer my two cents. Unless it's raining, I'm strictly a "Dynamic/Hard" guy. I love the throttle response and feedback from the road. I think my spirit animal is Michael Donlop.
 
The thing I find annoying with the ride modes is that unlike the suspension modes , they cannot be changed on the fly.
On my 1250Rt the engine must be idling in order to change driving modes.:cry

Most of the time I'm in road mode. I use rain mode when it's raining and on gravel roads .

There is no mention in the manual of a different throttle response between each mode.
Only the ASC/DTC is affected

RAIN mode
The ASC/DTC system intervenes
early enough to prevent the rear
wheel from spinning. On road
surfaces with high to medium
grip (dry and wet asphalt to dry
cobblestones) the motorcycle remains
very stable; movements
of the tail are clearly perceptible
only on slippery road surfaces
(wet bitumen or wet cobblestones).

ROAD mode
The point at which the ASC/DTC
system intervenes is later than
in the RAIN mode. On road surfaces
with high to medium grip
(dry and wet asphalt to dry cobblestones)
the motorcycle remains
stable. Slight rear-wheel
drift is perceptible. Movements
of the tail are clearly perceptible
on slippery road surfaces (wet bitumen
or wet cobblestones).
with riding modes Pro OE

DYNAMIC mode
DYNAMIC mode is the most
performance-oriented mode.
The point at which the ASC/DTC
system intervenes is even later,
which means that even on dry
asphalt, drifting is possible under
sharp acceleration when cornering.
 
Not sure about changing into Dynamic mode on the fly, but you can switch between Rain Mode and Road Mode while riding. After hitting the Mode Button, release the throttle to stop and then throttle on as normal; it takes only a brief second to switch.
 
Not sure about changing into Dynamic mode on the fly, but you can switch between Rain Mode and Road Mode while riding. After hitting the Mode Button, release the throttle to stop and then throttle on as normal; it takes only a brief second to switch.

I know, Same thing with dynamic . The throttle as to be closed. It's like you have to stop to change mode. I Just find it annoying...
 
In my Rider's Manual there is a chapter called "Technology in Detail." In that chapter, there is a brief discussion of 3 systems: Anti-lock Braking (ABS), Automatic Stability Control, (ASC), and Electronic Suspension Adjustment (ESA). It can be somewhat confusing, because some bikes are sold with Dynamic ESA, and others not. And some bikes have ABS Pro, or not. And then there are "Pro" riding modes vs non-Pro. Since you asked, and your bike is new, I assume you have the all the top-level choices.

ABS Pro can sense your lean angle and wheel speed. ASC modifies the throttle response to affect wheel slippage. Dynamic ESA changes the damping characteristics and suspension pre-load. The "Riding Modes" are pre-set for typical best combinations of braking, throttle, and damping for the modes. Dynamic mode gives you HARD damping and minimal ABS and permits more wheel slippage under acceleration. They are somewhat customizable, for example, the ASC can be turned off. The ABS system can throw a fault, and turn itself off, but I haven't found how to select it off on my RT. I think that GS owners can switch ABS off.

Cap

Has anyone published an American English translation of the Original Germlish owner's manuals?

It took me 2 years of fiddling around with the Riding Modes buttons to figure out that the "Modes" button did not control the ESA and the engine modes.
Once I got that, it took another 3 months to figure how to adjust the preload/ride height.

Finally after like 2.5 years, I have sorted it out.

This is what happens when you retire, you become incapable of figuring **** out. (after 20 years of network engineering, you would think I could figure this stuff out)
 
...Finally after like 2.5 years, I have sorted it out...

Well, that's impressive. :) I thought I had this figured out after some riding, experimenting, reading the manual, and experimenting more. And then I bought a 2019 R1250RT to go with my 2017 R1200RT, and discovered that BMW changed things up.

So, I think part of the confusion in this thread is due to the fact that we have been talking about different beasts: the pre-2019 R1200's and the post 2019 R1250's.

One thing I can add from personal experience is that the "soft" setting in my R1200RT is not as soft as the "normal" setting on my R1250RT. The R1250RT doesn't have a "soft" setting -- only Normal and Dynamic. And to my surprise and great pleasure, the normal setting on the R1250RT does not wallow, rather it is supple and compliant, like my old 2004 RT with tuned Ohlins suspension. That's what I was hoping to find on my 2017 RT, but never achieved. My 2017 R1200RT is a great bike, and better in almost every respect than every previous bike I have owned... but my R1250RT suspension is hands-down better than my R1200RT. I wonder if the difference is all in the software tuning, rather than the hardware.

Cap
 
Greetings All. I read the entire 4 pages and think I have the answer but will ask...I have new to me 2020 R1250RT with D-ESA etc.. Previous was 2007 R1200RT with manual everything and upgraded shocks/springs so you already see a technical challenge. My problem: cannot change out of MAX dampening. After reading, it appears that I keep trying to change with throttle open & riding...this is the problem. I tried changing in the garage, ignition on, motor off...still stays on MAX.
- Do I need to have motor running?
- Or, change dampening on the fly by clutching, zero throttle, straight up coasting no matter the speed?
- Use the wonder wheel to select Road or Dynamic and then spin the wheel again to MIN, MAX, AUTO?
- Missing anything?
 
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