New Touratech shocks

Bmw says my 17 GSA can be loaded up to about 480 pounds of riders bags. That’s a lot. If BMW calibrated the bike and shocks for that much weight, what is the advantage to spending $4k on two Touratech shocks. Seems 480 is enough. Can’t figure out why riders are buying those $4k shocks.

Before blowing a load of money on shocks from TT, I'd get in touch with Ted Porter at http://www.beemershop.com and ask him what would work for you as he custom builds suspension systems for many bikes/riders.
I have no affiliation but IMHO TT is very overpriced..... YMMV

Thank you for your suggestions. However, does anyone know why we need to upgrade the shocks on late model bikes in the first place ? 480 lbs of weight allowed (humans and bags) seems quite enough. Are owners upgrading because they are exceeding that limit, or do the OEM shocks just not last ? Can’t figure out why anyone buys these $4K shocks. Thanks.

Gsa2@me.com said:

Thank you for your suggestions. However, does anyone know why we need to upgrade the shocks on late model bikes in the first place ? 480 lbs of weight allowed (humans and bags) seems quite enough. Are owners upgrading because they are exceeding that limit, or do the OEM shocks just not last ? Can’t figure out why anyone buys these $4K shocks. Thanks.

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Upgraded shocks are not simply to carry more weight. The upgraded features almost always include greater adjustability including rebound damping, compression damping and spring preload. They sometimes are made of higher quality materials. That said, I have never "upgraded" a shock until the OEM one was worn out and failing to perform properly. There are folks who take OEM shocks off new or nearly new bikes to get something they consider better. These folks have been my source of shocks for many years.

PGlaves said:

There are folks who take OEM shocks off new or nearly new bikes to get something they consider better.

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I keep mine to use when my good shocks are being rebuilt....

RIDERR1150GSADV said:

Before blowing a load of money on shocks from TT, I'd get in touch with Ted Porter at http://www.beemershop.com and ask him what would work for you as he custom builds suspension systems for many bikes/riders.
I have no affiliation but IMHO TT is very overpriced..... YMMV

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Ted convinced me to save $1500 and instead buy the Tractive D-ESA shocks (they build for TT). You want TT or Tractive so you can maintain the ESA or D-ESA-whichever you have, and not have to unmount, manually adjust shocks, and then get back on.

Tractive invented ESA for BMW et al. But the products they sell as aftermarket are much stronger built that the stock shocks. I bought them in the 2 inch lower version because I need a lowered bike and don't want to sell or trade mine for a another bike. I can't go through that again. I would have lost much more money than buying new shocks. I'll take these off and return the bike to stock when I sell it, then sell the Tractive's online for a little bit of return on my loss (notice I didn't call it an investment). If they're not worn out, I should be able to get $1,200 for the set.

RIDERR1150GSADV said:

Before blowing a load of money on shocks from TT, I'd get in touch with Ted Porter at http://www.beemershop.com and ask him what would work for you as he custom builds suspension systems for many bikes/riders.
I have no affiliation but IMHO TT is very overpriced..... YMMV

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We considered the TT for 2 inch lower than stock GS. That's actually only an inch or so lower than a BMW Factory Lowered GS. It's expensive but about the only way we can go if we want lowered and not throwing a fault on the ESA shock wise. If we went for non ESA shocks and added the modules to satisfy the fault issue, the total price would not be that far off from the 4K...maybe save a part of a K. I did get in touch with the Beemer Shop. Nice guys and very helpful.

For the time being, we cut the foam out of the sides of the Factory GS low seat and did an admirable job of getting another half inch for my wife's '18 Factory Lowered GS. She's 5'3" and a 29" inseam. We're thinking of taking a bit off the top of the seat for another half inch. It's pretty easy to pull the cover back on and staple it like factory. It turns out that the seat designers are more concerned about comfort than getting your legs together to get more boot on the ground. I bought a Sargent low seat for my '17 Lowered GS last year and it is quite wide. When I inquired about it, the answer back was comfort. But they did say that their custom shop would try to narrow it if I wanted.

Maybe I should start a low seat thread...

franz said:

Ted convinced me to save $1500 and instead buy the Tractive D-ESA shocks (they build for TT). You want TT or Tractive so you can maintain the ESA or D-ESA-whichever you have, and not have to unmount, manually adjust shocks, and then get back on.

Tractive invented ESA for BMW et al. But the products they sell as aftermarket are much stronger built that the stock shocks. I bought them in the 2 inch lower version because I need a lowered bike and don't want to sell or trade mine for a another bike. I can't go through that again. I would have lost much more money than buying new shocks. I'll take these off and return the bike to stock when I sell it, then sell the Tractive's online for a little bit of return on my loss (notice I didn't call it an investment). If they're not worn out, I should be able to get $1,200 for the set.

Click to expand...

I just read this. Interesting about the savings. I didn't know it would be that much. Maybe an answer for my wife's GS.