I am about to buy a R1200R, but I do not know what suspension option to get; ESA or Öhlins...
Do any of you have experience of them both to be able to compare?
I believe that ESA is more practical. I.e. I can change things when riding. But is ESA as good as the Öhlins or is it just BMW standard suspension with some preset configurations that I can choose from when riding?
Are you being given a choice between the ESA and Ohlins?
If so - I'd go for the Ohlins. They are a superior shock, with hopefully (depends on the configuration) more adjustability than the ESA shocks, and they are rebuildable, which the ESA shocks aren't.
If they're not offering you the choice - then your decision is if you want to get the "standard" shocks and upgrade later to something like Ohlins, Hyperpro or Wilbers. That might be a more difficult decision.
I bought my RT w/o ESA because I believe I am out of the AVG. weight window. I would just have to have it set to the firmest all the time. Now I can purchase aftermarket, and have them sprung for a fat guy.
I chose to go without ESA because I’d rather spend money on Quality suspension and set it up correctly. This also allows me to adjust the ride height in the back and quicken up the steering. I’m not sure yet, Ohlin’s or Wielber.
If you’re not a real aggressive rider ESA would be just as good and convenient.
Are you being given a choice between the ESA and Ohlins?
Some BMW models are sold with Öhlins, so I guess that it could be possible to get it factory mounted. That would save me the costs for the original suspenders.
I will call the shop and ask and I'll get back to you on that.
I had Ohlins on my Aprilia RSV1000R Factory. However, as I am lazy and never bothered getting them set up 100% for me (swapping springs etc) then the ESA setup on my R12R is at least as good for me. Given the choice I would always choose ESA over a conventional setup.
I am not an agressive very sporty rider but I do enjoy carving at the weekends and the ESA is definitly sufficient for that.
The convenience of being able to swap settings whilst riding is fantastic especially when faced with quickly varying road surfaces as I am. It is also useful to be able to soften up the suspension when it is raining.
hass wrote:The convenience of being able to swap settings whilst riding is fantastic especially when faced with quickly varying road surfaces as I am. It is also useful to be able to soften up the suspension when it is raining.
Good points!
I spoke to the shop and they told me that it was not possible to buy just the Öhlins. I had to buy the bike plus Öhlins.
The sales person told me that the only thing ESA do is to use a small motor to change the preload. I asked if the rest of the suspension was the same components as the non-ESA, but he could not answer that question. Do any of you know?
kallakaki wrote:I spoke to the shop and they told me that it was not possible to buy just the Öhlins. I had to buy the bike plus Öhlins.
The sales person told me that the only thing ESA do is to use a small motor to change the preload. I asked if the rest of the suspension was the same components as the non-ESA, but he could not answer that question. Do any of you know?
/Kallakaki
The shop is wrong. The ESA also is capable of changing the damping (rebound I'd assume) on the shock (perhaps just the rear.. but dunno, might be both.)
Don Eilenberger - NJ Shore
2012 R1200R - I love this bike!
deilenberger wrote:
The shop is wrong. The ESA also is capable of changing the damping (rebound I'd assume) on the shock (perhaps just the rear.. but dunno, might be both.)
I chose to go without ESA because I wanted high end suspension like Ohlin’s or Wilber.
With the ESA you couldn’t replace the stock shocks with after market ones, well not till now anyways. To my surprise I just found out that WP has started to make them for HP2 at this point but not sure for rest. WP also helped to develop ESA for BMW, apparently.
OK guys here you go.
Using a button on the left handlebar panel, the rider can vary the suspension and damping characteristics of the front and rear suspension strut. Adjustment is effected in two steps by means of a control unit in the central electronics system.
In the first step, the rider sets the pre-load of the spring mount according to the motorcycle load (solo; solo with luggage or passenger, with luggage and passenger). An electrical motor performs the adjustment function which is only possible when stationary for reasons of functional efficiency and safety.
In the second step, the rider selects the damper setting appropriate to his riding style: here, Sport, Normal and Comfort modes are available. The setting of damping characteristics can also be undertaken while riding. In the front ESA strut, the rebound damping is adjusted, in the rear strut both the rebound and compression stages are adjusted. The actual adjustment is performed by step motors directly at the damper. The electronic systems selects the damping rate which is appropriate for the spring rest selection: thus suspension and damping characteristics are always perfectly matched. Since the rider can combine all three modes for load and riding style, a total of nine different adjustment programs are in fact available to him. A display on the info flatscreen in the dingle indicates the currently selected program.
The advantage of electronic chassis adjustment with ESA as compared to conventional mechanical adjustment of spring pre-load and damping characteristics lies in the constantly harmonious co-ordination between all chassis components. The rider also saves awkward and time-consuming fiddling with tools: instead he can make adjustments conveniently by a press of the button within ten seconds. This makes it possible to adjust the chassis within a very short time, for example when taking a pillion along at short notice or in the event of a sudden change in road surface characteristics.
With the ESA system, BMW Motorrad gives the riders of the K 1200 S, K 1200 R, R 1200 R and R 1200 RT a convenient, fast and simple-to-operate instrument for optimum chassis adjustment allowing them to exploit the full potential offered by a modern chassis. In this way ESA system, which is unique in motorcycle construction, represents an efficient contribution to achieving more safety and comfort on the road.
Airshaft wrote:Hope this helps and puts speculations to rest.
V
Not quite...
Thanks for the good explanation! But I still have some quanderies:
Is it possible to adjust the preload, and damper settings manually or are the nine settings fixed? That could be fine for me that weigh 70 kg, but in the worst case I could end up in the wrong end of the scale and only have one setting that works for me.
And finally; are the separate components (apart from the step motors, i.e. springs, pistons, etc.) the same for the stock suspender and ESA?
I spoke to a mechanic who told me that it was not possible to adjust the settings manually. This could only be done by using the button on the handle bar.
He also mentioned that historically the BMW-owners were over-represented among those who changed to Öhlins, but the BMW-suspension is a lot better nowadays.
If I'd asked him five years ago he'd tell me to go for the Öhlins, but today he was not so sure.
My conclusion is - if you you have the interest and want to fine-tune the suspension; go for the Öhlins. If not; get the ESA. It will in most cases be good enough.
Paul-from-VA wrote:The one thing I might add to this.....are the ESA components rebuildable or do you toss them in the can when they wear out.
They are designed to be non-rebuildable. That doesn't mean no one will figure out how to rebuild them, but unlike the Ohlins, Wilbers, HyperPro - which are designed with rebuilding in mind - BMW/WP didn't make it easy to do.
Don Eilenberger - NJ Shore
2012 R1200R - I love this bike!
I'd agree with Don and Airshaft. I've changed the shocks on most of my bikes to premium units, and would rather save the cost of ESA and apply it to Ohlins or Wilbers or Hyperpro at some point in the future.
