ESA suspension upgrade ?.

[johnvw]

Hi to All,
I have been toying with the idea of upgrading my r1200r 2012 suspension. Many forum reports suggest that the stock shocks can be improved significantly.
Amongst many things I am a complete novice in regard to suspension, but ongoing searches and reading makes for increased interest.
The R12 is 18 months old, no problems, except that I seem to be feeling the road bumps more frequently.
I have many questions before any retro fitting occurs or my wife allows for the AUD 2000 upgrade.

My bike is fitted with ESA ( I thought it was standard in my excited purchasing state ).

I seem to have two options:
1) stay with ESA and use Wilbers, the only manufacturer that seems to cater for R1200R ESA shocks.
With the added advantage of lowering the bike height 35 mm. For my 27 inch seam.

2) having ESA disabled and go to Wilbers, Yacguar ( Ohlins will raise the bike height ). With the advantage of greater and more personalised shock adjustments.

I ride solo, would only be two up in emergency situation, carry a full back pack on the pillion seat and expect to rarely tour. So I am not using the full advantage of the ESA ( at this time ).

Your thoughts are very welcomed at this time.

Regards john

[Caol]

Hi John,

I ride a 2007 R1200R with ESA and upgraded to HyperPro shocks in 2012. They need the ESA parts from your current shocks and then build a set tailored for you.

I had the work done through EPM Performance Imports (http://www.epmperf.com).

Yeah, pricey. It was about USD 1500 for the conversion plus, removal of originals and installation of the new shocks. And, unless you can get 'loaners', your bike is off the road for the duration.

I also had the opportunity to ride with a 'standard' shock (no ESA) on the bike. And if you can get the shock tailored to your riding weight and style with a manual adjustment capability to tweak damping/preload between day-to-day and full up load then that may be the way to go. I found the HyperPro standard shocks to still be a major improvement over the worn ESA shocks they replaced. Having the ESA shocks disconnected didn't raise any alarms with the system.

The biggest, single, difference that I've noticed is the difference between single rate and progressive springs. Progressive springs help remove a lot of the little bumps that wind up being so tiring at the end of the day, without compromising the ability to handle real bumps.

I still use the ESA system extensively here in the Pacific Northwest (BC, Alberta, Montana, Idaho, Washington) due to the huge differences between riding on superslab (I-90) and super twisties (BC-3A/MT-200) all in the same day!

Good luck to you!

Kyle

[jkhomes]

If your budget will allow you to keep the ESA and upgrade your suspension, definitely go for the whole package. My Yacugars were a significant upgrade, but now I wish I had gone another step up from there.

[johnvw]

Hi to All,
Many thanks Caol and jkhomes for your replies. still a little undecided at this time. With 12K on the bike still time to consider many options. I will most likely keep the ESA and go with Wilbers, but perhaps Yacugar may come into the ESA market and provide more options and more competitive pricing.

Regards
John