Electronic VS regular suspension.

[dudley]

I'm convinced that the engine heat will be less than my Triumph and most other bikes...I have never had electronic suspension so am wondering if it is more than an expensive toy or fad. I only ride solo so setting suspension is not a problem. How reliable is ES in the short time its been out. BMW has had ES for a number or years but I have never inquired about how it works after 10 years.
Dudley

 

[satdishes]

2014 es model I have 13,500 miles to date. Love the suspension options, did 400 mile ride Saturday and lost track of how often I changed between soft, standard and hard. We spent time in the mountains and flats, I remember commenting to my buddies how nice it is. Would buy again no regrets, and heated grips are awesome.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[Lutsie]

Love my es. May never own a bike with out it again. I feel like i get my money's worth out of the suspension because of being able to change it on the fly. Highway, street, twisty, 2 up, camping. .. it's ready.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk

 

[JRE]

I agree, I adjust my suspension all the time based on load (i.e. luggage) and what kind of riding I'll be doing. So quick and easy with ES.

 

[MrVvrroomm]

We have both in my garage. I have '14 ES, my wife has '15 non-ES.

For the price difference it's a no-brainer. Get the ES

 

[Philistine]

I am wondering if the extra money you pay for the ES would be better spent on a suspension upgrade, new Öhlins rear shock and the forks worked over maybe?

 

[Checkswrecks]

I'm convinced that the engine heat will be less than my Triumph and most other bikes...I have never had electronic suspension so am wondering if it is more than an expensive toy or fad. I only ride solo so setting suspension is not a problem. How reliable is ES in the short time its been out. BMW has had ES for a number or years but I have never inquired about how it works after 10 years.
Dudley

I thought so too, till I rode a (non-Yamaha) ES bike for a week. Even solo, it's the ability to change it effortlessly when you transition from broken asphalt, to highway, to ripping back roads, to taking the luggage off.
My next will ride have the ES.

 

[Juan]

As a general question, if the 'E' fails can the suspension be adjusted manually? I have a 2013 and am therefore not conversant with the ES.

 

[caillou]

Electronic suspension on the ES is identical to the FJR, which so far has not reported known repetitive failures. It was NOT the case with the BMW ESA by the way, and most of first gen ESA shocks failed and were very pricey to replace (close to 3000$ / shock IIRC, in Canada). I believe the new generation have fixed most of the problems.
I'm confident that Kayaba shocks/forks are high quality ones but the Tenere ES version is too new to the market to have accurate information about long term reliability. So far, I have seen no issues with ES shocks.
I agree that trying it is loving it. If you do some off road, it is a no brainer IMO.

 

[V35A]

Do you ES owners ever use the "Soft" mode when riding off road? I would be concerned that reduced damping might lead to excessive suspension travel over bumps, which of course reduces ground clearance. I have been leaving my ES in the "STD" setting when riding on rutted or washed out fire roads.

 

[fredz43]

I am wondering if the extra money you pay for the ES would be better spent on a suspension upgrade, new Öhlins rear shock and the forks worked over maybe?

Been there, done that on my 12. It will cost a lot more to do that and in my case, I am happier with the ES on my 14.

 

[WJBertrand]

I found the ES very useful on my recent trip to Laguna Seca. The bike was loaded up quite a bit more than normal day-to-day riding and the ability to tweak the suspension in while just waiting for a light to change was great. Upgrading to good name brand aftermarket suspension will cost more than the difference between the ES and non-ES models. I heard from a friend of mine that when he took his ES to Race Tech to see what they could do they told him after evaluating the bike and due to the adjustability he already has, there was not much they could recommend that would improve anything.

 

[rider33]

ok, I'll take the contrarian position on this one. If you are the type of person who tends to adjust you suspension more than 2-3 times a years than yes, the ES is likely a lovely thing. If, on the other hand you are of the set-it-and-forget-it school, the extra 8 lbs. and thousand dollars may not be your thing. Also, the ES bikes are are a bit more of an "it" thing right now making them in higher demand. Translation: you may be able to get a better buy on the base bike. Personally, I get a lot more milage out of a good GPS and new set of tires but YMMv. ::015::

 

[iClint]

Do you ES owners ever use the "Soft" mode when riding off road? I would be concerned that reduced damping might lead to excessive suspension travel over bumps, which of course reduces ground clearance. I have been leaving my ES in the "STD" setting when riding on rutted or washed out fire roads.

I'm a heavy set bloke and I have not had any ground clearance issues off road with the ES in soft -3 1up+luggage and I am talking about almost single track riding, rocks, logs, dips, humps, you name it.

 

[Tyke]

Its a no brainer dudley, ....go for the ES

My 2104 ZE (ES) is superb, the package also includes factory heated grips, which are excellent, mainstand, and pillion grab rails ::022::

 

[Checkswrecks]

ok, I'll take the contrarian position on this one. If you are the type of person who tends to adjust you suspension more than 2-3 times a years than yes, the ES is likely a lovely thing. If, on the other hand you are of the set-it-and-forget-it school, the extra 8 lbs. and thousand dollars may not be your thing. Also, the ES bikes are are a bit more of an "it" thing right now making them in higher demand. Translation: you may be able to get a better buy on the base bike. Personally, I get a lot more milage out of a good GPS and new set of tires but YMMv. ::015::

Good points.


If you've never had ES and essentially ride the same roads and highways all the time, then the non-ES bikes can be found for around $10,500 brand new. That's a steal for all we get in these bikes!

 

[WJBertrand]

ok, I'll take the contrarian position on this one. If you are the type of person who tends to adjust you suspension more than 2-3 times a years than yes, the ES is likely a lovely thing. If, on the other hand you are of the set-it-and-forget-it school, the extra 8 lbs. and thousand dollars may not be your thing. Also, the ES bikes are are a bit more of an "it" thing right now making them in higher demand. Translation: you may be able to get a better buy on the base bike. Personally, I get a lot more milage out of a good GPS and new set of tires but YMMv. ::015::

This is true, but then perhaps such a person doesn't really exploit the versatility of the Super - T and for that matter other Adventure touring and Sport touring motorcycles. I think these generes of bikes benefit the most from wide suspension adjustability. You may ride one day one-up, no luggage and the next day two-up, bags and top box full. For an ADV bike there is the off vs. on road factor too. If you really use your bike, I believe most buy this kind of bike for it's versatility, the ES saves you a bit of a chore otherwise. Besides, it also comes with heated grips!

 

[trainman]

i read on here somewhere that some believed the non ES model was under sprung and they couldn't achieve a normal 'sag' whereas the ES could be set right to suit near enough anyone

so should an ES be compared more fairly with a non ES plus upgrade cost if the point above is true

 

[rider33]

This is true, but then perhaps such a person doesn't really exploit the versatility of the Super - T and for that matter other Adventure touring and Sport touring motorcycles. I think these generes of bikes benefit the most from wide suspension adjustability. You may ride one day one-up, no luggage and the next day two-up, bags and top box full. For an ADV bike there is the off vs. on road factor too. If you really use your bike, I believe most buy this kind of bike for it's versatility, the ES saves you a bit of a chore otherwise. Besides, it also comes with heated grips!

I don't know, I've owned a fair number of dual-sports and dirt bikes and adjusting the suspension when going off road has never been high on the list. Adjusting the air pressure in the tires tho, now that is a very good use of time. If they came up with a button for that I might pop fo it ;D. I also don't tend to go two-up much where adjustments are typically more needed. Really tho, all of this is likely informed by past trauma with Bavarian electronics. Not doubt tunning fork circuits are a wee bit more dependable but once you've had to replace some uber expensive sub-assemblies for stuff you never really used that much, you begin to wonder just why it is you had it in the first place. Then again, I like kick starts better too so what the hell do I know...

 

[kgfire]

i read on here somewhere that some believed the non ES model was under sprung and they couldn't achieve a normal 'sag' whereas the ES could be set right to suit near enough anyone

so should an ES be compared more fairly with a non ES plus upgrade cost if the point above is true

I just got my new 2015 Non - ES back from the first service and the Race Tech certified dealer installed the proper ( for my weight ) rear shock spring and it made a huge difference. It is still a manual adjust suspension but I must say the difference between stock and present is remarkable. $90 labor and $120 for the spring, money well spent.