Suspension features Standard Tenere vs ES

[jerrya]

I'm a veteran motorcyclist of almost 60 years; offroad racer, long distance touring, dual sort and adventure rider. I understand overall bike setup, adjusting the clickers, setting the sag and changing the spring rates.

My question today is mostly specific to the Tenere ( I am going to order either a standard or a ES). The intended purpose will be 80% 2 lane road, and 20% gravel/dirt roads. Easy enough until you consider that I will be solo 30% of the time and 2 up 70% of the time.
My wife enjoys riding as much as I do, and I enjoy taking her.

I weigh 200# in street clothes, and she weighs 150. The side cases will be lightly loaded with about 15# ( total) of jackets and rain gear, plus I use a tank bag with less than 8# of gear.

I can set the suspension to compensate for either solo riding OR riding double. Will the ES provide the option to electronically change the settings from solo to double within reason? I am aware that fork and shock springs may need to be changed, and there will be some level of compromise one way or the other.

What do you think???

 

[AVGeek]

The ES fits exactly in your use parameters. Adjustments range from Solo+No Luggage to 2-up with Luggage, and there are options to make adjustments to each setting. I have yet to own a Gen 2 myself, so I'll let the more knowledgeable ES owners chine in with more detail.

 

[WJBertrand]

Simple as the press of a button or two. You must be stopped and engine running to change the preload settings. There are four choices; solo, solo+luggage, two-up and two-up + luggage. The ES is set up rather soft at the rear so I had to install a 30% stiffer rear spring. So far the front seems ok.


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[Sierra1]

Definitely go for the ES for all the reasons you just mentioned. You can change your rebound setting on the move. I.E., you have the bike set for smooth pavement, and suddenly you're on broken pavement; soften the ride w/o stopping. I ALWAYS buy "base model" vehicles. I spent the extra for the ES adjustability, and have not regretted it at all. Search around, one forum member found a new '16 ES for about $4,500 off of MSRP. ::001::

 

[Radioman1030]

::026::

I concur with both of the previous opinions, go for the ES.

I bought mine out of state and found use for Soft, Std and Hard just on the ride home. I left with the bike in standard mode, when I hit the pot holed beltway around Cincinnati, I dialed it to Soft and it was very comfortable. I noticed a bit of wallowing when I got some crosswinds later in the day and Std tightened it up nicely. When I got into familiar twisties near home, I dialed up Hard and it became a sport bike. The quick pre-load changes are excellent as well.

I followed forum member "Rodge"'s posts in June and had my rear spring upgraded as I run 275 +/- 25lbs and am very happy with the results. I don't see a need to change my front forks. At your weight you will probably be fine with the stock setup.

 

[WJBertrand]

::026::

I concur with both of the previous opinions, go for the ES.

I bought mine out of state and found use for Soft, Std and Hard just on the ride home. I left with the bike in standard mode, when I hit the pot holed beltway around Cincinnati, I dialed it to Soft and it was very comfortable. I noticed a bit of wallowing when I got some crosswinds later in the day and Std tightened it up nicely. When I got into familiar twisties near home, I dialed up Hard and it became a sport bike. The quick pre-load changes are excellent as well.

I followed forum member "Rodge"'s posts in June and had my rear spring upgraded as I run 275 +/- 25lbs and am very happy with the results. I don't see a need to change my front forks. At your weight you will probably be fine with the stock setup.

Yup, the settings do make a noticeable difference. I dialed back the damping to soft whilst traversing a particularly rough patch of road. Later the road improved and upped the pace, but the bike just didn't feel as planted as before. That's when a remembered to readjust the damping back up. Ahhh, she settled right in to nice and stable again.

 

[Hfjeff]

If you can afford it go with the ES. I commute during the week and 2-up ride on the weekends so it is really convenient to press a couple buttons and completely change the ride comfort. With my FJR I have manual adjustments and got them all dialed. There is no way I would want to manually switch them around each time I would go out. But with the ES, think of them as presets that you can very easily and quickly select. I was sitting on the bike when I switched from single rider to 2-up and you can actually feel the back of the bike rise.

 

[fredz43]

Here is a chart that shows the relative changes in damping that can be adjusted to one of 7 settings each in soft, standard and hard in each preload setting. The shock damping changes only rebound, but the forks adjust both rebound and compression damping.

 

[Sierra1]

To me, the chart is confusing. I just went out and rode around and played with the settings. Worst case scenario....you just got to ride your bike. ::025::

 

[yoyo]

I went for a non ES and have regretted it ever since, in the UK you get loads of extras with the ES, I put most of them on my Non ES which was instock while the ES was a few weeks wait. Go for the ES.

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[WJBertrand]

Thanks Fred, that was the chart I recalled seeing. Pretty clearly presented.


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[Sierra1]

Is that rain on my leg? The chart only tells you that the suspension goes from soft to hard. That's a given. It's still going to take time in the saddle to figure out which setting is needed for which surface.