Electronic Suspension ?~?~? or Aftermarket

[Warpdrv]

So - for those of you whom have gotten some miles in with the electronic suspension, what are your feelings towards that or an after market solution like the Wilburs/Penske/Ohlins ?!?!

Are you happy with the stock adjustments ?! do you feel its up to par that you wouldn't need/want to change it...?

Ive read that Wilburs offers an aftermarket solution that incorporates the stepper motor from the stock suspension to their clearly improved suspension setup allowing you to retain the ES feature but improve the suspension quality and performance on the K1600.

CLICKY LINKY

I would assume that perhaps maybe in the future that they will be working in the same direction for the ES FJR..... ?!?!

And sometime down the line your going to have to "deal" with it... when the factory unit goes tits up....

~~~OR~~~

For those of you that have ran after market suspension on previous FJR's - would you forgo the ES altogether, now after owning and using the ES and just get an aftermarket suspension period....

I bought my 05 new, and quickly jumped on the Wilburs group buy way back when and couldn't be happier with the upgrade in performance - had mine rebuilt once, needless to say Im def in the camp of improving on stock suspension, but wouldn't mind hearing the thoughts from those that are now newly transitioning into uncharted territory with the new ES offerings... ....

If I had to do it all over again - I would have no issues with tossing out the $$ again for a REAL suspension upgrade - just wondering if the ES can compete in this realm.....

 

[Geezer]

I do not have an ES, so I don't have first hand information, but I too jumped on the Wilbers deal for my '05. I later had that Wilbers rebuilt and a much heavier spring installed on it, and that heavy spring made a lot of difference, in a good way.

The ES has a fairly light spring. Maybe the motorized adjustments can make up for that light spring, but it is one reason to wait and see.

 

[J-Luv]

When I was shopping around, one salesman tried to talk me out of the ES. I was very interested in getting the ES, and his line of thought was that most riders find their comfort zone and leave it. Well, I am very pleased that I didn't listen to him. The $1k extra is worth it to me and I've only had the bike a couple months. It is sweet. Start the bike, check the setting, adjust if needed, off I go. You can only adjust the pre load while stationary. I enjoy being able to adjust the dampening on the fly, based on road conditions, style of riding at the moment, etc. I enjoy playing with it just to feel the difference. I ride two up with my SO and my 8yo son. Swapping manually between these different weight riders could be a pain. Thing is, even if I forget to adjust pre-load prior to taking off, I can adjust dampening on the fly and compensate until I'm stationary again. Definitely worth the money and a great toy to play with as well. I recommend it, but ymmv.

 

[xcsp]

I haven't put on many miles yet on my ES, but finding that I'll switch between settings depending on road & riding conditions, definately a nice feature to have at your fingertips.

 

[exskibum]

Great thread question, Warp. Exactly what I'm wondering. Unless and until I'm better informed and my thinking is revised, my experience with aftermarket suspension (esp. after the education of a ride-in for front and back rebuilds at GP Suspension where you see it done and get every question about the "whys" answered) has me in the camp of just wanting my suspension dialed in for my preferences and I'll typically leave it that way.

I used to ride 2 up a lot, so I see an advantage for some adjustment, but the cost and complexity to do it on the fly seems unnecessary to me. So, rather than having the additional complexity, cost and issue of what to do when the ES's OEM parts are done, I would love to have the inverted fork of that red beauty with both tubes sporting springs and cartridges that I can get dialed in.

With all the 2014 ESes now under the asses of experienced FJR campaigners, I'm looking forward to reading their educated perspectives as they put the miles on. (FWIW, the new OEM suspension of my '05 was undersprung, wallowed and bottomed out my 4-2-1 header in corners under my 175 lbs, and the shock itself when 2 up. Can't help but wonder if the same error infects the current FJR suspensions from the factory.)

 

[Warpdrv]

Yeah I've been doing a bunch of research on the K1600, aside from trying the ride out to see if it fits - I'm pretty sure I'll just leave well enough alone and stick with what seems to be a tried and true system that doesn't have alot of added worry or is more of a machine weight/size wise then I really need or want....

I'm guessing that with all these new platforms coming out with electronic suspension - the aftermarket boys will have their hands full with design and implementation to keep the sales running and offering up products that exceed the manufacturers offerings....

Personally I will trust the likes of those aftermarket companies to take things to the next step for the evolution of ES.... So maybe the prudent way to look at this is that if I were to be looking at the new FJR for 2015 is to get the ES and wait until the aftermarket upgrades for those come out and make the move down the line.

Keep the comments coming on the responsiveness of the factory ES, rider feel, aggressiveness - how well it feels planted with the different settings and different riding conditions.......

I should add, I'm only 5'10", 200lbs with 100# pillon, plus side bags only.

 

[art miller]

My input may not follow the average as I am not a highly aggressive rider. I am 5'10" tall and weigh 150lbs. Compared to my 07 which had stock suspension the ES is a more stable ride. I do not ride 2up and do not have the bags on unless on a road trip. I set the suspension on medium 0, 1up without bags. When getting into the twisties I set it on hard 0. If the bags are on I use the same settings except I add + bags. Considering my weight and riding style I believe this machine will give me many miles before any suspension overhaul is needed. My 07 had 32K miles on the odo when I sold it. I never had any issues with bottoming out or poor handling. That said, the ES is just a much more refined bike and in my opinion well worth the price.

 

[MCRIDER007]

As a '13A owner who is pretty impressed with the OEM suspension, I would expect the ES damping to be very good.....at least when the oil in the shock and forks is new and has the same viscosity as the ES preset damping settings were designed for. The question is whether those damping settings will continue to be balanced as the oil viscosities change with temperatures and age. Another question is the shock life between rebuilds and how expensive those rebuilds will be.

I have ridden 5 BMWs and 3 Ducatis with ES and the only one that seemed as good as aftermarket suspension was the semi-active Ducati Skyhook suspension.

 

[Queensland Ken]

If you change your current settings between fully loaded, comfort, etc etc continually, the ES is the way to go.

Or in my case, having had a few gut operations, ride mainly with slushy suspension, but change a few settings via the dash and make good for the twisties.

If not, a standard suspension model would be ok, the Gen3's have better stock suspension.

Was a real toss up with the Gen3 seeing I have a good Ohlins and better front suspension on my Gen2 .

 

[RaYzerman19]

I have done some quick sag measurements on both Gen III A model and ES. I will summarize and post up these later..... Basically, both models have 1.0 front springs, therefore conform to what most are upgrading to and as a very general guideline, will be satisfactory for up to a 200-220 lb. rider. Note there is no fork preload adjustment on the ES, one would have to add washers to increase preload. As for the rear, the ES has a 685 lb. spring rate and Gen II was 708, which many thought to be inadequate. Given this, again it will be good for up to a 200 lb rider with perhaps a lighter pillion. If there was a spring upgrade out there, one should do it. The stock ES will be OK for most riders although you're just increasing the preload on a barely adequate spring.

The Gen III A is the old hard/soft setting shock but the spring rate is 985 lbs. This should accomodate heavier riders and pillions, and "normal weight" (not lightweight) riders can most likely run on the soft setting when one-up. For those wanting an economical upgrade to a Gen I or II stock shock without going all out on an aftermarket shock, these can be had for under $400. The front forks do have preload adjusters and have the upgraded 1.0 springs.

In my opinion, Yamaha didn't quite get it right with the ES by taking a step backwards in rear spring rate. We also don't know if ES shocks are indeed rebuildable, and a new one is in excess of $2300.

 

[Warpdrv]

Yeah I really don't do alot of changing of my suspension with my wilburs...... front is already dialed in, as is the back, its a pretty tight setup for myself on the bike, when the woman jumps on I don't adjust it because her extra 100# and a couple things in the bags seems to balance it out to just under tight and quite comfy without losing performance....

If what you say is true about the weaker spring on the ES model, then that would open the door pretty wide for Wilburs etc etc to put out a nice shock/spring upgrade for the ES..... still allowing for the multi adjustment but better performance ?~!?!~?

 

[RaYzerman19]

If what you say is true about the weaker spring on the ES model, then that would open the door pretty wide for Wilburs etc etc to put out a nice shock/spring upgrade for the ES..... still allowing for the multi adjustment but better performance ?~!?!~?

The numbers are taken from the FJR FSM...... Springs might be pretty standard..... somebody needs to get in touch with Cogent Dynamics, RaceTech or the like...... all that might be needed is to remove the shock and take some measurements for diameter, spring height, number of coils, and a few photos and they might have something that works.......

 

[Cal24Master]

I have about 10,000 miles on my ES now. I find the stock spring to be more than adequate. I am a 300lb rider and even with the fuel cell and fully loaded the highest spring setting is too stiff. However, if you did desire a stiffer spring you can have the spring replaced. The shock is fully rebuildable.

My Gen II had a Penske shock and race tech forks. The stock ES suspension works better. The only minor complaint I may have is that the Penske raised the bike a little more. That may or may not be a disadvantage, or an advantage depending on your inseam. For me it is no issue. Cornering clearance is about the same, I cannot tell a difference. The suspension soaks up bumps better, has a smoother ride and handles bumps in corners better.

I would not even consider spending money to replace the shock or fork internals.