Friend with ES problem rebuilding shock

[Fred W]

If they're that expensive...getting them on the new bike was a steal!

Yes, this is the right answer!

I was thinking the same thing. The difference in price between an A and an ES was only a litle over a grand. But not only did you get the adjustable rear shock, but the adjustments to the front, and the upside down forks.

For the cost of a thousand bucks at purchase, I would not be disappointed if the rear shock were no longer adjustable when I wear it out in 50-60k miles (I think you people who think you have worn them out earlier than that just have too much money to burn, or too fat a pillion) and even if the front steppers go TU and won't work anymore, and I eventually end up having to convert my (then geriatric) ES to one of the lowly manually adjustable suspension type of bikes... It will still have upside down forks and I'll still have only spent $1000 bucks (up front) to get it.

Personally, I see a lot of sour grapes and curmudeoning. In the meantime, I'll enjoy the superior ES suspension for as long as it lasts, regardless of other peoples' angst,

 

[Big Sky]

Fred makes very good points, as have most of the others. At the risk of stirring the pot...

Warranty coverage of this failure is a good thing. But I think the issue is not warranty but is cost of replacement.

ES suspension is a good thing - superior to manual - as long as it proves reliable.

I have ridden the Ducati Multistrada with Skyhook and the KTM 1190 Adventure with their active suspensions. These are superb systems, as long as they are reliable.

I have nothing against electronic control systems, as long as they are reliable and don't break the owner at repair or replacement time or drive the new cost beyond affordable.

Here is my experience with FJR shocks:

FJR #1 - Compression and rebound damping was going away at 35K; a low-miles Gen I take off went on and I rode it to 70K when damping was going, going... Another low-miles Gen II take-off went on.

FJR #2 - Damping was going at 30K. At 35 K the shock was losing oil and damping was gone. Another low-miles Gen II take-off...

FJR #3 - Only 11,500K, damping is fine, but a back-up low-miles Gen II take-off is on the shelf.

Admittedly we ride two-up (we carry some extra poundage - most of us do at 60+ but are not excessively overweight) and loaded most of the time on some pretty gnarly pavement. We have bottomed the rear shock (anyone who has ridden the west shore of Lake Koocanusa knows what I am talking about).

I understand the basic shock on the Gen III works better than Gen II or I. Does the damping hold up longer, too? Is the ES shock the basic Gen III shock with the stepper motor attached to make adjustment automatic/electronic as opposed to manual?

Failure and wearing out are also two different issues. I would consider a leak, bent rod or snapped mount a failure. Degraded damping over time is probably wear-and-tear. I change shocks on my truck every other set of tires for that reason - damping deteriorates with use.

Now, when the ES is out of warranty (factory or YES) and there is a failure, the owner will pay for a new shock or repairs. That's a lot of lucre (be it $3,300 or $2,500) for a shock. When it simply wears out, the owner will also pay for a new shock. Or, as Fred stated, go with aftermarket, also expensive.

What if the shock wears out (no leaks but damping degraded) before the warranty expires? Will this be considered a wear-and-tear item like brake pads? If not, how do you "prove" the shock is worn out? You'd have to get a dealer tech to agree (good luck).

As for rebuilding the unit, who can do this? Yamaha? If rebuildable, what is the cost? Perhaps 60-70 percent of new? What is the downtime?

A lot of questions will be answered in time. In the meantime, we will all ride and enjoy.

I know the ES owners are happy with their systems and rightfully so, defensiveness aside. And I hope they are reliable and last a long, long time, especially since I may have an ES some day. I've enjoyed the discussion.

 

[Queensland Ken]

Was a hard decision to buy the ES instead of the standard suspension, bought the first one in Australia.

10:1 Yamaha Australia will not cover the shock anyhow, different warranty compared to the USA.

I had a YA 707 that I could have swapped across to a new Gen3 but have taken a gamble on the AEE.

So far no regrets, it's good being able to adjust the suspension to road conditions, very kind on my guts / medical condition.

I'm hoping that if it ever comes to refurbishing the suspension, there will be companies around that will do it.

Had the rear shock on my 06 refurbished and bought the Ohlins for my 07.

 

[HotRodZilla]

I'm under the impression, and understand Dave's post to mean the guy bitching about his shock is stirring the pot. Look at his post on the other Forum. He complains about the shock leaking and complains about the price and then asks if there's another supplier, as if he's on the hook for the shock. It's not until later that he bothers to mention the bike is under warranty and will be fixed for free.

He's bitching about the price of something that he doesn't have to pay for. A total ******** move if you ask me. More evidence of this prevalent whining crying sissy assed mentality we've been harboring for years.

 

[Ignacio]

Maybe when somebody actually services their ES they could start of a new thread of how difficult and/or expensive it is to service one...sans replacement. I might personally at end of the season and think it's going to be more comparable...or slightly more costly and hassle of something like a Penske or Ohlins. I don't think it's going to be a replace situation with this particular bit of Yamaha OEM.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

At my current low rate of mileage accumulation I may never have to worry about repairing or replacing mine. Hopefully that will change soon.

I was fortunate enough to ride a VERY low mile 2014 A model this morning and can say that the standard suspension works very well. Then I followed that same '14 A around for a few miles and was overjoyed at how well the suspension on both the A and the ES models worked.

I am still confident that buying the ES was the right decision for me. Since it was my money it does not matter if I got the ES just because I thought the front fender and inverted blacked out forks looked better. I do think the ES works a bit better though.

 

[phroenips]

Anyone with an ES rack up enough miles yet to warrant a rebuild?

 

[Allen_C]

Anyone with an ES rack up enough miles yet to warrant a rebuild?

I'm at about 35k miles now but everything seems to fine. I'll be at Bust's Tech Day and let those who have more experience than I with these things take a look. I think I read that someone is up to about 40k on their ES. At what mileage is a re-build or some type of serving usually required?

 

[phroenips]

I think I've read that for Gen I/II OEM shocks, they're pretty much done at around 40k (I know mine was). I replaced with a Penske, it was recommended to me to get it rebuilt every 15k (I'm pushing to 20k though)