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Chronic ESA problem - 2018 R1200RT


Ajw

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I have been having chronic failures with the ESA suspension on my 2018 R1200RT.

 

I picked up the bike in April of this year in Alberta. It was still well below freezing - so I trailered the bike 500km home. Upon arrival - there was oil under the front of the bike. I contacted the dealer - who said that they have had some failures with oil seals, particularly in cold weather. I returned the bike to the dealer - and they installed new front and rear ESA shocks, no questions asked.

 

 

I rode the bike home from the dealer (mid-May by this time) - no issues. When I got home however I tried cycling the various preload settings (single helmet, single helmet with luggage, two helmets). The preload setting did change - I could feel the rear of the bike changing elevation. However - a loud clicking noise from under the seat could be heard whenever a change in preload was selected.

I returned to the dealer for the 1000km initial service and mentioned this noise. The service manager and technician also heard this noise - and said the rear shock had to be changed out a second time. They suggested however to do this at the 10,000km service - as to not take away from anymore of my riding season.

 

Fast forward - I just took the bike in for the 10,000km service. Sometime between the 1000km service and the 10,000km service - the clicking noise went away - but so did the ability for the preload to change settings. The dealer replaced the rear shock with a third one - and I returned a week later to pick the repaired bike up. The dealer had verified that the new shock was working correctly and had cycled it 5 times and observed that the preload collar located at the top of the rear spring was actually changing position when requested. I loaded the bike into by trailer (back below freezing again here in Alberta) but decided the verify the shock myself before travelling home. Nothing. I could not get any movement out of the back of the bike when the various preload settings were selected. The dealer was initially skeptical of my observation - then incredulous when they could not get the shock to function either. Time for another shock. This one lasted 5 cycles.

 

So - I just picked the bike up with the 4th rear shock installed. Here`s what I have learned:

1) shock #1 failed from a blown seal - not entirely unheard of

 

2) shock 2 and 3 failed when the shaft that connected the electric motor to the adjustment collar (through the gear box mechanism) seized.

 

3) shock 2,3 and regrettably 4 have come out of the same warehouse in Toronto. I am hoping - but not optimistic - that shock 4 was manufactured at a different time, with different materials - than shock 2 and 3. Time will tell I guess.

 

A key learning for me was the Icon on the dash, When I reported the first failure - the dealer said that I would get a warning light on the instrument cluster if a preload setting was selected - and the shock was unable to get into position. This is not the case. What actually happens is when a new preload setting is selected (say go from "one helmet" to "two helmets" ) the "two helmet" icon will immediately be displayed in a light grey colour. This was my indication that the new preload setting was selected and in fact in place. However- this will happen even if the shock does not change position! Now that the shock is working correctly - I can see that upon selecting the new preload - the helmet Icon changes to the new setting (in a light grey colour) and then several seconds later - to a bright white colour once the shock is actually in position.

 

The dealer in Alberta has not had this failure with any other bikes, and I also checked with neighbouring dealer in British Columbia - again, no reported failures.

 

However - I am wondering if the readers of this forum have any experience with this? Could there be additional failures out there - and the owners are not aware - because the preload Icon on the instrument panel is changing to the new setting, but just not transitioning to the bright white colour?

 

 

 

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Just to add a thought...

 

Could there be an installation problem? I agree leaking seals are one thing, but it seems to me that many other failures of the same type might merit looking into installation procedures.

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At this point - I think anything could be possible. It would be difficult for me to imagine how the shock installation could be done incorrectly though - appears to be just a upper and lower bolt, and connection to a wiring harness. The ESA shock assembly comes pre-assembled from the BMW sub-supplier (Marzocchi) - and is considered non-serviceable by the BMW technicians.

 

 

Your point is a good one though - it would have been good to cycle the back-end of the bike up and down without the shock in place, to ensure nothing is binding or that there is not some other mechanical problem that is causing the shock to fail.

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I have been having chronic failures with the ESA suspension on my 2018 R1200RT.

 

I picked up the bike in April of this year in Alberta. It was still well below freezing - so I trailered the bike 500km home. Upon arrival - there was oil under the front of the bike. I contacted the dealer - who said that they have had some failures with oil seals, particularly in cold weather. I returned the bike to the dealer - and they installed new front and rear ESA shocks, no questions asked.

 

 

I rode the bike home from the dealer (mid-May by this time) - no issues. When I got home however I tried cycling the various preload settings (single helmet, single helmet with luggage, two helmets). The preload setting did change - I could feel the rear of the bike changing elevation. However - a loud clicking noise from under the seat could be heard whenever a change in preload was selected.

I returned to the dealer for the 1000km initial service and mentioned this noise. The service manager and technician also heard this noise - and said the rear shock had to be changed out a second time. They suggested however to do this at the 10,000km service - as to not take away from anymore of my riding season.

 

Fast forward - I just took the bike in for the 10,000km service. Sometime between the 1000km service and the 10,000km service - the clicking noise went away - but so did the ability for the preload to change settings. The dealer replaced the rear shock with a third one - and I returned a week later to pick the repaired bike up. The dealer had verified that the new shock was working correctly and had cycled it 5 times and observed that the preload collar located at the top of the rear spring was actually changing position when requested. I loaded the bike into by trailer (back below freezing again here in Alberta) but decided the verify the shock myself before travelling home. Nothing. I could not get any movement out of the back of the bike when the various preload settings were selected. The dealer was initially skeptical of my observation - then incredulous when they could not get the shock to function either. Time for another shock. This one lasted 5 cycles.

 

So - I just picked the bike up with the 4th rear shock installed. Here`s what I have learned:

1) shock #1 failed from a blown seal - not entirely unheard of

 

2) shock 2 and 3 failed when the shaft that connected the electric motor to the adjustment collar (through the gear box mechanism) seized.

 

3) shock 2,3 and regrettably 4 have come out of the same warehouse in Toronto. I am hoping - but not optimistic - that shock 4 was manufactured at a different time, with different materials - than shock 2 and 3. Time will tell I guess.

 

A key learning for me was the Icon on the dash, When I reported the first failure - the dealer said that I would get a warning light on the instrument cluster if a preload setting was selected - and the shock was unable to get into position. This is not the case. What actually happens is when a new preload setting is selected (say go from "one helmet" to "two helmets" ) the "two helmet" icon will immediately be displayed in a light grey colour. This was my indication that the new preload setting was selected and in fact in place. However- this will happen even if the shock does not change position! Now that the shock is working correctly - I can see that upon selecting the new preload - the helmet Icon changes to the new setting (in a light grey colour) and then several seconds later - to a bright white colour once the shock is actually in position.

 

The dealer in Alberta has not had this failure with any other bikes, and I also checked with neighbouring dealer in British Columbia - again, no reported failures.

 

However - I am wondering if the readers of this forum have any experience with this? Could there be additional failures out there - and the owners are not aware - because the preload Icon on the instrument panel is changing to the new setting, but just not transitioning to the bright white colour?

 

 

 

[/b]

 

Afternoon Ajw

 

Does your bike have dynamic ESA? If so then you didn't mention the dealer doing a level sensor calibration after rear strut install.

 

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I've had the grey'd out icons a couple of times on my '17 model year. Stopped, switched off bike, restarted then all was well.

When back at dealers for services nothing showing on the pc. Not happened for quite some time since.

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Thank you for the additional relies.

 

Yes - the bike does have dynamic ESA, and the dealer told me they calibrated the shock (s) after the install.

 

Mileypop - it's interesting that the dealer PC did not pick up any codes. On my shock #2 - (the one that was making the clicking noises then stopped) - when the dealer initially hooked up the PC - the shock came back as functioning perfectly. It was not until I pushed them to investigate further and physically inspect the collar above the spring for movement did they recognize that the shock had indeed failed. They told me that the diagnostic ability of the PC is not that advanced - and that something had stripped in the ESA mechanism - so the motor could cycle - but no shock movement. This could apparently trick the PC. On shock #3 - the motor would not even turn (could see mounting plate flex when trying) and a code was registered right away. Have you tried cycling between preload settings to confirm that the white icon comes on?

 

 

 

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You've mentioned cold quite a bit. One thing I can say is I'm just south of you in North Dakota. Or as some call it, southern Canada. :-) If I'm going to be mistaken from somewhere else, I'd rather it be Canadian. But I digress.

 

Anyway, I have a 2015 and the the wife has a 2017 RT. We've both ridden down to freezing temps. Neither of us have had issues with the shocks. So I don't think it's cold related.

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