ESA or Not

I am interested in purchasing an RT and I have looked at a bunch. And I found one last night I am very interested in. Its a 2011 R1200RT with very low miles (1200 Miles). It's in virtually new condition. All fluids changed within last year so it's good to go. The only issue I am having is it does not have ESA. (Does have heated seat, grips, Cruise and Nav). Is not having ESA A deal breaker? My use will be primarily one up, shorter two to three day trips.

I am interested in purchasing an RT and I have looked at a bunch. And I found one last night I am very interested in. Its a 2011 R1200RT with very low miles (1200 Miles). It's in virtually new condition. All fluids changed within last year so it's good to go. The only issue I am having is it does not have ESA. (Does have heated seat, grips, Cruise and Nav). Is not having ESA A deal breaker? My use will be primarily one up, shorter two to three day trips.

Morning r100rsman

Depends on,

Do YOU want ESA? If it is something that you want on a motorcycle then you are spending a lot of money for a motorcycle that doesn't have everything that you want.

Would you use the ESA? Some riders play with the ESA continually & other (like myself) seldom move the settings (in my case I only move the ESA about once a month then put it right back to where it was just so it doesn't seize up). If you would use it (or have a use for it) then definitely get it.

Do you plan on re-selling the bike? In most cases it is easier to sell a late model BMW if it has ESA.

Or do you plan on keeping the bike for years & years? Having no ESA is just something less to go wrong & cost money.

My '05 and '10 RTs did not have ESA which made changing out the stock shocks for Wilbers easier. Handling and ride was greatly improved but you still needed to take the seat off to adjust the preload for trips with luggage.

My '13 RT does have ESA which I leave in the Comfort, One Up setting unless I'm on a trip and then I change to Comfort, One Up with Luggage done with a switch instead of taking off the seat and turning a knob. Doesn't matter if I'm riding to get coffee or chasing Bernie down some back roads, the Comfort setting works well.

I think the Camhead is the best RT you can buy and would jump on the one you found.

Bill

Thanks for the replies. I just sold my 2015 R1200R in order to finance an RT. My R1200R had the ESAII and it was nice to have but I only used it a couple of time.

The 11 R1200RT I am considering is virtually new (less than 2k miles) and needs nothing. Plus the price is very good ($8200) so I am thinking I can live without the ESA. Thanks again.

Both my RT's have ESA. Usually I leave it in the comfort setting but when I hit the canyons I set it to the "sport setting." It's convenient to be able to change it on the fly. On my first RT it failed after only 3,700 miles. I was the second owner and it was out of warranty, but BMW USA honored the warranty and repaired it. No problems since then.

Sounds like great deal, don't think you will miss ESA. I just bought a non-esa with 10,500 miles. But it had heated seats and cruise. If you need/want to replace the shocks in the future, non-ESA will be less expensive. That is why I chose non-esa vs similar bike with premium package. My previous bike was 03RT non-ESA and I upgraded the shocks . BUt when I compared replacement of ESA vs non it was much more expensive. I am not going to replace the shocks yet, I was able to source a low seat whihc works for me.

I have one of each! Saves trouble of figuring it out.

I like the bit softer springs on ESA comfort mode, especially an occasional jarring bump , doesn't hurt so much. But it is still good in most situations.

The regular shocks are nothing to complain about, the work well and seem to last . The front on RT has no adjustment, on the" R "it does

for rebound. These sport touring bikes do well what they are supposed to do.

I do the same, once it awhile I play with settings, depending on where I want to go.

I would look high and low for a bike without it.

The failure rate you see at dealer level is an eye-roller.

I don't have it on the '13 I recently bought. I have never felt the need to adjust the suspension once I settled on a rebound and preload setting that I liked. In my opinion, it's not worth the INCREDIBLE expense (like $2,700) to replace ONE shock should the ESA fail.

Well. Things have changed a bit. Found a 2013 R1200RT loaded with 19k miles. Its midnight Blue and ESA II, radio and a top case. Great price for a Kawasaki dealer. Worked out numbers on the phone and am going to look at it tomorrow and if pictures and description are accurate I will buy it. :-)