Electronic suspension

Scrambler007

Active Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2022
Messages
114
Location
Canada
I have/had the same problem.
After having CRF1000 (both, standard nad AdvSports) I was never satisfied with how ST deals poor tarmac. Yes, playing with ES (ZE) settings "helps" a little but it will never be like AT. While AT was soaking bumps, ST more jumps over them. Back wheel hitting bumps on ST sometimes is terrible.
Soft suspension + 21 front tyre make AT better (more comfortable) on bad streets. If I had this info before buying ST it would definitely influence my decision.

But today I'm not sorry for buying ST. I think for 2 up it is a slightly better bike than AT.
Seating position, seat comfort, shaft, wind protection, tubeless, cruise control are pros for ST.
Comfort (on bad streets) and great look for AT.

But all of this is individually.
For exampe, I have feeling that ST is lighter than CRF1000. For me it was harder to maneuver AT when fully loaded.:rolleyes:

And for me, ST behaves the best with Heidenau. In the moment I have TKC70, but after that Heidenau is back.
Funny some complain about the ST being too soft…like many complained about the Africa being too soft. Ill give the ST a year as there is indeed a lot to love about it (not to mention the 42000km valve check instead on 24000km on the AT).

I remember trying an ST 3 years ago and it felt much smoother…I have a feeling with a passenger it will ride much better (the AT was also more comfortable 2 up). Wondering if anyone has tried changing the oil in the suspension?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

dragec

New Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2022
Messages
8
Location
Zagreb-Wien
Funny some complain about the ST being too soft…like many complained about the Africa being too soft. Ill give the ST a year as there is indeed a lot to love about it (not to mention the 42000km valve check instead on 24000km on the AT).

I remember trying an ST 3 years ago and it felt much smoother…I have a feeling with a passenger it will ride much better (the AT was also more comfortable 2 up). Wondering if anyone has tried changing the oil in the suspension?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
After 33000 km I have changed oil in the forks. There is a lot written about that here on the forum.
It didn't change the comfort of the bike. It only calm my mind:D

I also tried ST before buying it. But I was trying non ES model. And it was much more "friendly" than ES model..comfort wise.
Altough ES is a nice gaget, in the future I will avoid "smart" suspensions. It makes life simplier.
 
Last edited:

Scrambler007

Active Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2022
Messages
114
Location
Canada
I also tried ST before buying it. But I was trying non ES model. And it was much more "friendly" than ES model..comfort wise.
Altough ES is a nice gaget, in the future I will avoid "smart" suspensions. It makes life simplier.
I read many posts of people saying the ES was actually more comfortable than the non-ES (but the weight, riding style, road conditions etc can certainly explain the diversion of opinions on that). I personally love being able to change the preload whenever I change from 1 up to 2 up, luggage, etc, but I'd be fine a standard suspension that was super compliant. I just wish there was more adjustment in the direction of comfort instead of more adjustment to make it stiffer. I Wouldn't call the ES smart suspensions like the fancy semi-active suspensions, it really just allows to electronically change settings from a button, once the changes are made, the suspensions act exactly like a non-electronic one. If you look at the skyhook system on Ducatis for example, it reads the road surface hundreds of times per second and adjusts accordingly in real time. That's probably the utlimate setup...you just don't want it to break...$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
 

dragec

New Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2022
Messages
8
Location
Zagreb-Wien
I still had no chance to try Ducati. Only active suspension I tried on KTM 1290 SAS. And again I have to say that I liked 1290 SAR better.
But that just speaks about me and my driving style.

For what I do (long distance, 2up) ST is perfect. And it is build like a tank, I witnessed it, unfortunately:confused:
 

Scrambler007

Active Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2022
Messages
114
Location
Canada
I still had no chance to try Ducati. Only active suspension I tried on KTM 1290 SAS. And again I have to say that I liked 1290 SAR better.
But that just speaks about me and my driving style.

For what I do (long distance, 2up) ST is perfect. And it is build like a tank, I witnessed it, unfortunately:confused:
Yeah, it always depends what your looking for. My top priority is comfort. I don't mind if the bike wiggles, dives, etc....I just want it to soak up the imperfections of our terrible roads. For 90-95% of the roads, it works great, but that last 5-10% can be tiring on longer rides where you feel too much sharpness in the bigger bumps. Went for another ride yesterday and change the 1 helmet to 1 helmet + Luggage, then changed the suspensions from Soft -3 to STD -2. the preload helps avoid bottoming out, but for the damping, I see a much bigger difference if I put it on Hard (then it feels sports bike stiff) but not quite enough when I want it to be more compliant. Forks/seat/tires at 0-5C is probably not helping, hopefully everything keeps improving with the weather. There's really a lot to like about this bike :)
 

Scrambler007

Active Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2022
Messages
114
Location
Canada
Looks like nobody so far had the ST ES revalved?? I've seen a few change the rear spring for a stronger one, but has anyone actually had the rear shock revalved? I went on a 150km ride yesterday and my lower back was tired at the end (keep in mind I usually can ride 4-600km in a day). It works awesome on the small imperfections, but too often I feel the harshness on the rougher parts. If I could fix that, this could be as near to perfect of a bike I've had so far.
 

Scrambler007

Active Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2022
Messages
114
Location
Canada
If you want to use the whole suspensión stroke and capabilities (without pillion) Try full preload combined with comfort -3
Yeah, I've gone full circle on the possible settings, the valving seems to be the limiter. All the settings affect the small bumps much more than the bigger bumps.
 

Scrambler007

Active Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2022
Messages
114
Location
Canada
For sure this increases the harshness of the suspension as there will be higher seal friction and greater viscosity damping fluid. The tires are stiff as well.
It's not helping for sure, problem is my Africa even in sub 0C temperatures would soak up the bigger bumps better. On the small stuff the ST is actually better, but the bigger bumps is what ends up causing my lower back fatigue (the only other bike that did this to me was the Scrambler1200XE and those suspensions were horrendous compared to the ST). But I like the ST enough to consider having it revalved/resprung.
 
Last edited:

hulkss

Active Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2022
Messages
164
Location
Wisconsin
For big bumps the AT will always be better (in theory anyway), it has 2" more suspension travel on each end.
 

Scrambler007

Active Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2022
Messages
114
Location
Canada
Yeah I'm not planning on jumping the Super Tenere, 7.5" of travel is more than enough to soak up the bumps if valved and sprung properly :) I spoke to someone who did it on his ES and it transformed the bike. Just looking at shops where I can have it done that are not 2 days away from here and have experience working on the ES....
 

Drif10

Active Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2020
Messages
136
Location
Quebec
Please let us know what specifically was done to the suspension and where we could do the same if desired.
That rider would be me. Scrambler and I were messaging about this yesterday on another media.

Accelerated Technologies in Canada did mine, have done a few other soopertens. My 14ES has 95k kms on it, along with my fat butt and hard bags, so it was rebuild time at the minimum.

Upped the rear spring to a 10.7 from Eibach. Rebuilt the shock. "Added one shim to the stack" during the rebuild. The preload adjuster was leaking internally, so it was only moving the collar 3mm, instead of 9mm, so that was fixed. New oil, seals, and charge. Elka preload collar 46mm, machined to fit.

Front got new bushings and seals. New springs too, 37x375x.90. Dunno what weight though.

Roads I ride are mostly beat to crap "paved" rural roads, frost heaves have improved the roads lately, if you can imagine. Tracking is much more precise now, lots less bump steer, no more wallow on deep compressions.

Given the limited choices with an ES for alternative suspensions, I'm happy this worked out well. Just can't whistle up a Hyperpro or Ohlins for them.

I'd do it again.
 
Top