2011 colors for K1300S

[MisterSmooth]

<------------  Actually, of the 2010 colors, the light gray metallic would be my first choice.  Of course, that's coming from the owner of a granite gray bike.

   No offense meant, man.  Different strokes, after all.  

And remember, this opinion came from a guy who owns a Tuono, which looks sort of like what would happen if someone dragged a big magnet through a really nice parts bin.    

[Major 662]

Not interested in ESA, traction control, tire pressure monitor or gear shift assist.

Here's my take on those items:
1) ESA -- great for those long straight stretches in between your house and where you wanna ride
2) Traction control -- trying to leave the dirt shoulder before that logging truck blocking a parade of cars? Traction control is your friend
3) TPM -- when I had my Ducati, I was always 5 miles down the road on the next great adventure when I realized I should've checked the tire pressure
4) GSA -- I love this.  Wide open throttle, snick, snick, snick -- "hey, I'm bending space/time!"

[Jetpilot5]

Here's my take on those items:
1) ESA -- great for those long straight stretches in between your house and where you wanna ride
2) Traction control -- trying to leave the dirt shoulder before that logging truck blocking a parade of cars? Traction control is your friend
3) TPM -- when I had my Ducati, I was always 5 miles down the road on the next great adventure when I realized I should've checked the tire pressure
4) GSA -- I love this.  Wide open throttle, snick, snick, snick -- "hey, I'm bending space/time!"

I have the ESA on my K12S and it works as advertised, but I rarely use it, the shocks are not serviceable and replacement cost is insane.  The rest is just stuff I feel I don't need, don't want to pay for, and don't want to have to get repaired if it fails.  Love the bike, but want a more basic machine next time.

[N8shon]

I have the ESA on my K12S and it works as advertised, but I rarely use it, the shocks are not serviceable and replacement cost is insane.  The rest is just stuff I feel I don't need, don't want to pay for, and don't want to have to get repaired if it fails.  Love the bike, but want a more basic machine next time.

I hear ya on that. I just picked up a 2008 Tricolor K1200S with 4800 miles. I found one of the very few that has only ABS, on-board computer, and the accessory socket. No other electronics to worry about, service, replace, or repair. I love it.

[Jetpilot5]

 I was also told that 2011 models will be Premium Package only, no more base models.  

Old thread I know, but I did find out that this is not the case.  Saturday I went to my dealer's open house and he had a red 2011 K1300S that was a base bike except for heated grips.  That and destination charge were the only items listed on the sticker besides the bike itself.  They were so busy I didn't get to ask if this was special order but apparently it's not impossible to get a pretty basic bike if that's what you're after.

[SVTNate]

What is the lifespan of the ESA suspension?  Knowing me I'd probably trade into a new bike before the ESA was tired, but I know that I wouldn't want to hassle with the replacement cost.

[GilaMonster]

What is the lifespan of the ESA suspension?  Knowing me I'd probably trade into a new bike before the ESA was tired, but I know that I wouldn't want to hassle with the replacement cost.

Don't know....I have 31K on my K12S and it still works fine.  There was lots of concern when it first came out, but I don't recall anyone saying they had to repair/replace it.

[Jetpilot5]

I have 48,000 on my stock ESA shocks and they still work, but they are getting tired.  I can definitely feel the difference when switching between modes but overall the damping isn't as good as it was when they were new.  For now I'm going to keep running them as they aren't bad enough yet to justify the cost/hassle of replacement.

There have been a few guys over on the BMW boards that have replaced theirs, one had 101,000 miles on his bike at the time of the switch.  Most went with Ohlins and lost the electronic adjustment feature but at least one went with Works Performance replacement shocks that retain the ESA function.  I haven't read how well the Works shocks perform compare to the stock equipment.

Link to the Works shocks.

http://www.worksperformance.com/html/new_products_bmw_esa.html

[atadaskew]

I have 48,000 on my stock ESA shocks and they still work, but they are getting tired.

So, like all suspension.

[Jetpilot5]

So, like all suspension.

Yes, just more difficult than your typical suspension to refurb or replace.