Did someone on here made their own ESA delete dongles?

[RyanGTXR]

Not long ago I'm sure I found an old thread where someone here, an Electrical engineer or something, made their own ESA delete dongles, an older thread back before anyone else made them, . . . . . . but I'm f**ked if I can find it again now.
After some advice etc. on how it was done, what to measure etc as would love to get rid of the Elec sus on my KTM GT and have no dash warnings.
I know the KTM system is different but wondered what to test for as could be similar.

[Winger]

I’ll be an interested spectator to see how you get on here,my non ESA XR with Wilbers rear shock which I have had virtually from day one spoils me compared to the GT.

[bazzer]

Yes me, I tested it on the front suspension. Didn't get round to testing it on the rear as I had the ESA flashed out.

All it needs is a power resistor of an appropriate value to fool the ecu into thinking its still attached. It's a simple 2 wire system and there is no feedback from the fork.

This was on a Gen 1, your mileage my vary on a Gen 2 as they say :-)

Edited to add I just read your post properly

I am not sure how the WP suspension on the KTM works. If you have a wiring diagram I would take a look and see if I can glean anything from it.

[bazzer]

Originally Posted by Winger

I’ll be an interested spectator to see how you get on here,my non ESA XR with Wilbers rear shock which I have had virtually from day one spoils me compared to the GT.

My K-tech is sublime. I tested it back to back with the electronic suspension on a new R1250GS adventure. My XR was not only more controlled the ride was better too. I was expecting it to be more controlled but I was surprised the ride quality was better too.

I have the next gen version of the WP electronic suspension on my new 1290 Super Adventure. Jury is out how good that is at the moment, not done enough miles on it yet.

[Crosshairs]

Originally Posted by bazzer

My K-tech is sublime. I tested it back to back with the electronic suspension on a new R1250GS adventure. My XR was not only more controlled the ride was better too. I was expecting it to be more controlled but I was surprised the ride quality was better too.

I have the next gen version of the WP electronic suspension on my new 1290 Super Adventure. Jury is out how good that is at the moment, not done enough miles on it yet.

I think most aftermarket set ups  are better than stock..I have a tractive setup front and rear..not cheap at $4200 US but it makes a huge difference in how the bike rides and handles plus  it retains the ability to change the preload electronically ...although I never do  :)

[Antares]

I mentioned being back on an MT10, fully adjustable KYB front and rear that are supposed to be pretty good... What a nightmare... took me close to an hour to get everything sorted as you could only do a 1/2 click worth of turn on the rebound on the shock due to no space... got myself dirty, and yes definitely made the ride better than stock settings but still nowhere near the XR. The XR is way more planted and smoother on everything except big bumps. That's not even mentioning the active anti dive and anti squat making braking and acceleration about a hundred times steadier and more supported. Even if the XR was worse, the fact that it takes 5 seconds and 2 button clicks to change preload and damping, vs tools and at the very least 15-20 minutes of your time, not riding to change anything... Decided to get some shopping on the way home? Forget about handling! cos aint no way you're going to change that shock preload at a whim. There is nothing at this point that can convince me, that for road riding and everyday use the electronic suspension is not vastly superior to any manual solution. I concede that a quality set of manuals, on a track, set up after multiple sessions will indeed handle better, but outside of that... A modern ESA system like those found on the BMW, KTMs or Ducs? No way. 

I get that it's largely down to preference too but the fact is, the MT as set up stock was extremely unsteady and harsh on any sort of uneven road, whereas the XR regardless of what setting you're in, virtue of constantly changing damping, was always at the very least "fine".

Rant over, don't roast me 

[RyanGTXR]

Originally Posted by bazzer

Yes me, I tested it on the front suspension. Didn't get round to testing it on the rear as I had the ESA flashed out.

All it needs is a power resistor of an appropriate value to fool the ecu into thinking its still attached. It's a simple 2 wire system and there is no feedback from the fork.

This was on a Gen 1, your mileage my vary on a Gen 2 as they say :-)

Edited to add I just read your post properly

I am not sure how the WP suspension on the KTM works. If you have a wiring diagram I would take a look and see if I can glean anything from it.

Thanks Bazzer, I'll see what I can find and also unplug both XR and GT connectors at some point to see how many pins etc. in each. May take a few days / week or so as very busy fixing cars this weekend :(

[bazzer]

@antares I totally agree out of the box the XR suspension is pretty damn good. I am about 85-90KG naked and I ran it with the preload on 2 people no luggage most of the time (without luggage) and it was definitely better than OK. I did about 30k miles on it standard. On the last trip I did though something went wrong with it and it was sticking and then freeing up when braking. Really weird.

I did see a lot of weird front tyre wear though, which strangely mates with the same sachs front forks on their R1200.

I have the remote preload adjuster on mine so when I add luggage I can easily add pre-load. Though obviously not as easy as a button.

Main thing though is I can now set it up how I like it. I can set the geometry for my weight and preference. Having some really nice damping is a bonus too.

I am a bit of a tinkerer too, hence the whole RR engine thing etc. I love a project :) I get it that its not for everyone and I kept the bike standard for ages and totally loved it.

It's a bit of a project of how good I can make it now. The KTM has taken over on the run of the mill day to day stuff now :-)

[Antares]

Originally Posted by bazzer

@antares I totally agree out of the box the XR suspension is pretty damn good. I am about 85-90KG naked and I ran it with the preload on 2 people no luggage most of the time (without luggage) and it was definitely better than OK. I did about 30k miles on it standard. On the last trip I did though something went wrong with it and it was sticking and then freeing up when braking. Really weird.

I did see a lot of weird front tyre wear though, which strangely mates with the same sachs front forks on their R1200.

I have the remote preload adjuster on mine so when I add luggage I can easily add pre-load. Though obviously not as easy as a button.

Main thing though is I can now set it up how I like it. I can set the geometry for my weight and preference. Having some really nice damping is a bonus too.

I am a bit of a tinkerer too, hence the whole RR engine thing etc. I love a project :) I get it that its not for everyone and I kept the bike standard for ages and totally loved it.

It's a bit of a project of how good I can make it now. The KTM has taken over on the run of the mill day to day stuff now :-)

I wasn't entirely happy with it either, as some of you may recall i had issues with wobbling early on, mixture of loose steering head bearings and dropping the triple on the forks about 10mm sorted it. Maybe not for everyone, but my XR handled amazingly, perfectly balanced on 1 rider + luggage and never throwing any shapes. Damping wasn't very smooth, it was a stiff bike, but it was more than bearable on the daily and on the plus side handled pushing it perfectly fine. As i said my 2 main features that are an absolute game changer is anti dive and anti squat. No manual will have that and they are game changers, grip under braking and acceleration is just immense...

[bazzer]

Yeah I meant 1 person plus luggage :)

And I experimented dropping the front too.