Let's look at the Electronic Suspension Adjustment (my favorite part of this ride).
"Dynamic ESA enables you to adjust your motorcycle's suspension to suit the load and the road conditions." - BMW Owners Manual
You can actually adjust the spring preload and the dampening all in the dashboard. But you cannot adjust preload while riding. There are two modes: Road and Dynamic. I had it set to Dynamic the whole time, and I didn't even realize I could adjust preload. But since this was a borrowed bike I really didn't want to touch the settings so I left them alone.
I could tell that it was definitely set too cushy in the corners, because it felt far too 'floaty' going through sweepers. Otherwise it felt smooth, stable and easy to push through the corners.
In addition to various suspension modes, the Baron also had additional features including but not limited to:
- ABS
- tire pressure monitoring
- heated grips (multi level)
- cruise control (which I never used)
- electronic suspension adjustment (!!!! :D)
- keyless ignition (so strange not needing a key, but so damn handy)
- all you have to do is have the fancy keyfob in your pocket when you're ready to press the ignition button and voila! it starts right up.
- digital gear indicators
- automatic turn signal cancellation (above ~15mph)
- digital readouts of almost everything
- the only readout not digital was the Speedometer. Which seems silly at this point, with everything digital why not add the Speedo as well? Even Goldie has a digital readout.
Overall, such a ridiculously fancy bike. So much technology. By far, the most advanced bike I've ever thrown a leg over.
One of the main features I used were the heated grips. Wheeee! I didn't anticipate chilly temperatures, but the morning of Saturday, July 23rd it was Mid to High 40s in Lake Tahoe on the north side. Luckily the heated grips saved me because I didn't expect that at all.