If BMW Motorrad is hurting from the ongoing economic crisis, one would never know it. The German marque is in a mode of continual innovation and the latest from them is an evolution of BMW's Electronic Suspension Adjustment (ESA) – it's called Dynamic Damping Control.
DDC = Active Suspension
Dynamic Damping Control (DDC) is another aspect of the BMW Motorrad drive for innovation in two areas: safety and a superior ride. A form of DDC has been implemented successfully in the four-wheeled part of the company, so it was only natural for the motorcycle designers and engineers at BMW Motorrad to figure out how to apply the technology for BMW motorcycles.
Though it should be termed as semi-active suspension, DDC does actually change the damping rates for both ends of the motorcycle based on data it gathers from the many sensors already spread across the chassis. DDC pulls data from the traction control (DTC) and anti-lock braking (ABS) systems using the bike's CAN-bus spinal column to get a read on environmental conditions such as traction or lack of, lean angle, and rider control inputs. This allows the motorcycle's suspension to quickly react when the rider is braking, accelerating, cornering, or a combination thereof in any weather or surface condition.
Damping is Automatic and Mapped
BMW Motorrad's DDC uses the data it has collected and then alters the damping within the shock absorbers at either end of the motorcycle accordingly using high-spec electrically actuated proportional damping valves. The details can be rather technical, so please bear through this as the result is most certainly worth it.
First, there are two separately controlled processes divided between when the springs are compressing or in rebound. Within those circuits, the electrically controlled damping valves utilize a variable ring gap to adjust the flow of the damper oil within the suspension; damping force is thus changed in milliseconds. DDC is superior to the BMW Motorrad ESA II as it uses optimal damper tuning characteristic maps instead of simple curves.
BMW Dynamic Damping
Furthermore, as with BMW Motorrad's ESA and selectable driving modes, three different configurations are available: Comfort, Normal and Sport. The rider chooses the style of riding which s/he wishes to take on that day, selects the ride mode, and the DDC will handle the bumps and keep the bike's tires gripping the tarmac as much as possible for improved drive and control.
Dynamic Damping Control dynamically adjusts the suspension damping characteristics at fore and aft to each and every situation based on your chosen mode and the many sensor readings taken from the bike's systems. DDC can make the tiniest changes almost instantly and thus alter the suspension's reaction to any situation the rider encounters in any style s/he is riding either on the road or on the circuit.
DDC Production?
Unfortunately, all BMW Motorrad will say at this time about a potential implementation of the Dynamic Damping Control system is that it could happen at some point in the "near future." That's not much information, especially when you consider how quickly the marque conceptualized, designed, engineered and built the S 1000 RR. These people, the BMW Motorrad employees who work on such projects, they mean business. And, they mean it on many levels.
BMW Motorrad is taking an important and necessary step for any business suffering through rough economic waters; the company is working extra hard to be far better at what they do, how they do it, and at making the best products for their customers. This Great Recession will end one day, and BMW Motorrad will have some form of Dynamic Damping Control on even better BMW motorcycles, thus making BMW stronger than when it all started. That's the way you run a motorcycle company.
