BMW K 1300 GT 2008 Owner's Manual
Welcome to BMW
We congratulate you on your
choice of a motorcycle from
BMW and welcome you to the
community of BMW riders.
Familiarise yourself with your new
motorcycle so that you can ride it
safely and confidently in all traffic
situations.
Please read this Rider's Manual
carefully before starting to use
your new BMW motorcycle. It
contains important information on
how to operate the controls and
how to make the best possible
use of all your BMW's technical
features.
In addition, it contains information
on maintenance and care to help
you maintain your motorcycle's
reliability and safety, as well as its
value.
If you have questions concerning
your motorcycle, your authorised
BMW Motorrad dealer will gladly
provide advice and assistance.
We hope that you will enjoy riding your BMW and that all your
journeys will be pleasant and
safe.
BMW Motorrad.
Table of Contents
You can also consult the index at
the end of this Rider's Manual if
you want to find a particular topic
or item of information.
1 General instructions . ... 5
Overview . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . 6
Abbreviations and
symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 6
Equipment . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 7
Technical data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Currency . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2 General views . .. ...... . .. 9
General view, left side . . . . . . . 11
General view, right side . . . . . 13
Handlebar fitting, left . . . . . . . . 14
Handlebar fitting, right . . . . .. . 16
Underneath the seat . . . . . . . . 19
Instrument cluster . . . . . . . .. . . 20
Headlight . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . 22
3 Status indicators . .. ... . 23
Standard status indicat-
ors . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 24
Status indicators with on-
board computer . . . . . .. . . .. . . 25
Status indicators with
tyre-pressure monitoring
(RDC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 26
Status indicators with grip
heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 26
Status indicators with seat
heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 27
Telltale light with cruise con-
trol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . 27
Standard warnings . . . . . . . .. . 27
Warnings issued by the on-
board computer . . . . . .. . . .. . . 34
ABS warnings . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . 36
ASC warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
RDC warnings . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . 40
Anti-theft alarm warnings. . . . 45
4 Operation .. .. ... .. .. ... . . 49
Ignition switch and steering
lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 51
Electronic immobiliser
(EWS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 52
Clock . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Odometer and
tripmeters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Multifunction display . . . . .. . . 55
On-board computer . . . . . . . . . 55
Tyre pressure monitoring
RDC . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 59
Turn indicators . . . . . .. . . .. . . . 61
Hazard warning flashers . . . . . 61
Emergency off switch (kill
switch) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Grip heating . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . 62
Seat heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Automatic Stability Control
ASC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 65
Cruise-control system . . . . . . . 66
Seat height .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Windscreen . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 69
Clutch . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 70
Handlebars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Mirrors . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Spring preload . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 71
Damping . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . 72
Electronic Suspension Ad-
justment ESA . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 73
Tyres . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 75
Headlight . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . 75
Stowage compartment . . . . . . 77
Front and rear seats. . . . . . . . . 77
Helmet holder . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 79
5 Riding ........ .. .. ... .. .. . 81
Safety instructions . . . . . . . . . . 82
Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 84
Starting. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Running in . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 87
Parking your motorcycle . . . . 89
Refuelling . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Securing motorcycle for
transportation . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . 92
6 Engineering details.. .. . 93
Brake system with BMW
Motorrad Integral ABS . . . . .. 94
Electronic engine management with BMW Motorrad
ASC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 96
Tyre pressure monitoring
RDC . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Electronic Suspension Ad-
justment ESA II . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
7 Accessories . ... .. .. ... 101
General instructions . . . . . .. 102
Power socket . . . . . .. . . . . . . 102
Luggage . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . 103
Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 104
Topcase. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 106
8 Maintenance . ...... .. . 109
General instructions . . . . . .. 110
Toolkit. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Brake system . . . . . .. . . . . . . 113
Brake pads . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 113
Brake fluid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Clutch . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Tyres . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . 118
Rims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . 118
Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . 118
Front-wheel stand .. . . .. . . . 127
Bulbs . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 128
Jump starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Battery . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
9 Care ... .. .. ... .. .. ... . .. 139
Care products . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Washing motorcycle. . . . . . . 140
Cleaning easily damaged
components .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Paint care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Protective wax coating . . . . 142
Laying up motorcycle . . . . . 142
Restoring motorcycle to
use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . 142
10 Technical data . .. ... 143
Troubleshooting chart . . . . . 144
Threaded fasteners . . . . . . . 145
Engine . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 147
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 148
Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Clutch . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Transmission . . .. . . .. . . . . . . 149
Rear-wheel drive . . . . . . . . . . 150
Running gear . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 150
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 152
Wheels and tyres. . . . . . .. . . 152
Electrics . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 154
Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 155
Weights . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 155
Riding specifications . . . . . . 156
11 Service ... .. .. ... .. .. . 157
BMW Motorrad service. . . . 158
BMW Motorrad service
quality . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
BMW Motorrad Service
Card: on-the-spot break-
down assistance . . . . . . . . . . 158
BMW Motorrad service
network . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 159
Maintenance work. . . . . . . . . 159
Confirmation of mainten-
ance work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Confirmation of service . . . . 165
General instructions
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Abbreviations and symbols . . . . . . . . . . 6
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Technical data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Currency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1
5
z
General instructions
Overview
1
Chapter 2 of this Rider's Manual will provide you with an initial
6
overview of your motorcycle. All
maintenance and repair work on
the motorcycle is documented in
Chapter 11. This record of the
maintenance work you have had
performed on your motorcycle is
a precondition for generous treatment of goodwill claims.
When the time comes to sell
your BMW, please remember
to hand over this Rider's Manual; it is an important part of the
motorcycle.
z
General instructions
Abbreviations and symbols
Indicates warnings that you
must comply with for reasons of your safety and the safety
of others, and to protect your
motorcycle against damage.
Specific instructions on
how to operate, control, adjust or look after items of equipment on the motorcycle.
Indicates the end of an
item of information.
Instruction.
Result of an activity.
Reference to a page with
more detailed information.
Indicates the end of a
passage relating to specific accessories or items
of equipment.
Tightening torque.
Item of technical data.
OE Optional extra
The motorcycles are assembled complete with
all the BMW optional extras originally ordered.
OA Optional accessory
You can obtain optional accessories through
your authorised BMW
Motorrad dealer; optional
accessories have to be
retrofitted to the motorcycle.
Electronic immobiliser
EWS
(Elektronische Wegfahrsicherung).
DWA
Anti-theft alarm (Diebstahlwarnanlage)
Anti-lock brake system
ABS
ASC Automatic Stability Con-
trol.
ESA Electronic Suspension
Adjustment
Electronic Suspension
Adjustment.
Tyre pressure control
RDC
(Reifendruck-Control)
Equipment
When you ordered your BMW
motorcycle, you chose various
items of custom equipment. This
Rider's Manual describes optional extras (OE) offered by BMW
and selected optional accessories (OA). This explains why the
manual may also contain descriptions of equipment which
you have not ordered. Please
note, too, that your motorcycle
might not be exactly as illustrated in this manual on account
of country-specific differences.
If your BMW was supplied with
equipment not described in
this Rider's Manual, you will
find these features described in
separate manuals.
Technical data
All dimensions, weights and
power ratings stated in the
Rider's Manual are quoted to the
standards and comply with the
tolerance requirements of the
Deutsche Institut für Normung
e.V. Versions for individual
countries may differ.
Currency
The high safety and quality
standards of BMW motorcycles
are maintained by constant
development work on designs,
equipment and accessories.
Because of this, your motorcycle
may differ from the information
supplied in the Rider's Manual.
Nor can BMW Motorrad entirely
rule out errors and omissions.
We hope you will appreciate that
no claims can be entertained on
the basis of the data, illustrations
or descriptions in this manual.
1
7
z
General instructions
1
8
z
General instructions
General views
General view, left side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
General view, right side . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Handlebar fitting, left . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Handlebar fitting, right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Underneath the seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Instrument cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Headlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2
9
z
General views
2
10
z
General views
General view, left side
1 Clutch-fluid reservoir
( 117)
2 Adjuster for headlight
beam throw (underneath
the instrument cluster)
( 76)
3 Seat lock (underneath the
rear light) ( 77)
4 Adjuster for spring preload,
rear ( 71)
5 Adjuster for damping char-
acteristic, rear suspension
( 72)
6 Power socket ( 102)
2
11
z
General views
2
12
z
General views
General view, right side
1 Fuel filler neck ( 90)
2 Battery compartment
( 137)
3 Brake-fluid reservoir, front
( 113)
4 Storage compartment
( 77)
5 Vehicle identification num-
ber (on side panel, front
right)
6 Type plate (on lower rear
cross-tube)
2
13
z
General views
Handlebar fitting, left
2
1 High-beam headlight and
14
z
General views
headlight flasher ( 60)
2 with cruise control sys-
3 Hazard warning flashers
4 Windscreen control
5 Operation of the flashing
6 Horn
7 with Electronic Suspen-
8 with Automatic Stability
OE
tem
Cruise control system control ( 66)
( 61)
( 69)
turn indicators ( 61)
sion Adjustment (ESA
OE
II)
Operating ESA ( 73)
OE
Control
Operating ASC ( 65)
9 Operating the odometer
( 53)
with on-board com-
OE
puter
Operating the on-board
computer ( 55)
2
15
z
General views
Handlebar fitting, right
2
1 with heated handlebar
16
2 with seat heating
3 Emergency off switch (kill
4 Starter button ( 84)
z
General views
OE
grips
Grip heating control
( 62)
Front seat heating control
( 63)
switch) ( 62)
OE
2
17
z
General views
2
18
z
General views
Underneath the seat
1 Rider's Manual
2 Payload table (at the bot-
tom of the rider's manual)
3 Table of tyre pressures
4 Brake-fluid reservoir, rear
( 116)
5 with seat heating
Rear seat heating control
( 64)
6 Storage for puncture repair
kit (OA)
7 Toolkit ( 110)
8 Helmet holder ( 79).
9 Engine-oil filler neck
( 112)
Oil dipstick ( 111)
10 Front-seat height adjust-
ment ( 69)
OE
2
19
z
General views
Instrument cluster
2
1 Speedometer
2 Telltale lights ( 24)
20
3 Rev. counter
4 Anti-theft alarm telltale light
(OE, see the instructions
for use of the anti-theft
alarm)
5 Operation of the clock
( 53)
Adjust the dimmer ( 55)
6 Multifunction display
z
General views
( 24)
7 Operating the odometer
( 53)
8 Ambient-light brightness
sensor (for adapting the
brightness of the instrument lighting)
9 with cruise control sys-
OE
tem
Telltale light of cruise control ( 66)
The instrument-cluster
lighting has automatic day
and night switchover.
2
21
z
General views
Headlight
2
1 Side light
2 Low-beam headlight
22
3 High-beam headlight
z
General views
Status indicators
Standard status indicators . . . . . . . . . . 24
Status indicators with on-board
computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Status indicators with tyre-pressure
monitoring (RDC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Status indicators with grip heat-
ing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Status indicators with seat heat-
ing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Telltale light with cruise control . . . . . 27
Standard warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Warnings issued by the on-board
computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
ABS warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
ASC warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
RDC warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Anti-theft alarm warnings . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3
23
z
Status indicators
Standard status
3
indicators
24
Multifunction display
1 Fuel capacity ( 24)
2 Gear indicator ( 24)
z
Status indicators
3 Coolant temperature
( 24)
4 Clock ( 53)
5 Odometer
6 Trip meter ( 53)
Telltale lights
1 Flashing turn indicators,
left
2 High-beam headlight
3 Idle
4 Flashing turn indicators,
right
Fuel capacity
The column below the fuel-
pump symbol indicates the
remaining quantity of fuel.
When the fuel in the tank is
topped up the gauge briefly
shows the original level, before
the reading is updated.
Gear indicator
The gear engaged or N
for neutral appears on the
display.
If no gear is engaged, the
'neutral' telltale light also
lights up.
Coolant temperature
The column below the temperature symbol indicates
the coolant temperature.
Service-due indicator
If the next service is due in less
than one month, the date for the
next service is shown briefly after
the Pre-Ride Check completes.
The month and year are shown
accompanied by the wording
SERVICE. In this example, the
display shows "March 2007".
If the motorcycle covers long distances in the course of the year,
under certain circumstances it
might be necessary to have it
serviced at a date in advance
of the forecast due date. If the
countdown distance to the odometer reading at which a service
will be due is less than 1000 km,
the distance is counted down in
steps of 100 km and is shown
briefly after the Pre-Ride Check
completes.
If service is overdue, the date or
the odometer reading is accompanied by the 'General' warning
light showing yellow. The word
"Service" remains permanently
visible.
If the sevice-due indicator
appears more than a month
before the service date, the date
saved in the instrument cluster
must be adjusted. This situation
can occur if the battery was disconnected for a prolonged period
of time.
If you want to have the date set
consult a specialist workshop,
preferably an authorised BMW
Motorrad dealer.
Status indicators with on-board computer
with on-board computer
1 Status-indicator panel of
the on-board computer
( 55)
OE
3
25
z
Status indicators
Status indicators
3
with tyre-pressure
monitoring (RDC)
26
Display option 1
with tyre pressure monitoring
OE
(RDC)
without on-board computer
z
Status indicators
1 with tyre pressure monit-
oring (RDC)
Tyre-pressure readout
( 59)
The figures shown in the
tyre-pressure readings are
temperature-compensated (see
OE
the section entitled "Engineering
details").
Display option 2
with tyre pressure monitoring
OE
(RDC)
OE
with on-board computer
1 with tyre pressure monit-
oring (RDC)
Tyre-pressure readout
( 59)
The figures shown in the
tyre-pressure readings are
temperature-compensated (see
OE
OE
the section entitled "Engineering
details").
Status indicators with grip heating
with heated handlebar grips
1 Display of the heating
stages ( 62)
OE
Status indicators with seat heating
with seat heating
1 Display of the heating
stages ( 63)
OE
Telltale light with cruise control
with cruise control system
OE
1 Telltale light of cruise con-
trol
Standard warnings
Mode of presentation
Warnings are indicated by 'General' warning light 1 showing
in combination with one of the
warning symbols 2. The 'General' warning light shows red or
yellow, depending on the urgency of the warning. If two or
more warnings occur at the same
time, all the appropriate warning
lights and warning symbols appear. The status of the 'General'
warning light matches the most
urgent warning.
3
27
z
Status indicators
The possible warnings are listed
on the next page.
3
28
z
Status indicators
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