BMW R 1200 GS 2018 Owner's Manual

4.5 (2)

BMW Motorrad

Rider's Manual (US Model)

R 1200GS

Motorcycle/Retailer Data

Motorcycle Data

Model

Vehicle identification number

Color number

Initial registration

License plate

Retailer Data

Contact in Service

Ms./Mr.

Phone number

Retailer's address/phone number (company stamp)

Welcome to BMW

Congratulations on choosing a motorcycle from BMW Motorrad and welcome to the community of BMW motorcycle owners and riders. Familiarize yourself with your new motorcycle so that you can ride it safely and confidently in all highway traffic situations.

About this Rider's Manual

Please read this Rider's Manual carefully before starting to use your new BMW. It contains important information on how to operate the controls and how to get the most benefit from your BMW's advanced 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.

Documentation confirming performance of scheduled maintenance is a precondition for generous handling of out-of-warranty claims and goodwill warranty treatment.

Should you want to sell your BMW one day, please also remember to turn over the Ride's Manual to the new owner. it is an important part of your motorcycle.

Suggestions and complaints

If you have any questions concerning your motorcycle, your authorized BMW Motorrad retailer is always happy to provide advice and assistance.

We wish you many miles of safe and enjoyable riding on your BMW

BMW Motorrad.

01 40 8 406 477

*01408406477*

Table of Contents

1 General instructions .... 5

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Abbreviations and

symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Technical data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Notice concerning current status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2 Overviews ................ 9

General view, left side . . . . . . . 11 General view, right side . . . . . 13 Underneath seat . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Multifunction switch, left . . . . 15 Multifunction switch,

right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Instrument panel . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

3 Displays ................. 19

Indicator and warning

lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Multifunction display . . . . . . . . 22 Warning symbols in the

display panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Warning lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

4 Operation................ 49

Steering and ignition

lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Ignition with Key-

less Ride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Emergency on/off switch (kill switch) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Hazard warning lights sys-

tem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Turn indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Multifunction display . . . . . . . . 59 Antilock Brake System

(ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Automatic Stability Control (ASC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Dynamic Traction Control

(DTC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Electronic chassis and suspension adjustment

(DESA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Riding mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 PRO riding mode . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Cruise control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Hill Start Control . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Anti-theft alarm (DWA) . . . . . . 82 Heated handlebar grips . . . . . 85 Rider and passenger

seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

5 Setting ................... 89

Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Headlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Wind shield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Clutch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Handlebars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Spring preload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Damping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

6 Riding .................... 97

Safety information . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Observe checklist . . . . . . . . . 100 Always before riding off . . . 100 At every third refueling

stop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Starting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Running in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Off-road riding . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Shifting gears . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Parking your motorcy-

cle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Refueling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Securing motorcycle for transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

7 Technology in de-

tail...................... 117

General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Antilock Brake System

(ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Automatic Stability Control (ASC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Dynamic Traction Control

(DTC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Dynamic ESA . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Riding mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Tire pressure control (RDC/TPC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Shift assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Hill Start Control . . . . . . . . . . 129

8 Maintenance .......... 131

General instructions . . . . . . . 132 Tool kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Service tool kit . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Front wheel stand . . . . . . . . . 133 Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Brake system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Clutch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Coolant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Rims and tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Air filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Light sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Jump-starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 Data link connector . . . . . . . 162

9 Accessories ........... 165

General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Onboard power

sockets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 Topcase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170 Navigation system . . . . . . . . . 176

10 Care .................. 181

Care products . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182 Washing your motorcy-

cle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182 Cleaning sensitive motorcy-

cle parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 Paint care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184 Protective wax coating . . . . 184 Store motorcycle . . . . . . . . . . 184 Return motorcycle to

use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

11 Technical data ...... 187

Troubleshooting chart . . . . . 188 Threaded fasteners . . . . . . . 189 Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 Clutch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194 Rear-wheel drive . . . . . . . . . . 195 Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 Suspension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 Wheels and tires . . . . . . . . . . 199 Electrical system . . . . . . . . . . 200

Alarm system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 Weights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 Performance data . . . . . . . . . 205

12 Service ............... 207

Reporting safety

defects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 BMW Motorrad Service . . . 209 BMW Motorrad Mobility Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 Maintenance proce-

dures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 BMW Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 Maintenance schedule . . . . 213 Maintenance confirma-

tions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214 Service confirmations . . . . . 228

13 Appendix............. 231

Certificate for Electronic Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 Certificate for Key-

less Ride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234 Certificate for Tire Pressure Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

14 Index ................. 237

General instructions

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Abbreviations and symbols . . . . . . . . . . 6 Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Technical data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Notice concerning current status . . . . 7

5 instructionsGeneral

General instructions

Overview

This Rider's Manual has been designed to provide quick and efficient orientation. The quickest way for you to find information on specific topics is to consult the comprehensive index at the back of the manual. If you would like to start with a quick overview of your motorcycle, this information has been provided in chapter 2. All maintenance and repair work carried out on your motorcycle will be documented in Chapter 12. Documentation confirming performance of scheduled maintenance is a precondition for generous handling of out-of- warranty claims and goodwill warranty treatment.

When the time comes to sell your BMW, remember to hand over this Rider's Manual; it is an important part of the motorcycle.

Abbreviations and symbols

CAUTION Hazard with low risk. Failure to avoid

this hazard can result in minor or moderate injury.

WARNING Hazard with moderate risk. Failure to avoid this hazard can result in

death or serious injury.

DANGER Hazard with high risk. Failure to avoid this

hazard results in death or serious injury.

ATTENTION Special instructions and precautionary measures. Non-compliance

can cause damage to the vehicle or accessories and warranty claims may be denied as a result.

NOTICE Special information on operating and in-

specting your motorcycle as well

as maintenance and adjustment procedures.

Indicates the end of an item of information.

	Instruction.
	Result of an activity.
	Reference to a page with
	more detailed informa-
	tion.
	Indicates the end of ac-
	cessory or equipment-
	dependent information.
	Tightening torque.
	Technical data.
NV	National-market version.

OE	Optional extra.
	BMW Motorrad optional
	extras are already com-
	pletely installed during
	motorcycle production.
OA	Optional accessory.
	BMW Motorrad op-
	tional accessories can
	be purchased and in-
	stalled at your autho-
	rized BMW Motorrad
	retailer.
ABS	Anti-Lock Brake System.
ASC	Automatic Stability Con-
	trol.
D-	Electronic chassis and
ESA	suspension adjustment.
DTC	Dynamic Traction Con-
	trol (optional equipment
	only in combination with
	Pro riding modes).

DWA Anti-theft alarm.

EWS Electronic immobilizer.

TPC Tire Pressure Control

(TPC).

Equipment

Technical data

All dimensions, weights and outputs in the Rider's Manual relate to the German DIN standards and comply with their tolerance specifications. Versions for individual countries may differ.

When you ordered your BMW	Notice concerning
motorcycle, you chose various	current status
items of custom equipment. This	current status
Rider's Manual describes optional	The outstanding levels of safety
equipment (OE) offered by BMW	and quality furnished by every
and selected optional accessories	BMW motorcycle are the result
(OA). This explains why the man-	of ongoing advanced develop-
ual may also contain descriptions	ment focusing on continuous
of equipment which you have not	improvement in design and en-
ordered. Please note, too, that	gineering as well as equipment
your motorcycle might not be ex-	and accessories. For this reason,
actly as illustrated in this manual	some aspects of your motorcycle
on account of country-specific	may vary from the descriptions in
differences.	this Rider's Manual. In addition,
If your motorcycle comes with	BMW Motorrad cannot guarantee
equipment not described here,	the total absence of errors. For
you can find the descriptions in a	this reason BMW is unable to
separate manual.	recognize any claims stemming

7 instructionsGeneral

1	from the information, illustrations
1	and descriptions in this manual.
8
General instructions

Overviews

General view, left side. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 General view, right side . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Underneath seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Multifunction switch, left . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Multifunction switch, right . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Instrument panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

9 Overviews

Overviews

General view, left side

1Fuel filler opening ( 111)

2Seat lock ( 86)

3Adjuster for rear damping (at the bottom on the spring strut) ( 94)

Overviews

Overviews

General view, right side

1without Dynamic ESAOE Adjuster for spring preload, rear ( 93).

2Air cleaner (under center fairing panel) ( 149)

3Brake-fluid reservoir, front ( 137)

4Height adjuster for windshield ( 91)

5Power socket ( 166)

6Vehicle identification number (on the steering head) Type plate (on frame at front right)

7Coolant level indicator ( 139)

Coolant tank ( 140)

8Oil fill location ( 135)

9Engine oil level indicator ( 134)

10Behind the side panel: Battery ( 156)

Positive battery connection point ( 155)

Diagnostic connector ( 162)

11Brake-fluid reservoir, rear ( 138)

Overviews

Underneath seat

1Standard tool kit ( 132)

2Rider's Manual (US Model)

3Tire inflation pressure table

4Load capacity table

5Adjuster for the rider's seat height ( 87)

6Fuses ( 160)

Multifunction switch, left

1Headlight flasher and highbeam headlight ( 56)

2with cruise controlOE Cruise-control system ( 79).

3Hazard warning lights system ( 58)

4ABS ( 66) ASC ( 67)

with riding modes ProOE DTC ( 68)

5with Dynamic ESAOE Dynamic ESA adjustment options ( 69)

6with LED auxiliary headlightOA

LED auxiliary driving lamp ( 57).

7Turn indicators ( 58)

8Horn

9Multifunction display ( 59)

Overviews

10with preparation for navigation systemOE

Operating the navigation system ( 177) Multi-Controller

Overviews

Multifunction switch, right

1with heated gripsOE Heated handlebar grips ( 85).

2Riding mode ( 72)

3Emergency on/off switch (kill switch) ( 56)

4Starter button

Starting engine ( 101).

Overviews

Instrument panel

1Speedometer

2Tachometer

3Photosensor (for adjusting brightness of instrument lighting)

with anti-theft alarm system (DWA)OE

Alarm system LED Alarm signal ( 83)

with Keyless RideOE Indicator light for radiooperated key

Ignition with Keyless Ride ( 53).

4Indicator and warning lights ( 20)

5Multifunction display ( 22)

Displays

Indicator and warning lights . . . . . . . . . 20 Multifunction display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Warning symbols in the display

panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Warning lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Displays

Indicator and warning lights

1with cruise controlOE Cruise-control system ( 79).

2Neutral position (idling)

3ASC ( 41)

	with riding modes ProOE
	DTC ( 41)
4	Turn indicators
5	ABS ( 40)
6	General warning light, in
	conjunction with warn-
	ing symbols on display
	( 24)
7	with anti-theft alarm sys-
	tem (DWA)OE

Alarm signal ( 83) with Keyless RideOE

Indicator light for radiooperated key

Ignition with Keyless Ride ( 53).

8	High-beam headlamp		3
9	( 56)		3
	with LED auxiliary head-
	with LED auxiliary head-		21
	lightOA		21
	LED auxiliary driving lamp
	( 57).
10	Fuel reserve	( 44)
			Displays

Displays

Multifunction display

1Fuel fill level indicator

2Upshift recommendation ( 45)

3Gear indicator display, "N" indicates "neutral".

4with Hill Start ControlOE Using Hill Start Control

( 81).

5Odometer ( 59)

6Service display (mainte-

nance interval) ( 209)

7Warning symbols ( 24)

8Onboard computer

with Dynamic ESAOE Dynamic ESA adjustment options ( 69)

9with heated gripsOE Heated handlebar grips ( 85).

10Riding mode ( 72)

11Clock ( 62)

12Outside temperature warning ( 31)

Warning symbols in the display panel

1with Tire Pressure Monitor (TPM)OE

Tire pressure ( 36)

2EWS ( 31)

3Coolant temperature ( 34)

4Engine oil level ( 33)

5Electronic engine management ( 34)

6Vehicle voltage ( 32)

7Warnings ( 24)

Displays

Warning lights

Displays

Warnings are displayed with appropriate warning lights.

You will find an overview of the potential warnings on the following pages.

Warnings for which no separate warning light is provided are signaled by the general warning light 1 and are accompanied by a warning symbol in area 2 or by a warning notice in area 3. The universal warning light lights up in either yellow or red depending on the urgency of the warning.

The universal warning light lights up for the most urgent warning.

Overview of warning indicators
Indicator and warning	Display text	Meaning
lights

	Ice crystal symbol	Outside temperature warning		( 31)
	is displayed.

General warning	EWS warning sym-	Electronic immobilizer is active		( 31)
light lights up yel-	bol is displayed.
low.

General warning	Key fob transmitter	Radio-operated key outside reception
light lights up yel-	warning symbol is	range ( 32)
low.	displayed.

General warning	!KEYLO is dis-	Replace battery of radio-operated key
light lights up yel-	played.	( 32)
low.

General warning	Symbol for vehicle	Vehicle voltage too low	( 32)
light shows red.	voltage is displayed.

	Oil can symbol is	Engine oil level too low	( 33)
	displayed.

OILLVL CHECK

Displays

is displayed.

Displays

Indicator and warning	Display text	Meaning
lights

General warning	Temperature sym-	Coolant temperature too high ( 34)
light shows red.	bol is displayed.

General warning	Engine symbol	Engine in emergency-operation mode
light lights up yel-	appears on the	( 34)
low.	display.

General warning	Engine symbol	Severe fault in the engine management
light flashes yellow.	flashes.	system ( 35)

General warning	!LAMPF,	Light source defect ( 35)
light lights up yel-	!LAMPR or
low.	!LAMPS is
	displayed.

	!DWALO is dis-	Anti-theft alarm battery low charge
	played.	( 36)

General warning	!DWA is displayed.	Anti-theft alarm system battery
light lights up yel-		discharged ( 36)
low.

Indicator and warning	Display text	Meaning
lights

General warning	Tire symbol with	Tire inflation pressure is at limit of ap-
light lights up yel-	one or two arrows	proved range ( 37)
low.	is displayed. The
	critical tire-infla-
	tion pressure also
	flashes.

General warning	Tire symbol with	Tire inflation pressure is outside ap-
light flashes red.	one or two arrows	proved range ( 38)
	is displayed. The
	critical tire-infla-
	tion pressure also
	flashes.

General warning	The tire symbol	Sensor faulty or system fault ( 38)
light lights up yel-	with one or two
low.	arrows appears.

	"--" or "-- --"	Transmission error ( 39)
	is indicated.

General warning	!RDC is displayed.	Battery of tire-inflation pressure sensor
light lights up yel-		weak ( 39)
low.