BMW R 1200 RS 2018 Owner's Manual
Rider's Manual (US Model)
R 1200 RS
BMW Motorrad
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 8 404 957
*01408404957*
Table of Contents
1 General instructions . ... 5
Overview .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Abbreviations and
symbols .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Technical data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Notice concerning current sta-
tus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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 cluster . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3 Displays . ... ... .. ... .. ... 19
Indicator and warning
lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Multifunction display (Full
view) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Multifunction display (Sport
view) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Multifunction display (Tour-
ing view) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Warning lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Service display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Fuel reserve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Oil level indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Outside temperature . . . . . . . . 41
Tire pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Upshift recommendation . . . . 43
Red speed range. . . . . . . . . . . . 43
4 Operation ... . .. .. .. .. .. .. 45
Ignition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Ignition with Key-
less Ride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Emergency on/off switch (kill
switch) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Hazard warning lights sys-
tem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Turn indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Multifunction display . . . . . . . . 56
Anti-theft alarm (DWA) . . . . . . 63
Antilock Brake System
(ABS). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Automatic Stability Control
(ASC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Electronic suspension ad-
justment (ESA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Riding mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Cruise-control system . . . . . . . 71
Heated handlebar grips . . . . . 73
Rider and passenger
seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
5 Setting .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. 77
Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Windshield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Headlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Clutch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Spring preload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Damping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
6 Riding .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. . 83
Safety information . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Starting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Running in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Shifting gears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Parking your motorcycle . . . . 93
Refueling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Securing motorcycle for
transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
7 Technology in
detail .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. . 99
General instructions . . . . . . . 100
Antilock Brake System
(ABS). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Automatic Stability Control
(ASC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Dynamic Traction Control
(DTC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Electronic suspension ad-
justment (ESA) . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Riding mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Tire pressure control
(RDC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Pro shift assistant . . . . . . . . . 110
8 Maintenance . . . .. .. .. . 113
General instructions . . . . . . . 114
Tool kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Front wheel stand . . . . . . . . . 114
Rear-wheel stand . . . . . . . . . 116
Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Brake system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Clutch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Coolant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Wheel rims and tyres. . . . . . 123
Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Muffler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Light sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Jump-starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Diagnostic connector. . . . . . 146
9 Accessories . .. .. .. . .. . 149
General instructions . . . . . . . 150
Onboard power
sockets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Topcase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Navigation system. . . . . . . . . 156
10 Care . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 163
Care products . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Washing your motorcy-
cle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Cleaning sensitive motorcy-
cle parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Paint care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Protective wax coating . . . . 166
Store motorcycle . . . . . . . . . . 166
Return motorcycle to
use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
11 Technical data . .. .. . 167
Troubleshooting chart . . . . . 168
Screw connections . . . . . . . . 169
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Clutch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Rear-wheel drive . . . . . . . . . . 175
Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Chassis and
suspension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Wheels and tires . . . . . . . . . . 177
Electrical system . . . . . . . . . . 179
Alarm system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Weights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Performance data . . . . . . . . . 182
12 Service . . .. .. .. .. . .. .. 183
Reporting safety
defects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
BMW Motorrad Service . . . 185
BMW Motorrad Mobility
Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Maintenance proce-
dures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Maintenance schedule . . . . 189
Maintenance confirma-
tions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Service confirmations . . . . . 204
13 Appendix . .. .. .. .. .. .. 207
Certificate for Electronic
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Certificate for Key-
less Ride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Certificate for Tire Pressure
Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
14 Index . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 213
General instructions
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Abbreviations and symbols . . . . . . . . . . 6
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Technical data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Notice concerning current status . . . . 7
1
5
z
General instructions
Overview
1
This Rider's Manual has been
designed to provide quick and
6
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.
You can find a first overview of
your motorcycle 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-
z
General instructions
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 in-
structions and precautionary measures. Non-compliance
can cause damage to the vehicle or accessories and warranty
claims may be denied as a result.
NOTICE Special informa-
tion on operating and inspecting 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 information.
Indicates the end of accessory or equipmentdependent information.
Tightening torque.
Technical data.
OE Optional extra.
BMW Motorrad optional
extras are already completely installed during
motorcycle production.
OA Optional accessory.
BMW Motorrad optional accessories can
be purchased and installed at your authorized BMW Motorrad
retailer.
Electronic immobilizer.
EWS
DWA
Anti-theft alarm.
ABS Anti-Lock Brake System.
ASC Automatic Stability Con-
trol.
DTC Dynamic Traction Con-
trol (optional equipment
only in combination with
Pro riding modes).
ESA Electronic Suspension
Adjustment.
TPC Tire Pressure Control
(TPC).
Equipment
When you ordered your BMW
motorcycle, you chose various
items of custom equipment. This
Rider's Manual describes optional
equipment (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 motorcycle comes with
equipment not described here,
you can find the descriptions in a
separate manual.
Technical data
All dimensions, weights and performance data contained this
Rider's Manual refer to the German DIN standards and comply
with their tolerance specifications.
Versions for individual countries
may differ.
Notice concerning current status
The high safety and quality standards of BMW motorcycles are
maintained by constant development work on design, equipment
and accessories. For this reason,
some aspects of your motorcycle
may vary from the descriptions in
this Rider's Manual. In addition,
BMW Motorrad cannot guarantee
1
7
z
General instructions
the total absence of errors. We
hope you will appreciate that no
1
claims can be recognized based
8
on the data, illustrations or descriptions in this manual.
z
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 cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2
9
z
Overviews
2
10
z
Overviews
General view, left side
1 Clutch fluid reservoir
( 122)
2 Fuel filler opening ( 94)
3 Seat lock ( 74)
4 Adjuster for rear damp-
ing (at the bottom on the
spring strut) ( 82)
2
11
z
Overviews
2
12
z
Overviews
General view, right side
1 Adjuster for spring preload,
rear ( 81)
2 Brake-fluid reservoir, front
( 120)
3 Vehicle identification num-
ber (on steering head at
right)
Type plate (on steering
head at left)
4 Coolant level indicator
( 122)
Coolant expansion tank
( 123)
5 Tyre inflation pressure ta-
ble
6 Oil fill location ( 117)
7 Engine oil level indicator
( 116)
8 Behind the side trim panel:
Battery ( 141)
Positive battery connection
point ( 139)
Diagnostic connector
( 146)
9 Brake-fluid reservoir, rear
( 121)
10 Power socket ( 150)
2
13
z
Overviews
Underneath seat
2
1 Fuses ( 145)
2 Rider's Manual (US Model)
14
3 Standard tool kit ( 114)
4 Load capacity table
z
Overviews
Multifunction switch, left
1 High-beam headlight and
headlight flasher ( 53)
2 with cruise control
Cruise-control system
( 71).
3 Hazard warning lights sys-
tem ( 54)
4 ABS ( 65)
ASC ( 66)
with Dynamic Traction
Control (DTC)
DTC ( 66)
5 with Dynamic ESA
Dynamic ESA adjustment
options ( 67)
6 with LED auxiliary head-
7 Turn indicators ( 55)
8 Horn
OA
light
LED auxiliary driving lamp
( 54).
OE
OE
OE
2
15
z
Overviews
9 Multifunction display
2
16
z
Overviews
( 56)
10 with preparation for navi-
gation system
Operating the navigation
system. ( 158)
Multi-Controller
OE
Multifunction switch, right
1 with heated grips
Operating heated grips
( 74).
2 Riding mode ( 69)
3 Emergency on/off switch
(kill switch) ( 52)
4 Starter button
Start engine ( 86).
OE
2
17
z
Overviews
Instrument cluster
2
1 Speedometer
2 Photosensor (for adjusting
18
z
Overviews
brightness of instrument
lighting)
with anti-theft alarm sys-
tem (DWA)
Alarm system LED
with Keyless Ride
Indicator light for radiooperated key
3 Indicator and warning lights
( 20)
4 Multifunction display
It is possible to switch between 3 different display
views:
Full view ( 21)
Sport view ( 22)
Touring view ( 23)
OE
OE
Displays
Indicator and warning lights . . . . . . . . . 20
Multifunction display (Full view) . . . . . 21
Multifunction display (Sport
view) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Multifunction display (Touring
view) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Warning lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Service display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Fuel reserve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Oil level indicator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Outside temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Tire pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Upshift recommendation . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Red speed range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3
19
z
Displays
Indicator and warning
3
lights
20
1 General warning light (in
conjunction with warning symbols on display)
( 24)
2 Neutral position (idling)
3 with LED auxiliary head-
z
Displays
4 High-beam headlamp
5 ASC ( 66)
6 Turn indicator, right
7 ABS ( 65)
8 Fuel reserve ( 40)
9 with cruise control
10 Turn indicator, left
OA
light
LED auxiliary driving lamp
( 54).
( 53)
with Dynamic Traction
Control (DTC)
DTC ( 66)
Cruise-control system
( 71).
OE
OE
Multifunction display (Full view)
1 Clock ( 59)
2 Tachometer
3 Trip distance
Onboard computer displays ( 56)
4 ESA setting ( 67)
5 Red speed range ( 43)
6 Fuel level
7 Outside temperature warn-
ing ( 41)
8 Riding mode ( 69)
9 Tire Pressure Control
Onboard computer displays ( 56)
10 Heated grip settings
( 74)
11 Gear indicator, shows "N"
in neutral (idling).
3
21
z
Displays
Multifunction display
3
(Sport view)
22
1 Clock ( 59)
2 Engine speed bar
3 Red speed range ( 43)
4 Engine speed
5 Fuel level
6 Heated grip settings
( 74)
7 Outside temperature warn-
z
Displays
ing ( 41)
8 Riding mode ( 69)
9 Onboard computer dis-
plays ( 56)
10 Gear indicator, shows "N"
in neutral (idling).
Multifunction display (Touring view)
1 Clock ( 59)
2 Speedometer
3 Fuel level
4 Outside temperature warn-
ing ( 41)
5 Riding mode ( 69)
6 Onboard computer dis-
plays ( 56)
7 Heated grip settings
( 74)
8 Gear indicator, shows "N"
in neutral (idling).
3
23
z
Displays
Warning lights
3
Display
24
Warnings are displayed with appropriate warning lights.
z
Displays
Warnings for which no separate warning light is available are
shown with the general warning
light 1 with up to three warning symbols at position 2, which
appear from right to left. These
are displayed sorted by priority. The highest priority is on the
right. The universal warning light
lights up in either yellow or red
depending on the urgency of the
warning.
If several warnings are active, the
three warnings with the highest
priority are displayed. You will
find an overview of the potential
warnings on the following pages.
Overview of warning indicators
Indicator and warning
Display text Meaning
lights
appears on the
display
lights up yellow appears on the
lights up yellow appears on the
lights up yellow appears on the
flashes red
lights up yellow appears on the
flashes yellow
display
display
display
appears on the
display
appears on the
display
display
appears on the
display
Outside temperature warning ( 29)
EWS active ( 29)
Radio-operated key outside reception
range ( 29)
Replace battery of radio-operated key
( 29)
Coolant temperature too high ( 30)
Engine has not yet reached operating
temperature ( 30)
Engine in emergency-operation mode
( 31)
Severe fault in the engine management
system ( 31)
3
25
z
Displays
Indicator and warning
3
lights
26
flashes red
lights up yellow appears on the
z
Displays
lights up yellow appears on the
lights up yellow appears on the
lights up yellow appears on the
lights up yellow appears on the
Display text Meaning
appears on the
display
appears on the
display
display
"--" or "-- --"
is indicated.
"--" or "-- --"
is indicated.
display
display
display
display
Low engine oil level ( 31)
Tire pressure is outside the approved
tolerance range ( 32)
Sensor faulty or system fault ( 32)
Transmission fault ( 33)
Battery of the tire pressure sensor weak
( 33)
Light failure ( 34)
Front light failure ( 34)
Rear light failure ( 35)
Indicator and warning
Display text Meaning
lights
appears on the
display
lights up yellow appears on the
lights up red appears on the
lights up yellow appears on the
lights up briefly in
yellow
flashes ABS self-diagnosis not completed
lights up
display
display
appears on the
display
display
appears on the
display
Onboard system voltage low ( 35)
Onboard system voltage critical ( 35)
Battery charging voltage insufficient
( 36)
DWA battery charge level low ( 36)
DWA battery drained ( 36)
Service overdue ( 37)
( 37)
ABS error ( 37)
3
27
z
Displays
Indicator and warning
3
lights
28
lights up
flashes rapidly ASC/DTC intervention ( 38)
Display text Meaning
ABS switched off ( 37)
z
Displays
flashes slowly ASC/DTC self-diagnosis not completed
lights up
lights up
lights up yellow appears on the
display
The gear indicator
flashes.
lights up Fuel down to reserve ( 39)
( 38)
ASC/DTC switched off ( 38)
ASC/DTC error ( 38)
ESA error ( 39)
The gear has not been programmed
( 39)
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