BMW R 1200 GS ADVENTURE Installation and maintenance manual

BMW Motorrad
The Ultimate Riding
Machine
Rider's Manual (US-Model)
R 1200 GS Adventure

Motorcycle/Retailer Data
Motorcycle data
Model
Vehicle Identification Number
Color number
First registration
Registration number
Retailer Data
Contact in Service
Ms./Mr.
Phone number
Retailer's address/phone number
(company stamp)

Welcome to BMW
We congratulate you on your
choice of a motorcycle from
BMW and welcome you to the
community of BMW riders.
Familiarize yourself with your
new motorcycle so that you
can ride it safely and confi-
dently in all traffic situations.
Please read this Rider's Man-
ual carefully before starting
to use your new BMW motor-
cycle. It contains important
information on how to oper-
ate the controls and how to
make the best possible use
of all your BMW's technical
features.
In addition, it contains infor-
mation on maintenance and
care to help you maintain your
motorcycle's reliability and
safety, as well as its value.
If you have questions con-
cerning your motorcycle, your
authorized BMW Motorrad re-
tailer will gladly provide advice
and assistance.
We wish you many miles of
safe and enjoyable riding
BMW Motorrad.

Table of Contents
You can also use the index at
the end of this Rider's Manual
to find a specific topic.
1 General instructions . . . 5
Overview . . ............... 6
Abbreviations and
symbols . . . ............... 6
Equipment ............... 7
Technical data ........... 7
Currency . . ............... 7
2 Overviews . . ........... 9
General view, left side . . . 11
General view, right
side..................... 13
Underneath seat . . . . . . . . . 14
Left handlebar fitting . . . . . 15
Handlebar fitting, right . . . 16
Instrument cluster . . . . . . . 17
Headlight . .............. 18
3 Status indicators . . . . . 19
Multifunction display . . . . . 20
Warning and indicator
lights . . . . . .............. 20
ABS warning lightOE ..... 20
Function indicators . . . . . . 20
General warning
indicators . .............. 21
Warning indicators of Tire
Pressure Control
TPCOE .................. 28
ABS warning
indicatorsOE ............. 32
ASC warning
indicatorsOE ............. 34
4 Operation . . . .......... 39
Ignition switch and
steering lock . . .......... 40
Electronic immobilizer
EWS.................... 41
Hazard warning
flashers . . . .............. 42
Odometer and
tripmeters . .............. 43
Tire Pressure Control
TPCOE .................. 44
Clock . . . . . .............. 45
Onboard computerOE .... 46
BMW Motorrad Integral
ABSOE .................. 49
Automatic Stability Control
ASCOE .................. 50
Emergency ON/OFF
switch . . . . .............. 52
Heated hand gripsOE ..... 53
Clutch . . . . .............. 53
Brakes . . . . .............. 54
Shift lever . .............. 56
Lights . . . . . .............. 56
Headlight . .............. 58
Turn indicators .......... 59
Front and rear seats . . . . . 60
Helmet holder . .......... 62
Mirrors . . . . .............. 62
Adjusting windshield . . . . . 63
Spring preload .......... 63

Shock absorbers . . . . . . . . 65
Tires . . . ................. 66
5 Riding . . . . . . .......... 69
Safety instructions . . . . . . . 70
Checklist . . . . . . .......... 72
Starting ................. 72
Running in . . . . .......... 75
Driving offroad . .......... 76
Parking your
motorcycle . . . . .......... 76
Refueling . . . . . . .......... 78
Tire Pressure Control
TPCOE .................. 79
General brake system. . . . 80
Brake system with BMW
Motorrad Integral
ABSOE .................. 81
Engine management with
BMW Motorrad ASCOE ... 84
6 Accessories .......... 87
General instructions . . . . . 88
Onboard socket . . . . . . . . . 88
Luggage . . . . . . .......... 89
CaseOA ................. 90
TopcaseOA .............. 93
7 Maintenance . . . ...... 97
General instructions . . . . . 98
Toolkit . ................. 98
Engine oil . . . . . ......... 100
General brake
system . ................ 101
Brake pads. . . . ......... 102
Brake fluid . . . . ......... 104
Clutch . ................ 105
Tires . . . ................ 106
Rims . . . ................ 107
Wheels. ................ 107
Front wheel stand . ..... 113
Lamps . ................ 115
Air filter ................ 123
Removing right side
panel . . ................ 125
Installing right side
panel . . ................ 126
Jump starting . ......... 126
Battery . ................ 128
8 Care . ................ 133
Care products . ......... 134
Washing your
motorcycle . . . . ......... 134
Cleaning sensitive
motorcycle parts . . ..... 135
Paint care . . . . . ......... 136
Protective wax
coating ................ 136
Storing motorcycle ..... 136
Returning motorcycle to
use .................... 137
9 Technical data . . ..... 139
Troubleshooting
chart . . . ................ 140
Threaded fasteners ..... 141
Engine . ................ 142
Riding specifications . . . . 145
Clutch . ................ 145
Transmission . . ......... 145
Rear-wheel drive . . ..... 146
Running gear . . ......... 146
Brakes . ................ 147
Wheels and tires . . . ..... 147
Electrical system . . ..... 148

Frame. . . . . ............. 150
Dimensions . . . ......... 151
Weights . . . ............. 151
10 Service ............. 153
BMW Motorrad
service . . . . ............. 154
BMW Motorrad service
quality . . . . ............. 154
BMW Motorrad Service
Card - On-the-spot
breakdown
assistance ............. 155
BMW Motorrad service
network . . . ............. 155
Maintenance work . . . . . . 155
Maintenance
schedules . ............. 156
Confirmation of
maintenance work . . . . . . 157
Confirmation of
service . . . . ............. 162

General instructions
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Abbreviations and symbols . . . . . . 6
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Technical data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Currency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1
5
z General instructions

Overview
Chapter 2 of this Rider's Man-
ual will provide you with an
initial overview of your motor-
cycle. All maintenance and
repair work carried out on
your motorcycle will be docu-
mented in Chapter 10. Proof
of the maintenance work per-
formed is a prerequisite for
generous treatment of claims.
Should you want to sell your
BMW one day, please also re-
member to turn over the Rid-
er's Manual to the new owner;
it is an important part of your
motorcycle.
Abbreviations and
symbols
Indicates warnings you
should always observe
to ensure your own safety,
the safety of others and to
protect your motorcycle from
damage.
Special information on
operating and inspecting
your motorcycle as well as
maintenance and adjustment
procedures.
Indicates the end of a
note.
Instruction to take ac-
tion.
Results of an action.
Reference to a page
with additional infor-
mation.
Indicates the end
of accessory or
equipment-dependent
information.
Tightening torque.
Technical data.
OE Optional equipment
BMW equipment avail-
able only as a factory
installed option.
OA Optional accessories
BMW optional acces-
sories can be pur-
chased and installed
at your authorized
BMW Motorrad retail-
er.
EWS Electronic immobilizer.
DWA Anti-theft alarm.
ABS Anti-Lock Brake Sys-
tem.
ASC Automatic Stability
Control.
TPC Tire Pressure Control.
1
6
z General instructions

Equipment
When you ordered your BMW
motorcycle, you chose vari-
ous items of custom equip-
ment. This Rider's Manual
describes optional equipment
(OE) offered by BMW and se-
lected optional accessories
(OA). This explains why the
manual may also contain de-
scriptions of equipment which
you have not ordered. Please
also note that your motorcy-
cle might not be exactly as
illustrated in this manual on
account of country-specific
differences.
If your BMW is equipped with
options or accessories not
described in this Rider's Man-
ual, then this equipment is
described in a separate oper-
ating manual.
Technical data
All dimensions, weights and
outputs in the Rider's Manual
refer to the Deutsche Institut
für Normung e. V. (DIN) and
comply with its tolerance reg-
ulations. Versions for individ-
ual countries may differ.
Currency
The high safety and quality
standards of BMW motorcy-
cles are maintained by con-
stant development work on
designs, equipment and ac-
cessories. Because of this,
your motorcycle may differ
from the information supplied
in the Rider's Manual. In ad-
dition, BMW Motorrad cannot
guarantee the total absence
of errors. We hope you will
appreciate that no claims can
be entertained on the basis of
the data, illustrations or de-
scriptions in this manual. 1
7
z General instructions

1
8
z General instructions

Overviews
General view, left side . . . . . . . . . 11
General view, right side . . . . . . . . 13
Underneath seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Left handlebar fitting. . . . . . . . . . . 15
Handlebar fitting, right . . . . . . . . . 16
Instrument cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Headlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2
9
z Overviews

2
10
z Overviews

General view, left side
1Clutch fluid reservoir
( 106)
2Headlight adjustment
(vertical), beneath instru-
ment panel ( 58)
3Adjusting rear damping
( 65)
4Seat lock ( 61)
5Onboard socket ( 88)
6Filler neck, engine oil
( 101)
7Oil sight glass ( 100)
8Adjusting front spring
preload ( 64)
9Onboard socket (OA)
( 88)
10 Adjustable windshield
( 63)
2
11
z Overviews

2
12
z Overviews

General view, right
side
1Fill location for fuel
( 78)
2Vehicle Identification
Number on steering-
head bearing
3Brake-fluid reservoir,
front ( 104)
4Air filter (under tank cov-
er) ( 123)
5Adjustable footbrake
lever ( 55)
6Adjuster, spring preload,
rear ( 63)
7Brake-fluid reservoir, rear
( 105)
2
13
z Overviews

Underneath seat
1Battery ( 129)
2Rider's Manual
3Toolkit ( 98)
4Flat tire set (OA) below
onboard toolkit
5Helmet holder ( 62)
2
14
z Overviews

Left handlebar fitting
1Control, odometer
( 43), Operation of
onboard computerOE
( 46)
2ASC buttonOE ( 51)
3ABS buttonOE ( 49)
4Pushbutton, horn
5Left turn indicator button
( 59), Hazard warning
flashers button ( 42)
6High-beam headlight
switch ( 56), Switch
for headlight flasher
2
15
z Overviews

Handlebar fitting, right
1Emergency ON/OFF
switch ( 52)
2Pushbutton, starter
( 72)
3Right turn indicator
button ( 59), Hazard
warning flashers button
( 42)
4Turn indicators off button
( 60), Hazard warn-
ing flashers off button
( 43)
5Heated hand grips
switchOE ( 53)
2
16
z Overviews

Instrument cluster
1Speedometer
2Tachometer
3Warning and indicator
lights ( 21)
4Multifunction display
( 21)
5Indicator light for anti-
theft alarm (OE) and sen-
sor for instrument cluster
lighting
6Adjustment of clock
( 45), Control,
odometer ( 43)
2
17
z Overviews

Headlight
1Low-beam headlight
2High-beam headlight
3Parking lights
2
18
z Overviews